Nothing that is worthwhile comes easy or cheap. Nor can it be reattained without effort. Eternal vigilance is the price one has to pay for maintaining freedom.
In the spiritual world we have been given an almost endless freedom due to the Protestant reformation which took place in the sixteenth century. For the one thousand years immediately preceding the reformation, Christians did not have even the faintest idea of what spiritual freedom means. To them the Christian faith was equivalent of fulfilling the endless obligations which were imposed upon them from time to time by the Roman Catholic hierarchy. This establishment, in the true spirit of the Antichrist, was an amalgamation of political and spiritual power. No one was free under this empire except the bosses themselves, and no wonder that many of the topmost leaders and popes were corrupt to an unbelievable extant.
The freedom which we have today did not come easy because thousands of men and women had to lay their life in this struggle to bring spiritual freedom. More zealous that the Saul of Tarsus, the zealots of the Roman catholic church killed them by beheading, burning at stake or by whatever means was available to them. Possessing a Bible was such a serious offense that the church burned numerous copies of the Bible, and punished the owners suitably. The cost paid by them was probably more than what the Jews had to pay during the reign of Hitler.
Protestants of this generation got the present unlimited freedom almost without paying any cost, so this freedom has become probably the cheapest item in the spiritual world. Not only have we have devalued our freedom, but we have also become so contemptuous of it that we are not moved at all when men creeping into the churches take away this freedom from us. Probably most of the Bible-believing people are unaware that the Roman Catholic church has a special band of highly dedicated, motivated, and learned men called the Jesuits who have only one ultimate goal: to bring all Protestant institutions under the control of Pope. The popes of the present generation have suddenly become very nice and caring towards their "Separated Brethren". This is not an accident, or even a real change of heart. Even a casual reading of their statements about ecumenism will show that it is all a preparation towards the grand finale, the receiving back of the separated brethren under authority and pastoral care of the Pope.
The Bible Society of India seems to one such organization. It seems that unconcerned with how the Bible Societies originated, they have allowed Roman Catholic priests to become executives of the Bible society. It is said that the local branches of the Society represent a legal part of the Bible society as a whole. If so, Roman Catholic priests are already members and executives of the Bible society of India. The United Bible societies, which is an international society made up of the national Bible Societies routinely gets the Roman catholics involved in many of their projects.
It is strange how we forget the price that Protestant Reformers had to pay to give us spiritual freedom. We are not ready even to pay a small price like constant monitoring of our institutions, lest they be captured back by the Roman Catholics. We should not fool ourselves by believing that the Pope and his aims have changed : Nothing like that : They still have no place for the word of god and salvation by faith. However, they have definitely changed their methodology of work. Protestant have now become separated "brethren", who have to be approached by using the best public-relation methods of the age.
Protestants should not be deluded into believing that their spiritual freedom will not be affected by these spiritual developments. If the Roman Catholics were so much concerned about spiritual freedom, they would never have tried to capture back Protestant churches and institutions. Even a superficial look at the Church History will tell that they are intolerant of everything that is not Romish.
The Reformers never tired of exhorting people to be beware of he spirit of Antichrist which is working through the Roman Catholic church. This spirit has never ceased to work through this church, and therefore every union with them is a union with the forces of Antichrist. Therefore is no freedom for gospel there. It is a religio-political system, having no place for the Word of God. We must keep our freedom intact at any price that we may have to pay. One should not forget that once we go back into spiritual slavery, there will be no liberation this time.
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