Jack Van Impe: Master Of Memory; Minister Of Compromise

Jack Van Impe:
Master Of
Memory;
Minister Of
Compromise
By
Dr. Ken Johnson
[Copyright 1995 by Ken Johnson]
==========<< >>==========

A decade of years can unveil the diversion of purpose veiled
in a progression of compromise. Dr. Jack Van Impe in 1983
wrote "I can only believe that the Spirit's power is upon my life
in a greater way since I have opened my arms of love to all
brothers and sisters in Christ."¹ This confessed mark of direction
based on "love" as the guiding principle is not without its evidence
of change in the JVI ministry.
In our warped generation, man has taken the word "LOVE"
and made it a meaningless basis for compromise. But true love is
an intelligent principle. True love includes wisdom; it beholds and
plans the highest ideal for its object.
True love is BENEVOLENT---it desires good for its objects.
On the Divine level this is displayed in God's providential care for
His creation and creatures. Of greatest import concerning true
love is the fact it must be righteous. True love must include the
principle of righteousness in its display. It is therefore morally
conditioned. True love does not break nor contradict the moral
righteousness of God. In the atonement, God did not overlook the
moral depth of degradation in sin but paid an infinite price which
satisfied Divine Justice. God's love therefore, does not accept sin,
but is morally conditioned in the display of satisfaction paid in the
atonement. The basis of forgiveness is the atonement, NOT
LOVE---LOVE is the motive of God governed by the Divine
principle of righteousness.
Too many today have based the concepts of their preaching on
a wrong application of love. They have made their total theologi-
cal concept a love based theology, a "Phileocentric Theology," at
the expense of righteousness and moral justice at the hand of God.
Love without truth has no foundation. Jesus expresses this fact
in John 14:15: "If ye love me, keep my commandments." In
v.21 we find even more: "He that hath my commandments, and
keepeth them, he it is that loveth me: and he that loveth me shall
be loved of my Father, and I will love him, and will manifest
myself to him." In Ist John 5:2-3 we find again God does not
divorce TRUTH from LOVE: "By this we know that we love the
children of God, when we love God, and keep his commandments.
For this is the love of God, that we keep his commandments: and
his commandments are not grievous."
God's Word is plainly teaching LOVE is possible only in and
with the TRUTH of God being embraced and kept. JVI has
purely missed the mark in his "Phileocentric Theology" of
INCLUSIVENESS divorced from TRUTH. This necessitates the
presence of inconsistency and will be evidenced in its embrace
and/or acceptance of compromise with the TRUTH --- A.K.A.
"The Commandments of God, the Teachings of God, and the
Doctrines of God."
In a slick well documented "tooting one's own horn" brochure
sent to me by the JVI Ministries International, there is presented
to the reader all the human reasons to accredit the JVI ministry
and support its requests for dollars. Certainly every thoughtful
saint should support a man who ---
---Is listed in the Who's Who of Intellectuals...
---Is listed in the International Leaders in Achievement
---Is listed in the International Directory of Distinguished
Leadership
---Is listed in Men of Achievement
---Is listed in Who's Who in American Christian Leadership
---Is listed in Who's Who in Religion
---Has memorized 14,000 verses of Scripture
---Has preached to audiences totaling 10 million during
crusades and tens of millions through radio and television
---Has preached to more face to face than any evangelist except
Dr. Billy Graham
---Has documented the salvation of more than one million

souls.²
With this kind of results and recognition, Paul, Peter, and even
Christ and His forerunner John are reduced to "also ran" status
hidden in the penumbra of vain glory, (I Cor. 3:7.)
There are perhaps some things that should be considered in the
situation described that not all would hasten to admit. When JVI
was "56 years of age" he told of his earlier being "converted out
of Catholicism." He continues saying, "I am...as committed to
the Baptist distinctives of the faith as ever," and "every con-
vert...referred to churches within one of the following groups."
(Named below.)
1. Southwide Baptist Fellowship
2. Baptist Bible Fellowship
3. World Baptist Fellowship
4. G.A.R.B.C.
5. Independent Fundamental Churches of America
6. Independent, Fundamental, Baptist Churches not listed in
the above directories.³
This same document expressed "...we were ethically committed
to directing these converts first of all to the churches who had us
on their missionary budgets....I revere my Baptist heritage."⁴
One might ask "What Baptist Heritage?" With all the converts
listed in the brochure, these six groups and supporting churches
should have "millions" added to their membership from this ONE
source. With these words from one who was "converted out of
Catholicism" one would assume there would be a tremendous
effort to evangelize the Roman Catholic multitudes.
JVI in 1984, just a decade past, filled his February/March and
April/May editions of Perhaps Today with a defense of his being
a "Fundamentalist." This is based upon the FIVE things he
demands "...fundamentalism stands for and proclaims."⁵ Two
months later in a follow up article JVI shows as an example of his
concept of "Phileocentric Theology" repeating his position as
quoted before and excerpted from his book Heart Disease In
Christ's Body.
At this point we are given to understand "Perhaps the time has
come to perform major surgery in order to deal with the cancer in
our midst."⁶ By this he refers to Neo-Fundamentalist [as opposed
to historic fundamentalism] as "...the harsh, crude and intemper-
ate language neo-fundamentalists use in describing others."⁷ Later
JVI shows his utter contempt for the Truth of God when he writes:
In the early centuries we had Arnoldists, Henricians,
Paulicians, the Humiliati, Lollards, Waldenses, and Ana-
Baptists. Today we have multiplied denominations preaching
the true gospel. And by one Spirit are we all --- past, present,
and future --- baptized into one body.⁸

Next follows fifty marks of those considered born again. Setting
aside even the mistakes in this list, one looks in vain for the TRUE
LOVE expressed and qualified by Christ when He links LOVE TO
DOCTRINE. It is now ten years later and the distance between
JVI and Biblical Truth is even broader. What JVI defines as the
"Five Fundamentals" are now broad enough to include Roman
Catholics and their Pope John Paul II.
JVI is now selling a video tape of some one hour and forty
minutes filled with definitions of the "Five Fundamentals" which
embraces the doctrine of Pope John Paul II and Catholicism
(quaintly referred to as "Classical Catholicism".) In the May/June
1985 issue of Perhaps Today JVI writes, "Religion has been
responsible for the death of millions over the centuries."⁹ Perhaps
JVI might do a bit of his "hours" of study in history and determine
who killed whom in the list referred to in his April/May 1984
article (supra.) Perhaps today (pardon the pun) as a Baptist, I
might not be considered too "intemperate" if I ask if this is the
same Catholic body that slaughtered some 50 million Baptists from

600 A.D. to 1600 A.D.? Are we to think suddenly Pope John
Paul II has re-defined the Catholic concept of these "Five Funda-
mentals" and is now hardly able to contain himself from rushing
to a Baptist Church of New Testament doctrine and history to
submit to Scriptural baptism? Is this the new image of Catholicism
or is it the sad instance of a decade of compromise in the revived
efforts of self-preservation for one who has abandoned the Great
Commission in scriptural details, aborted every effort to return to
local church doctrine and authority, and settled for the
televangelist empire of sell-out? Let us examine the facts...
In the above mentioned TV program concerning Pope John
Paul II and the problems facing the Catholic Church, JVI presents
a "Fifth Avenue Example" of marketing excellence in his presenta-
tion of the Pope as one who embraces the "Five Fundamentals"
but is in danger of being succeeded by a liberal Catholic and New
Age/Liberation Theology as successor. The marketed video is far
longer than the original for TV and contains even more expres-
sions of compromise with Catholicism.
The program is introduced with the usual format of JVI fanfare
and moves rapidly to the statement, "The common points of
agreement between Orthodox Catholic and Evangelical Protestants
extend to: [I will not always make distinction between the
statements of JVI and his wife, Rexella, since I assume they stand
for the same things.]
-Belief in the triune nature of God
-Acceptance of Christ's incarnation as the God man
-Trust in His virgin birth
-Atonement death on the cross
-On the resurrection from the graves
-Ascension into heaven
-Future return in glory
-And the work of judgment and resurrection of mankind¹⁰
Later the statement is made by JVI that he is not making "...an
exposè against the Roman Catholic Church; we Protestants [I
thought he claimed to be a Baptist; yet, all through this video he
refers to himself as a Protestant. --KJ] faced this very problem 50
years ago."¹¹
After a lively exposè of the liberal Catholics and their compro-
mises, JVI brings forward examples of apostasy among this arm
of Catholicism and quotes from Malachi Martin's book to establish
proof of problems facing John Paul II. In contrast to liberal
Roman Catholicism JVI is asked "What is the doctrine of
Christ?"¹² To this JVI answers:
Five Points. (1) His deity that He is God from all eternity. (2)
His virgin birth through Mary...(3) His atonement at Calvary's
cross as He died for our sins...(4) His bodily resurrection....(5)
and His coming again....And God help us when Bishops and
ministers bring in apostates and allow them to propagate their
err against Jesus Christ.¹³
We must remind ourselves of the statements above, eight funda-
mentals (?) not five, mentioned relative to Catholic beliefs and the
statement, "We agree on all these points." JVI is in this area
simply joining hands with others in pure compromise pretending
Catholics are now "Evangelical." JVI, in his Nov. 21, 1993,
telecast, used John 17:21 like all interdenominational and ecumeni-
cal minds to promote "unity" and is reported to have set forth the
Pope in recommendation.¹⁴
In a meeting of "Evangelical Protestants and Catholics" which
produced a statement of common position and signed by some
forty individuals, this "unity" plea from John 17:21 was used to
give credibility to the unity of the "Christian mission." This
statement records:
The one Christ and one mission includes many other Chris-
tians, notably the Eastern Orthodox and those Protestants not

commonly identified as Evangelical. All Christians are encom-
passed in the prayer, "May they all be one." Our present
statement attends to the specific problems and opportunities in
the relationship between Roman Catholics and Evangelical
Protestants.¹⁵
Even though this paper confesses differences in the beliefs of
Evangelical Protestants and Catholics, the attitude suggested is that
of compromise for the sake of unity. The position paper states:
"Much more important, we thank God for the discovery of one
another as brothers and sisters in Christ. Our cooperation as
citizens is animated by our convergence as Christians. We
promise one another that we will work to deepen, build upon,
and expand this pattern of convergence and cooperation.¹⁶
This is the same unity of compromise espoused by JVI in his
"Phileocentric Theology." In a letter to a pastor, JVI expressed
his position as:
In my article entitled, "That They All May Be One," I
said: "I promise God and all members of His family that the
remainder of my life will be spent proclaiming the message of
reconciliation and love for ALL the brotherhood (I Peter 2:17).
I mean this. I will live and die for this biblical principle called
love.
If my position causes you to withdraw your church's prayer
and financial support, that must be your decision before God.
Even if all men follow your example and I become financially
unable to continue my ministry, I will know that I have obeyed
God and His commandment to love one another --- and nothing
else matters.¹⁷
Perhaps the position "nothing else matters" is more accurate
for JVI than is perceived. The Pope spoke of a common point of
agreement according to JVI relative to "atonement." In the
Catholic Word Book this means:
ATONEMENT: The redemptive activity of Christ, who
reconciled man with God through his Incarnation and entire
life, and especially by his suffering and Resurrection. The
word also applies to prayer and good works by which men join
themselves with and take part in Christ's work of reconciliation
and reparation for sin.¹⁸
It is not out of place to add here three necessities beyond "love"
that Catholicism embraces:
These three sacraments are absolutely necessary, they say, as
they are instituted by God. Baptism is necessary to all;
penance to those who fall after baptism; and orders simply
necessary to the whole church.¹⁹

If this represents unity of common faith between Evangelical
Protestants and Roman Catholics, JVI would have no problem
explaining the unity of "Twenty-one Ways To Find God" reported
by Barry C. Hughes in The Canadian Magazine relative to 21
various organizations in Canada.²⁰
Enough is enough --- from this platform JVI proceeds to
explain prophetically the problems of apostasy in Pope John Paul
II's church with Liberation Theology and New Age influence. He
quotes Mark 13:6 and develops around the new age concept of
pantheism that what has happened to Catholicism in this area is a
sign of the near coming of Christ. This is based on Mark's having
"Christ" in italics meaning "it is not in the original Greek."²¹
What does this mean? The new agers will proclaim their
godhood saying they are "I AM." This also means JVI postulates
a correction in Mark 13:6 to leave out "Christ" which is in italics.
This same incident in Christ's ministry is recorded in Luke 21:8
and Matthew 24:5. Luke's verse also has "Christ" in italics but
Matthew has "Christ"-- not in italics and it is in the Greek. The
KJV translators are correct; JVI the prophet is wrong on his proof
text's explanation.

The Van Impe couple discusses p.311 of Malachi Martin's
book and state:
"Concerning New Age appeals, John Paul maintains that man
is not perfected by his own material experience and certainly
not by welcoming Lucifer as a beloved figure. Man is being
redeemed by Christ's blood.²²
JVI responded to this quote saying,
"That's very fundamental and the blood is mentioned 700
times in the Word of God as the only way of salvation and he
is talking about the blood as he compares what the new agers
teach about this little spark within them and how they can
become gods."²³
In this instance JVI seems to be reading into the "context" his own
meaning of atonement and totally disregards the Catholic statement
"man is being redeemed." As above their own definition is far
removed from Biblical fact (re. Catholic Word Book.)
JVI quotes later Revelation 9:20 and then states, "Now, as a
Christian, listen to the Pope; listen to me. You should have
nothing to do with this abominable system (i.e. new agers.)²⁴
What do we conclude from this? Is JVI speaking "ex cathedra"
and equal to the Pope[?] Or, is JVI simply establishing the credibili-
ty of this "infallible vicar of Christ?" Could this possibly qualify
as a gesture or overture of acceptance to reach charismatic
Catholics and their backing? What a perverted sense of Christiani-
ty this is that shrouds truth in compromise to form acceptance
between Catholics and Evangelicals. David Briggs in an AP news
release reports of Pat Robertson, Chuck Colson, and many others
who joined with conservative Roman Catholic leaders Tuesday,
March 30, 1994, "asking their flocks for a remarkable leap of
faith: to finally accept each other as Christians."²⁵ This is the
same meeting [see above f.n. 15] which was attended by represen-
tatives of the SBC, Rome, Neo-Evangelicals, Charismatics, etc.]
JVI resents being associated with men of doubtful positions. My
advice: quit acting and looking like them.
JVI closes out the extension of this video with another applica-
tion of prophetic twist relative to the rapture and the tribulation.
He softly retorts, "Rexella, there are some things I never said ---
out of respect. But, now the Pope has answered it."²⁶ He
quotes from the Book of Revelation and identifies Rome geo-
graphically relative to her seven hills etc. He also identifies the
rapture of the saints and speaks of the European Community and
of all apostate religions left on the earth joining for a one world
religion and of a one world government forming after the saints
are gone. Then, of all areas of conflict, JVI brings up "the lady
of Fatima," her history, and her three secrets given at that time.
JVI gives a wishy-washy debiled attempt to disclaim the implica-
tions involved in this subject saying:
So he [the Pope believing he should honor Mary who is the
lady of Fatima--- KJ] wants to honor the lady of Fatima. Now
whether we agree with all these things or no[t], that's not the
point.²⁷
This only reveals JVI has a set of colored glasses just made for
this prophetic occasion. It does matter; this is an establishment of
"Mariolatry" by passive credibility. Mary is a dead saint of God
and it is bordering on blasphemy to see her treated as deity and
revealing the "three secrets."
JVI relates of this 3rd secret revealed by Mary, on May the
13th, 1917, appearing in Portugal, is relative to communism and
kept secret by the Popes until Pope John Paul II. Note how this
is expressed:
The point is that Pope John 23rd was to reveal the 3rd secret
and then Pope Paul VI and then Pope John Paul I -- and none
of them did it. WHY? Because they did not want to offend
the communists.

Jack, (Rexella speaks) that's in the book. Page 634 speaks
about the third secret of the lady of Fatima. And Cardinal
Ratzinger in recent days is the only one who has known this
secret along with Pope John Paul II; it should have been
revealed in 60. Now it's revealed; but, now is the hour....The
geo-political change implied by the third secret is not far off;
it is imminent; it is just about to take place. Russia is its
room; Russia is its focal point. Russia is to be the main agent
of change. Russia is to be the source of a universal blindness
and error. You've spoken so much about Russia coming down
and invading Israel so often....
I've preached on the subject of Russia over 40 years and
now to hear him say this is the third secret of Fatima....This
thing in Sarajevo and this that's happening could be the
beginning according to the pontiff.²⁸
It borders on the pathetic for JVI to use such dramatic heresy to
validate what the Scriptures teach concerning Russia and the last
days. One might ask if all Catholic shrines and apparitions hold
the same status of Divine revelation in this man's opinion.
Boettner, no friend of premillennialism, reveals the following
concerning Fatima of Portugal, her secrets, and their circumstance:
...(T)he Virgin Mary appeared to three children, aged from ten
to thirteen, who had never gone to school, and, curiously
enough, in messages subsequently released by the church, gave
warnings against the evils of communism, messages having
more to do with present- day relations between the Vatican and
Russia than with anything that might be thought to concern
children of those tender ages. Rome's promotion of the Fatima
shrine has been coupled with her crusade against Commu-
nism.²⁹
Cardinal Ratzinger, mentioned in the JVI quote "in recent days
is the only one who has known this secret along with Pope John
Paul II," is an interesting figure to validate this 1917 revelation
and 3rd secret of Fatima. In his preface to the "Catholic Church
And Bible Interpretation" the reader will find he is anything but
one who receives Scripture in the literal or normal sense of the
word. This major report endorses modern critical scholarship, and
condemns the fundamentalists position on the Bible. I might add,
it even refers to the five fundamentals of the American Biblical
Congress of 1895. One paragraph caught my attention with
particular inclination:
The fundamentalist approach is dangerous, for it is attrac-
tive to people who look to the Bible for ready answers to the
problems of life. It can deceive these people, offering them
interpretations that are pious but illusory, instead of telling
them that the Bible does not necessarily contain an immediate
answer to each and every problem. without saying as much in
so many words, fundamentalism actually invites people to a
kind of intellectual suicide. It injects into life a false certitude,
for it unwittingly confuses the divine substance of the Biblical
message with what are in fact its human limitations.³⁰
Without a doubt there is no Biblical reason to hold hands with
the likes of those who deny the Word of God and the way of
salvation through Christ. This video is closed with Rexella Van
Impe saying, "Unity among believers comes from our union with
Christ. Let us love one another if we love Him."³¹ Unity of
believers is based on doctrine that is taught in the Word of God;
II John 9-11 and many other verses declare this simple plain thrust
of the Scriptures. When a brother, note BROTHER, turns from
TRUTH, God's Word instructs the believing saint who is confront-
ed with those who walk "contrary to the doctrine which ye have learned"
and demands they "avoid" them, (Romans 16:17). Any
"Phileocentric Theology" that negates the obedience that calls for
LOVE TO GOD to supersede LOVE TO MAN is a false theology

based on a false principle, (Acts 5:29 c/f II Chron. 19:2). It
produces that which will "help the ungodly, and love them that
hate the LORD[.]" It can even be a danger unto a "Master of
Memory-Minister of Compromise."
NOTES
  ¹"Progress Report," June 13, 1983: Jack Van Impe Ministries International.
  ²JVI Ministries International (brochure), Box 7004, Troy, MI 48007.
  ³JVI Ministries International form letter to "Dear Pastors."
  ⁴Ibid.
  ⁵J. Van Impe, "Heart Disease In Christ's Body," Perhaps Today, (Febru-
ary/March 1984), p.2.
  ⁶J. Van Impe, "The Christian's Marching Orders," Perhaps Today, (April/May
1984), p.2.
  ⁷Ibid., p.3.
  ⁸Ibid., p.4.
  ⁹J. Van Impe, "Religious Bigotry or Christian Love," Perhaps Today,
(May/June 1985), p.4.
  ¹⁰J. Van Impe, "Pope John Paul II, Startling Revelations (Troy: Jack Van Impe
Ministries, circa 1994, video tape.
  ¹¹Ibid.
  ¹²Ibid.
  ¹³Ibid.
  ¹⁴See "Van Impe Praises The Pope," Plains Baptist Challenger, Vol. LIII, No.
4.
  ¹⁵Position paper of "Evangelicals and Catholics Together: The Christian Mission
in the Third Millennium."
  ¹⁶Ibid.
  ¹⁷Van Impe, op.cit., "The Christian's Marching Orders," p.4.
  ¹⁸Knights of Columbus, Catholic Word Book (Hunnington: Our Sunday Visitor,
1973), p.5.
  ¹⁹Charles Elliott, Delineation of Roman Catholicism (New York: G. Lane and
P. P. Sanford, 1842), Vol. I, p.176.
  ²⁰Barry Conn Hughes, "Twenty-one Ways to Find God," The Canadian
Magazine (August 5, 1972), pp. 2- 6.
  ²¹Van Impe, op.cit., "Pope John Paul II, Startling Revelations," Video Tape.
  ²²Ibid.
  ²³Ibid.
  ²⁴Ibid.
  ²⁵David Briggs, "Catholics, Evangelicals Seek Mutual Acceptance," The
Coloradian (March 30, 1994). p.A6.
  ²⁶op.cit., "Pope John Paul II, Startling Revelations," Video.
  ²⁷Ibid.
  ²⁸Ibid.
  ²⁹Loraine Boettner, Roman Catholicism (London: Banner of Truth Trust, 1962,)
p.375.
  ³⁰[Pontifical Biblical Commission], "The Catholic Church and Bible Interpreta-
tion," Bible Review, August, 1994, Vol. X, No. 4, p.35.
  ³¹op.cit., "Pope John Paul II, Startling New Revelations," Video.
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