Scripture vs. Mormon Theology

Although not popularly known to the general public, Mormon theology teaches that men can become gods. This is made painfully clear in a message entitled, “The King Follett Sermon,” delivered April 7, 1844, by Joseph Smith, Jr. to a supposed gathering of 20,000 Mormons in Nauvoo, Illinois.

“I will go back to the beginning before the world was, to show what kind of a being God is. What sort of a being was God in the beginning? Open your ears and hear, all ye ends of the earth, for I am going to prove it to you by the Bible, and to tell you the designs of God in relation to the human race, and why He interferes with the affairs of man.

God himself was once as we are now, and is an exalted man, and sits enthroned in yonder heavens! That is the great secret. If the veil were rent today, and the great God who holds this world in its orbit, and who upholds all worlds and all things by His power, was to make himself visible—I say, if you were to see him today, you would see him like a man in form—like yourselves in all the person, image, and very form as a man; for Adam was created in the very fashion, image and likeness of God, and received instruction from, and walked, talked and conversed with Him, as one man talks and communes with another.

In order to understand the subject of the dead, for consolation of those who mourn for the loss of their friends, it is necessary we should understand the character and being of God and how He came to be so; for I am going to tell you how God came to be God. We have imagined and supposed that God was God from all eternity. I will refute that idea, and take away the veil, so that you may see.

These ideas are incomprehensible to some, but they are simple. It is the first principle of the gospel to know for a certainty the character of God, and to know that we may converse with Him as one man converses with another, and that He was once a man like us; yea, that God himself, the Father of us all, dwelt on an earth, the same as Jesus Christ Himself did; and I will show it from the Bible.”

Sadly, Smith continues later to destroy the idea that there is only one God, as proclaimed by such verses as Deuteronomy 6:4, “Hear, O Israel! The LORD is our God, the LORD is one!” He shows his belief in polytheism while puffing himself up with pride claiming to be wiser any other on earth.

“In the beginning, the head of the Gods called a council of the Gods; and they came together and concocted [prepared] a plan to create the world and people it. When we begin to learn this way, we begin to learn the only true God, and what kind of a being we have got to worship. Having a knowledge of God, we begin to know how to approach Him, and how to ask so as to receive an answer.

When we understand the character of God, and know how to come to Him, he begins to unfold the heavens to us, and to tell us all about it. When we are ready to come to him, he is ready to come to us.

Now, I ask all who hear me, why the learned men who are preaching salvation, say that God created the heavens and the earth out of nothing? The reason is, that they are unlearned in the things of God, and have not the gift of the Holy Ghost; they account it blasphemy in any one to contradict their idea. If you tell them that God made the world out of something, they will call you a fool. But I am learned, and know more than all the world put together. The Holy Ghost does, anyhow, and he is within me, and comprehends more than all the world; and I will associate myself with him.”

Amazingly, Joseph Smith, Jr. has been able to accomplish more for Satan in his death than during his lifetime. His false religion has likely caused hundreds of thousands of souls, if not many more, to perish in the fires of Hell because of his cultic heresy. Relating his fantasies to Biblical truth, we see that there is only one God, Who has always been and will always be.

From the Book of Isaiah:

43:10, 11 - 10 You are My witnesses," declares the LORD, "And My servant whom I have chosen, so that you may know and believe Me And understand that I am He. Before Me there was no God formed, and there will be none after Me. 11 "I, even I, am the LORD, and there is no savior besides Me.

44:6, 8 - 6 "Thus says the LORD, the King of Israel and his Redeemer, the LORD of hosts: 'I am the first and I am the last, and there is no God besides Me. 8 'Do not tremble and do not be afraid; Have I not long since announced {it} to you and declared {it?} And you are My witnesses. Is there any God besides Me, or is there any {other} Rock? I know of none.' "

45:5-7 - 5 "I am the LORD, and there is no other; Besides Me there is no God. I will gird you, though you have not known Me; 6 That men may know from the rising to the setting of the sun that there is no one besides Me. I am the LORD, and there is no other, 7 The One forming light and creating darkness, causing well-being and creating calamity; I am the LORD who does all these.

In fact, this entire idea of God as an “exalted man” is absolutely ridiculous. Isaiah 29:16 tells us,

“You turn {things} around! Shall the potter be considered as equal with the clay, That what is made would say to its maker, "He did not make me"; Or what is formed say to him who formed it, "He has no understanding"?

As we can see, the Mormon cult in fact has things backwards. We are the creation, not the Creator, nor with the ability to become another creator. Please pray for and share the true Gospel with your Mormon friends, or they may end up spending eternity with Gordon B. Hinckley (not the “Celestial” Heaven).

Is Contemporary Music Okay for Worship?

Although our culture changes, and with it contemporary styles of worship emerge, I hold to a conservative practice of worship in accordance with Scripture which states in Romans 12:1-2, “Therefore I urge you, brethren, by the mercies of God, to present your bodies a living and holy sacrifice, acceptable to God, which is your spiritual service of worship. And do not be conformed to this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind, so that you may prove what the will of God is, that which is good and acceptable and perfect.” So then, is contemporary music some sort of compromise of conservative Biblical values? I do not believe that it is the differing musical styles which are in conformity with the world, as Scripture calls for us to worship in spirit and truth (John 4:24); with psalms, hymns, and spiritual songs (Colossians 3:16); and with a new song (Psalm 33:3); but rather, that the content of those musical styles lacking in God-centered praise is that which would constitute conformity with the world. Additionally, worship is not just the use of musical praise, but rather it is an attitude and lifestyle of reverence for the Lord alone (Exodus 34:14), through the name of Jesus Christ alone (Colossians 3:17), in the power of the Spirit alone (Philippians 3:3), by believers as well as all of Creation (Psalm 66:4).

Meeting Felt Needs or Eternal Needs?

When we preach the Gospel, should we do it in such a fashion as to meet felt needs? It sounds great on the surface, and Jesus definitely did meet those needs from time to time in Scripture, but the real question is what is my motivation? If I am an unbeliever and I come to Christ expecting Him to meet my felt needs, what happens when He doesn't? What happens if that is not God's plan? Sadly, what often happens is backsliding or falling away. Maybe a better way to refer to these conditions is by calling them what they are: The unavoidable results of false conversion. If our presentation of the Gospel is based upon meeting the felt needs of unbelievers, when that promise is not fulfilled, the motivation for "conversion" is lost and the new "Christian" loses his faith. If we come to Christ with a proper motivation based upon a proper presentation of the Gospel (i.e. Sin, Hell, The Cross, Repentance, Faith, Redemption, etc.), when trials/temptations come, we will cling to the cross of our Savior for direction and deliverance. This is some food for thought that may be hard to swallow for many contemporary preachers, but it is the Truth as presented by the power of the Holy Spirit which leads to conversion, not the finesse of the preacher. So there is no confusion on the matter, I am not saying to avoid meeting peoples needs, because that is something that our Christian faith motivates us to do. What I am saying is that it is an inappropriate motivation to be dished out to unbelievers in order to attempt to secure a conversion.

Mourn for the Death of a Lost Soul

It is a sad day for the Mormon Church. Not because they have lost their President/Prophet (Gordon B. Hinckley died on January 27, 2008), but because they have sent another soul to hell. With former Governor Mitt Romney running for the GOP presidential nomination, this country is going further away from understanding what Biblical Christianity is all about. With the ridiculous conversations going on and the mindless acceptance of the Mormon cult as a valid Christian denomination, it’s no surprise that Mike Huckabee’s comments in response to Romney’s faith were taken out of context and plastered all over the liberal media. He was right; Mormons do believe that Jesus and Lucifer (Satan) are brothers. In fact, they believe we are all spirit brothers and sisters begotten during the pre-existence in Heaven by “Heavenly Father/Elohim” and his wife through physical intercourse. Sadly, with Mitt’s growing popularity and the growing trend in uneducated guesswork by such prominent “evangelical (I use this term very loosely)” pastors such as Joel Osteen claiming that just because Mitt uses common lingo that they share a Savior in Jesus Christ, it seems there is nowhere to turn away from the heretical, undiscerning minds of today’s postmodern culture. I leave you with a declaration from the Lord from the prophecies found in the book of Isaiah that are so important, the declaration is repeated three times in three sequential chapters.

43:10 - You are My witnesses," declares the LORD, "And My servant whom I have chosen, so that you may know and believe Me And understand that I am He. Before Me there was no God formed, and there will be none after Me.

43:11 - "I, even I, am the LORD, and there is no savior besides Me.

44:6 - "Thus says the LORD, the King of Israel and his Redeemer, the LORD of hosts: 'I am the first and I am the last, and there is no God besides Me.

44:8 - 'Do not tremble and do not be afraid; Have I not long since announced {it} to you and declared {it?} And you are My witnesses. Is there any God besides Me, or is there any {other} Rock? I know of none.' "

45:5 - "I am the LORD, and there is no other; Besides Me there is no God. I will gird you, though you have not known Me;

45:6 - That men may know from the rising to the setting of the sun that there is no one besides Me. I am the LORD, and there is no other,

45:7 - The One forming light and creating darkness, causing well-being and creating calamity; I am the LORD who does all these.

So, although Mr. Hinckley believes he will be on his way to the highest “degree of glory” (3^rd of 3 levels of heaven: Celestial - for Mormons who have kept ALL of the laws and ordinances of their church. What will the celestial heaven (kingdom) supposedly be like for a good Mormon? He will be a god, he will rule over a planet with his wives and spirit children.), he will in fact be suffering an eternal damnation in hell. If that sounds harsh, maybe we will begin to take the Gospel seriously and stop letting the Mormon cult ruin the souls of those who are perishing.

Jack Chick and the KJV

It seems as if Jack Chick (Chick Publications) is at it again (as if he ever rests from the issue). Regardless of where you are in the world, regardless of the language you speak or understand, he is proclaiming once again that the KJV (1611) is the only “words” of God. In fact, a preface to his most recent article on the issue indicates “Jack Chick’s passionate message will either have you nodding in agreement, or gnashing your teeth in anger." I’m afraid that I am doing neither. While the premise of his article is that as America gets away from the faithful preaching of the Word, we are bound for failure and ultimately destruction, I do not agree that the KJV is the only true Word of God nor do I agree that one cannot be saved apart from it. The KJV is a beautiful translation and a wonderful formal equivalence of its day, however, to believe the argument that it is the only viable translation of the Word of God is both ignorant and lacking in scholarship.

Sadly, Mr. Chick believes that more contemporary translations are from Satan and used as a means to destroy our seminaries. While I agree with the idea that there are several faulty, even heretical translations available today, with good scholarship and a heartfelt conviction to translate the Bible as closely as possible to the original languages for the purpose of edifying the common man in his common language, I do not believe that the KJV is the only “words” of God in English. In fact, it seems as if this movement (KJV-Onlyism) is bent on the idea that the KJV itself is inspired. As ridiculous as it seems, apparently we must remind these brothers and sisters that the Patriarchs, Prophets, Apostles, and all others who wrote the Bible did not speak the “King’s English.”

An additional point I would like to make is that concerning Chick’s view of Catholicism. I do agree that the Catholic Church has made efforts at ecumenicalism in the past (during John Paul II's "reign") and that many evangelicals have succumbed to this temptation. I also agree that the Roman Catholic Church itself is an apostate organization (but, I would not say that there are no believers in the organization, even if said believers are spiritually immature, lacking in both discernment and faith to have already come out of the organization). This is not because I hold to the idea that the Pope is absolutely provable as the final “Anti-Christ,” but rather because of Catholic doctrines of interpretation (adding the Apocrypha and including such unbiblical teachings as purgatory, the papacy, and the granting of indulgences, etc.), church traditions (ex cathedra, mass, etc.), and general theology (infused righteousness, veneration of the saints, Marian co-redemption, etc.). These issues have proven time and again that the Catholic Church is based upon a man-centered Gospel in which man can save himself (by being a good Catholic) or the church can save man (through the work of the Priests), rather than upon a Christ-centered gospel in which man is completely incapable by nature and by choice in regards to his own righteousness to save himself. Wasn’t this the reason for the reformation? Yes, a corruption in morality, but also a corruption in theology.

All these things aside, another point to make from his article (“What’s Going to Happen to America?”) is that his understanding of believer’s aversion to his heralding of the KJV as the only “words” of God (as he calls it) is due to its cultic nature, not due to the beauty of its translation or a desire to pervert the Gospel. The entire principle of translation that brought us the Bible in its original inspiration as well as translations throughout the years is that it should be made available to the common people. Greek was the common language during the writing of the New Testament. Latin was the common language during Jerome’s translation to the Latin Vulgate. Luther translated to German, the common language of his day and location. Tyndale translated to English, the common language of his day and location. To conclude that the KJV is inspired (though it holds the inspired Word), or that the principle of translation (making the Word available to the common man) ended with the KJV is foolish. To require that everyone become familiar with a short-lived English dialect in order to fully understand the Word of God is also foolish. If we are to believe this, we are to also believe that unless you can read and comprehend Hebrew, Aramaic, and Koine Greek you are not allowed to read the Scriptures. If we go that route, we will end up on the same course as the Catholics with their “Latin Mass” and necessity of the clergy to interpret for us. Many apparently do not know this, but even Erasmus, compiler/author of the Textus Receptus used to translate the KJV, translated missing parts by use of the Latin Vulgate, as well as using it for better flow. If it is such a sin to use the original languages to translate into the common language, why is it not a sin to translate a translation and harmonize the Gospels with words not originally penned in the Greek?

As a last point, Christians who do not prescribe to the KJV alone do not “believe God’s words were lost with the originals,” do not wholly subscribe to an “’ecumenical movement,’ enticing many Protestants and Baptists into their net,” do not “claim both Christ and Ba’al,” do not control Christian bookstores to put the KJV “on the bottom shelf or it’s collecting dust in the back room,” and do not “hold the King James version in contempt.” In fact, I believe that the KJV is the most popular Bible translation available in English today. It is not the KJV, but rather the idea that this version is the focus of cultic Bibliolatry today, that so offends discerning believers in Christ.

Let's Play the "Blame Game"

What is it about human nature that causes individuals to shift both blame and responsibility for their actions upon alternate sources? Looking back to the book of Genesis in chapter 3 verses 1-19, we can recount the events of the fall from grace:

1 Now the serpent was more crafty than any beast of the field which the LORD God had made. And he said to the woman, "Indeed, has God said, `You shall not eat from any tree of the garden'?" 2 The woman said to the serpent, "From the fruit of the trees of the garden we may eat; 3 but from the fruit of the tree which is in the middle of the garden, God has said, `You shall not eat from it or touch it, or you will die.' " 4 The serpent said to the woman, "You surely will not die! 5 "For God knows that in the day you eat from it your eyes will be opened, and you will be like God, knowing good and evil." 6 When the woman saw that the tree was good for food, and that it was a delight to the eyes, and that the tree was desirable to make one wise, she took from its fruit and ate; and she gave also to her husband with her, and he ate. 7 Then the eyes of both of them were opened, and they knew that they were naked; and they sewed fig leaves together and made themselves loin coverings. 8 They heard the sound of the LORD God walking in the garden in the cool of the day, and the man and his wife hid themselves from the presence of the LORD God among the trees of the garden. 9 Then the LORD God called to the man, and said to him, "Where are you?" 10 He said, "I heard the sound of You in the garden, and I was afraid because I was naked; so I hid myself." 11 And He said, "Who told you that you were naked? Have you eaten from the tree of which I commanded you not to eat?" 12 The man said, "The woman whom You gave to be with me, she gave me from the tree, and I ate." 13 Then the LORD God said to the woman, "What is this you have done?" And the woman said, "The serpent deceived me, and I ate." 14 The LORD God said to the serpent, "Because you have done this, Cursed are you more than all cattle, And more than every beast of the field; On your belly you will go, And dust you will eat All the days of your life; 15 And I will put enmity Between you and the woman, And between your seed and her seed; He shall bruise you on the head, And you shall bruise him on the heel." 16 To the woman He said, "I will greatly multiply your pain in childbirth, in pain you will bring forth children; yet your desire will be for your husband, and he will rule over you." 17 Then to Adam He said, "Because you have listened to the voice of your wife, and have eaten from the tree about which I commanded you, saying, `You shall not eat from it'; Cursed is the ground because of you; In toil you will eat of it All the days of your life. 18 "Both thorns and thistles it shall grow for you; And you will eat the plants of the field; 19 By the sweat of your face you will eat bread, Till you return to the ground, Because from it you were taken; For you are dust, And to dust you shall return."

If you’ll notice, in verses 12-13, man blames the woman for his actions, and woman blames the serpent for her actions. All (the serpent, the woman, and the man) are punished for their sin in verses 14-19, but it is interesting how neither the man nor the woman take responsibility for their disobedience, but rather begin the continued art of blame-shifting from original sin.

Most recently, I observed while on a police ride-a-long a woman who was stopped and arrested for drunk driving after traveling the wrong way down a one-way street. Being nearly double the legal drinking limit for the operation of a non-commercial motor vehicle (.13 or 13% BAC [Blood Alcohol Content]), the driver never once related her behavior to the irresponsibility of her choice to drink in excess and drive, but rather not having asked her friend better directions (having turned right into oncoming traffic rather than left in the correct direction). Sadly, this illustration of behavior coupled with the Scriptural example given from Genesis adequately relates the human condition in relation to sin: That our foolish pride, recognized or not, causes us to shift the responsibility of our own sinful actions rather than address the fact that we are all filthy sinners deserving of death and in need of God’s beautiful grace (Romans 3:23, 6:23; Ephesians 2:8-9).

Whether Adam and Eve in the Garden claiming, “It’s not my fault, ‘they’ made me do it!” or this poor drunken fool of a woman declaring, “It was the directions!” we all have the same response in the flesh to our individual sin. According to James 2:10, “For whoever keeps the whole law and yet stumbles in one {point,} he has become guilty of all." So while we are in our sin trying to shift blame from ourselves to an outside source, we are all lawbreakers and guilty before God. In fact, Isaiah 64:6 tells us, “For all of us have become like one who is unclean, and all our righteous deeds are like a filthy garment.” While our fleshly nature attempts to divert God’s attention to our sin away from ourselves and his attention to our “righteousness” to ourselves, the opposite occurs. He holds us responsible for our own sin (Romans 14:11-12) and counts our righteousness as filth (again, Isaiah 64:6).

Think of how much more of a glorious example this makes Christ in relation to our gross disobedience to the Law of God. In fact, apart from Christ as Lord, God does not receive our righteous deeds as righteous deeds at all (Ephesians 2:10). In closing, it is the imputed righteousness of Christ which allows us to glorify God, and to receive this capability, we must first surrender ourselves with a repentant and contrite heart to a Holy God through Jesus Christ.

Are we sharing enough Truth?

In a given witness encounter that includes an individual who just does not agree, we can explain things until we are blue in the face, but if someone does not want to accept the Truth as Truth, there is not much more we can do. A good example of this is the parable of The Rich Man and Lazarus in Luke 16:19-31 which says the following:

19 "Now there was a rich man, and he habitually dressed in purple and fine linen, joyously living in splendor every day. 20 "And a poor man named Lazarus was laid at his gate, covered with sores, 21 and longing to be fed with the {crumbs} which were falling from the rich man's table; besides, even the dogs were coming and licking his sores. 22 "Now the poor man died and was carried away by the angels to Abraham's bosom; and the rich man also died and was buried. 23 "In Hades he lifted up his eyes, being in torment, and *saw Abraham far away and Lazarus in his bosom. 24 "And he cried out and said, 'Father Abraham, have mercy on me, and send Lazarus so that he may dip the tip of his finger in water and cool off my tongue, for I am in agony in this flame.' 25 "But Abraham said, 'Child, remember that during your life you received your good things, and likewise Lazarus bad things; but now he is being comforted here, and you are in agony. 26 'And besides all this, between us and you there is a great chasm fixed, so that those who wish to come over from here to you will not be able, and {that} none may cross over from there to us.' 27 "And he said, 'Then I beg you, father, that you send him to my father's house-- 28 for I have five brothers--in order that he may warn them, so that they will not also come to this place of torment.' 29 "But Abraham *said, 'They have Moses and the Prophets; let them hear them.' 30 "But he said, 'No, father Abraham, but if someone goes to them from the dead, they will repent!' 31 "But he said to him, 'If they do not listen to Moses and the Prophets, they will not be persuaded even if someone rises from the dead.' "

I always considered this to be a great example to those who do not believe the Truth and even have the audacity to say they will believe if only given a sign from God. Scripture tells us that even then they will not believe because they have not believed already the Word of God. What an incredible truth! This is why it is so important to continually pray for the lost. Otherwise, how should we expect them to hear the Truth with hearts of stone unprepared for the Word?

You might be a false convert if…

You might be a false convert if…

You can’t remember a time when you repented of your sins and placed your faith in Jesus Christ.

You aren’t reading your Bible regularly.

You aren’t attending church regularly.

You believe baptism, church attendance, communion, or some other sort of works righteousness plays any part in your salvation.

You believe baptism, church attendance, communion, or some other sort of works righteousness are unnecessary as evidence of your salvation.

You don’t enjoy fellowship with other believers.

You don’t share your faith with unbelievers.

You don’t memorize Scripture.

You don’t pray regularly.

You exhibit pride, rather than humility, when confronted with a sin you continue to practice since “conversion.”

While many Christians struggle with any one of these problems, an established pattern or willful continued practice of any of these may indicate a need for further examination of the existence of one's faith. Granted, it may not be a sin if you don't memorize Scripture, but more importantly this list is evident fruit we can see in a true believer. It's not necessarily a list of do's and don'ts, but rather a gauge to see if these examples reflect our lives as new creations in Christ. As Paul stated in 2 Corinthians 13:5, "Test yourselves {to see} if you are in the faith; examine yourselves! Or do you not recognize this about yourselves, that Jesus Christ is in you--unless indeed you fail the test?" Food for thought.

Fear of Evangelism

Fear of rejection is perhaps one of the greatest killers of evangelism in today's Church. It has been said that evangelism is something that both Christians and unbelievers alike hate. Two verses of Scripture, however, come to mind when dealing with this unhealthy type of fear. The first is Acts 1:8, which tells us, "but you shall receive power when the Holy Spirit has come upon you; and you shall be My witnesses..." This verse reminds me that as a believer in Christ, I have been given the authority and strength necessary from the Holy Spirit in order to preach the Gospel to unbelievers. The second verse is Luke 12:5 which tells us, "But I will warn you whom to fear: fear the One who, after He has killed, has authority to cast into hell; yes, I tell you, fear Him!" This verse redirects my perspective to what healthy fear is...fearing the One (God) Who judges righteously for salvation or for condemnation. Answering the question, "What is the worst that can happen?", we know that evil men can kill our bodies. As mere men, however, they (to include Satan) cannot kill the soul. If God is sovereign (and He is), my fear should rest in awe of Him alone. If God has given me both the power and authority to witness Christ and His Gospel, my only response can be obedience. As a sidenote, we are blessed to live in America, a country who has yet to prefer methods of physical persecution as many other nations in the world do. If this is the case, it only shows how much more unreasonable an unhealthy fear of rejection can be, both to obedience and to reason.

Was Jesus a "Good" Person?

This came up recently, so I just wanted to comment on whether Jesus was only a good person. Considering the classic trilemma offered by C.S. Lewis, Jesus was either Lord, Liar or Lunatic, but cannot logically be considered only a “good person.” Jesus in the Bible claims to be God. If you don't agree, comment back and I'll give some Biblical examples. First, if Jesus was not God and knew it, then he is only a liar attempting to persuade converts. That would not make him a good person. Second, if Jesus only thought he was God and he didn’t know he was not, that would make him insane, or more specifically, a raving delusional egomaniac. Once again, not a good person. Last, if Jesus both believed and was in fact God, that doesn’t make Him a good person, but the very perfect God Who created us. Sorry, but “good person” is just not an option He left for us to play with.