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Friday Sermon | Mormonism is not Christian Theology

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AOMToday’s “Friday Sermon” is not so much a sermon per se; rather, it is an introduction or overview of Mormonism geared at exposing how vastly different it is from Christianity despite its use of Christian terminology. This clip is a short (21 min) overview of Mormon theology. I’ll be linking to a longer class he taught on this subject at the end of the post. In a recent shared post on my personal Facebook page, I had an acquaintance jump into a discussion on my timeline who is a member of LDS assert that he considered himself Christian. While I have read through a large portion of the LDS.org website, I’ve avoided making stark distinctions before opting instead to simply focus on what the Gospel of Jesus Christ is without calling out other false gospels specifically. Thankfully, I’ve been introduced to the Ministry of Dr. James White via his response to the Newsweek article hit-piece on the Bible. With the popularity/prevalence of Glenn Beck (theBlaze) and the rumors of Mitt Romney possibly taking another run at Presidency, the false notion that Mormonism is a Christian denomination may come up again.

Dr. James White is the director of Alpha and Omega Ministries, a Christian apologetics organization based in Phoenix, Arizona. He is the author of more than twenty books, a professor, an accomplished debater, and an elder of the Phoenix Reformed Baptist Church.

[youtube http://youtu.be/a1BLR4rufYA]

For an extended (2 hours 18min) seminar  on witnessing to Mormons by Dr James White, click here.

Biblical Gospel of Jesus Christ

Colossians 1:11-23 (ESV)

11 May you be strengthened with all power, according to his glorious might, forall endurance and patience with joy, 12 giving thanks to the Father, who has qualified you to share in the inheritance of the saints in light. 13 He has delivered us from the domain of darkness and transferred us to the kingdom of his beloved Son, 14 in whom we have redemption, the forgiveness of sins.

15 He is the image of the invisible God, the firstborn of all creation. 16 For by him all things were created, in heaven and on earth, visible and invisible, whether thrones or dominions or rulers or authorities—all things were created through him and for him. 17 And he is before all things, and in him all things hold together. 18 And he is the head of the body, the church. He is the beginning,the firstborn from the dead, that in everything he might be preeminent. 19 For in him all the fullness of God was pleased to dwell, 20 and through him to reconcile to himself all things, whether on earth or in heaven, making peace by the blood of his cross.

21 And you, who once were alienated and hostile in mind, doing evil deeds, 22 he has now reconciled in his body of flesh by his death, in order to present you holy and blameless and above reproach before him, 23 if indeed you continue in the faith, stable and steadfast, not shifting from the hope of the gospel that you heard, which has been proclaimed in all creation under heaven, and of which I, Paul, became a minister.

Ephesians 2:1-10 (ESV)

By Grace Through Faith

1 And you were dead in the trespasses and sins 2 in which you once walked, following the course of this world, following the prince of the power of the air, the spirit that is now at work in the sons of disobedience— 3 among whom we all once lived in the passions of our flesh, carrying out the desires of the body and the mind, and were by nature children of wrath, like the rest of mankind.4 But God, being rich in mercy, because of the great love with which he loved us, 5 even when we were dead in our trespasses, made us alive together with Christ—by grace you have been saved— 6 and raised us up with him and seated us with him in the heavenly places in Christ Jesus, 7 so that in the coming ages he might show the immeasurable riches of his grace in kindness toward us in Christ Jesus. 8 For by grace you have been saved through faith. And this is not your own doing; it is the gift of God, 9 not a result of works, so that no one may boast. 10 For we are his workmanship, created in Christ Jesus for good works,which God prepared beforehand, that we should walk in them.

OT | The Lord is My Banner (Exodus 17)

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Moses fountain in Washington Park, Albany, NY.

Moses fountain in Washington Park, Albany, NY.

In our last Old Testament Study, we looked at how after God had provided the Children of Israel with mana in the wilderness (Jesus is the Bread from Heaven) He also provided them with water (Jesus called Himself the fountain of living water in the wilderness). Today’s post will be extra short so that (hopefully) you can take some time to review the OT studies leading up to Exodus 17.

Let’s jump into the text.

Exodus 17:8-16 (ESV)

Israel Defeats Amalek

8 Then Amalek came and fought with Israel at Rephidim. 9 So Moses said to Joshua, “Choose for us men, and go out and fight with Amalek. Tomorrow I will stand on the top of the hill with the staff of God in my hand.” 10 So Joshua did as Moses told him, and fought with Amalek, while Moses, Aaron, and Hur went up to the top of the hill. 11 Whenever Moses held up his hand, Israel prevailed, and whenever he lowered his hand, Amalek prevailed. 12 But Moses’ hands grew weary, so they took a stone and put it under him, and he sat on it, while Aaron and Hur held up his hands, one on one side, and the other on the other side. So his hands were steady until the going down of the sun. 13 And Joshua overwhelmed Amalek and his people with the sword.

14 Then the Lord said to Moses, “Write this as a memorial in a book and recite it in the ears of Joshua, that I will utterly blot out the memory of Amalek from under heaven.” 15 And Moses built an altar and called the name of it, The Lord Is My Banner, 16 saying, “A hand upon the throne of the Lord! The Lord will have war with Amalek from generation to generation.”

Several interesting things here. The first thing I’d like to mention is that we shouldn’t read this portion as an isolated event, separated from all previous events. Such is the current, post-modern paradigm of viewing everything that happens as “new” and completely disconnected from everything that has happened before.

Who is Amalek?

They are descended of Esau (Genesis 36). Though himself a son of Isaac, God rejected him in favor of Jacob, whom he would rename Israel. Esau took wives from the daughters of Heth (Canaan) further separating himself from the Promise to Abraham. Now, after so many generations, Amalek is waging war with the People of God, the Children of Promise.

Whose Victory of Battle?

Moses sends Joshua to choose men for battle, but to whom is the victory attributed? The Lord. Moses goes up on a hill and holds, not his staff, but the Staff of God. While in some cases it might be referred to as Moses’s staff, in this case Moses is clear to Joshua what is going to take place. The very staff that God instructed Moses and Aaron to use for each the plagues against Pharaoh, the staff with which God parted the Red Sea and the same staff God commanded Moses to strike the rock with at Horeb. Moses wasn’t saying “I’ll make sure you win”, he was saying “the Lord God is your Banner in battle”.

Banner?

While researching this passage, there was an entry in the Reformation Study Bible I thought was very informative, demonstrating something that might be lost in translation for us.

17:15 The Lord is my banner. The Hebrew word translated “banner” underlies “staff” in v. 9 and is used for the “pole” on which the bronze serpent was later placed (Num. 21:8). Since “banner” suggests cloth to us, this connection is lost. A spear could serve as a standard in battle, with or without bits of cloth tied to it. Later, a staff might have a device on it to mark the rallying point for troops. In the ancient world, these were sometimes images or signs of the gods. Moses’ staff is the ensign to which Joshua’s army could look and that symbolized God’s saving power. Moses declares that God Himself is the Standard, the Ensign of His people.

Very cool. Once again, what we are seeing here is not the greatness of Joshua’s leadership, but the Mighty Hand of God at work, showing His favor upon Israel, Moses, and Joshua. Remember the Song of Moses as recorded in Exodus 15.

Exodus 15 (ESV)

The Song of Moses

15 Then Moses and the people of Israel sang this song to the Lord, saying,

“I will sing to the Lord, for he has triumphed gloriously;
    the horse and his rider he has thrown into the sea.
2 The Lord is my strength and my song,
    and he has become my salvation;
this is my God, and I will praise him,
    my father’s God, and I will exalt him.
3 The Lord is a man of war;
    the Lord is his name.

4 “Pharaoh’s chariots and his host he cast into the sea,
    and his chosen officers were sunk in the Red Sea.
5 The floods covered them;
    they went down into the depths like a stone.
6 Your right hand, O Lord, glorious in power,
    your right hand, O Lord, shatters the enemy.
7 In the greatness of your majesty you overthrow your adversaries;
    you send out your fury; it consumes them like stubble.
8 At the blast of your nostrils the waters piled up;
    the floods stood up in a heap;
    the deeps congealed in the heart of the sea.
9 The enemy said, ‘I will pursue, I will overtake,
    I will divide the spoil, my desire shall have its fill of them.
    I will draw my sword; my hand shall destroy them.’
10 You blew with your wind; the sea covered them;
    they sank like lead in the mighty waters.

11 “Who is like you, O Lord, among the gods?
    Who is like you, majestic in holiness,
    awesome in glorious deeds, doing wonders?
12 You stretched out your right hand;
    the earth swallowed them.

13 “You have led in your steadfast love the people whom you have redeemed;
    you have guided them by your strength to your holy abode.
14 The peoples have heard; they tremble;
    pangs have seized the inhabitants of Philistia.
15 Now are the chiefs of Edom dismayed;
    trembling seizes the leaders of Moab;
    all the inhabitants of Canaan have melted away.
16 Terror and dread fall upon them;
    because of the greatness of your arm, they are still as a stone,
till your people, O Lord, pass by,
    till the people pass by whom you have purchased.
17 You will bring them in and plant them on your own mountain,
    the place, O Lord, which you have made for your abode,
    the sanctuary, O Lord, which your hands have established.
18 The Lord will reign forever and ever.”

In Hebrews 11, we are taught that all of the mighty deeds accomplished in Scripture were by faith. Faith in whom? In the Only Living God of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob, the Creator of all things. The Lord is my Banner… while there was a physical symbol of the favor of the Lord, neither Joshua, Aaron, Moses, nor Hur were under any misgivings that there was something in the staff itself, nor in the efforts of Moses. This was God’s work and God’s victory over Amalek.

Hebrews 13:20-21 (ESV)

Benediction

20 Now may the God of peace who brought again from the dead our Lord Jesus,the great shepherd of the sheep, by the blood of the eternal covenant, 21 equip you with everything good that you may do his will, working in us that which is pleasing in his sight, through Jesus Christ, to whom be glory forever and ever. Amen.

May the Grace of God be with you today and forever,
In Christ Jesus,
Jorge

Gospel Wednesday | Matthew 3:1-12

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bibleIt has been quite the time away from posting. We were greatly blessed with extended family time. It was a time of fellowship and adventure for our little ones.

Regarding Faithful Stewardship, some of the feedback we’ve received was that there was simply too much volume on a daily basis, that the posts were just so long that folks felt they didn’t have enough time to get into a serious read. I can definitely understand that sentiment. We discussed possibly moving the Biblical text to end-note references or hyperlinks, but I don’t want to highlight my own words so much as God’s Word. Therefore, we will simply try break up how much text we are covering in a single post. Picking up where we left off in our Gospel Wednesday posts, we will return to the Gospel According to Matthew, Chapter 3.

Matthew 3 (ESV)

John the Baptist Prepares the Way

3 In those days John the Baptist came preaching in the wilderness of Judea,2 “Repent, for the kingdom of heaven is at hand.” 3 For this is he who was spoken of by the prophet Isaiah when he said,

“The voice of one crying in the wilderness:
‘Prepare the way of the Lord;
    make his paths straight.’”

4 Now John wore a garment of camel’s hair and a leather belt around his waist, and his food was locusts and wild honey. 5 Then Jerusalem and all Judea and all the region about the Jordan were going out to him, 6 and they were baptized by him in the river Jordan, confessing their sins.

7 But when he saw many of the Pharisees and Sadducees coming to his baptism, he said to them, “You brood of vipers! Who warned you to flee from the wrath to come? 8 Bear fruit in keeping with repentance. 9 And do not presume to say to yourselves, ‘We have Abraham as our father,’ for I tell you, God is able from these stones to raise up children for Abraham. 10 Even now the axe is laid to the root of the trees. Every tree therefore that does not bear good fruit is cut down and thrown into the fire.

11 “I baptize you with water for repentance, but he who is coming after me is mightier than I, whose sandals I am not worthy to carry. He will baptize you with the Holy Spirit and fire. 12 His winnowing fork is in his hand, and he will clear his threshing floor and gather his wheat into the barn, but the chaff he will burn with unquenchable fire.”

Those of you who attend liturgical churches probably already dug into this text during Advent (the season before Christmas). We looked at the prophesy regarding John in our examination of just what Mary might have known. There are some curious descriptions of John that bear mentioning, particularly given that Matthew’s primary audience was the Jewish believer. Mathew’s account begins with Joseph and his dreams (reminiscent of Joseph, the son of Isaac/Israel), and here we see John the Baptist described in verse 4, “Now John wore a garment of camel’s hair and a leather belt around his waist, and his food was locusts and wild honey.” Interesting what God the Holy Spirit prompted Matthew to write here. Remember in Luke 1:17, the angel Gabriel told Zechariah regarding John “and he will go before him in the spirit and power of Elijah, to turn the hearts of the fathers to the children, and the disobedient to the wisdom of the just, to make ready for the Lord a people prepared“. Could Matthew’s description of John the Baptist be a sign or a reminder to the people of Elijah?

2 Kings 1:1-8 (ESV)

Elijah Denounces Ahaziah

1 After the death of Ahab, Moab rebelled against Israel.

2 Now Ahaziah fell through the lattice in his upper chamber in Samaria, and lay sick; so he sent messengers, telling them, “Go, inquire of Baal-zebub, the god of Ekron, whether I shall recover from this sickness.” 3 But the angel of the Lordsaid to Elijah the Tishbite, “Arise, go up to meet the messengers of the king of Samaria, and say to them, ‘Is it because there is no God in Israel that you are going to inquire of Baal-zebub, the god of Ekron? 4 Now therefore thus says the Lord, You shall not come down from the bed to which you have gone up, but you shall surely die.’” So Elijah went.

5 The messengers returned to the king, and he said to them, “Why have you returned?” 6 And they said to him, “There came a man to meet us, and said to us, ‘Go back to the king who sent you, and say to him, Thus says the Lord, Is it because there is no God in Israel that you are sending to inquire of Baal-zebub, the god of Ekron? Therefore you shall not come down from the bed to which you have gone up, but you shall surely die.’” 7 He said to them, “What kind of man was he who came to meet you and told you these things?” 8 They answered him, “He wore a garment of hair, with a belt of leather about his waist.” And he said, “It is Elijah the Tishbite.”

Very interesting. Yes, God’s word is revealing that John the Baptist had indeed come onto the scene in the spirit and power of Elijah. I find it interesting, too, that in the 2 Kings account above, Elijah shows up unannounced, declaring a word of rebuke for the sin of idolatry. Ahaziah didn’t send for a Prophet of the Lord God; rather, he sent for a word from a mute idol. Judgement was coming, and the Lord God sent His servant, Elijah. But the occasion for John the Baptist was different… he was preaching repentance and preparing the way for the Messiah, the Christ. John baptized with water, but the Messiah would baptize with the Holy Spirit and with Fire.

Another interesting note from Matthew’s description of John the Baptist is that his food was locusts and wild honey. As odd as such a diet might seem, it met the Levitical standard for clean food.

Leviticus 11:20-23 (ESV)

20 “All winged insects that go on all fours are detestable to you. 21 Yet among the winged insects that go on all fours you may eat those that have jointed legs above their feet, with which to hop on the ground.22 Of them you may eat: the locust of any kind, the bald locust of any kind, the cricket of any kind, and the grasshopper of any kind.23 But all other winged insects that have four feet are detestable to you.

Now that Christ declared all foods clean, we needn’t worry too much about the culinary restrictions of the Mosaic covenant, but understand that this took place before Christ had done so, and any uncleanness on the part of John the Baptist would have disqualified him as a Prophet of God, especially in his baptism.

When the Pharisees and Sadducees came to John, his words are very direct and ominous. Judgement was being spoken against the leaders. Elijah rebuked the kings of Israel, and John the Baptist rebuked the spiritual leaders of Jerusalem. Elijah pointed Israel back to the Word of God, and John the Baptist prepared the way for the people to see the Word Made Flesh, Jesus Christ.

We will continue working our way through the Gospel according to Matthew next week. Until then, may the Lord Bless you and keep you always.

In Christ Jesus,
Jorge

Taking Some Time Off

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16_luke2-collectionWith all of the traveling my family is going to be doing over the next 3 weeks, I think it’s time we took a bit of a break from blogging. I pray you each spend time in prayer and in the Word during this Holiday season. Share the Gospel of Jesus Christ, bear fruit in keeping with repentance, forgive others as you have been forgiven in Jesus Name.

Matthew 6:5-21 (ESV)

The Lord’s Prayer

5 “And when you pray, you must not be like the hypocrites. For they love to stand and pray in the synagogues and at the street corners, that they may be seen by others. Truly, I say to you, they have received their reward. 6 But when you pray, go into your room and shut the door and pray to your Father who is in secret. And your Father who sees in secret will reward you.

7 “And when you pray, do not heap up empty phrases as the Gentiles do, forthey think that they will be heard for their many words. 8 Do not be like them,for your Father knows what you need before you ask him. 9 Pray then like this:

“Our Father in heaven,
hallowed be your name.
10 Your kingdom come,
your will be done,
    on earth as it is in heaven.
11 Give us this day our daily bread,
12 and forgive us our debts,
    as we also have forgiven our debtors.
13 And lead us not into temptation,
    but deliver us from evil.

14 For if you forgive others their trespasses, your heavenly Father will also forgive you, 15 but if you do not forgive others their trespasses, neither will your Father forgive your trespasses.

Fasting

16 “And when you fast, do not look gloomy like the hypocrites, for they disfigure their faces that their fasting may be seen by others. Truly, I say to you, they have received their reward. 17 But when you fast, anoint your head and wash your face, 18 that your fasting may not be seen by others but by your Father who is in secret. And your Father who sees in secret will reward you.

Lay Up Treasures in Heaven

19 “Do not lay up for yourselves treasures on earth, where moth and rustdestroy and where thieves break in and steal, 20 but lay up for yourselves treasures in heaven, where neither moth nor rust destroys and where thieves do not break in and steal. 21 For where your treasure is, there your heart will be also.

If the Lord should tarry, we should be back to blogging here at Faithful Stewardship for Gospel Wednesday, January 14, 2015. We will be picking back up in the Gospel According to Matthew.  Until then, we plan on sharing good material we find on our Facebook Page.

In Christ Jesus,
Jorge

“Popular” Christmas Minimizes Christ

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As a bit of a side note, I wanted to share a reminder that while it seems like a good thing that the whole world embraces this holiday season of Christmas, they don’t honor Christ. The world hates Him. Not all Christmas songs honor Christ, most of them just celebrate celebration itself.

Billboard Holiday 100 Songs

  1. Mary, Did You Know? — Pentatonix
  2. All I Want For Christmas Is You — Mariah Carey
  3. Rockin’ Around The Christmas Tree — Brenda Lee
  4. The Christmas Song (Merry Christmas To You) — Nat King Cole
  5. Last Christmas — Wham!
  6. Christmas Eve (Sarajevo 12/24) — Trans-Siberian Orchestra
  7. Santa Tell Me — Ariana Grande
  8. Feliz Navidad — Jose Feliciano
  9. White Christmas — Bing Crosby
  10. It’s The Most Wonderful Time Of The Year — Andy Williams
  11. Jingle Bell Rock — Bobby Helms
  12. Rudolph The Red-Nosed Reindeer — Gene Autry
  13. Do You Want To Build A Snowman? — Kristen Bell, Agatha Lee Monn & Katie Lopez
  14. A Holly Jolly Christmas — Burl Ives
  15. Baby It’s Cold Outside — Idina Menzel Duet with Michael Bublé
  16. Silent Night — Kelly Clarkson Feat. Reba McEntire & Trisha Yearwood
  17. Wonderful Christmastime — Paul McCartney
  18. It’s Beginning To Look A Lot Like Christmas — Michael Bublé
  19. Happy Xmas (War is Over) — John Lennon & Yoko Ono
  20. Christmas Canon — Trans-Siberian Orchestra

In the top 20, only 3 make an attempt to reference the Birth of Christ. While the first song is good, we saw in our last Christmas Gospel post that the song kind of ignores a great deal of what Scripture makes clear that Mary knew. Christmas Eve Sarajevo get’s a pass because there are no words, but the melody begins with “what Child is this” (We’ll be looking at this song next Tuesday). Silent Night is a good song as we discussed in today’s DiM Post, but it got trumped today by Matt Maher’s version.

Remember that Jesus came to a world that was fallen and was not truly looking for Him. The World isn’t celebrating Him, nor is it seeking Him. We aren’t here to make the World acknowledge our holidays; rather, we preach Christ and Him crucified so that those who believe in Him will be saved out of the world and into eternal life in Christ Jesus.

John 1:1-18 (ESV) | The Word Became Flesh

1 In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God. 2 He was in the beginning with God. 3 All things were made through him, and without him was not any thing made that was made. 4 In him was life,and the life was the light of men.5 The light shines in the darkness, and the darkness has not overcome it.

6 There was a man sent from God, whose name was John. 7 He came as awitness, to bear witness about the light, that all might believe through him.8 He was not the light, but came to bear witness about the light.

9 The true light, which gives light to everyone, was coming into the world. 10 He was in the world, and the world was made through him, yet the world did not know him. 11 He came to his own, and his own people did not receive him.12 But to all who did receive him, who believed in his name, he gave the right to become children of God, 13 who were born, not of blood nor of the will of the flesh nor of the will of man, but of God.

14 And the Word became flesh and dwelt among us, and we have seen his glory, glory as of the only Son from the Father, full of grace and truth.15 (John bore witness about him, and cried out, “This was he of whom I said, ‘He who comes after me ranks before me, because he was before me.’”) 16 For from his fullness we have all received, grace upon grace. 17 For the law was given through Moses; grace and truth came through Jesus Christ. 18 No one has ever seen God; the only God, who is at the Father’s side, he has made him known.

Colossians 3:16-17 (ESV) 16 Let the word of Christ dwell in you richly, teaching and admonishing one another in all wisdom, singing psalms and hymns and spiritual songs, with thankfulness in your hearts to God. 17 And whatever you do, in word or deed, do everything in the name of the Lord Jesus, giving thanks to God the Father through him.

Amen.
In Christ Jesus,
Jorge