“Charismatic Roman Catholics are born again”. The Pope is no longer mentioned as an antichrist.

The Lussane Movement is holding their World Conference in Cape Town. 4.000 participants from 198 nations is joining the week long conference in Africa, from 18th of October.
There are to major shortfall in this ecumenical conference, that is promoting Global Christian Mission. There is no word about the need to support the Jewish state of Israel, and the Pope is not mentioned as an antichrist.
In the document defining Evangelical mission towards Roman Catholics, the Lusanne Movement (LM) has moved away from the viewpoint of the Church Reformers. While men like Calvin, Wesley and Luther called the Pope an antichrist, and words can offend the Pontiff and his bishops are deleted.
The LM agree the need to evangelize both nominal Roman Catholic and “nominal protestants”. By not branding the Vatican as the seat of an antichrist, the LM accept that Roman Catholic can be saved, despite supporting the Ponfiff. There is no guidance of how many false Catholic doctrines a man can accept and support, without loosing their salvation. The possibility of the “Jesus” promoted in Rome being a false Messiah, is not debated at all.
The Lussane Movement accept “Charismatic Roman Catholics” as born again Christians, even if they stay put in the Vatican Church. The explanation given is not at all based in the scripture, but rather a strange mix of “emotional uplift and personal freedom”.
This are the explanation given on their website:
Charismatic Roman Catholics: Some are truly born again and committed to the Lordship of Jesus, and enjoy the emotional uplift and personal freedom. They are committed to remain Roman Catholics.
Despite not being able to give a clear border line for when a Roman Catholic can be accepted as a “Christian”, the LM explains what kind of Papal doctrine that must be rejected.
All agreed, however, that the following non-biblical doctrines of the Roman Catholic Church are some of the major points that we find unacceptable:
• A synergistic view of salvation. Justification by faith and works
• The possibility of salvation outside of explicit faith in Jesus Christ
• The mediation of the church
• The Roman Catholic view of sin and forgiveness
• Purgatory
• The meaning of the mass and transubstantiation
• The Roman Catholic view of the authority of tradition
• Veneration of Mary and the saints
• Sacramentalism (ex-opere operato)
• The primacy and infallibility of the Pope
The LM do not want to guide Evangelicals to request Roman Catholics to leave the Papal system.
a) Avoid an anti-Roman Catholic spirit.
Do not attack or seek to discredit Roman Catholic doctrine. Biblical answers need to be given when requested, but a systematic attack on the position of the Roman Catholic Church is counter-productive.
Neither do the LM support Evangelicals who claim that Roman Catholics are not Christians at all.
(b) Present the Lordship of Christ.
Most nominal Roman Catholics will profess to be Christian. Do not attack them by disclaiming the reality of their Christianity. Accept their statement at face value and lead them into Bible studies, indicating that the new birth results in a progressive change of attitude and behaviour.
The LM do not agree that Catholics in Spain should be told to leave the RCC.
Evangelical group leaders were carefully instructed to avoid criticizing the Roman Catholic Church or persuading participants to leave it. Rather they were encouraged to allow the Holy Spirit to work through the ministry of the Word.
In an example from Poland, the Billy Graham crusade worked closely with the Roman Catholic Church.
In addition, joint meetings and special events, such as Billy Graham’s crusade, are held in Roman Catholic Churches with many Roman Catholics attending. Often Roman Catholics who are converted do not leave their church because Evangelical congregations are so few. Normally they become involved with one of the renewal movements within the Roman Catholic Church.
Source: The website of the Lusanne Movement.




