What is Ecumenicalism or an Ecumenicist?

A commonality between egalitarians and ecumenists is that some who are egalitarian or ecumenical don’t even realize it. As I said in this article, there are many shades (or variations) of egalitarianism. And that is the same with ecumenicalism.

Hence, What is Ecumenicalism, or an Ecumenicist?

In short. The word ecumenical (or ecumenism) comes from the Greek word oikoumenē, which means the inhabited world, or the inhabited earth. It is a movement desirous of a worldwide cooperative unity among churches abroad.  

So, there’s your definition. On the surface, unity sounds great, right? But not always. Now for a little commentary.

There is a good unity and a bad unity.

A Good Unity:

It is good and expected for local churches to have an internal union among themselves. It is good for unity within their denomination. And, at times, it can be good for Biblical unity among Christians who may not belong to your denomination. But never at the expense of sound doctrine.

It says in Psalm 133:1, “Behold, how good and how pleasant it is for brethren to dwell together in unity!”

Jesus prayed in John 17:21, “That they all may be one; as thou, Father, art in me, and I in thee, that they also may be one in us: that the world may believe that thou hast sent me.”

In 1 Corinthians 10:17, Paul implored the church of Corinth, “For we being many are one bread, and one body: for we are all partakers of that one bread.” Especially during a communion service, Christians ought to be unified as one loaf, one body, not what I call the divided, sliced Weber’s bread ecclesiology.

So, unity in the local church is good, as is unity with other like-minded believers.

Though God and His Scriptures are immutable (they’re unchangeable), sadly churches have changed, and for the worse. Let’s move on to the next area: bad unity.

Bad Unity (aka Ecumenicalism or Ecumenism):

Unlike the times when the inspired Scriptures were penned. Today, among our so-called Protestantism, there are over 200 denominations. And since I’m a Baptist, there are dozens of various Baptist denominations.

Rather than an internal union, most of these churches demonstrate a bad unity, practicing an external union with others they ought not (aka ecumenism). Today, many of these unbiblical churches have no problem with Roman Catholicism.

It was the Roman Empire and its Roman Catholic religion (not a church) that pressed early on for this bad unity. And the ecumenical movement as we know it today did not become widely popular until the turn of the Twentieth Century.

And some of these ecumenical churches are affiliated with Mormonism. Today, an all-too-popular venue for ecumenism is Turning Point USA (TPUSA). Their ecumenism has risen to the level of religious pluralism. As well as a growing number of ecumenical conferences that even professing reformers are sharing stages with. I cannot write this paragraph without thinking of the soon-coming Christ is King – America After Trump conference hosted by pastor Joel Webbon. Their keynote speaker is the unregenerate, disgraceful, foul-mouthed, blasphemous, anti-Christ Alex Jones.

All this ecumenism is worse than unbiblical; it is anti-biblical; it is contra scriptura.

The Lord’s elect should embrace an internal Christian unity that is solidified in Scripture and doctrine. And we must do so while opposing this quest for ecumenism.

God warned in Deuteronomy 22:10 (NKJV), “You shall not plow with an ox and a donkey together.”

The Lord commanded the church in 2 Corinthians 6:14-18, “Be ye not unequally yoked together with unbelievers: for what fellowship hath righteousness with unrighteousness? and what communion hath light with darkness? And what concord hath Christ with Belial? or what part hath he that believeth with an infidel? And what agreement hath the temple of God with idols? for ye are the temple of the living God; as God hath said, I will dwell in them, and walk in them; and I will be their God, and they shall be my people. Wherefore come out from among them, and be ye separate, saith the Lord, and touch not the unclean thing; and I will receive you. And will be a Father unto you, and ye shall be my sons and daughters, saith the Lord Almighty.”

Paul said in Ephesians 5:11, “And have no fellowship with the unfruitful works of darkness, but rather reprove them.”

Once the Lord brought me to His doctrines of grace and Reformed theology, I learned that evangelizing with an Arminian was, in fact, ecumenism. Arminians need to be evangelized, or discipled, not evangelized along with.

The Protestant Reformation:

The Lord saved and delivered me out of Rome. And I’m thankful to be in a decent Reformed confessional church today. But I believe a majority of churches in America that claim to be “protestant” are not. I also believe a majority of churches that claim to be “reformed” are not. In this video, I call them Reformed in Name Only (RINO’s).

True Protestants not only separate themselves from Rome and ecumenism, but they also protest against Rome and its Roman Catholicism. And they will protest against professing protestant churches that are unbiblical or ecumenical.

Let’s make the protestant reformation and protesting great again. Semper Reformanda!

This post is part of a What Is series I’m working on.

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