POPE FRANCIS ACCELERATES APOSTATE ECUMENICAL "UNITY" WITH LUTHERANS

MIKE GENDRON REPORTS: www.proclaimingthegospel.org; excerpts republished below in full unedited for informational, educational, and research purposes: Only God Can Condemn and Save On October 31, we celebrated the 499th Anniversary of the Reformation. When Martin Luther nailed his 95 Theses to the Castle Church in Wittenberg, Germany, it began a movement that would set thousands of captives free from the bondage of religious deception. The Catholic Church attempted to thwart the mass exodus of its people by condemning anyone who left the church. During the Counter Reformation, the Council of Trent threatened hostile action on Catholics and former Catholics who would not remain loyal to their religion. They attempted to control people with the threat of over 100 anathemas.  One of the anathemas forced people to believe the dogma of indulgences which Luther had soundly rebuked with his 95 Theses. The Council "condemns with anathema those who say that indulgences are useless or that the Church does not have the power to grant them." An indulgence is "a remission before God of the temporal punishment due to sins whose guilt has already been forgiven, which the faithful Christian...gains under certain defined conditions." They can be applied to the dead by way of prayer, the Rosary, or the sacrifice of the Mass.  When the pope pronounces an anathema, he uses a formula which ends with these words: "We deprive [him/her] of the Communion of the Body and Blood of Our Lord, we separate him from the society of all Christians, we exclude him from the bosom of our Holy Mother the Church in Heaven and on earth, we declare him excommunicated and anathematized, and we judge him condemned to eternal fire with Satan and his angels and all the reprobate, so long as he will not burst the fetters of the demon, do penance, and satisfy the Church; we deliver him to Satan to mortify his body, that his soul may be saved on the day of judgment."  Anathemas are said to condemn former Catholics to the torments of everlasting hell unless they do penance and return home to Rome. They also condemn current Catholics if they do not believe every infallible dogma of their church. Former Catholics who are now born-again Christians need not worry! "If God is for us, who can be against us? He who did not spare his own Son but gave him up for us all, how will he not also with him graciously give us all things? Who shall bring any charge against God's elect? It is God who justifies. Who is to condemn? Christ Jesus is the one who died, more than that, who was raised, who is at the right hand of God, who indeed is interceding for us" (Rom. 8:31-34). Only God has the power to save and condemn.  We must use this information to educate others. More than ever, we must contend earnestly for the faith and resist the growing pressure to unite with the Roman Catholic Church as a valid expression of Christianity. Evangelicals need to know that we can never have unity with a religion that condemned the Reformers for believing that sinners are saved by grace alone, through faith alone, in Christ alone, according to Scripture alone, for the glory of God alone. Let us all endeavor to defend the glory and honor of our Lord Jesus Christ, the sanctity of His Church, and the purity of His Gospel.

Pope Marks the Reformation With Call for Unity Pope Francis marked the 499th anniversary of the Reformation  with an ecumenical prayer gathering in Sweden, where he called  for reconciliation between Lutherans and Roman Catholics. The  Lutherans should have learned from Martin Luther when a previous  pope tried to reverse the Reformation with deceptive language.  Luther warned, "Popish writers pretend that they have always taught, what we now teach, concerning faith and good works, and that they  are unjustly accused of the contrary, thus the wolf puts on the sheep's skin till he gains admission into the fold." Francis is a different wolf, but wears the same sheep's skin in  his attempt to re-unite the Lutherans with "holy Mother, the church."  Christian News Network interviewed Mike Gendron on this historic event and you can  read Mike's response here.  _____________________________________________________________________ Pope Francis and Lutheran leader:  “We urge Lutherans and Catholics… to defend the rights of refugees” BY ROBERT SPENCER SEE: https://www.jihadwatch.org/2016/11/pope-francis-and-lutheran-leader-we-urge-lutherans-and-catholics-to-defend-the-rights-of-refugees; republished below in full unedited for informational, educational, and research purposes: Ahmad al-Mohammed and one other of the jihadis who murdered 130 people  in Paris in November 2015 had just entered Europe as refugees. In February 2015, the Islamic State boasted it would soon flood Europe with as many as 500,000 refugees. And the Lebanese Education Minister said in September 2015 that there were 20,000 jihadis among the refugees in camps in his country. Meanwhile, 80% of migrants who have come to Europe claiming to be fleeing the war in Syria aren’t really from Syria at all. So why are they claiming to be Syrian and streaming into Europe, and now the U.S. as well? AnIslamic State operative gave the answer when he boasted in September 2015, shortly after the migrant influx began, that among the flood of refugees, 4,000 Islamic State jihadis had already entered Europe. He explained their purpose: “It’s our dream that there should be a caliphate not only in Syria but in all the world, and we will have it soon, inshallah.” These Muslims were going to Europe in the service of that caliphate: “They are going like refugees,” he said, but they were going with the plan of sowing blood and mayhem on European streets. As he told this to journalists, he smiled and said, “Just wait.” On May 10, 2016, Patrick Calvar, the head of France’s DGSI internal intelligence agency, said that the Islamic State was using migrant routes through the Balkans to get jihadis into Europe. The Pope and the President of the Lutheran World Federation are calling upon Europe to invite jihad terrorism and commit societal and civilizational suicide. Is that what Christian charity is, as far as they are concerned? Do Christians have no responsibility to try to protect their own families and children, home and heritage? “Leave them; they are blind guides. And if a blind man leads a blind man, both will fall into a pit.” (Matthew 15:14) “Pope Francis, Lutheran Chief, Urge Christians to ‘Defend the Rights of Refugees,’” by Thomas D. Williams, Breitbart, November 1, 2016: In a joint statement Monday, Pope Francis and the President of the Lutheran World Federation pledged to pursue full Christian unity between the churches, while also promising a common witness, especially in assisting migrants, refugees and asylum-seekers. In their statement, signed during the Pope’s historic visit to Sweden in commemoration of the 500th anniversary of the Protestant Reformation, Pope Francis and Lutheran Bishop Mounib Younan “pledge to witness together to God’s merciful grace” while also promising to “stand together in service, upholding human dignity and rights, especially for the poor, working for justice, and rejecting all forms of violence.” “Today in particular, we raise our voices for an end to the violence and extremism which affect so many countries and communities, and countless sisters and brothers in Christ,” the statement reads. “We urge Lutherans and Catholics to work together to welcome the stranger, to come to the aid of those forced to flee because of war and persecution, and to defend the rights of refugees and those who seek asylum,” it continues…. This summer, Breitbart News reported that of the 163,000 migrants who arrived in Sweden in 2015, fewer than 500 have found jobs, meaning that the vast majority depend on taxpayer-funded welfare assistance for their sustenance…. Pope Francis has urged European nations to adopt a welcoming stance toward migrants, comparing their situation to that of Jesus and suggesting that hospitality torefugees is “our greatest security against terrorism.” In a meeting in September with hundreds of alumni of Jesuit schools, Francis told his hearers that with their help, the Pope said, “the Church will be able to respond more fully to the human tragedy of refugees through acts of mercy that promote their integration into the European context and beyond.” Francis continued, “I encourage you to welcome refugees into your homes and communities, so that their first experience of Europe is not the traumatic experience of sleeping cold on the streets, but one of warm human welcome.” “Remember that authentic hospitality is a profound gospel value that nurtures love and is our greatest security against hateful acts of terrorism,” he said. Pope Declares Catholics and Protestants Agree on the Doctrine of  Justification During a recent in-flight press conference, Pope Francis  responded to a question about withdrawing excommunication  from Martin Luther. Following are excerpts from His response  to the question from Tilmann Kleinjung, of the national German radio.   "I think that the intentions of Martin Luther were not mistaken. Perhaps some methods were not correct. In that time, the  Church was not exactly a model to imitate. There was corruption  in the Church, there was worldliness, attachment to money, to power, and this he  protested. Then he was intelligent and took some steps forward justifying, and because  he did this Lutherans and Catholics, Protestants, all of us agree on the  doctrine of justification. On this point, which is very important, he did not err.  He made a medicine for the Church, but then this medicine consolidated into a state  of things, into a state of a discipline, into a way of believing, into a way of doing, into  a liturgical way, and he wasn't alone; there was Zwingli, there was Calvin, each one of them different. Today the dialogue is very good. That document of justification I think  is one of the richest ecumenical documents in the world. Read the full press conference here. Mike's Comment: Either Pope Francis is not aware of the anathemas that condemn Christians who believe justification is by faith alone, or he is purposely deceiving Protestants for the sake of unity. The Council of Trent, Session 6, Canon 9declares:  "If anyone says that the sinner is justified by faith alone, meaning that nothing else is required to cooperate in order to obtain the grace of justification, and that it is not in  any way necessary that he be prepared and disposed by the action of his own will, let  him be anathema." We hope you've enjoyed this month's e-Newsletter. Please let us know how we can  serve you! Mike and Jane Gendron (972) 495-0485 PO Box 940871, Plano, TX 75094 www.ProclaimingTheGospel.org _______________________________________________________________________