Beloved, although I was very eager to write to you about our common salvation, I found it necessary to write appealing to you to contend for the faith that was once
for all delivered to the saints.
Jude 1:3
for all delivered to the saints.
Jude 1:3
I would like to start this post by saying that I love COGIC Presiding Bishop J Drew Sheard, I consider him to be a friend and very encouraging leader and have reached out to him personally prior to posting this. He is one of the few that have ever volunteered to assist me in ministry and church development and he is a Pastoral leader extraordinaire.
With that said, I am totally disappointed that out of all the very astute scholars within our church, that Bishop was seemingly without sound advice or prep in the meeting referenced in the video with leaders of the LDS (Mormon) Church. My question is why? How did this come to be?
It would seem, and I well may be way off and wrong, but a meeting of this magnitude between two organizational leaders, would have been orchestrated thoroughly FIRST...Statements prepared, agreements solidified and a clear statement of operation, on both sides, issued in preparation for this meeting and resultant actions. While I see nothing wrong with partnering with anyone to better the condition of the community, there is a big problem when we start talking about issues of faith as if they are one in the same or unimportant...
With a Baptist, Methodist or other Christian faith, we can safely say we worship the same JESUS. When I say that I am referring to the JESUS of history, the one who IS God by nature and essence, whose works and mission is thoroughly biblical.
With a Baptist, Methodist or other Christian faith, we can safely say we worship the same JESUS. When I say that I am referring to the JESUS of history, the one who IS God by nature and essence, whose works and mission is thoroughly biblical.
However, the JESUS of Christian Cults such as Mormonism, and non-Christian Cults such as Jehovah's Witnesses are a wholly different JESUS' than the JESUS of scripture. The JESUS of the Cults is an individual who was a created being, had to come into existence at some point, was and is the exalted "spirit-brother" of Lucifer, Michael and other angelic beings, (as Mormonism teaches) and one who is NOT God in the same nature or essence. The JESUS of the cults has to come into higher knowledge and does not enjoin the eternal uninterrupted hypostatic union (God/Man status). The JESUS of the Cults "becomes" God over time and or through enlightenment or by ordination or appointment.
While all of those things are not unique to the teachings of Mormonism, there are enough of them that are and this is the problem. We can't agree to have unified faith in two wholly different Jesus' because the implications from that are completely different. To be satisfied that faith in the Mormon JESUS is tantamount to faith in the JESUS of the Bible is NOT how the Saints were told to "earnestly contend".
As you have followed this blog for years, please know that we will continue to do what we do best...examine the Church in relationship to the culture and seek to apply a Biblical lens to all things.
With all the utter garbage I see out here on the subject, it just may be time to teach on what the Mormons, those fellas that go from door to door, either on bikes or walking, with black pants and white short sleeve shits, teach...A recent writer said this:
ReplyDelete1. **Divine Nature:** Mormons believe that Jesus Christ is the literal Son of God the Father in the flesh. They believe in a form of divine embodiment, where God the Father, Jesus Christ, and the Holy Ghost are separate beings with physical bodies.
TRUTH: Born as one of the many offspring of god's multiple celestial wives, Mormons actually believe that Jesus "became" god over time because of his obedience. This is really interesting because they also believe that Jesus progressed so until he became the Father. Jesus was fully human, just as men are today, but also a premortal spirit, he was a created being and shares existence as the spirit-brother or Lucifer created by god and another of his many wives. Mormonism clearly teaches that god the Father is the "biological" father of Jesus. Jesus is described as the Mormon believer's "Elder brother". Although Mormons claim to have a unique position against Greek paganism which included god having sex with women to produce god/men who were 50% both, their description is apropos with Greek descriptions as their version of god has sex with Mary to conceive Jesus and other offspring. However, the scripture teaches the 100%/100% relationship of the nature of Jesus being 100% God and 100% human within what scholars have deemed an incarnation and an inseparable hypostatic union. The fifth Mormon president, (whose words are considered from God himself) Lorenzo Snow said, “As man is, god once was. As god is, man may become.”
2. **Atonement:** & 3. **Role As Savior** Like other Christians, Mormons believe in the Atonement of Jesus Christ. They teach that through His suffering, death, and resurrection, Christ atoned for the sins of humanity, providing the opportunity for repentance and salvation.
TRUTH: Mormons believe that Christ's atonement simply opened the door of resurrection for both the sinner and Saint alike to live in a glorified state or condition. This can also be called the "Unconditional Redemption From The Effects Of The Fall" According to Mormonism, his inheritance of deity and sinlessness from his "Heavenly Father" gave him the power to overcome death, whereas his inheritance of mortal flesh from his Mother (Mary) gave him the ability to physically die
4. **Resurrection:** Mormons believe in the literal resurrection of Jesus Christ and teach that His resurrection opens the way for all people to be resurrected and to stand before God in judgment.
TRUTH: Referring to the answer to pt. 3 above, Jesus Resurrection was a demonstration of how all people, Saint and sinner alike would be resurrected and have a hope to "live again". The righteous and unrepentant will live in distinct but separate statuses, with the unrepentant sinners abiding in the telestial realm, while lukewarm Mormons and other religious folk make it to the terrestrial heaven, and the Temple Mormons, sealed by Temple rituals, make it to the Celestial Heaven where they experience celestial sex with multiple wives, and their own universe etc. The fifth Mormon president, (whose words are considered from God himself) Lorenzo Snow said, “As man is, god once was. As god is, man may become.”
5. **Additional Scripture:** In addition to the Bible, Mormons accept the Book of Mormon as scripture, which they believe provides further teachings and accounts of Jesus Christ's ministry in the Americas.
ReplyDeleteTRUTH: There is NO EVIDENCE that the Book of Mormon is from any authentic source. It verifies no known history, or location. According to Joseph Smith, a man who became a resurrected angel named Moroni, who the last warrior of the Nephite Nation visited him and told him where to find plates written in "reformed Egyptian hieroglyphics". Along with the book, Smith was given special secret eyeglasses to decipher the plates. While no historical scholar has ever found a language known as "reformed Egyptian hieroglyphics, no plates have every been found either and no places described with the Smith translated texts have ever been historically verified. At any rate, Mormons claim these scriptures to be on parr with the Biblical texts and along with other works such as Doctrine & Covenants are said to be as authoritive as God's word.
6. **Eternal Life:** Mormons seek to follow the example of Jesus Christ and believe in the possibility of eternal life and exaltation, which includes becoming like God
TRUTH: See answer to 4 above, but to restate: The righteous and unrepentant will both experience resurrection and live in distinct but separate statuses, with the unrepentant sinners abiding in the telestial realm, while lukewarm Mormons and other religious folk make it to the terrestrial heaven, and the Temple Mormons, sealed by Temple rituals, make it to the Celestial Heaven where they experience celestial sex with multiple wives, and their own universe etc. The fifth Mormon president, (whose words are considered from God himself) Lorenzo Snow said, “As man is, god once was. As god is, man may become.”
The Jesus of Mormonism cannot be reconciled with the Jesus of the bible. It is sad that many alleged Christian believers do not know and cannot distinguish the inseparable differences between a Christian CULT and Biblical faith. Sad that our preaching and teaching has sank to such a low level in the modern age.