Mormon Direction

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.

Adrian Rogers took that passage from the King James Bible. When that passage is read in context, Paul the Apostle is speaking about the purity of Jesus Christ and his high priesthood. Paul speaks about the priesthood changing, from the Old Testament Aaronic priesthood (Levitical Priesthood or the Sons of Levi) to the High Priesthood of Mechizedek (or Melchisedec). Hebrews 7 is addressing the power and purity of the High Priesthood which Jesus Christ is at the head and how the priesthood for God’s Church had to change.

When Paul spoke of a change to the priesthood from the Levitical to the Melchizedek, he was not referring to Jesus Christ in that statement. He was referring to the priesthood in the Church of Jesus Christ and this change occurred because of Jesus Christ.

Verse 12 – For the priesthood being changed, there is made of necessity a change also of the law.

What purpose would the law have to change if there was no need for the priesthood on the earth in the true Church of Christ? Such a law change would have no application, no value, if it applied to nothing. For some to think that the change of law happened in heaven and Christ was at the center of it, having no need to be here on the earth, is another false interpretation.Where the priesthood power stems from, is the Father in heaven. There, all the laws are in place and always have been in place. There is no such thing as a change of law in heaven. Therefore, this change occurred on the earth and for God’s Church on the earth.

With this fact in mind, Paul is then telling us that for God’s true Church on the earth, the priesthood was changed and as such, the law needed changing to facilitate and support this higher priesthood. Yet, as men are made priests by God’s law (see verse 28), men who have shortcomings and are imperfect, Jesus Christ’s perfection in the priesthood and purity, can make intercession for those in the priesthood who come by him, which is in verse 25,

verse 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.

Paul was clearly speaking to Church membership, he was teaching the Church of Jesus Christ who had the Holy Priesthood because of the works and sacrifice performed by Jesus Christ.

How then, can the statement made by Mr. Rogers have application in the Bible, in particular Hebrews 7:25?

Answer, it does not because what Paul spoke of and addressed in Hebrews applies to those in the Church of God and those of the priesthood. That is the context which Paul gave those words. Paul was not telling the general populace outside the Church and he was not speaking to Christians of other denominations, especially since there were none. When Paul said that Jesus was watching over us and praying for us, he was telling this to the Church membership.

What Mr. Rogers preached, was ” another gospel”. He ignored the context and meaning of Paul’s words and reformed it to fit his personal use and interpretation. This is because Mr. Rogers cannot speak to those in the priesthood, for his ministry and any other Christian ministry does not have the Holy Priesthood which the early Christian Church had under Jesus Christ. He simply changed the meaning and words of Paul the Apostle to suit himself and his personal beliefs. These are not the words of God, but of man.

True, the words from Mr. Rogers were “nice” and sounded “good”, but in truth they mislead others and encourages others to read the Bible in false ways. This practice by Mr. Rogers gives other Christians the excuse to alter Bible passages to mean what they want it to mean and completely ignore what the scriptures were actually saying.

That is the “other Gospel” that Paul warned us about (Galatians 1:9)

When people ignore what the scriptures actually said, the context and application as given by the scriptures, those people actually create “another Gospel” and it is these false gospels that we must reject, no matter how good it sounds, because once the scripture is corrupted, even with good intentions, this threatens our salvation because the truth is kept from us. In this case, of Hebrews 7, the truth is about the Holy Priesthood and since this priesthood was necessary in the early Christian Church as part of salvation, it is also required as much today. This Mr. Rogers cannot tell you because it does not suit his ministry.

Other Christians cannot abide in or follow Hebrews 7, because they are not of the Lord’s Holy Priesthood. Therefore, they and all with them in their own personal ministries, cannot partake of the intercession offered by Jesus Christ.

Amen