Dr. Mohler very recently and very quietly requested his name be removed from the Manhattan Declaration! That’s a big deal, but not a historic deal.

In October of 2009, Dr. Albert Mohler signed his name to a declaration that unites Roman Catholics, Eastern Orthodox, and Protestants together in “our duty to proclaim the Gospel of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ in its fullness.” He signed his name to a declaration that unites Roman Catholics, Eastern Orthodox, and Protestants together with a “clarion call to the church” and all “Christians” to fight hand in hand together on moral and social issues.

The astounding problems with this should not need to be explained. The Roman Catholic and Orthodox churches are enemies of Christ, enemies of His true Gospel, and enemies of His true Church. They are not partners in Christ’s Gospel. They are at war against Christ and His Gospel. The Roman Catholic and Orthodox churches are not co-laborers on the mission field “proclaim[ing] the Gospel of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ in its fullness” as the Manhattan Declaration claims. They aren’t co-laborers on the mission field, they are the mission field.

The Protestant Reformation isn’t just found on the dusty pages of history books, in fact, the Reformation isn’t over. Reformation battles are still being fought and Reformation history is still being written today. After nearly 10 years, Dr. Albert Mohler requested to have his name removed from the Gospel-compromising, Reformation-canceling Manhattan Declaration!

Furthermore, he recently removed his article defending his signing from his blog. Further yet, just in the last week, he removed his defense article from The Gospel Coalition’s blog. These actions and those that are yet needed have the potential of being Reformation history in the making. These early indications of Dr. Mohler’s personal repentance and Reformation are a long-awaited answer to prayer. They are cause for thanksgiving and for further prayer for the full fruit of repentance to come.

For the love of Christ, the love and protection of Christ’s true Church, and the love of 1.2 billion perishing Roman Catholic souls — I have publicly and privately exhorted Dr. Mohler to remove his name from the Reformation-reversing Manhattan Declaration, to remove his defense of signing it from the World Wide Web, to write a thorough renunciation, and to do it publicly for the blessing of all. Signing the Manhattan Declaration was the mistake of a lifetime. Making matters worse, in a private conversation with me in April of 2017, Dr. Mohler recognized and called his signing of the Manhattan Declaration a “mistake” and yet continued to defend it publicly on the Internet for another two years. It was bold hypocrisy for Dr. Mohler to post a picture of himself during the 500^th anniversary celebration of the Reformation preaching over Luther’s body while simultaneously refusing to remove his longstanding compromise of Luther’s Gospel and Luther’s Reformation from the World Wide Web.

Since Dr. Mohler’s name is still on the Manhattan Declaration and he’s made no public renunciation, how do we know he asked for it to be removed? That’s a very good question, because thus far he’s taken no historic action.

On the first day of Shepherds’ Conference, March 5^th, 2019, I had a conversation with Dr. Mohler in the sanctuary of Grace Community Church. I shook his hand and said,

Dr. Mohler, I love you. I’ve sat under your preaching here for many years. Why won’t you remove your signature from the Manhattan Declaration, a declaration that you’ve admitted to me privately was a mistake to sign because it compromises the Gospel? What is keeping you from removing your signature?

His response was to say that it was good to meet me in person and that he has recently requested that his signature is removed. He went on to explain that the drafters of the Manhattan Declaration don’t seem willing to remove his name.

I told him that news was a tremendous answered prayer and that the true body of Christ and 1.2 billion perishing Roman Catholics need his very influential voice to be clear on the Gospel and the Reformation. I then asked him if he has removed his defense of signing it from the World Wide Web. He said that he had removed his defense article from his blog. I commended that action and then exhorted him to write a renunciation with even more eloquence and strength than he employed in his defense of signing it, especially in light of the fact that they haven’t actually removed his name. To my memory, he didn’t respond to that exhortation.

I then shifted the conversation to Sam Allberry, read him quotes from Allberry’s livingout.org website, and engaged him on the vast exchange of God’s truth for the same-sex attracted Christian lie taking place in TGC, T4G, 9Marks, and Evangelicalism, but that’s another story — an important story yet to be finished and for another time.

Later that evening, after talking with Dr. Mohler, I pulled up my article from October of 2017, Dr. Mohler, It’s Time to Burn the Manhattan Declaration, and clicked on the link to his Why I Signed the Manhattan Declaration article. If you click on his link right now you’ll see, just as Dr. Mohler said, that it has in fact been removed from his blog. That same night I checked the TGC blog and found the article still up broadcasting ecumenical Gospel compromise to TGC’s multitude of readers.

I then sent a private message thanking Dr. Mohler for the conversation; thanking him for requesting that his signature be removed; thanking him for taking his defense off of his own blog; exhorting him to have TGC remove it as soon as possible; and further exhorting him to write the essential renunciation of the Manhattan Declaration, recantation of signing of it, and repudiation of his longstanding defense. Checking TGC’s blog periodically confirmed that his defense article hadn’t yet been removed. I contacted Dr. Mohler publicly via Twitter on March 20^th, again thanking him for removing his signature and then urging him to have TGC remove his article from their blog. As of March 22^nd, the article has been removed from TGC’s blog! This looks like evidence of a move toward repentance, but Biblical repentance and Reformation must yet come. A quiet request for removal won’t do.

Dr. Mohler’s greatest lifetime opportunity to light a historic Reformation fire is through loud and clear public repentance of his great public Gospel compromise! Burning the Manhattan Declaration from a high hill is a historic deal.

Thomas Cranmer provided a fiery model of loud and clear public personal repentance and Reformation. His life and example show us that the great mistake of signing Gospel compromising, counter-reformation declarations can (by the grace of God) become the foundation and fuel of a great Semper Reformanda fire that will burn for decades or even centuries to come. Having recognized and privately admitted that it was a “mistake” to sign The Manhattan Declaration and having quietly requested that his signature be removed, it’s time for Dr. Mohler to turn what is likely the greatest mistake of his Christian life and ministry, into his greatest public declaration and defense of the Gospel.

It’s time for Dr. Mohler to “bear fruits worthy of repentance” (Luke 3:8). It’s time for our erring brother to exercise his influence through loud and clear public repentance (2 Cor. 7:9-11), leading the way for other noteworthy men (like Ligon Duncan, also a Manhattan Declaration signer) who have compromised with the longest standing, most successful, soul-damning, antichrist system of sacramental works righteousness on the planet — the Roman Catholic Church and her doctrines of demons (1 Tim. 4:1).

Anything short of a written renunciation that exceeds both the eloquence and dogmatism of Dr. Mohler’s defense article will fall short of the repentance that the Apostle Paul describes in 2 Cor. 7:9-11 and will fail to light a meaningful and lasting Reformation fire at the Southern Baptist Theological Seminary, in the Southern Baptist Convention, and in the broader evangelical church. Join me in praying that a great Reformation fire will be lit through Dr. Mohler’s loud and clear public repentance, public renunciation of the Manhattan Declaration, public recantation of signing it, and public repudiation of his own former defense:

Now I rejoice, not that you were made sorry, but that your sorrow led to repentance. For you were made sorry in a godly manner, that you might suffer loss from us in nothing. For godly sorrow produces repentance leading to salvation, not to be regretted; but the sorrow of the world produces death. For observe this very thing, that you sorrowed in a godly manner: What diligence it produced in you, what clearing of yourselves, what indignation, what fear, what vehement desire, what zeal, what vindication! In all things you proved yourselves to be clear in this matter.”

2 Corinthians 7:9-11, NKJV

Dr. Mohler has not been diligent; is not in any way clear of his signing of the Gospel compromising, Reformation canceling Manhattan Declaration; has evidenced no indignation toward or fear of the consequences of his ecumenical compromise for the souls of millions; has yet to say, write, do, or burn anything that could be honestly described as vehement desire or zeal; and is therefore not vindicated. Dr. Mohler has thus far failed to prove himself to be clear in this matter — but the door of opportunity for historic repentance and Reformation stands wide open before him.

Dr. Mohler, you have a blog read daily by thousands, you have The Briefing listened to daily by thousands more, you have the pulpit of Southern Baptist Theological Seminary — it’s time to bring in the full fruits of Biblical repentance — it’s time to stand like Cranmer, it’s time to stand like Luther — it’s time to light a great Reformation fire — it’s time to burn The Manhattan Declaration! Loudly! Clearly! Publicly!