One Truth

My professor was asked tonight, "Will Jehovah's Witnesses go to hell because they don't believe in the Trinity?"

Needless to say, the teacher tried answering it without offending anyone, which I respect in a professional classroom, but the answer came out in a somewhat relativistic way. But the truthfulness of the answer does not need to be disregarded. Ultimately, we know that they do not have the right view of God and of salvation, so how can it be obtained if they have false information? It just seems like we (Christians) have a hard time of explaining why people who "believe" in some type of Jesus are not going to heaven (cults).

People seem to want the heaven of the Bible, without having the God of the Bible. Hence the questions, "Can so and so go to heaven without believing in Jesus?" Or in other words, "Can so and so go to the heaven of the Bible without believing in the God of the Bible?" The answer is no.

The logic is simple:

If you have a false Jesus, a false Spirit, and a false gospel (II Cor. 11:4), then you have a false salvation. If the biblical gospel is not accepted (Galatians 1:6-9) then the result is to have a false gospel that does not provide salvation; there is no saving power in it.

Yes, it is a hard truth to admit and explain, but I think the easiest way (and most logical) is:

False Jesus + False Gospel = False Salvation

False Intercession

I visited the San Juan Capistrano Mission around two years ago. I was looking back at the pictures and it made me remember how all the people were writing prayers down to this saint so that he could pray for them. It was heart breaking seeing how Jesus was being turned into a statue and how mere humans were being elevated. As others were writing their prayers in the prayer journal, I had to write something myself:

We have access to the throne! Not access to dead humans.

Joseph or Jesus?

The following is taken from the Mormon Research Ministry (mrm.org). It is a quiz that is offered to Mormons in order to help them understand that they make extreme statements about Joseph Smith. Upon first reading it, Mormons would say that the correct answer to each question is Jesus. Although, each quote is specifically talking about Joseph Smith. The intention of this post is to help us contend for the faith and share the true Jesus with those of the Mormon faith; to point away from Joseph Smith and lead them to the deity of Christ.

1. His teachings "are the foundation of our faith. Everything we have is a lengthened shadow of [him]."
2. "I pray we may learn from his example, that we might incorporate into our lives the great principles which he so beautifully taught; that we ourselves might emulate him;..."
3. "I honor and revere [his] name... I delight to hear it; I love it. I love his doctrine... I am his witness."
4. "He died for those he loved. He reigns in the realms above."
5. "The more I learn of him, the more I love and revere him."
6. "I look to him. I love him. I seek to follow him."
7. "He not only gave us joy, happiness and opportunity here, but also a great hope in the life to come."
8. "Today, this Sabbath day, in many thousands of congregations, perhaps as many as twenty-one thousand, in many areas of the earth, our people have sung or will sing the praises of [him]."
9. "Of noble seed, of heavenly birth, he came to bless the sons of earth."
10. He was "a man of sorrows and acquainted with grief."
11. "Church members are interested in learning more about [him] because they love him and they love the gospel he brought forth."
12. "How great indeed is our debt to him. ...Great is his glory,... We stand in reverence before him... Let us not forget him. Let not his memory be forgotten in the celebration of Christmas."
13. "...and he shall stand in due time on the earth, in the flesh, and fulfill that to which he is appointed."
14. "The light, provided to the world by [him], illuminates the confusion, clarifies the principles of the gospel, and helps lead men and women to their own eternal reward, if they will but endure to the end."
15. The "work that has been carried out by President Young and his brethren [of the Twelve] has been in accordance with the plans, and designs, and Spirit, and instructions of [him]."
    

If you would like to see the sources for all these quotes, click here: sources