Mormonism has become more and more mainstream in modern America. The Mormons themselves claim to be Christians. Some evangelicals have joined with them and accepted them as orthodox. But are Mormons really Christians? Does their view of God match with that of Biblical Christianity?
First of all Mormons hold to polytheism (belief in many gods). They believe the Trinity is composed of three different gods and not one God in three persons as the Bible teaches. They believe that two of the three persons of the Trinity have physical bodies. Mormons believe there are more than just these three gods, they believe in thousands of gods. The Bible teaches there is one God in three persons and we are only to worship the one true God (Exodus 20:3).
The Mormons believe that God the Father was once a man and has now attained godhood. They believe he has a physical body and a wife. But the Bible teaches that God is a spirit (John 4:24). It teaches that God has always been God, he has eternally existed. God the Father was never a man and he has no wife.
Mormons believe that Jesus was the first spirit child born to God the Father and his wife. Jesus progressed to becoming God in the spirit world. They believe he was physically conceived by Mary through a physical union with God the Father. The Bible teaches that Jesus has always existed and has always been God. In the Incarnation
Jesus was conceived in Mary through a miracle of the Holy Spirit.
The Latter Day Saints believe that Mormon men can become gods. This sounds a lot like the lie the devil told Adam and Eve at the fall of mankind (Genesis 3:4). The Bible teaches that men are not gods and cannot become gods. The desire to be a god is sinful. Humans are creatures created by God their Creator and are meant to worship him alone.
In reality Mormonism is full of idolatry and errors teaching people to worship false gods. Mormonism is not Biblical Christianity, it is a Christian heresy and false religion.
Monday, April 18, 2016
Monday, April 11, 2016
Return To The Reformation
Modern evangelicalism has lost its way and strayed from its roots. As our country has taken a dramatic secular turn the evangelical church is weak when it most needs to be strong. Evangelicalism has been said to be a mile wide and an inch deep. A return to our Reformation roots is badly needed. The Protestant Reformation began in the 1500's and was led by men like Martin Luther, John Calvin, and Ulrich Zwingli. The Roman Catholic Church had gone astray and the Reformation was a return to Biblical Christianity.
The Reformation teaching is generally defined by the "solas". Sola is a Latin word that means only or alone. The "solas" were Scripture alone, grace alone, faith alone, Christ alone, and to God alone the glory.
The foundation is Scripture alone because all of the other "solas" flow from it. The Bible alone is the ultimate authority. It is authoritative, inerrant, infallible, and totally sufficient. It is not Scripture plus the church, not Scripture plus tradition, not Scripture plus reason, not Scripture plus experience, not Scripture plus our culture, and not Scripture plus our feelings, but Scripture alone is the ultimate authority.
We must also get the gospel correct. Salvation is by God's grace alone, through faith alone, because of Christ alone. Salvation is totally the work of God, it is not God and man working together. People dead in their sins and trespasses are made alive by God. People are spiritually dead and unable to respond to God. He regenerates his people and brings them to himself. We are justified by faith alone in Christ alone and not by works. If we could be justified by our own works then Christ died for no purpose. Christ accomplished salvation for his people and nothing can be added to his work on the cross. Jesus is the only way to heaven.
To God alone belongs the glory. God does not share his glory with anyone else. We need to stop acting like it is God and us working together and recognize the reality that God is God and we are not. We must recover our sense of the greatness of God. God is sovereign, holy, supreme, transcendent, majestic, and awesome. It is indeed God alone who deserves the glory.
The Reformation teaching is generally defined by the "solas". Sola is a Latin word that means only or alone. The "solas" were Scripture alone, grace alone, faith alone, Christ alone, and to God alone the glory.
The foundation is Scripture alone because all of the other "solas" flow from it. The Bible alone is the ultimate authority. It is authoritative, inerrant, infallible, and totally sufficient. It is not Scripture plus the church, not Scripture plus tradition, not Scripture plus reason, not Scripture plus experience, not Scripture plus our culture, and not Scripture plus our feelings, but Scripture alone is the ultimate authority.
We must also get the gospel correct. Salvation is by God's grace alone, through faith alone, because of Christ alone. Salvation is totally the work of God, it is not God and man working together. People dead in their sins and trespasses are made alive by God. People are spiritually dead and unable to respond to God. He regenerates his people and brings them to himself. We are justified by faith alone in Christ alone and not by works. If we could be justified by our own works then Christ died for no purpose. Christ accomplished salvation for his people and nothing can be added to his work on the cross. Jesus is the only way to heaven.
To God alone belongs the glory. God does not share his glory with anyone else. We need to stop acting like it is God and us working together and recognize the reality that God is God and we are not. We must recover our sense of the greatness of God. God is sovereign, holy, supreme, transcendent, majestic, and awesome. It is indeed God alone who deserves the glory.
Monday, April 4, 2016
The Cross And The Resurrection
In modern Christianity we hear many different things proclaimed to us. Much of what we hear is self help, positive thinking, how to have a happy life, and general feel good messages. Unfortunately we often do no get actual Christianity. We are given a man centered message instead of a God centered message. We are told to reach up to God when in reality it is God who reaches down to us.
(1 Corinthians 15:3-4) "For I delivered to you as of first importance what I also received: that Christ died for our sins in accordance with the Scriptures, that he was buried, that he was raised on the third day in accordance with the Scriptures," (ESV)
True, Biblical Christianity focuses on the cross and resurrection of Christ, it is the very heart of the matter. Adam sinned (Genesis 3) and we all inherited a fallen, sinful nature from him. We are all born sinners in rebellion against God. Sin brings about death, both physical and spiritual. Sin makes us enemies of God and we incur his wrath because of it. God is holy, he cannot tolerate sin, he hates it.
But God loved us and sent his Son to save his people from their sins. Jesus lived a perfect life without sin and died on the cross to pay for the sins of his people. He took God's wrath on himself in our place. Believers have the righteousness of Christ credited to them. Salvation is totally by the grace of God, we can do nothing to earn it. We are saved by faith alone in Christ alone.
Jesus was raised from the dead victorious over sin, death, and the devil. He was vindicated when God the Father accepted his sacrifice for our sins. The resurrection also proves that Jesus is God. If there was no resurrection there would be no Christianity. That is why people are skeptical and attack the doctrine so intensely.
Jesus appeared to over 500 people after he was raised from the dead. It is not likely that all these people would have the same dream or be delusional. All the early opponents of Christianity had to do was produce the body of Jesus. If the body could have been produced, Christianity would have been shown to be a hoax. But they could not produce the body because it was not there. Many of the early Christians died for their belief in the resurrection of Christ. People do not usually die for something they know is not true. Most of all we can believe the resurrection of Christ because the Bible tells us it occurred. The Bible is reliable, inerrant, and infallible. The most plausible explanation is that Jesus really did rise from the dead. Since the resurrection is true, Christianity is true.
(1 Corinthians 15:3-4) "For I delivered to you as of first importance what I also received: that Christ died for our sins in accordance with the Scriptures, that he was buried, that he was raised on the third day in accordance with the Scriptures," (ESV)
True, Biblical Christianity focuses on the cross and resurrection of Christ, it is the very heart of the matter. Adam sinned (Genesis 3) and we all inherited a fallen, sinful nature from him. We are all born sinners in rebellion against God. Sin brings about death, both physical and spiritual. Sin makes us enemies of God and we incur his wrath because of it. God is holy, he cannot tolerate sin, he hates it.
But God loved us and sent his Son to save his people from their sins. Jesus lived a perfect life without sin and died on the cross to pay for the sins of his people. He took God's wrath on himself in our place. Believers have the righteousness of Christ credited to them. Salvation is totally by the grace of God, we can do nothing to earn it. We are saved by faith alone in Christ alone.
Jesus was raised from the dead victorious over sin, death, and the devil. He was vindicated when God the Father accepted his sacrifice for our sins. The resurrection also proves that Jesus is God. If there was no resurrection there would be no Christianity. That is why people are skeptical and attack the doctrine so intensely.
Jesus appeared to over 500 people after he was raised from the dead. It is not likely that all these people would have the same dream or be delusional. All the early opponents of Christianity had to do was produce the body of Jesus. If the body could have been produced, Christianity would have been shown to be a hoax. But they could not produce the body because it was not there. Many of the early Christians died for their belief in the resurrection of Christ. People do not usually die for something they know is not true. Most of all we can believe the resurrection of Christ because the Bible tells us it occurred. The Bible is reliable, inerrant, and infallible. The most plausible explanation is that Jesus really did rise from the dead. Since the resurrection is true, Christianity is true.
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