Jesus never spoke of a "round table". This is a New Age concept which goes back to King Arthur and the Knights of the Round Table. A New Age book, Messiah and the Second Coming, explains the symbolism of the "round" table."

"King Arthur founded the Round Table, which legend dramatically declared was symbolically the same table present at the Last Supper. . .The future world Round Table is being created now in the etheric realms. The symbolic golden round table of King Arthur will eventually manifest on earth where varieties of leaders, political, scientific, spiritual, from all nations of the world, will dedicate their lives to international objectives for the benefit of all, above nationalism, above religionism, above personality, for the benefit of all peoples. The spiritual unity of nations a true sister/brotherhood of humanity encompassing universal principles of unconditional love and sharing, is coming to bloom." 2 

 

The Gospel of Jesus Christ: An Evangelical Celebration

CNP's John Ankerberg, a member of the Evangelical Celebration Drafting Committee, provides a listing of this committee at his Harbor Lighthouse 3 website 4 . Some of the men who drafted the "The Gospel of Jesus Christ: An Evangelical Celebration" had previously signed or endorsed Evangelicals and Catholics Together I (1993) and Evangelicals and Catholics Together II (1997), documents which express their agreement with Roman Catholic doctrine. 

A June 1999 Press Release stated this, and included the full document, the drafting committee and endorsers at that time, and from John Ankerberg's website: (5):

The Committee On Evangelical Unity In The Gospel
P.O. Box 5551
Glendale Heights, IL 60139-5551

Press Statement
June 1, 1999

Evangelical Christian Leaders Endorse
New Statement On Gospel

Over 125 Evangelical Christian leaders have endorsed a new statement affirming their common commitment to the central message of the Christian faith.

The list of endorsers includes leaders from a wide range of denominations and organizations. Among those endorsing the statement are Don Argue, Bill Bright, Roberta Hestenes, Oswald Hoffman, Bill Hybels, Walter Kaiser, Kenneth Kantzer, D. James Kennedy, Woodrow Kroll, Max Lucado, John MacArthur, Beth Moore, Richard Mouw, Luis Palau, Earl Palmer, Pat Robertson, Adrian Rogers, John Stott, Joseph Stowell, Joni Eareckson Tada, Thomas Trask, John Walvoord, Bruce Wilkinson, and Ravi Zacharias.

"We have needed a statement like this for a long time, and I welcome it with joy." said Bill McCartney, founder of the Promise Keepers.

Entitled "The Gospel of Jesus Christ: An Evangelical Celebration" , the document took over a year to formulate, according to John Woodbridge of Chicago’s Trinity Evangelical Divinity School. "It grew out of a concern that the Evangelical movement was in danger of becoming seriously divided. In the process we were beginning to lose sight of the bedrock convictions about the Gospel we hold in common." Woodbridge was part of the statements fifteen-member drafting committee.

Theologian R.C. Sproul, another committee member, stressed the importance of setting forth the central beliefs shared by all Evangelical Christians: "We have vast differences among us in details of doctrine and worship and forms of church government , but our goal in this statement is to reaffirm the historic center of Evangelicalism. Nothing is more important than getting the Gospel itself right."

Vancouver theologian James I. Packer expressed another concern behind the committee’s work: "History has shown that the doctrine of justification by faith in Christ alone -- which is the heart of the biblical message -- regularly gets distorted or forgotten, and needs constant restatement.

Divided into four sections the 3400-word document begins with a preamble which identifies the Gospel if Jesus Christ as "the central message of the Holy Scriptures.... the best and most important news that any human being ever hears."

The second section entitles "The Gospel", sets forth Christ’s sacrificial death on the cross as the sole basis of human salvation: "The heart of the Gospel is that our holy, loving Creator, confronted with human hostility and rebellion, has chosen in his own freedom and faithfulness to become our holy, loving Redeemer and Restorer." Through faith in Christ we are cleansed of sin, made part of God’s family, indwelt by the Holy Spirit, and assured of eternal life. In addition, saving faith "shows itself in flowing obedience to the divine commands.... The Gospel calls us to live as obedient servants of Christ and as his emissaries in the world, doing justice, loving mercy, and helping all in need.

The document’s third section, "Unity in the Gospel", calls upon Christians "to love each other despite differences of race, gender, privilege, and social, political, and economic background. Frankly acknowledging that disagreements sometimes do exist among sincere Christians, it urges dialogue among those with differing views, while rejecting all attempts to ignore or compromise God’s revealed truth.

A final section summarized the uniqueness of the Gospel message in a series of eighteen "Affirmations and Denials." "Our purpose in this section was to state as clearly as possible not only what the Gospel says, but what it does not say," observed Erwin Lutzer, another member of the drafting committee and pastor of Chicago’s historic Moody Memorial Church.

"The Christian church is always in danger of diluting its message," stated Christian television talk show host John Ankerberg, who was also on the drafting committee. "This is especially true today amidst rampant secularism and non-Christian spirituality." Added Jerry Falwell, Chancellor of Liberty University, "It is the responsibility of each generation to deliver to the next a simple, undiluted, Biblically-accurate definition of the everlasting Gospel of Christ."

"We are not calling for any kind of organizational unity," said Timothy George, dean of Beeson Divinity School of Samford University in Birmingham, Alabama, and another drafting committee member. "Our oneness is in Christ, as this document makes clear. It is a statement of Evangelical unity focused on the Gospel." Added Dallas pastor Tony Evans, "This document not only gives the world the greatest news it ever had, but it does so from a unified Church. This is something we are celebrating." Evans also serves as president of The Urban Alternative, a nationwide ministry committed to bringing the Gospel to people of different racial and ethnic backgrounds.

In welcoming the new statement Kay Arthur, co-founder of Precept Ministries, stated, "Many people are confused about what the Bible really teaches, and whether or not it even matters. But it does matter, and if we miss its central message our study of the Bible misses the mark." Atlanta pastor and television preacher Charles Stanley stated, "This statement is a clear declaration of what we Evangelicals believe and are committed to proclaim to the entire world." added Jack Hayford, pastor of the Church on the Way in Los Angeles. "The Gospel of Jesus Christ: An Evangelical Celebration will become exactly that -- a celebration of the Gospel’s joyous truth, leading us to joyful commitment in our worship and witness for Christ."

Charles Colson, founder of Prison Fellowship and widely-known speaker and writer, summarized the conviction of many other endorsers with these words: "When historians record the events of this ear, whey will surely take note of this statement as one of the truly momentous accomplishments of Evangelicalism. It stands squarely upon the historic Christian faith which has energized Christians from the first century until now. Nothing could be more important to challenge the Church for the new millennium.

The text of The Gospel of Jesus Christ: An Evangelical Celebration, with the names of the drafting and endorsing committees, will be printed in June 14, 1999 issue of Christianity Today magazine. The full document can be downloaded for non-profit purposes from the Christianity Today website (www.christianity.net), and will be available also on the website of a number of other Christian organizations.

Commentaries on the statement are planned for publication in the future, and a special service of celebration will be held in the summer of 2000 during the annual meeting of the Christian Booksellers Association in New Orleans.

For further information contact the Committee on Evangelical Unity in the Gospel, P.O. Box 551, Glendale Heights, IL 60139-551." 

 ------- 

For the full document : THE GOSPEL OF JESUS CHRIST: AN EVANGELICAL CELEBRATION

The hypocrisy of those evangelicals who previously opposed the ECT documents and then signed the 1999 Evangelical Celebration with the same apostates who drafted ECT I and II did not escape the notice of at least a few. From, An Evangelical Celebration: A Time to Celebrate or a Time to Repent? By Richard Bennett, Richard Knolls, and Cecil Andrews

The Gospel of Jesus Christ: An Evangelical Celebration" (EC) is a significant document published in the June 14, 1999, issue of Christianity Today. Undoubtedly, this position paper will have a far-reaching impact on the Evangelical community. Unlike "Evangelicals and Catholics Together" (ECT I) and "The Gift of Salvation" (ECT II), the new document is a biblically accurate presentation of the Gospel. In that, EC is eminently commendable and stands in stark contrast to the ECT I and II agreements, which remain under biblical condemnation since those two ecumenical documents give a false gospel. EC is not, however, a statement of faith. 

"Do I now persuade men, or God?" 

The question before Bible believers is whether drafting yet another document is the biblical way to address compromise in presenting the Gospel, since following the biblical method is as essential as the Gospel itself. The Apostle Paul's method in defending the Gospel is like that of the Lord Himself. It is to lay a charge against those who teach false doctrine, and in so doing, to glorify the Father. After the Apostle pronounces the judgment of God on those who continued in a false gospel, he explained his guideline for doing so, "For do I now persuade men, or God? or do I seek to please men? for if I yet pleased men, I should not be the servant of Christ." (Galatians 1:10) 

ECT II - EC connection 

J. I. Packer, Timothy George, Thomas Oden, and John Woodbridge, all of whom endorsed ECT II, were involved with leading Evangelicals in the actual drafting of this present document.
Consequently, it must be asked if these four men have repented both privately and publicly of the ecumenical documents they had previously signed. If so, to whom was the statement made and where may their public repentance statement be found? Have they formally responded to the resolution passed at the 1999 Ex-Catholics for Christ (ECFC) conference which called for them to "publicly renounce the ECT accords and ask the church at large for forgiveness for their past participation in these accords" and where is their response published? "

The Drafting Committee as of June 3, 1999: John N. Akers; John F. Ankerberg (CNP); John Armstrong; D. A. Carson; Keith Davy; Maxie Dunnam; Timothy George; Scott Hafemann; Erwin Lutzer; Harold Myra; David Neff; Thomas Oden; J. I. Packer; R. C. Sproul; John Woodbridge. 21

Some of the Endorsers

We can readily see the scope of the New Age and ecumenical union of the people involved. If one goes to Harbor Lighthouse and views  “Special event” and reads the list just below it, we see more names of people involved in the ecumenical move. 

We find those who work with these various individuals, such as Gary Kah, Dave Hunt, Jim McCarthy, John Ankerberg, Tommy Ice, Nancy Missler, Greg Durel, Ted Baehr [CNP], Tom Snyder, Zola Levitt, Peter Lalonde, John Walvoord, Randall Price and Hal Lindsey either viewed as leadership or touted as having Discernment. Many will be discussed in articles related to this series.

Next Section: EJECCT Part 2

Previous Section: Dark Angels

Footnote:

1. http://www.gospelcom.net/lcwe/index.html

2. John Davis and Naomi Rice, Messiah and the Second Coming, Coptic Press, 1982, pp. 99, 103.

3. http://www.harborlighthouse.com/

4. see SPECIAL EVENT >http://www.harborlighthouse.com/frameset/specialevents.htm

5. ankerberg.com/The-Gospel-of-Jesus-Christ.html

21 .Harbor Lighthouse; Special Event; http://www.harborlighthouse.com/

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