The Newtownabbey Clergy Fellowship have organised a local 'Pentecost Global Day of Prayer Service' to be held in St Bernard’s Roman Catholic Church in Glengormley on Sunday 31st May 2009 at 3.00pm.
This service has been announced on the Carnmoney Presbyterian Church website. As the title indicates this venture is part of events here in the Northern Ireland and further afield.
What is interesting to observe is the contradiction and confusion that lies at the heart of this Day of Prayer. On the website of the organising body: 'The World Prayer Center', which has arranged similar events throughout the United Kingdom, there is a statement of faith. In this statement of faith Point 8 clearly states that the organising body believes in 'The justification of sinners solely by the grace of God through faith in Christ'.
This raises a number of important questions:
1. How can so-called Protestant Ministers and born again believers attend a Roman Catholic Chapel and join in prayer with those who deny the truth that is contained in this statement of faith? Truth which contradicts fundamental tenets of Romanism. This is nothing short of utter confusion, dishonesty and hypocrisy!
It is no surprise at all that the unconverted run after Romanism. They are just as deceived as Roman Catholics are on the matter of salvation. What is grieving is that those who claim to have been 'converted to Christ' are taken in or else choose to remain silent when such departure from the truth of the Gospel is taking place in their churches. They are like those who joined with the enemies of God's cause in Old Testament times: In the day that thou stoodest on the other side, in the day that the strangers carried away captive his forces, and foreigners entered into his gates, and cast lots upon Jerusalem, even thou wast as one of them, Obadiah 1:11.
2. Is keeping the peace within the Clergy Fellowship more important than integrity and honesty? How can these 'Protestant ministers' arrange and attend an event like this when the organising body's statement of faith so clearly condemns Romanism?
As ever the Word of God makes a telling observation about this ecumenical prayer service: He that turneth away his ear from hearing the law, even his prayer shall be abomination, Proverbs ch 28:9.
If this event in St Bernard's is built on the foundation of compromise and the denial of the Gospel, and it surely is, then according to the Word of God the prayers of those who attend will never be heard. More than this their prayers are an abomination to God.
How much more departure from the truth of the Gospel needs to take place before born again believers in the mainline Protestant churches speak up and get out as commanded in the Scriptures? It would seem that they have been lulled to sleep!
I have emailed the contact given on the website for this local event and await a reply!
9 comments:
One Question - What would Jesus do?
Protestantism or christianity?
1 John 5:1 EVERYONE who believes that Jesus is the Christ is born of God. I wonder who God means by EVERYONE, just protestants perhaps!
Sorry for the delay in uploading these comments and responding. I have been away on holiday.
Anonymous # 1
The first thing the Lord Jesus would do would be not to hide His identity.
Have you ever read Matt ch 23 and His denunciations of the religious leaders of His day? Pretty harsh I think! The gospel has to be published and also defended, so says the Apostle Paul, Phil 1:17.
Anonymous #2
Protestantism and Christianity are one and the same. Romanism is not Christian in any fashion!
Anonymous #3
Believing that 'Jesus is the Christ' involves exercising saving faith in the revelation that He has given of Himself in His Word. After all, the devils believe and tremble but will perish, James ch 2:19.
Romanism rejects the Biblical revelation that God has given of His Son, primarily the issue of His once for all sacrifice for sin. It is therefore nothing short of a disgrace that so called Protestant ministers join with Romish priests in pretended acts of worship.
Rev Brian McClung
Anonymous 1,2 and 3, the Roman Catholic Church is "not" a christian church but "antichristian". It is not true, but false. Listen to the following short "Hot Topic" on what the Church of Rome teaches about yearly events such as Croagh Patrick in Co.Mayo. www.sermonaudio.com/sermoninfo.asp?SID=5310714378
I along with others shall be at Croagh Patrick this weekend, distributing Gospel literature and Let the Bible Speak cd's, to the many papists who have been deluded and deceived by Rome. Pray that the Lord would be pleased to save some by the witness there this weekend.
focus on your own affairs, within your own church instead of pointing the finger at others. What they do is up to them, if it is wrong they will have to answer for that. Not sure what it has to do with you to be stating what you think is the truth.
Anonymous
Another individual who hides their identity and is not willing to put their name to what they have to say. Or maybe you are one of those who previously posted as 'anonymous' returned.
In highlighting the departure from the truth of God that is taking place in the Presbyterian Church in Carnmoney I am but being faithful to my ordination vows which require me to 'withstand the apostasy of Irish Presbyterianism' [Free Presbyterian ministers' ordination vows].
More importantly I am seeking to be faithful to the Word of God, see my earlier post about the teaching of the Scriptures on opposing departure from God's truth - http://soundofanalarm.blogspot.com/2009/01/new-testament-teaching-on-apostasy.html.
It would seem that you do not know or else conveniently overlook the plain teaching of the Word of God on this matter. Gospel ministers are to withstand departure from the truth of the Gospel wherever they come across it, be it in another Church or in their own. The eternal well being of souls is at stake.
Now, why don't you address the issue of the contradiction and confusion that lies at the heart of this Day of Prayer instead of burying your head in the sand.
In Glengormley the prayer time took place in a church that openly denies one of the statements of faith published by the organising body, namely - 'The justification of sinners solely by the grace of God through faith in Christ'.
Rome clearly denies this cardinal truth of the Gospel. Yet we have so-called Protestant ministers trooping alone to 'sup' with the local representative of the Roman antichrist and pretending to pray.
As pointed out before:
He that turneth away his ear from hearing the law, even his prayer shall be abomination, Pro 28:9.
What fellowship can truth have with error?
From what I am told there are many people within the Carnmoney Church who are unhappy with this, even within the eldership. It is time for them to obey the command of Scripture and 'come out from among them'. This is the plain teaching of the Word of God!
Rev Brian McClung
I think that the minister of Carnmoney wants to be Moderator of the PCI.
No chance. His son is the head of alpha in Northern Ireland. His son also leads the worship which has went contemporary and alienated a lot of older folk who would like more of a mix. At mandate it was like a concert instead of worship with a photographer spending a lot of time taking pictures of him. Carnmoney is sitting itself up for a split from the Presbyterian Church. Social action is not Christianity. While there is a lot of good Christians in Carnmoney quite a few have left quietly.
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