UNDERSTANDING THE TIMES: 2002/06
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The Newsletter of Contend for the Faith, Inc
1 Chronicles 12:32
JUNE 2002
Sound Doctrine is a Shield Against Deception
AN OUNCE OF PREVENTION
I received a call from a local pastor earlier this month asking if I could meet with a young lady who is a recent college graduate concerning her faith. Although she was raised in a conservative evangelical church, she had recently been baptized into the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints.
I met with the pastor and Heather, and we spent three and a half hours discussing the problems and errors of Mormonism and the true gospel of Jesus Christ.
Perhaps the most unnerving part of Heather’s story was her answer to my question concerning how she came to join the Mormon church. She said that in her current job she works very closely with a team of people, working long hours and often on weekends. The team did not work on Sundays, however, because one woman refused to do so because she believed that is a day for worship and rest. This woman also displayed a high moral character in her daily life. This prompted Heather to ask her co-worker why she was so different from everyone else. That is when she told Heather she was a Mormon.
Her friend invited Heather to come with her to services at the local Mormon meetinghouse, and the warmth and acceptance she felt were very enticing. After a short time learning some basic Mormon teachings, Heather was asked to pray about the Book of Mormon and invited to accept it as Scripture and to recognize Joseph Smith, the founder of Mormonism, as a latter-day prophet. Shortly after this she was baptized as a new member of the church.
What really struck me was the fact that the way this Mormon co-worker lived her life was so unusual and moral that it prompted Heather to find out why she lived as she did. Heather wanted to live an upstanding lifestyle as well. This is exactly the way that Christians should be attracting others to the faith: by living godly lives above reproach so that others will want to find out what motivates us.
The problem with Mormonism is not the morality they teach their members for daily living. It could be said that many faithful Mormons are much better at living out the biblical principles of morality than are many born-again Christians. Mormonism is false and destructive because its doctrines are untrue. The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints preaches a different God, a different Jesus, and a different gospel than that found in traditional Christianity.
As we met with Heather we showed her the changes in Mormon scripture and doctrine. We showed contradictions found in LDS theology. We told her about Joseph Smith’s false prophecies. We pointed out some of the prominent cultic aspects of the Mormon church.
After this long discussion, Heather’s eyes were opened and she could clearly see that Mormonism could not be true. She was amazed and hurt that she had not been told about some of the most offensive teachings by the Mormon church members. She planned to ask her Mormon friends several questions concerning the issues we had brought up in order to help them see the problems inherent in this cult.
Please pray for Heather that she will make a clean break from the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints and renounce her membership. Also pray that she can reach others to help them leave Mormonism as well.
UPCOMING SCHEDULE
I have been invited to teach the High School Sunday classes (more than 200 students) at Hickory Grove Baptist Church for five weeks this summer. Starting July 7th, I will be teaching them how to think and how to respond to various cults and religions.
Please pray for me as I do this so it will have a great impact on these young people, helping them to contend for the faith.
CONTENDING FOR THE FAITH
UNDERSTANDING THE DEBATE OVER HOMOSEXUALITY IN THE CHURCH
Many of you, no doubt, heard or read about the flap caused by Anne Graham Lotz, the daughter of Billy Graham, when she spoke in Charlotte in May at a rally to promote her upcoming Fall event called “Just Give Me Jesus.”
In her message on May 6th she used Isaiah 1:4 as her text:
"Ah, sinful nation, a people loaded with guilt, a brood of evildoers, children given to corruption! They have forsaken the LORD; they have spurned the Holy One of Israel and turned their backs on him." (NIV)
In her talk Mrs. Lotz spoke of a number of sins of which Americans need to repent. The list included abortion, homosexuality, drugs, greed, political corruption, lying, jealousy, pride, lust, and adultery. She said the bottom line problem in our nation is sin and that America today is doing as Israel was doing in Isaiah’s day – forsaking God.
After she listed homosexuality as one sin among many that is an offense to God, several members of the choir from Seigle Avenue Presbyterian Church who were singing at this event got up and walked out in protest. They said they were “hurt and angered” by Mrs. Lotz’ condemnation of homosexuality as a sin and they said they did not want to be seen as endorsing what she was saying by remaining on the same stage. One choir member who walked out said, “I think it’s our business to love each other. We’re called to a ministry of reconciliation, not hate.”
The Charlotte Observer printed a letter from the choir members explaining their actions and their position. They stated that God creates some people as homosexual and some as heterosexual and He loves all unconditionally. They see homosexuality as an inborn condition, not as a choice, and therefore not a sin. They took offense at the message because it was “judging and condemning our brothers and sisters because they are gay.” They concluded by quoting from a song: “We pray that all unity may one day be restored, and they’ll know we are Christians by our love.”
HATE AND INTOLERANCE
In recent years, several mainline denominations have been wrestling with this issue. Many have either openly embraced homosexuality as being normal and therefore not sinful, or they have “agreed to disagree” within their denomination by not taking an official position. Too few denominations have simply taken their stand on the biblical teaching that homosexual acts are an abomination to God (praise God for the Southern Baptist Convention and the Presbyterian Church in America).
It is fascinating to examine the arguments used by the choir members in their protest against Mrs. Lotz. Basically they are saying that the gospel of Jesus Christ is love, so it is unloving to condemn homosexuality and to be divisive. To speak against homosexuality is to “hate.”
But certain questions should be asked: Do the choir members live up to their own standards? Or are they shown to be hypocrites by their own arguments?
If it is unloving to be divisive on any issue concerning the church, then weren’t the choir members being unloving when they walked out in the middle of a rally because they disagreed with another Christian’s position? If it is hateful for Mrs. Lotz to preach against homosexuality, then is it not equally hateful, by their own standards, for the Seigle Avenue people to speak out against her statements? If judging homosexuality as sinful is wrong, then is it not also wrong to judge Mrs. Lotz’ comments?
CLARITY AND REASON
As usually happens in these kinds of debates, the people on the wrong side use self-defeating arguments. If the choir members really believe all divisiveness is wrong, then they would have remained seated and silent when they heard a message with which they disagreed. If speaking against another’s beliefs is hateful, why did they protest against Mrs. Lotz? Do they really hate her? And how do they think their hateful and divisive comments will achieve “unity” and “love” they say they desire?
The inescapable fact is that all doctrines DO divide. They divide right from wrong and true from false. The question is not “Do I believe things that are divisive?” but “Do I believe things that are true and biblical?” It is better to be divided by truth than united in error.
Believers must ever seek to be biblically correct, not politically correct. Well done Mrs. Lotz!
Jude 3,
Dave
