If you have been watching the news recently, I'm confident you have seen the story about the basketball coach of a popular Catholic High School in town having his teaching stay terminated due to a change in his religion. It has been reported that he desired to share in the religious faith of his wife, who professes to be Baptist, and had under-gone a conversion experience as expressed by her particular Baptist church. Although he desired to continue teaching and coaching at the Catholic High School, officials from the Catholic diocese decided that he was setting an improper example religiously for the students and with gentle persuasion, released him as teacher and coach, although he'd been working there quite a while.

Throughout the past week, it's been interesting to listen to comments of the general public, but especially the students of the high school. Even though their archbishop came in an attempt to explain why they did what they did, the students interviewed on TV would have none of it. They made comments like, "he is a good man, he loved us and he still loves God, the church should't be so narrow minded, he has rights, etc."

Friends, what other kind of reaction would you expect from kids who are raised in our climate of "ecumenism"? When children are taught that all the churches which speak about Jesus are O.K., but our particular brand of faith in Jesus is better, this is the type of reaction one should expect! The Catholic Church basically came out and said, "becoming a Baptist is not good for you and if you be-come a Baptist you are rejecting the Catholic faith." The rebellious reaction observed by many in our community is simply the ripening of rotten fruit that the seed of false teaching is sure to produce.

Jesus didn't come here to establish a wide range of religious doctrines, desiring you to pick and choose the one that is most comfortable for you. In Matthew 7:13-14, he said, "Enter by the narrow gate, for wide is the gate and broad is the way that leads to destruction, and there are many who go in by it. Because narrow is the gate and difficult is the way which leads to life, and there are few who find it." The way to please God is not wide and broad, like the ecumenical movement; but it is straight, narrow, difficult, and Jesus alone has the right to define it, regardless of how much we may not like that. He's been given all authority in heaven and on earth (Matt. 28:18).

Your New Testament shows that Jesus never set in or-der the current climate of "join the church of your choice," but established his church based on his directives alone. Throughout the New Testament, we can find the name, organization, rule, mission, and functions of the church that Jesus died for, and it's not the modern day denominational groups created by the by-laws and feelings of men. If you would like to study these principles from Jesus' teaching in the Bible, we would be happy to show you what Jesus taught us about his straight and narrow way leading one to heaven.

Guardian of Truth XLI: 2 p. 8
January 16, 1997