The words "ecumenical" and "ecumenism" come from a Greek word meaning "the whole inhabitable world." The "Ecumenical Movement" means to unite into one worldwide church all the scattered bits and pieces of Christendom. In itself, that is a noble aim. Everything depends on understanding the problem of Christian unity and division realistically. Otherwise, we are likely to apply Band-Aids to cancers, and actually make matters worse.

The Lord makes His church ONE not in just any way, but only in the TRUTH (St. John 8:31-32; 17:14-17). Without real unity in the One Lord, the One Faith, and the One Baptism (Eph. 4:5), mere outward togetherness is a sham. This is why our Augsburg Confession demands for the "true unity of the church" nothing more and nothing less than "that the Gospel be preached unanimously in its pure understanding, and the Sacraments be administered in accord with God's Word." It is not necessary that human customs and traditions be everywhere alike. And, of course, there are believers, dear children of God, in all churches, who retain enough of the Gospel to make possible the creation of faith.

The three basic confessions or versions of Christianity are the Roman Catholic/Eastern Orthodox, the Lutheran, and the Calvinist (Presbyterian, Baptist, etc.). The differences among these are not minor matters but go to the heart of the Gospel. Did Christ earn for us the free gift of eternal life, as the Bible teaches, or only the opportunity to earn this life by doing good works with His help, as Rome says? An honest reading of Romans and Galatians will leave us in no doubt about the answer. Again, does Holy Baptism give life and salvation, as Christ and His Apostles teach (St. John 3:5, Tit. 3:5, I Peter 3:21), or is it only a symbol of our obedience, as the Baptists say? And does the Lord really give us His holy body and blood to eat in His Sacrament for the forgiveness of sins, or is all this only picture and symbol? There is no generic "Gospel," which might overlook or bypass such questions. Any honest confession of faith must "come clean" on matters so clearly taught in God's Word (Gal. 1:6-8).

The modern "Ecumenical Movement" —despite some promising beginnings a hundred years ago—has largely given up on the issue of truth. It concentrates on getting everyone together outwardly, under compromise formulas like the recent "Lutheran"/Vatican joint statement on justification. During a major seminar on Christian-Muslim relations conducted recently at a "Lutheran" seminary, one person raised the issue of Christian evangelism among Muslims. He was told that this was "fascism"! And the Southern Baptists were accused of promoting "ancient hatreds" by proposing to do mission work among non-Christians. This intolerant secular "tolerance," with its fear and contempt for the whole idea of truth, has had its impact also in the churches. And since the bureaucracies and seminaries of the "main-line" churches have given up the authority of the Bible as the Word of God, they, of course, have no grounds for any firm convictions about anything.

Genuine ecumenism must go another way. It must walk by faith, not by sight. That means being guided by the truth of God and not by outward numbers or prestige. Whatever is not built on the one foundation of the apostles and prophets (Eph. 2:20) is to that extent not the church of Christ, but a counterfeit. There cannot be real peace between the Cross of Christ and the wisdom of this world (I Cor. 1 and 2). As Christians we are called to be friendly and peaceable among people of all kinds—and to love even our enemies. But we cannot go along with a deceitful outward show of church union and communion when there is no agreement in the life-giving doctrine of Christ and His Apostles, on which everything depends (St. John 6:63; Acts 2:42; I Tim. 4:16). The true ecumenical task is to raise everywhere—humbly but with conviction—the banner of Christ's truth and doctrine, and not to budge from it. Such faithfulness God will bless—and is blessing throughout the world today. From Siberia and Kazakhstan to Haiti, from Sudan to Kenya and South Africa, from Europe and Canada to South America and Australia, everywhere the sheep of Christ hunger for the pure Bread of Life and rejoice in it. Thanks be to God!