Chrislam: The Ecumenical Movement Gone To Seed
Introduction: A recent news article on the Fox News web site told of two churches; the Heartsong Church in Cordova, Tennessee, and the Aldersgate United Methodist Church in Alexandria, Virginia. Both opened their doors to Muslims to come and worship in their building. In reading about this I saw quotes such as, "this is something Christians are called to do; Be neighborly and envelop relationship -- even those who don't share your beliefs." Or, "I think it's a tenet of our Christian faith, and that is that we extend hospitality to the stranger". They equate being a good neighbor and being Christ like to helping Muslims worship their god. Two other quotes that I saw disturbing were, "Caring for Muslim refugees is particularly important.. sharing meals and recreational opportunities" and, "there was no trading of theologies. They are Muslims; we are Jesus followers; both of us are clear about that."
All of this shows the end result of the ecumenical movement, how some misunderstand the mission of the church, and what it really means to follow Christ.
I) The Ecumenical Movement
A) Protestant Denominations Split Off From the Catholic Church
1. They saw the body of Christ as being composed of different denominations
2. Since they were all part of the body of Christ then they needed to be in fellowship with each other.
a. Joint church efforts where different denominations came together for a purpose
b. The common denominator was that all are saved in Jesus Christ
c. They disagreed about particular doctrines about salvation; saved at birth, saved at believing, saved at confession, etc.
B) The Same Theology Came To Be Applied To Those Not Accepting Jesus
1. Some started to say that Jews would be saved but they had to accept Jesus as the Son of God
2. Others started to say that Jews would be saved because they were still God's people
3. Therefore, a person could be saved without accepting Jesus as God's Son
C) The Same Theology Is Now Being Applied To Other Groups
1. 1260 "Since Christ died for all, and since all men are in fact called to one and the same destiny, which is divine, we must hold that the Holy Spirit offers to all the possibility of being made partakers, in a way known to God, of the Paschal mystery."62 Every man who is ignorant of the Gospel of Christ and of his Church, but seeks the truth and does the will of God in accordance with his understanding of it, can be saved. It may be supposed that such persons would have desired Baptism explicitly if they had known its necessity.
Source: 
Catechism
of the Catholic Church online at the Vatican.
2. Refers to St. Augustine's Commentary on Psalm 136(137)
VATICAN CITY, NOV. 30, 2005 (Zenit.org).-
Whoever seeks peace and the good of the
community with a pure conscience, and keeps alive the desire for the
transcendent, will be saved even if he lacks biblical faith, says Benedict XVI.
The Pope made this affirmation today at the general audience, commenting on a
meditation written by St. Augustine (354-430).
D) Acceptance Of Other Religions As Being The Same As Being Christ Like
1. They explained that this is their "Christian" duty, just being a good neighbor.
a. Would Jesus want another plan of salvation taught, John 14.6
b. Can one be saved without the blood of Jesus, Matthew 26.26-28
c. Is it Christ like to help people be lost?
2. They are being drawn in to fellowship with Islam
a. Fellowship means, joint participation with, to work together with.
b. If this is not fellowship then what is it?
c. We are told to not fellowship the unfruitful works of darkness but rather expose them, Ephesians 5.11.
3. This was not an effort to teach the Muslims about Jesus but to help the Muslims teach their doctrine and worship their god.
a. What is the difference between this and 2 Corinthians 6.14-17?
b. Both are dealing with false forms of worship.
4. What does the Bible say about idolatry and other false religions? Matthew 15.8,9, 13; Galatians 1.6-9
a. We tend to think of these passages as not applying to us today and religions today but they do.
b. We have more false religions today and different gospel today than they did.
II) What Is The Purpose And Mission Of The Church?
A) To understand the above question we must understand the church
1. The body of Christ, the saved, the ekklesia.
a. Those sanctified by the blood of Christ, Hebrews 10.10
b. One cannot be sanctified without the blood of Jesus, Ephesians 1.7.
2.Therefore the universal church is composed of all who have obeyed the Gospel of Christ
B) The local congregation -- believers in a particular location
1. Church of God at Corinth, 1 Corinthians 1.2
2. The church preached the Gospel, 1 Thess. 1.8
3. The church assembled to worship God, 1 Corinthians 16.1, Acts 20.27, Hebrews 10.25
4. The church was not just some community organization allowed to search for its own purpose but to do what God instructed them to do, 1 Cor. 4.6
III) ChrisLam Cannot Exist
A) Teaching of Jesus and the Apostles
1. Jesus is the Son of God, John 8.24
2. Jesus was born of a virgin, Matthew 1.23-25
3. Jesus died on the cross for our sins, Colossians 1.20
4. Jesus was raised from the grave and ascended to be at the right hand of God in heaven, Acts 1.9; 1 Corinthians 15.4.
B) Teaching of Islam
1. Jesus was not the Son of God
"The Christians say: 'Christ is the son of God.' That is what they say with their tongues following assertions made by unbelievers before them. May they be damned by God: How perverse are they!" Surah 9.30
2. There was no virgin birth
" For God the likeness of Jesus is as that of Adam whom He fashioned out of dust and said 'Be' and he was" Surah 3.59
3. Jesus did not die on the cross
And because they denied and spoke dreadful calumnies of Mary; And for saying, 'We killed the Christ, Jesus, son of Mary, who was an apostle of God; but they neither killed nor crucified him, though it so appeared to them. Those who disagree in the matter are only lost in doubt. They have no knowledge about it other than conjecture, for surely they did not kill him, But God raised him up (in position) and closer to Himself; and God is all-mighty and all wise" Surah 4.156-158
4. Mohammad is superior to Jesus
"The Christ, son of Mary, was but an apostle, and many apostles had (come and) gone before him" Surah 5.75
"Those who offend God and His Prophet will be damned in this world and the next. There is a shameful punishment ready for them." Shurah 33.57
Conclusion: The religion of Islam cannot be reconciled to Christianity because one is based on the Bible and other on the Koran. The same principles were have talked about today applies to those claiming to believe in Christ. Is it better to deny Jesus as the Son of God or to deny His words? Is it better to extend fellowship to those worshipping another god or those worshipping God in another way than that specified in the Bible? Is it wrong to desire to go to heaven with 70 virgins or to believe heaven will be here on earth? Our task is to find the truth and sell it not.