The world is passing away, and also its lusts; but the one who does the will of God lives forever. Children, it is the last hour; and just as you heard that antichrist is coming, even now many antichrists have appeared; from this we know that it is the last hour.

They went out from us, but they were not really of us; for if they had been of us, they would have remained with us; but they went out, so that it would be shown that they all are not of us. (1 John 2:17-19, NASB)

The Roman Catholic Church Is Apostate And has Condemned The Gospel

Apprising Ministries brings to your attention Kensington Community Church (KCC), Troy, MI where Steve Andrews is co-founder and lead/senior pastor as an example of a growing spiritual disease in the Body of Christ. In under “We’re Different” we begin with the typical neo-evangelical megachurch self-help spiel, “Our pastors are real people with real solutions to real problems. They tackle tough issues head on with practical advice straight from the Bible.”

And then we read:

A New Way To Do Church.
Our casual, relaxed atmosphere is a place to investigate Christianity without guilt or pressure. A place to grow spiritually at your own pace. With unconditional love, support, and acceptance during your journey. No strings attached. So come as you are. Go as you want to be. From modern dance to computer animation, we approach church with a wide range of artistic expression and a sense of humor. (Online source)

And one of the new ways that KCC does church is by being an ecumenical “Protestant” church openly accepting apostate Roman Catholicism as a legitimate expression of the historic, orthodox Christian faith. In fact, Steve Andrews found common ground for apostasy with Roman Catholic Priest John Riccardo of St. Anastasia Catholic Church as evidenced by The Detroit Free Press article “Brothers in Faith” available from the KCC website.

This dialogue between so-called “Christian brothers” Andrews and Riccardo would lead to a DVD called Common Ground. The Ninevah’s Crossing website informs us further about an “amazing ecumenical thing” that happened a little over a year ago:

The story begins with a large Evangelical Church in Troy, MI called Kensington Community Church. It is a non-denominational, Evangelical-Protestant church modeled successfully after Bill Hybels’ Willow Creek Church near Chicago. Kensington has been growing by leaps and bounds under the leadership of a number of humble and astute men and women and its founding pastor Steve Andrews.

Before Pam and I converted to Catholicism, we occasionally attended Kensington (even though it was an hour away) principally for the good music, mini-dramas, practical teachings, and presentation excellence. (Online source)

It’s interesting to note that the effect of Kensington’s way of doing church, “the good music, mini-dramas, practical teachings, and presentation excellence,” didn’t prevent the author of the above from converting to an apostate form of Christianity that Dr. John MacArthur rightly called “another religion entirely.” And yet the author goes on to tell us that a “couple of years ago” this “Protestant evangelical” pastor Andrews was among:

some members and leaders at Kensington [who] became disturbed by the bad rap that a number of the ex-Catholics attending Kensington were giving Catholicism. While the leadership was not going to become Catholic by any means, they definitely considered Catholicism a significant part of Christianity and thought there was a lot of miscommunication and misunderstanding taking place.
(Online source, emphasis mine)

Apparently the leadership of KCC still feel this way because, as of this writing, a version of Common Ground is also available from the KCC website:

What Protestants and Catholics Can learn From Each Other

This revealing, Candid Conversation took place between the leaders of two of Oakland County’s largest churches. Father John Riccardo of St. Anastasia Catholic Church, and Pastor Steve Andrews of Kensington Community Church. Both are located in Troy, Michigan within minutes of each other.

Seeking common ground “the priest and the pastor” respectfully examine the similarities and differences between the two great traditions they represent. Regardless of your religious background, you’ll enjoy their open discussion. (Online source)

Dr. Timothy George, “Dean of Beeson Divinity School and Senior Editor of Christianity Today” has “been active in the evangelical dialogue with the Roman Catholic Church” and here’s what George had to say about this Common Ground unity DVD:

Here is an honest conversation between two deeply committed men of faith, an Evangelical pastor and a Catholic priest, about their shared faith in Jesus Christ. I recommend this resource to all who are interested in Christian unity, in keeping with a prayer of Jesus himself that his disciples be one as he and the Father are one, so that the world may believe. (Online source)

I cover the proper Biblical understanding of Christ’s High Priestly Prayer which George refers to above in True Unity In The Body Of Christ. So for now I will point out that the eternally deadly spiritual deception her is that—despite what sincere Roman Catholics may personally believe and express in dialogue—the antichrist system of the Roman Catholic Church itself remains exactly the same as it has always been.

As I have already clearly shown—and that from official Roman Catholic sources themselves—in Has The Roman Catholic Church Really Changed?, the incontrovertible fact is that absolutely nothing has changed concerning the Roman Catholic dogmas of salvation by baptismal regeneration and their works-righteous sacramental system from the evil day the Council of Trent first pronounced God’s divine curse upon the Reformers and upon the very Gospel of Jesus Christ itself.

On The John Ankerberg Show a few years back Dr. R.C. Sproul was dead on target when lays out the heart of what is at stake in any talk of possible reconciliation with the Church of Rome:

what he [John MacArthur] is saying here, the Catholic Church understood in the 16th century, and Trent and Rome placed its unambiguous anathema on the Protestant doctrine of “Justification by faith alone” and has never, in any magisterial sense removed that anathema.

The Roman Catholic Church condemns “sola fide!” [faith alone] Now if, please understand this, if sola fide is the gospel, then the Roman Catholic Church has condemned the gospel of Jesus Christ. Now, nobody who went to the Council of Trent, as a delegate, went there with the intention of condemning the gospel. The theologians of Rome really believed that they were defending the gospel and that the Protestants had in fact committed apostasy.

And I admire the Church, the Roman communion of the 16th century for at least understanding what apparently people don’t understand today, and that is what is at stake here. That they understood that somebody is under the anathema of God! And we can be as nice, and as pleasant, and as gentle, and as loving, and as charitable, and tolerant as we can possibly be, but it’s not going to change that folks. Somebody is preaching a different gospel!

And when Rome condemned the Protestant declaration of “Justification by faith alone” I believe, Rome, when placing the anathema on “sola fide,” placed the anathema of God upon themselves. I agree with his [John MacArthur] assessment, that the institution [Roman Catholic Church] is apostate! (Online source)

See also:

ROMAN CATHOLICISM: THE DECEIVERS

THE NON-GOSPEL OF SACRAMENTS AND BAPTISM IN THE ROMAN CATHOLIC CHURCH

THE HOLY AND CATHOLIC CHURCH IS NOT THE ROMAN CATHOLIC CHURCH

WE ARE NOT BROTHERS!