Mormon Direction

I was alerted to this video by a friend who received it by e-mail. I located it on YouTube entitled, “How would you introduce Christ to a room full of people???“. As I watched it, I found the timing of this interesting since I posted a blog article about this very thing – “ God’s Work, Always in Faith“.  I spoke of how God does his work and anything he promotes will never be to appease or please the vanity of people, or even use such things to promote himself, his gospel, his salvation and be assured that any fanfare that appears in the name of Jesus Christ is not of him neither can it be for him.

This video portrayed the exact thing I was speaking about in the recent article about God’s work. I ask you to watch this video, it is a short one. The performance is by Steve Harvey, a actor and comedian who stood on stage to speak about Jesus Christ. Look at this video before you read on.

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For a nice break, a little musical interlude. This group of anesthetists are really quite good.  Here is one of their musical numbers.

You can go directly to the YouTube page here: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WOrjcLJ2IE0

They have a website, here is that link: http://www.laryngospasms.com/fr_index.cfm . They are called “The Laryngospasms”.

You really should to to their website. At the bottom of the web page is an audio player and their lyrics are really good, especially the “little old lady with a fractured femur”.

Enjoy.

This easily happens in the world, where sinful behaviour and acts are justified. Acts as lying, sometimes called “white lies”, deceitfulness justified by the word “crafty”, manipulation justified in the idea of “it was just business, not personal”, or any other sin that man in the world commits and the millions of rationalizations the world attaches to it. These are the obvious justifications of sin, the evil of the world and of the flesh. Why then am I speaking about something that appears to be obvious to even the world? It is because I am using their bad example to show the practice of justifying sin in the name of Christian-hood.

Have I caught your interest?

I have seen this all too often, where justification of wickedness, sin or wrong is done in the name of “good will” toward others. Even using the examples of Jesus Christ to justify this idle philosophy. I use the word “idle” because it is a choice and act that forsakes righteousness and in the absence of righteousness, there is no Christianity as Jesus taught it and showed example by it.

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There is no work that God does that is not by or for faith. Any work that is by popularity, or by fame or by popular acceptance is not the work of God but is the work of man. God requires faith and to have this faith, the gospel, its truths, faith must be present. Anything other than that is not of God and not of his gospel, which is the basis of calling something another gospel.

God does not gain faith through popularity, exciting things, fanfare, celebrities, neither does he entice anyone toward him through or by any of those things. For God to use those things means that God is a god of fanfare, or popularity, celebrity show or any of these kind of things.

The first commandment should have made that clear to people, but sad to say that people are still believing that all those things are part of God’s Church, gospel or his doctrines. I speak in a general application to the communities of Christians, not specifically to this Church.

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There are some who believe and feel within the Christian communities that we are not to judge other beliefs or faith. When something is said about someone’s beliefs or faith, the retort given is “we cannot judge them”. This can be especially disconcerting when the matter at hand has to do with determining the value or truth of another person’s faith or beliefs. It seems by this, that nothing can be said or determined in order to avert false beliefs and false faiths, that we would then, by this restriction of not judging another, would likely have to accept false beliefs or faiths.

It is true, in the Bible, that we are to be careful about judging one another, as per Romans 2:1, but this passage does not prohibit judgement, it clarifies bad judgment. In Romans 2:1, Paul is speaking to the Romans and as anyone should see, the context which Paul is addressing are bad judgments from wicked people. In another part of the Bible, John 7:24, we are to make righteous judgment. So what of this concern by some that we are not to judge the faith or beliefs of another? In particular, if these faiths or beliefs are subject of condemnation?

The idea or philosophy that we are not to judge others because that belongs to God, goes against the Bible itself. The dilemma occurs when a person fails to understand the scriptures and what God has really done in what he has revealed to us. Poor interpretation, poor understanding, abiding in false doctrines or personal philosophies cannot and will not allow that person to properly understand the word of God, his gospel and what God has given as his will through revelation.

This shortcoming of many, both in and out of the Church, causes many to falter and fall from faith and even fail a good relationship with God. Failing in a good relationship with God occurs when a person falls to false beliefs, doctrines or personal philosophies that are of the world and because of these things, a relationship of God is affected and diminished (John 8:47), all because that person is not able to exercise God’s judgments against false beliefs, doctrines, philosophies and ideas!

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We know of good intelligence and bad. We usually equate intelligence with science or some scholarly knowledge about some subject. Intelligence, people believe, is the ability to figure out problems or devise things that no one else cannot. Intelligence is even equated to those who are crafty, smarter than another to overcome obstacles or make intricate plans. Intelligence is even attributed to the ability to figure out the Rubrics Cube on the first try.

There is one intelligence that no one really pays any attention to and in fact would consider this one as foolish or useless. This is because, this particular intelligence does not seek to “gain” something as the other ones will. With the others, there is notoriety, fame, appeal, importance, even financial advantage. The intelligence that speak of here in this article gains none of those things, because the moment you do, it is no longer that intelligence.

I speak about Intelligence of Good. The ability to know true good and exercise it no matter the circumstance.

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So many Christians have accused Mormons that we created another gospel, one that does not belong to the Bible and from this they claim they are “Bible Only Believers”. To them it is easy to make this accusation because this Church professes the Book of Mormon as given by God through revelation to Joseph Smith, his chosen prophet and by this, they easily claim the bindings of the Bible, whatever version they hold, is separate and distinct from the bindings of the Book of Mormon. It is the “me versus them” pattern so prevalent in the Christian world.

None, that I have seen or heard, have realized that “another gospel” is really among themselves in their preaching and teachings. They have not realized that they are changing, adding, diminishing or removing from the gospel to suit their own devices and teachings.

A case in fact, a preacher known as Adrian Rogers has a website that sends out devotionals. Usually using single passages from the Bible. Here is one of his devotionals sent by email,

Graced by His Prayers
–from the messages of Adrian Rogers

BIBLE MEDITATION:
Hebrews 7:25 – “Wherefore He is able also to save them to the uttermost that come unto God by Him, seeing He ever liveth to make intercession for them.”

DEVOTIONAL THOUGHT:
Do you ever feel you are all alone when a struggle hits your life? Tell yourself, “I am graced by His prayers.” Jesus is watching over you, and He is praying for you. The Savior. The Shepherd. The King. The Prince. He is praying for you! Do you feel encouraged? I do! Just to know that the One who died for me “ever liveth to make intercession” for me is enough. He lives to stand in the gap for you and for me. What a mighty God we serve! What mercy we don’t deserve! You are on Jesus’ prayer list! You. He knows you. And He is praying you through the eye of the storm.

ACTION POINT:
Do you have a prayer list? Go through that list today and pray for someone you haven’t prayed for in awhile and trust God to answer, even today!

This devotional sounds good does it not? It appears that this preacher knows the word of God and speaks from what the Bible says? How many follow in his thoughts, his teachings, interpretations and usage of the Bible? I am sure all appears good, that he appears to know the word of God and speaks it from the Bible as the Bible says it. I am sure many follow his thoughts and has a large following to his teachings, interpretations and usage of the Bible.

Is all this true? – Well, it is not, in regards to his knowledge and usage of God’s word and that he is actually preaching another gospel.

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