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June 3, 2019 5:00 am
I'm prepared to engage women missionaries may knock on your door. Perhaps the book is 101 will help Mormonism 101.
Published by Baker as your favorite Christian bookstore .1 examines the teachings of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints from a perspective view .1 Mormonism is sponsored by Mormonism research ministry since 1979 Mormonism research ministry has been dedicated to equipping the body of Christ with answers regarding the Christian faith in a manner that expresses gentleness and respect.
And now, your host for today's viewpoint on Mormonism welcome to this edition of your point on Mormonism. I'm your host, Bill McKeever, founder and director Mormonism research ministry with me today is Eric Johnson, my colleague, M. R. M. Is moralism the gospel there was an excellent article written by Albert Mohler and if you never caught any of the stuff that he is written, I strongly suggest that you do. But she wrote an article titled moralism is not the gospel but many Christians think it is bill before we go any further. What in the world is moralism. Well I think he's going to explain that to us and I think he explains it very well in this article, but the reason why I thought Eric. It would be good to look at this article is because not only is this a temptation that faces us as Bible believing Christians because we do believe that Christians should live godly lives.
Unfortunately, as he is going to explain the way we are brought up in our cultures to always be good and if we are good we are rewarded. Sometimes it can be very easy to assume that that's exactly what the gospel is if we improve ourselves. That will make things right between us and God and how many Christians who go to church. That's how they think. I'm sure there's probably many who do will tell you something.
I remember several years ago I was reading an article by a Christian youth pastor, I can't recall his name. And it's not all that important because the argument that he was raising was one that was not all that unusual in what he was doing and reason why this person's comments caught my attention was because it had to do with the context of Mormonism and he was making the comparison between Mormons and Bible believing Christians and he made the comment, something to the effect that Mormons act more Christian than Christians. What does that even mean what if you had atheists that act more Christian than Christian. What is acting more Christian than Christian really mean. Now, he may have had his own personal way of defining that but I think what he was expressing is a danger that a lot of Christians can make and that is assuming that's just because somebody is living a quote on quote good life that somehow because they claim to believe in Jesus or believe in God that that makes them a Christian, and we said many times that certainly Christians should be a moral people, but it doesn't necessarily mean that because you're a moral person that you're a Christian because are so much more to Christianity than just what you physically do and how you personally perform. So God is not a gumball machine you put 1/4 and you get something out of it and how many people if you were to go out on the street and witness and asked them why should you be allowed into heaven. What's their response typically well. I may good person. I know that that has been very valuable part of my witnessing life because I like to go after that whole idea.
Are you really a good person.
If you take a look at the law. The law is meant to show us who we really are and what the law doesn't show us that were not keeping the commandments that God has given us.
We have all sinned.
We have all come short of the glory of God. And I think the statement that I keep in the back of my head was one made by a Christian theologian years ago.
Basically saying that our good works are only as good as we are in the fact that we are all innately sinful, makes our good works very questionable.
So when people say will fund a good person will I go to heaven put Ms. you're not a good person. The last good person to walk on this earth. Folks was crucified on a cross. That was the last one to passages that come to mind whenever I talk about this would be first.
Isaiah 64 six that all of our righteous acts are like filthy rags in God's sight, and then I also think of the sermon on the Mount where there will be many.
According to Matthew seven who will say, Lord, Lord, look at all the good things I've done and the response that Jesus has probably would be surprising to most people who have not read the Gospels, he says get away for me. I never knew you depart for me basically saying go to hell.
So the idea that you think that you can earn God's favor through what you do is certainly not a biblical truth if that's what you're trying to do. We said this to Mormons many times on the streets. If you think your good works earn you a place in God's presence.
Then you could say that the reason you're doing the good works is based out of a personal selfishness in order to get something from God and is not selfishness a sin in the New Testament. It is as is in Mormonism but yet if a Mormon is doing is good works in order to get something from God, wouldn't you say that's exactly the motivation I want something from God. I better do this or I won't get what I want.
That should not be the attitude of a Christian who understands the New Testament message in this article by Dr. Moeller. I think he puts it in excellent perspective.
The title caught my attention. And then I perused it, but as I've been going through it line by line.
I think maybe we ought it pay closer attention to what Dr. Moeller is saying because I think it will help us as Christians better understand where we are when it comes to what is the true gospel as opposed to a false gospel and many of the things he says even though he doesn't write them for a Mormon audience would certainly be appropriate for a Mormon to listen to. Let's start with the first paragraph of this article. Moralism is not the gospel but many Christians think it is. It was posted on January 12, 2018 rights. One of the most amazing statements by the apostle Paul is his indictment of the Galatian Christians for abandoning the gospel quote. I am amazed that you are so quickly deserting him who called you by the grace of Christ for a different gospel," Paul declared as he stated some emphatically, the Galatians had failed in the crucial test of discerning the authentic gospel from its counterfeits and are we not supposed to do that as effective Christians to know the difference between what is true and what is. And certainly, just as there were false ideas of the gospel back during the time of Paul when it was just being taught.
It was still very fresh. You can only imagine how many false quote" Gospels. There could be existing today in the 21st century. Naturally, there's going to be far more and were going to have to be all the more attentive to a lot of the false teachings that are circulating in our culture today. So when outsiders look at Christians as criticizing just about everybody else, only because there's so many things out there nowadays to criticize and if there's only one true gospel. Obviously, anything that comes up that is not in line with that true gospel needs to be examined and often needs to be criticized and criticized soundly. Moeller goes on and writes his words could not be more clear quote, but even if we were an angel from heaven, should preach to you a gospel contrary to what we have preached to you, he is to be accursed. As we have said before, as I say again now if any man is preaching to you a gospel contrary to what you have received he is to be accursed. The language that Paul uses in Galatians 1 when he says let them be accursed. I often think that sometimes Mormons just don't understand us.
I think it could be because they look at their personal performance and they see they are not as bad as perhaps other people might be in humanity and they're not you know they do. I think act very well maybe for all the wrong reasons but still Mormons are usually very good people that want to be very good citizens and live good lives, but if in fact they are adhering to what Paul refers to as a false gospel and he says those type of people are going to be accursed. He doesn't say it once in this passage that you decided he says it twice.
Don't you think Christian. That should grab your attention.
If you have any concern at all for an individual who is imprisoned by a false gospel and you see by Paul's writings here in Galatians 1 that that individual is going to eventually be accursed. Where is your Christian compassion to not share the truth with these individuals will we've done a study on the book of Galatians for viewpoint on Mormonism and our member we talked about this. We said what gospel is he referring to, because it's not the temple of Aphrodite he's going after. He's not going after any of the other religions that were in the area he was going after people who call themselves Christians. These were people who were legalistic, who had a way of doing things you had to have a circumcision that took place, you had to have the dietary law and other things all in order and pulses have nothing to do with the gospel of the Judaizers people who call themselves Christians but are teaching something contrary to what Paul had been originally teaching Moeller goes on to say this warning from the apostle Paul expressed in the language of the apostles shock and grief is addressed not only to the church in Galatia, but to every congregation in every age in our own day and in our own churches. We desperately need to hear and to heed this warning in our own time we face false Gospels no less subversive and said active than those encountered and embraced by the Galatians based on what I just said is it possible that there could be more danger in having churches call themselves Christian, who are not teaching the true gospel. We have a lot of churches out there who even call themselves Protestant might even call themselves evangelical but the Gospels that they are presenting are not true and how would you know otherwise you're going to have to have a pretty good grasp on what the Bible is teaching to be able to discern what they're saying is not what the Bible is teaching will in the This is when Dr. Moeller first uses the word moralism. He says in our own context.
One of the most said active. Gospels is moralism this fall's gospel can take many forms and can emerge from any number of political and cultural impulses. Nevertheless, the basic structure of moralism comes down to this.
The belief that the gospel can be reduced to improvements in behavior and that's really what it is and going back to that statement that that youth pastor I cited earlier in the show. That's what he was doing. He was looking at how improved the Mormons that he knew seemed to be over some of the professing Christians that he seemed to know and he was drawing this comparison and his comparison led him to what I think is a false conclusion that somehow Mormons act more Christian then Christians certainly God wants us to improve our lives. There's no doubt about it, but unfortunately you have a lot of people out there who are teaching a false gospel that I think you'll know who I'm talking about your best life now seven steps to living at your full potential.
That is not the gospel that is a self-help book, but the same time. If you think the Bible is all about how to improve your life, you're sadly mistaken in saying what we have said so far, folks.
It could be easy for a latter-day St. to naturally assume that as Christians that we don't think living a godly life is important and that certainly is not true that is not the message of the apostle Paul. That certainly wasn't the message of Jesus and it's not the message of Christianity, however, if you think by improving yourself that somehow that is going to earn you a position with God. That's where this false gospel lies and so tomorrow we're going to continue our look at this article by Dr. Albert Mohler, moralism is not the gospel but many Christians think it is. Thank you for listening. If you would like more information is research ministry. We encourage you to visit our website www.mrm.org you can request our free newsletter Mormonism research. We hope you will join us again as we look at another viewpoint is