1 00:00:03,320 --> 00:00:05,960 Welcome to the Liberty Baptist Sermon Archives. 2 00:00:06,200 --> 00:00:09,040 The message you're about to hear was preached at Liberty Baptist 3 00:00:09,040 --> 00:00:13,040 Church in Easton, MA. You can find out more about us 4 00:00:13,040 --> 00:00:17,280 or contact us at my libertybaptist.org or just look 5 00:00:17,280 --> 00:00:19,760 us up on Facebook. And now we hope that this 6 00:00:19,760 --> 00:00:22,080 message from God's Word will be a blessing to you. 7 00:00:24,480 --> 00:00:27,240 Turn your Bibles, please. The Galatians chapter #1 8 00:00:27,240 --> 00:00:30,200 Galatians chapter #1 this morning. 9 00:00:30,200 --> 00:00:34,720 And I will say I had mentioned last week after we finished our 10 00:00:34,720 --> 00:00:38,800 series on the Jehovah Witnesses, that we will be moving on to the 11 00:00:38,800 --> 00:00:42,440 Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints, also known as the 12 00:00:42,440 --> 00:00:46,280 group called the Mormons. And then obviously for me saying 13 00:00:46,280 --> 00:00:50,280 that on Sunday morning and then Sunday afternoon, we all saw the 14 00:00:50,280 --> 00:00:52,960 awful, what I would call terrorist attack that took place 15 00:00:52,960 --> 00:00:57,160 against the Mormon church where a gunman went into the church 16 00:00:57,160 --> 00:01:00,560 and then shot several people, as well as a burning. 17 00:01:00,560 --> 00:01:03,960 It seemed to be that church down almost to the ground. 18 00:01:04,400 --> 00:01:08,120 And so I want to make clear, obviously this morning that that 19 00:01:08,120 --> 00:01:10,640 type of violence is tragic. There's no doubt about it 20 00:01:10,640 --> 00:01:13,120 whatsoever. It's awful and evil and wicked, 21 00:01:13,640 --> 00:01:16,040 but at the same time, I did have to just search within myself. 22 00:01:16,680 --> 00:01:19,440 Is this may be a study that we should be putting off for a few 23 00:01:19,440 --> 00:01:21,520 weeks? Is it in poor taste maybe for us 24 00:01:21,520 --> 00:01:23,720 to be able to look at that? And I do believe that it's 25 00:01:23,720 --> 00:01:26,680 important for us to continue to look at that while still 26 00:01:26,680 --> 00:01:29,520 acknowledging what took place last week was horrific. 27 00:01:29,880 --> 00:01:32,800 But at the same time, what we want to do this morning is what 28 00:01:32,800 --> 00:01:35,560 we've been doing well for the last several months as we've 29 00:01:35,560 --> 00:01:38,720 been looking at the different types of world religions and 30 00:01:38,720 --> 00:01:41,000 cults, is that we are not attacking the adherents. 31 00:01:41,000 --> 00:01:43,520 Remember, those adherents, those are the people we want to win to 32 00:01:43,720 --> 00:01:46,920 Jesus Christ. We want to see more Muslims come 33 00:01:46,920 --> 00:01:49,120 to Christ. We want to see Jehovah Witnesses 34 00:01:49,120 --> 00:01:51,200 come to Christ. We want to see Mormons come to 35 00:01:51,200 --> 00:01:53,040 Christ. And we'll name all types of 36 00:01:53,040 --> 00:01:55,280 other groups as we continue on in this study. 37 00:01:55,520 --> 00:01:58,680 But at the same time, we do want to make sure that we do attack 38 00:01:58,840 --> 00:02:01,680 the articles of faith and the authorities of these different 39 00:02:01,680 --> 00:02:03,320 groups. And the Mormons are no 40 00:02:03,320 --> 00:02:05,480 exception. So I do believe that we want to 41 00:02:05,480 --> 00:02:08,440 move ahead here this morning with that understanding. 42 00:02:08,440 --> 00:02:12,200 And we'll do so by starting in Galatians chapter #1 which I 43 00:02:12,360 --> 00:02:14,280 hope you turn there. We'll get there in just a few 44 00:02:14,280 --> 00:02:17,160 minutes after I give you a short introduction, and then we watch 45 00:02:17,160 --> 00:02:20,480 a video from the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints. 46 00:02:20,800 --> 00:02:24,560 You know, in many ways they are probably the most fascinating of 47 00:02:24,560 --> 00:02:27,520 the cults, at least to me. I've had the most experience 48 00:02:27,520 --> 00:02:30,120 interacting with Jehovah Witnesses just through the 49 00:02:30,120 --> 00:02:32,960 years, whether it was at my door or whether talking to them at 50 00:02:32,960 --> 00:02:36,840 their literature stands. But the Mormon church is one 51 00:02:36,840 --> 00:02:40,800 that is very fascinating because it is just absolutely filled 52 00:02:40,800 --> 00:02:43,880 with contradictions. Consider this, in many ways they 53 00:02:43,880 --> 00:02:47,720 are almost obsessed with lifting the name of Jesus Christ, but 54 00:02:47,720 --> 00:02:50,600 yet at the same time they blasphemy the name of Jesus 55 00:02:50,600 --> 00:02:53,840 Christ because as they lift his name they are teaching a Jesus 56 00:02:54,040 --> 00:02:57,480 that is not found in the Bible. They desperately want to be 57 00:02:57,480 --> 00:03:00,120 considered to be Christians. The Mormon church has a 58 00:03:00,400 --> 00:03:05,840 desperate feel or desperate need to be counted as Christians, 59 00:03:05,840 --> 00:03:09,160 just as we are, but yet they don't hold to any of the core 60 00:03:09,160 --> 00:03:13,240 doctrines that Christians do. It's contradictory. 61 00:03:13,240 --> 00:03:15,680 They they're concerned about looking good. 62 00:03:15,680 --> 00:03:19,840 They have a almost obsessive nature about making sure that 63 00:03:19,840 --> 00:03:22,400 they have this clean public image. 64 00:03:22,400 --> 00:03:24,960 But when you start to get down deep, you see the seedy 65 00:03:24,960 --> 00:03:27,560 underbelly of what their doctrines lead to. 66 00:03:28,080 --> 00:03:30,840 You see that they have this opulence. 67 00:03:30,840 --> 00:03:33,520 I mean, have you ever seen a Mormon temple before, Whether 68 00:03:33,520 --> 00:03:36,000 it's the one in Salt Lake City or any of the others that have 69 00:03:36,000 --> 00:03:39,560 built over 200 around the world on six different continents? 70 00:03:40,320 --> 00:03:43,280 Opulence, but yet spiritual bankruptcy. 71 00:03:43,600 --> 00:03:46,120 They're very secretive in so many ways. 72 00:03:46,120 --> 00:03:49,200 They're probably the most secretive of any religion that 73 00:03:49,200 --> 00:03:51,880 you will find. And not just talking of 74 00:03:51,880 --> 00:03:55,000 Christian cults, but perhaps even the religions themselves. 75 00:03:55,000 --> 00:03:57,560 These false religions, the Mormons are so secretive, while 76 00:03:57,720 --> 00:04:01,120 at the same time they have this great public push and also 77 00:04:01,120 --> 00:04:03,120 they're continually asking for money. 78 00:04:03,120 --> 00:04:06,960 They constantly want to have a steady stream of income. 79 00:04:06,960 --> 00:04:11,080 The Mormon church does, but yet from the research that others 80 00:04:11,080 --> 00:04:14,200 have done, they have somewhere in the bank. 81 00:04:14,200 --> 00:04:16,600 And of course we understand they don't just have one bank account 82 00:04:16,839 --> 00:04:18,000 that has all of their money in it. 83 00:04:18,000 --> 00:04:21,360 But by the best estimates that we can find somewhere that the 84 00:04:21,640 --> 00:04:24,640 Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints has control of 85 00:04:24,640 --> 00:04:31,360 somewhere around 300 billion. Not million, but billion dollars 86 00:04:31,600 --> 00:04:34,760 with an endowment of over $200 billion. 87 00:04:35,040 --> 00:04:38,080 In essence, because their operating expenses are somewhere 88 00:04:38,080 --> 00:04:42,440 around 1 to $2 billion a year, they could literally fund the 89 00:04:42,440 --> 00:04:45,040 Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints just off the interest 90 00:04:45,040 --> 00:04:47,560 of their endowment for perpetuity. 91 00:04:48,280 --> 00:04:52,760 But yet, this constant need for money, the Mormon Church, is a 92 00:04:52,760 --> 00:04:55,520 contradiction in every possible way. 93 00:04:55,800 --> 00:04:58,000 And there's a lot that I want us to look at over the next few 94 00:04:58,000 --> 00:04:59,200 weeks. This morning, we're going to be 95 00:04:59,200 --> 00:05:02,160 introducing the Mormons to you, and we're going to do so, as has 96 00:05:02,160 --> 00:05:04,720 been my habit over the last several weeks, not by showing a 97 00:05:04,720 --> 00:05:08,400 video debunking a certain group, but by showing a video that 98 00:05:08,400 --> 00:05:11,960 comes from a group. And so we watched many from JW 99 00:05:12,160 --> 00:05:15,080 u.org over the last few weeks. And so today we're going to be 100 00:05:15,080 --> 00:05:17,920 watching an introductory video about Joseph Smith from the 101 00:05:17,920 --> 00:05:20,040 Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints. 102 00:05:20,040 --> 00:05:23,480 And so just go ahead and watch as you watch on your screen at 103 00:05:23,480 --> 00:05:26,840 home or right here in the front. Who was Joseph Smith? 104 00:05:28,320 --> 00:05:31,560 He is most well known as the first prophet and president of 105 00:05:31,560 --> 00:05:34,320 The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints. 106 00:05:35,120 --> 00:05:38,280 Latter Day Saints believe that God called Joseph Smith to 107 00:05:38,280 --> 00:05:40,880 restore the fullness of his gospel to the earth. 108 00:05:41,920 --> 00:05:45,320 Let's start at the beginning. Joseph was born on December 109 00:05:45,320 --> 00:05:49,400 23rd, 18 O five. He was the 5th of 11 children 110 00:05:49,560 --> 00:05:52,720 born to Joseph Smith Senior and Lucy Mac Smith. 111 00:05:53,280 --> 00:05:56,640 They were a close knit family of farmers who struggle to make a 112 00:05:56,640 --> 00:05:59,080 living. They were often forced to move 113 00:05:59,080 --> 00:06:02,120 throughout the northeastern United States in order to 114 00:06:02,120 --> 00:06:06,280 support themselves. Eventually the family settled in 115 00:06:06,280 --> 00:06:09,360 upstate New York. The Smith family were devout 116 00:06:09,360 --> 00:06:11,800 Christians. They read the Bible as a family 117 00:06:11,800 --> 00:06:15,880 and attended several churches in the area searching for one that 118 00:06:15,880 --> 00:06:19,240 fit their beliefs. Yet Joseph was confused by the 119 00:06:19,240 --> 00:06:22,800 conflicting teachings. Joseph loved the Bible and the 120 00:06:22,800 --> 00:06:26,440 teachings of Jesus, but he was confused by the conflicting 121 00:06:26,440 --> 00:06:28,440 opinions of the various churches. 122 00:06:29,080 --> 00:06:32,800 One day while studying the Bible, Joseph read a verse in 123 00:06:32,800 --> 00:06:36,800 the New Testament that said, If any of you lack wisdom, let him 124 00:06:36,800 --> 00:06:40,680 ask of God. After careful reflection, Joseph 125 00:06:40,680 --> 00:06:43,000 decided to do as the Scripture directed. 126 00:06:43,440 --> 00:06:46,320 He would ask God which church he should join. 127 00:06:47,480 --> 00:06:51,680 On a spring morning in 1820, Joseph went to a Grove of trees 128 00:06:51,680 --> 00:06:55,600 near his family's farm to pray. Joseph knelt and prayed. 129 00:06:56,760 --> 00:07:01,600 Joseph said that as he prayed, I saw a pillar of light exactly 130 00:07:01,600 --> 00:07:05,080 over my head above the brightness of the sun, which 131 00:07:05,080 --> 00:07:07,560 descended gradually until it fell upon me. 132 00:07:08,400 --> 00:07:12,360 When the light rested upon me, I saw two personages, whose 133 00:07:12,360 --> 00:07:16,560 brightness and glory defy all description, standing above me 134 00:07:16,560 --> 00:07:19,160 in the air. One of them spake unto me, 135 00:07:19,560 --> 00:07:23,840 calling me by name, and said, pointing to the other, This is 136 00:07:23,840 --> 00:07:28,360 my beloved son, hear him. Joseph asked the Lord which 137 00:07:28,360 --> 00:07:31,880 church he should join. The Lord instructed him not to 138 00:07:31,880 --> 00:07:35,760 join any of them. That experience, which came to 139 00:07:35,760 --> 00:07:39,800 be known as the First Vision, set in motion what the apostle 140 00:07:39,800 --> 00:07:43,400 Peter referred to as the restitution of all things. 141 00:07:44,200 --> 00:07:48,120 That is, Jesus Christ would call Joseph to restore his true 142 00:07:48,120 --> 00:07:51,960 Church to the earth. Joseph would go on to learn that 143 00:07:51,960 --> 00:07:55,560 Christ's true Church, the one with his authority that he 144 00:07:55,560 --> 00:07:58,960 founded during his time on earth, had been lost from the 145 00:07:58,960 --> 00:08:02,560 earth after the martyrdom of the original Church's leaders. 146 00:08:03,000 --> 00:08:06,640 Three years after the First Vision, an Angel visited Joseph 147 00:08:06,640 --> 00:08:10,240 and instructed him to unearth an ancient record hidden in a 148 00:08:10,240 --> 00:08:14,120 nearby hill, which Joseph translated by the power of God. 149 00:08:14,640 --> 00:08:18,360 This ancient record was the Book of Mormon, another testament of 150 00:08:18,400 --> 00:08:21,120 Jesus Christ. The Book of Mormon contains an 151 00:08:21,120 --> 00:08:25,000 account of God's dealings with the ancient inhabitants of the 152 00:08:25,000 --> 00:08:29,440 Americas, and Latter Day Saints believe it is scripture, another 153 00:08:29,440 --> 00:08:34,360 witness of Jesus Christ. Along with the Bible, the Lord 154 00:08:34,360 --> 00:08:39,039 also sent Peter, James, and John to restore his priesthood, that 155 00:08:39,039 --> 00:08:42,039 is, the authority to act in the name of God. 156 00:08:42,799 --> 00:08:46,000 Joseph Smith also received revelations from the Lord that 157 00:08:46,000 --> 00:08:49,720 taught and clarified eternal principles such as the 158 00:08:49,720 --> 00:08:53,480 importance of baptism, the need for temples where we make sacred 159 00:08:53,480 --> 00:08:57,360 covenants with God, and the marriage performed by the 160 00:08:57,360 --> 00:09:01,240 restored priesthood can last eternally, not just until the 161 00:09:01,280 --> 00:09:06,360 end of our mortal life. On April 6th, 1830, the Church 162 00:09:06,360 --> 00:09:09,840 of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints was officially organized 163 00:09:10,440 --> 00:09:14,200 and Joseph Smith was sustained as the first elder and leader of 164 00:09:14,200 --> 00:09:17,440 the church. So who was Joseph Smith? 165 00:09:18,480 --> 00:09:21,680 Latter Day Saints believed the Lord worked through Joseph Smith 166 00:09:22,080 --> 00:09:25,640 calling him as a prophet to reestablish the true Church of 167 00:09:25,760 --> 00:09:29,760 Jesus Christ on the earth. Latter Day Saints call this the 168 00:09:29,760 --> 00:09:32,840 Restoration. As part of the Restoration, 169 00:09:33,280 --> 00:09:37,280 Joseph Smith received revelation from God, bringing back lost, 170 00:09:37,280 --> 00:09:40,760 eternal truths by the gift and power of God. 171 00:09:40,960 --> 00:09:44,720 He translated ancient scriptures and clarified the meaning of 172 00:09:44,720 --> 00:09:48,360 existing scripture too. He also received the priesthood, 173 00:09:48,760 --> 00:09:50,760 God's authority to act in His name. 174 00:09:51,680 --> 00:09:54,800 Joseph Smith accomplished all of this while facing great 175 00:09:54,800 --> 00:09:58,880 persecution throughout his life. Indeed, from the time of the 176 00:09:58,880 --> 00:10:03,000 First Vision to his death at the hands of an angry mob when he 177 00:10:03,000 --> 00:10:06,440 was 38, Joseph faced great opposition because of his 178 00:10:06,440 --> 00:10:09,360 message. Nevertheless, he never ceased to 179 00:10:09,360 --> 00:10:13,200 testify that Jesus Christ was the Savior of the world and that 180 00:10:13,200 --> 00:10:15,760 His true Church had been restored to the earth. 181 00:10:16,560 --> 00:10:20,280 Joseph Smith was the first in a line of modern day prophets who 182 00:10:20,280 --> 00:10:23,760 have likewise received revelation and guidance from God 183 00:10:23,760 --> 00:10:28,360 for all His children. Even today, as in ancient times, 184 00:10:28,600 --> 00:10:32,240 the Lord's modern day prophets teach us of Him and guide His 185 00:10:32,240 --> 00:10:36,280 Church on the earth. Joseph Smith's life and the 186 00:10:36,280 --> 00:10:39,480 Restoration show us how much God loves us. 187 00:10:39,960 --> 00:10:43,440 He wants us to know the truth, and He wants us to know Him. 188 00:10:44,440 --> 00:10:51,080 Now you know. Of what you just heard was that 189 00:10:51,400 --> 00:10:56,360 until Joseph Smith met Jesus Christ, that there was no church 190 00:10:56,360 --> 00:10:59,840 on the earth, that the church had just kind of dissipated. 191 00:10:59,840 --> 00:11:03,640 Whatever was called a church was not truly the Lord's church, and 192 00:11:03,640 --> 00:11:06,440 that after some period of time an Angel appeared. 193 00:11:06,440 --> 00:11:11,120 The Angel Moroni appeared to Joseph Smith with these golden 194 00:11:11,120 --> 00:11:13,520 plates, which were then translated, which became the 195 00:11:13,520 --> 00:11:16,640 Book of Mormon, and then from the Book of Mormon, as well as 196 00:11:16,640 --> 00:11:19,920 the Bible and the Pearl of Great Price and the doctrines and 197 00:11:19,920 --> 00:11:23,840 covenants that all of these are to be scripture, not just the 198 00:11:23,840 --> 00:11:28,480 Bible in which we use. This is the general consensus of 199 00:11:28,480 --> 00:11:31,840 what it means to be a Mormon. And I say that because there are 200 00:11:31,840 --> 00:11:34,360 many different groups of Mormons that are out there today. 201 00:11:34,360 --> 00:11:37,440 We always think of Mormons as the group that has the big 202 00:11:37,440 --> 00:11:40,760 temple in Salt Lake City, but there are also splinter groups 203 00:11:40,760 --> 00:11:43,600 of Mormons that are out there as well, more so than there would 204 00:11:43,600 --> 00:11:46,160 be of Jehovah Witnesses. But there are fundamentalist 205 00:11:46,160 --> 00:11:48,160 Mormons. There are those who still hold 206 00:11:48,160 --> 00:11:50,000 to polygamy. Some of those have been on 207 00:11:50,000 --> 00:11:52,480 television in the last few years as well and actually have been 208 00:11:52,480 --> 00:11:55,880 turned into reality shows. Those will be fundamentalist 209 00:11:55,880 --> 00:11:57,840 Mormons. There are many other Mormon 210 00:11:57,840 --> 00:12:02,120 groups that are out there on top of just the very normal, what I 211 00:12:02,200 --> 00:12:07,040 say normal, but the the group that is the most mainstream of 212 00:12:07,040 --> 00:12:10,000 all of them, which would be the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter 213 00:12:10,000 --> 00:12:11,600 Day Saints. But I kind of want to just take 214 00:12:11,600 --> 00:12:14,320 a few moments this morning to just pick apart some of the very 215 00:12:14,320 --> 00:12:19,760 basic allegations that have been made about this man named Joseph 216 00:12:19,760 --> 00:12:21,600 Smith. And to do so, I want us to go 217 00:12:21,600 --> 00:12:24,960 ahead and look at Galatians chapter #1 and we're going to go 218 00:12:24,960 --> 00:12:26,920 to a couple different Bible passages here this morning. 219 00:12:26,920 --> 00:12:29,520 So you follow along with us so that we can look and see what 220 00:12:29,520 --> 00:12:33,480 the Bible says about this idea of someone coming along and 221 00:12:33,480 --> 00:12:37,440 basically saying that for 1800 years mankind has missed the 222 00:12:37,440 --> 00:12:41,720 mark about Jesus Christ. And there's really another to 223 00:12:41,720 --> 00:12:45,720 gospel, there's really another way of teaching that has been 224 00:12:46,320 --> 00:12:49,320 obscured over these years. What does the Bible itself say 225 00:12:49,320 --> 00:12:51,160 about that? Well, it says this Paul, an 226 00:12:51,160 --> 00:12:56,320 apostle, not of men, neither by man, but by Jesus Christ and God 227 00:12:56,320 --> 00:12:59,480 the Father who raised him from the dead and all the brethren 228 00:12:59,480 --> 00:13:03,600 which are with me unto the churches of Galatia, grace be 229 00:13:03,600 --> 00:13:07,480 unto you, and peace from God the Father and from our Lord Jesus 230 00:13:07,480 --> 00:13:11,400 Christ who gave himself for our sins, that He might deliver us 231 00:13:11,400 --> 00:13:14,360 from, from this present evil world according to the will of 232 00:13:14,360 --> 00:13:17,600 God and our Father. By the way, verse #4 is not my 233 00:13:17,600 --> 00:13:20,160 message, but verse #4 should be underlined in your Bible. 234 00:13:20,160 --> 00:13:22,200 Amen. The fact that He has given 235 00:13:22,200 --> 00:13:25,360 Himself our sins and He's delivered us from this present 236 00:13:25,360 --> 00:13:27,000 evil world. By the way, that's not just 237 00:13:27,000 --> 00:13:29,240 talking about heaven. That means that we can have 238 00:13:29,240 --> 00:13:32,960 deliverance from the power over sin in this life as well. 239 00:13:33,120 --> 00:13:36,480 That salvation isn't just about waiting until heaven, but that 240 00:13:36,480 --> 00:13:39,920 we've been saved from the power of sin in this life, not just 241 00:13:39,920 --> 00:13:42,320 the penalty of sin in the life to come. 242 00:13:42,480 --> 00:13:45,560 But then it says in verse #5 to whom be glory forever and ever, 243 00:13:45,640 --> 00:13:47,960 Amen. Now walk in here, starting in 244 00:13:47,960 --> 00:13:50,680 verse number six. It says, I marvel that you are 245 00:13:50,680 --> 00:13:54,560 so soon removed from him that called you into the grace of 246 00:13:54,560 --> 00:13:58,600 Christ unto another gospel. You say, well pastor, you mean 247 00:13:58,600 --> 00:14:01,560 there's more than one gospel? And my answer to you would be, 248 00:14:01,560 --> 00:14:04,640 yes, there are many gospels. We just talked about the Gospel 249 00:14:04,840 --> 00:14:06,600 of the Jehovah Witness. So we could talk about the 250 00:14:06,600 --> 00:14:10,640 gospel of the Muslims. We can talk about the gospel of 251 00:14:10,640 --> 00:14:12,760 many different groups, but hold on. 252 00:14:12,760 --> 00:14:15,000 You start to get uncomfortable. You say, pastor, I thought 253 00:14:15,000 --> 00:14:17,560 there's just one way. I thought it's Jesus Christ and 254 00:14:17,560 --> 00:14:19,480 Christ alone. I am the way, the truth and the 255 00:14:19,480 --> 00:14:21,320 life. No, you're on the right path. 256 00:14:21,320 --> 00:14:23,840 In fact, you're on the only path, I would say. 257 00:14:24,000 --> 00:14:26,840 But there are other gospels. But what does Paul say about 258 00:14:26,840 --> 00:14:29,680 this? It says this, which is not 259 00:14:29,680 --> 00:14:30,800 another meaning. This. 260 00:14:30,920 --> 00:14:34,600 It may look like another gospel, but it is not. 261 00:14:34,760 --> 00:14:38,600 It may look like another way. It is not another way. 262 00:14:38,760 --> 00:14:41,520 They may portray themselves to be another gospel. 263 00:14:41,720 --> 00:14:46,200 They are not another gospel. And the Mormons are portraying 264 00:14:46,200 --> 00:14:50,240 that there is this other gospel that is out there, this other 265 00:14:50,240 --> 00:14:54,080 way that mankind can be saved. That what has been said from the 266 00:14:54,080 --> 00:14:57,160 Bible is not adequate, is not enough. 267 00:14:57,160 --> 00:15:00,400 In fact, we'll look at this in greater length as time goes on, 268 00:15:00,400 --> 00:15:03,880 but basically this, that Jesus Christ became a God. 269 00:15:04,880 --> 00:15:08,800 Did you catch that not saying that Jesus Christ is God, he 270 00:15:08,800 --> 00:15:13,760 became a God, which means he was not a God before and listen to 271 00:15:13,760 --> 00:15:17,520 this, you can become a God too. Hey pastor, they don't really 272 00:15:17,520 --> 00:15:20,480 believe that. They believe that and more. 273 00:15:21,480 --> 00:15:22,880 That's not another gospel friend. 274 00:15:23,600 --> 00:15:25,360 What is it? They may call it a gospel, but 275 00:15:25,360 --> 00:15:29,240 that is a road that sends you straight to hell, which is not 276 00:15:29,240 --> 00:15:33,400 another, but there be some that trouble you and would pervert 277 00:15:33,560 --> 00:15:36,560 the gospel of Christ. Now I want to consider that word 278 00:15:36,560 --> 00:15:39,640 pervert here for just a moment. Sometimes we use the word 279 00:15:39,640 --> 00:15:42,040 pervert and we talk about it in a different way. 280 00:15:42,040 --> 00:15:45,000 But really the idea of being perverted is this. 281 00:15:45,200 --> 00:15:48,680 There is something that is normal and there's a deviation 282 00:15:48,680 --> 00:15:51,840 from that that is normal. That that's the definition that 283 00:15:51,840 --> 00:15:55,120 there is something that is normal and there's a deviation 284 00:15:55,120 --> 00:15:58,320 from that which is normal. Do you know what is normal? 285 00:15:58,320 --> 00:16:01,080 Listen to this, that Jesus Christ died on the cross for 286 00:16:01,080 --> 00:16:04,000 your sins, and that you're a Sinner and that only Jesus 287 00:16:04,000 --> 00:16:06,080 Christ can save you through his precious blood. 288 00:16:06,400 --> 00:16:09,880 Anything from that listen is a perversion. 289 00:16:10,600 --> 00:16:14,960 Anything from that is a deviation from that which the 290 00:16:14,960 --> 00:16:17,360 Word of God says. And So what does that mean? 291 00:16:17,440 --> 00:16:21,120 It means this. It means that it is maybe called 292 00:16:21,120 --> 00:16:24,040 another gospel, but it is truly not another gospel. 293 00:16:24,960 --> 00:16:27,880 What is the Mormons believe? In reference to verses 6 and 294 00:16:27,880 --> 00:16:30,280 seven, the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints 295 00:16:30,280 --> 00:16:34,640 teaches that the Book of Mormon serves as another testament of 296 00:16:34,760 --> 00:16:38,480 Jesus Christ, presented as an additional witness that confirms 297 00:16:38,480 --> 00:16:41,720 and expands biblical truths or ranging from the ancient 298 00:16:41,720 --> 00:16:44,400 originating rather from ancient prophets records. 299 00:16:44,680 --> 00:16:48,360 Translated by Joseph Smith, this book introduces doctrines like 300 00:16:48,360 --> 00:16:51,600 their plan of salvation involving temple ordinances, 301 00:16:51,880 --> 00:16:56,960 eternal marriages, and baptisms for the which Latter Day Saints 302 00:16:56,960 --> 00:17:00,240 doctrine frames as essential restorations of Listen to this, 303 00:17:00,480 --> 00:17:04,079 the Fuller Gospel. If you ask a Mormon, are you 304 00:17:04,079 --> 00:17:06,480 saved by grace? Their answer would be yes. 305 00:17:06,720 --> 00:17:10,960 But listen, if you are saved by grace and the word but follows 306 00:17:10,960 --> 00:17:13,760 it, you're not saved by grace because they don't understand 307 00:17:13,760 --> 00:17:16,720 what grace is. If they believe that you have to 308 00:17:16,880 --> 00:17:21,359 earn or achieve grace in its very definition, you cannot earn 309 00:17:21,359 --> 00:17:24,000 or achieve grace. We're saved by grace through 310 00:17:24,000 --> 00:17:25,880 faith and that not of yourselves. 311 00:17:26,160 --> 00:17:29,160 It is the gift of God, not of works, lest any man should 312 00:17:29,160 --> 00:17:31,560 boast. And they would say, well, you 313 00:17:31,560 --> 00:17:34,480 need to make sure that you have a, a temple marriage and you 314 00:17:34,480 --> 00:17:36,600 need to make sure that you live a good life. 315 00:17:36,600 --> 00:17:38,800 And you need to make sure that you tithe enough and you need to 316 00:17:38,800 --> 00:17:43,400 make sure that you have a baptisms for the dead for those 317 00:17:43,400 --> 00:17:46,600 who have gone on before you. I don't know if you're aware of 318 00:17:46,600 --> 00:17:51,240 this, but genealogy.com, that website that has been so famous 319 00:17:51,240 --> 00:17:56,240 over the years, was run by a subsidiary for many years until 320 00:17:56,240 --> 00:17:59,480 I believe the year 2020 of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter 321 00:17:59,480 --> 00:18:03,600 Day Saints. They are deep into genealogy. 322 00:18:03,600 --> 00:18:05,720 Why? Because they want to know how 323 00:18:05,720 --> 00:18:09,920 many people are in their a family history so they can 324 00:18:09,920 --> 00:18:13,200 baptize on behalf of their dead with the hopes that those people 325 00:18:13,200 --> 00:18:16,680 could someday be saved. I mean, Can you imagine how 326 00:18:16,680 --> 00:18:20,120 backwards that is? And So what do we see here? 327 00:18:20,120 --> 00:18:23,440 Is it another gospel? They may call it another gospel, 328 00:18:23,680 --> 00:18:28,400 but it's not another gospel. Look at verse #8 But the WE or 329 00:18:28,400 --> 00:18:32,080 an Angel from heaven, preach any other gospel unto you than that 330 00:18:32,080 --> 00:18:36,240 which we have preached unto you. But let him be accursed. 331 00:18:36,480 --> 00:18:40,840 Central to Mormon origins is the 1823 visitation of the Angel 332 00:18:40,840 --> 00:18:44,720 Moroni to Joseph Smith, who revealed the location of the 333 00:18:44,720 --> 00:18:47,680 gold plates and then help with the translation of those 334 00:18:47,680 --> 00:18:50,960 according to Joseph Smith, which then became the Book of Mormon. 335 00:18:51,120 --> 00:18:54,360 Again, this was revealed by an Angel. 336 00:18:55,520 --> 00:18:57,640 But does the word of God cover this for us this morning? 337 00:18:58,320 --> 00:19:02,760 But the we or and what Angel from heaven, I'll be honestly, I 338 00:19:02,760 --> 00:19:06,520 believe that he saw some type of angelic form, but I say it was 339 00:19:06,520 --> 00:19:09,400 demonic. I would say the Lord had nothing 340 00:19:09,400 --> 00:19:11,920 to do with that which was taking place. 341 00:19:12,120 --> 00:19:15,520 What Joseph Smith believed that he saw, because it says if an 342 00:19:15,520 --> 00:19:19,640 Angel of heaven came and preached another gospel, let 343 00:19:19,640 --> 00:19:22,560 that Angel be a cursed. I believe it wasn't a cursed 344 00:19:22,560 --> 00:19:26,640 Angel which came and gave him a different gospel, because 345 00:19:26,640 --> 00:19:30,160 according to the word of God, that cannot be. 346 00:19:31,200 --> 00:19:34,120 But the Mormon Church will hold up the Angel Moroni. 347 00:19:34,120 --> 00:19:37,880 Again, Mormons, that term that we get from that, or they get 348 00:19:37,880 --> 00:19:43,520 from that we see is from this angelic visitation, verse 9. 349 00:19:43,920 --> 00:19:47,840 And as much as we said before, so I say now again, if any man 350 00:19:47,840 --> 00:19:51,920 preach any gospel unto you, then that you've received, let him be 351 00:19:51,960 --> 00:19:54,600 accursed. Again, Mormon salvation doctrine 352 00:19:54,600 --> 00:19:59,120 affirms grace as enabling power of Christ atonement, but insists 353 00:19:59,120 --> 00:20:02,640 it requires human effort to achieve full effect. 354 00:20:03,000 --> 00:20:06,960 Faith, repentance, baptism, receiving the Holy Ghost, temple 355 00:20:06,960 --> 00:20:10,040 endowments, enduring obedience to the covenants. 356 00:20:10,280 --> 00:20:14,000 Official teachings state that while grace saves from sin, 357 00:20:14,240 --> 00:20:18,880 works like ordinance and service are necessary alongside it for 358 00:20:18,880 --> 00:20:21,520 exaltation and eternal life. Again, have you ever wondered 359 00:20:21,520 --> 00:20:25,120 why many go on a? Mormon, a missionary trip when 360 00:20:25,120 --> 00:20:28,080 they are in their early adult ages. 361 00:20:28,080 --> 00:20:30,960 What is that about? That is all about achieving 362 00:20:31,000 --> 00:20:34,200 eternal life. That's all about following those 363 00:20:34,200 --> 00:20:36,120 teachings that are there. Well, they'll go to these 364 00:20:36,120 --> 00:20:41,240 far-flung areas, 18/19/20 years old, young men, young women, 365 00:20:41,240 --> 00:20:44,360 what are they doing? They're doing that purposely so 366 00:20:44,360 --> 00:20:46,560 they can just grab hold of eternal life. 367 00:20:47,040 --> 00:20:49,840 And anytime man tries to get involved with the gospel, they 368 00:20:49,840 --> 00:20:52,360 make it so much more complicated than what the gospel truly is. 369 00:20:52,880 --> 00:20:55,120 So we see that in First Galatians, but why don't you 370 00:20:55,120 --> 00:20:57,520 turn a couple pages back to 2nd Corinthians Chapter 11. 371 00:20:58,000 --> 00:21:02,080 Second Corinthians Chapter 11, the Word of God so particularly 372 00:21:02,080 --> 00:21:07,120 condemns the very teachings that the Mormons will hold onto. 373 00:21:07,120 --> 00:21:09,440 And what's interesting about the Mormons, what would be 374 00:21:09,440 --> 00:21:12,160 interesting for you in talking to a Mormon is this. 375 00:21:12,440 --> 00:21:14,840 What was the one of the problems that we found in talking with 376 00:21:14,840 --> 00:21:17,080 the Jehovah Witness, that no matter how much we talked to 377 00:21:17,080 --> 00:21:20,160 them about the Bible, they would discard it because they believe 378 00:21:20,360 --> 00:21:23,560 the New World translation is the only way that they can 379 00:21:23,560 --> 00:21:26,080 understand the word of God. And so it's difficult for us to 380 00:21:26,080 --> 00:21:28,800 be able to talk to people about salvation because if we go to 381 00:21:28,800 --> 00:21:31,880 John 11, in the beginning was the Word, the word was with God, 382 00:21:31,880 --> 00:21:34,240 the words was God. And the same was in the 383 00:21:34,240 --> 00:21:35,640 beginning with God. Verse 2. 384 00:21:35,800 --> 00:21:38,080 They would look at that and say, Nope, that's not what it says in 385 00:21:38,080 --> 00:21:40,000 my Bible. And they would just ignore us. 386 00:21:40,760 --> 00:21:43,360 Well, we learned last week how we can use the New World 387 00:21:43,360 --> 00:21:46,720 translation, how God has preserved some ways in the way 388 00:21:46,720 --> 00:21:49,840 that only God can, that we as believers can show them in their 389 00:21:49,840 --> 00:21:52,120 own New World Translation that yes, there's verses that still 390 00:21:52,120 --> 00:21:55,680 speak to the deity of Christ. But what is good about talking 391 00:21:55,680 --> 00:21:59,280 with the Mormon is the fact that not only do they typically use 392 00:21:59,280 --> 00:22:02,400 the Bible, but they oftentimes use the King James Bible as 393 00:22:02,400 --> 00:22:04,560 well. The problem with them is that 394 00:22:04,560 --> 00:22:07,400 they also use three other books they believe are Scripture, and 395 00:22:07,400 --> 00:22:10,160 that is the Book of Mormon, the Doctrines and Covenants and The 396 00:22:10,160 --> 00:22:12,680 Pearl of Great Price, all of which were written or 397 00:22:12,680 --> 00:22:16,680 compilations of of the works of Joseph Smith. 398 00:22:16,920 --> 00:22:21,320 But we are able to use our Bible and show them different places. 399 00:22:21,520 --> 00:22:24,400 And so I love that Second Corinthians 11 talks in a way 400 00:22:24,640 --> 00:22:28,440 that would be able to help us to show that Mormon doctrine is 401 00:22:28,840 --> 00:22:30,280 condemned here in the Word of God. 402 00:22:30,280 --> 00:22:34,040 Second Corinthians 11 verse one would to God you would bear with 403 00:22:34,040 --> 00:22:37,640 me a little in my folly and indeed bear with me, for I'm 404 00:22:37,640 --> 00:22:41,320 jealous over you with a godly jealousy, for I've espoused you 405 00:22:41,320 --> 00:22:44,360 to one husband that I present you as a chaste virgin to 406 00:22:44,360 --> 00:22:46,320 Christ. Now what is Paul saying here? 407 00:22:46,600 --> 00:22:49,840 He's saying that when I came to you people in Corinth, I taught 408 00:22:49,840 --> 00:22:52,360 you good doctrine. When I came to you in Corinth, I 409 00:22:52,360 --> 00:22:54,880 taught you Bible doctrine. Can we put it that way? 410 00:22:54,880 --> 00:22:57,520 Even though he's still writing the Bible, the Bible is still 411 00:22:57,520 --> 00:22:59,400 being inspired. But we could put it this way, 412 00:22:59,400 --> 00:23:01,960 that everything that Paul was teaching them was Bible doctrine 413 00:23:01,960 --> 00:23:04,560 in the sense that he was teaching them that which we find 414 00:23:04,560 --> 00:23:06,480 in the word of God. Everything he was teaching was 415 00:23:06,480 --> 00:23:07,720 true. And he says this. 416 00:23:08,120 --> 00:23:12,160 I have a godly jealousy for you. Now this isn't a green eyed evil 417 00:23:12,160 --> 00:23:14,480 type of jealousy that we think of today. 418 00:23:14,480 --> 00:23:16,520 No, no, this is the fact that Paul says this. 419 00:23:16,760 --> 00:23:19,800 I've taught you good doctrine and I want to make sure you 420 00:23:19,800 --> 00:23:22,880 don't get involved in the bad stuff, taught you good doctrine, 421 00:23:22,880 --> 00:23:24,840 don't get involved. And maybe you ask sometimes 422 00:23:24,840 --> 00:23:27,400 pastor, why do you talk about these false teachers that are 423 00:23:27,400 --> 00:23:29,480 out there? Why do you mention certain false 424 00:23:29,480 --> 00:23:33,320 teachers that they they name the name of Christ, but yet you talk 425 00:23:33,320 --> 00:23:35,040 about them as they are false teachers. 426 00:23:35,400 --> 00:23:38,040 Shouldn't just you shouldn't do that with other Christians. 427 00:23:38,040 --> 00:23:40,400 You shouldn't do that with others who name the name of 428 00:23:40,400 --> 00:23:42,760 Christ. And I do so not to be mean. 429 00:23:42,760 --> 00:23:45,240 I do so not to be arrogant on my part. 430 00:23:45,320 --> 00:23:48,880 I do this because as your pastor, I have a godly jealousy 431 00:23:48,880 --> 00:23:51,680 over you. Again, not the green eyed wild 432 00:23:51,680 --> 00:23:54,280 type of jealousy that's out there, but I want to make sure 433 00:23:54,400 --> 00:23:57,600 you have good doctrine. I want to make sure that if you 434 00:23:57,600 --> 00:24:00,000 listen to a sermon from another church, I want to make sure that 435 00:24:00,000 --> 00:24:03,320 if you listen to a podcast, that if you read another book that 436 00:24:03,320 --> 00:24:06,200 you understand what good doctrine is so that you are not 437 00:24:06,360 --> 00:24:08,880 beguiled by these false doctrines that are out there. 438 00:24:09,080 --> 00:24:11,600 I've watched too many times over the years, even people who had 439 00:24:11,800 --> 00:24:13,760 this fascination with the end times. 440 00:24:13,760 --> 00:24:16,240 And again, I think we should be fascinated by the Book of 441 00:24:16,240 --> 00:24:18,080 Revelation. I think we should. 442 00:24:18,080 --> 00:24:19,600 Why? Because one of the 66 books of 443 00:24:19,600 --> 00:24:21,760 the Bible, we ought to know it. But I've watched people who've 444 00:24:21,760 --> 00:24:24,800 gone down the wrong Rd. who have gotten bad doctrine. 445 00:24:24,800 --> 00:24:28,160 And what happened was they got so deep in that doctrine. 446 00:24:28,160 --> 00:24:30,040 Listen, they're not even in church anymore. 447 00:24:30,800 --> 00:24:32,280 They're not even following the Lord. 448 00:24:32,840 --> 00:24:35,680 And so, yeah, do I have a godly jealousy over you? 449 00:24:35,680 --> 00:24:39,400 Again, not an evil one, no, but but I want you to get good 450 00:24:39,400 --> 00:24:42,000 doctrine and this is what Paul was telling the people of 451 00:24:42,000 --> 00:24:45,840 Corinth he says in verse 3. But I fear let's by any means as 452 00:24:45,840 --> 00:24:49,280 the serpent beguiled E through his subtlety, so your mind 453 00:24:49,280 --> 00:24:52,840 should be corrupted from the simplicity that is in Christ. 454 00:24:52,840 --> 00:24:58,120 Now let's be clear about this. Is the doctrine of Jesus Christ 455 00:24:58,360 --> 00:25:03,240 so deep that we could preach upon his characteristics, that 456 00:25:03,240 --> 00:25:07,400 we could preach upon his life, we could preach upon everything 457 00:25:07,400 --> 00:25:10,360 that deals with him and that we could never exhaust that 458 00:25:10,360 --> 00:25:12,200 teaching and preaching for the rest of our lives? 459 00:25:13,240 --> 00:25:15,400 Our God is big enough that you could do that. 460 00:25:16,680 --> 00:25:20,880 But I'll also say this, knowing that Jesus Christ, knowing that 461 00:25:20,880 --> 00:25:25,280 same Jesus Christ is also very simple, that we don't need to 462 00:25:25,280 --> 00:25:27,320 overcomplicate him. Who was he? 463 00:25:27,800 --> 00:25:30,160 Who is he? He is the Son of God. 464 00:25:30,760 --> 00:25:33,480 He is perfect. He died on the cross for your 465 00:25:33,480 --> 00:25:35,280 sins. That seems pretty simple. 466 00:25:35,280 --> 00:25:36,840 Do you know how I know it's simple? 467 00:25:37,200 --> 00:25:41,160 Because right now Diane is in the back with children and she's 468 00:25:41,160 --> 00:25:43,800 teaching him that very thing. There's going to be a few more 469 00:25:43,800 --> 00:25:46,280 children at 11:00 and Miss Cassandra is going to be back 470 00:25:46,280 --> 00:25:48,560 there as you be teaching them the very same thing. 471 00:25:49,040 --> 00:25:52,040 And then a five year old, a six year old could bow their head 472 00:25:52,040 --> 00:25:54,640 and truly trust Jesus Christ their Savior just as much as you 473 00:25:54,640 --> 00:25:56,080 can. What does that speak to? 474 00:25:56,400 --> 00:25:59,840 The simplicity that's in Christ? But yet that same 5 year old who 475 00:25:59,840 --> 00:26:03,760 gets saved could go their whole life if they live 3 score years 476 00:26:03,760 --> 00:26:06,560 and 10 and perhaps of that eighty years or more on this 477 00:26:06,560 --> 00:26:09,640 earth, that they could learn about that same Jesus the rest 478 00:26:09,640 --> 00:26:13,280 of their life and still never get over it and still never 479 00:26:13,280 --> 00:26:15,360 exhaust it. I never get to the place to say, 480 00:26:15,360 --> 00:26:17,040 you know, I haven't learned anything new about Jesus for 481 00:26:17,040 --> 00:26:18,600 years now. There's not new things in the 482 00:26:18,600 --> 00:26:20,320 Word of God. But I will tell you this, as the 483 00:26:20,320 --> 00:26:23,280 Holy Spirit is your teacher, He illuminates you and guides you 484 00:26:23,280 --> 00:26:25,600 and helps you learn more. You know, there's nothing new in 485 00:26:25,600 --> 00:26:27,120 this Bible. We're not Mormons, we don't 486 00:26:27,120 --> 00:26:29,760 believe that there's going to be another testament just added to 487 00:26:29,760 --> 00:26:31,760 it. But we do say this, the Holy 488 00:26:31,760 --> 00:26:34,720 Spirit as your teacher and God continues to show you that 489 00:26:34,720 --> 00:26:37,280 although Christ is simple, you can spend a lifetime getting to 490 00:26:37,280 --> 00:26:39,640 understand him and by the time you meet Him in glory, you won't 491 00:26:39,640 --> 00:26:41,760 say this. Well, I already figured 492 00:26:41,760 --> 00:26:47,640 everything out about you. He'll be whoa, holy, holy, holy 493 00:26:48,120 --> 00:26:51,320 as Isaiah saw the Lord high and lifted up as we see in 494 00:26:51,320 --> 00:26:53,840 Revelation chapter 4 and Revelation chapter 5. 495 00:26:54,000 --> 00:26:55,640 That's celestial scene that's there. 496 00:26:55,640 --> 00:26:57,440 I can't even imagine what that would be like. 497 00:26:57,560 --> 00:27:00,520 There'll be nobody bored because they figured it all out while 498 00:27:00,520 --> 00:27:03,600 they were here. But yet he's exceedingly simple 499 00:27:03,600 --> 00:27:09,360 to understand as well. Verse 4 for he that cometh 500 00:27:09,360 --> 00:27:14,000 preaches another Jesus. We've not preached, or if you 501 00:27:14,000 --> 00:27:17,520 receive another spirit which we have not received, or another 502 00:27:17,520 --> 00:27:20,800 gospel which we have not accepted, you might well bear 503 00:27:20,800 --> 00:27:22,320 him. This is what he's saying. 504 00:27:23,080 --> 00:27:27,120 He's saying, I fear this, I fear Church of Corinth. 505 00:27:27,120 --> 00:27:29,520 Because remember, they were immature in their faith. 506 00:27:30,040 --> 00:27:32,120 They were doing a whole lot better in Second Corinthians 507 00:27:32,120 --> 00:27:34,320 than they were in First Corinthians, but they still had 508 00:27:34,320 --> 00:27:37,000 a lot of problems. And as he's talking to them, he 509 00:27:37,000 --> 00:27:38,840 says this. You know what I'm afraid of 510 00:27:39,440 --> 00:27:41,520 That. If someone comes to you with 511 00:27:41,520 --> 00:27:46,560 another Jesus, if someone comes to you with another spirit, if 512 00:27:46,560 --> 00:27:49,000 someone comes to you with another gospel, here's what I'm 513 00:27:49,000 --> 00:27:51,120 afraid of, you might listen to them. 514 00:27:52,840 --> 00:27:55,480 I'm not talking about listening like we, we watched 5 minutes of 515 00:27:55,480 --> 00:27:57,760 their propaganda here this morning, but I'm talking about 516 00:27:57,760 --> 00:27:59,400 listening as in taking it to heart. 517 00:28:00,680 --> 00:28:03,920 I didn't watch that this morning and say, well boy, I sure hope 518 00:28:03,920 --> 00:28:05,440 the people in this church don't fall for that. 519 00:28:05,440 --> 00:28:08,000 You know, I wonder if anyone's going to going to fall for that. 520 00:28:08,000 --> 00:28:11,920 I wonder if anyone's we can listen to that and listen to it 521 00:28:11,920 --> 00:28:14,400 in a way where we understand with discernment, with the 522 00:28:14,400 --> 00:28:16,040 Spirit inside of us, that that's false. 523 00:28:16,640 --> 00:28:19,800 But Paul's afraid they'll listen to a false teacher and they 524 00:28:19,800 --> 00:28:22,240 might bear it meaning this, they might fall for it. 525 00:28:23,320 --> 00:28:24,680 So don't listen to another Jesus. 526 00:28:25,440 --> 00:28:28,400 Don't listen to another gospel. Don't listen to another spirit. 527 00:28:29,360 --> 00:28:32,200 There's only one Jesus. There's not another Jesus. 528 00:28:32,800 --> 00:28:35,320 By the way, Jesus didn't walk the Americas after he ascended 529 00:28:35,320 --> 00:28:38,120 into heaven. This is what the Book of Mormon 530 00:28:38,120 --> 00:28:41,240 teaches. Jesus did not wander around to 531 00:28:41,240 --> 00:28:45,560 indigenous peoples that have never been found in history that 532 00:28:45,560 --> 00:28:48,480 are mentioned in the Book of Mormon. 533 00:28:48,560 --> 00:28:50,360 I'm pointing at this. This is not a Book of Mormon, by 534 00:28:50,360 --> 00:28:53,920 the way, so I'll point to it a random area over here in the 535 00:28:53,920 --> 00:28:57,800 Book of Mormon. This, these things did not 536 00:28:57,800 --> 00:29:00,360 happen and I know who I'm speaking to this morning, but 537 00:29:00,360 --> 00:29:02,760 this is what they're teaching. They're not teaching Jesus 538 00:29:02,760 --> 00:29:05,560 Christ from the Bible. They're teaching another Jesus 539 00:29:06,160 --> 00:29:08,800 and the book and the Jesus from the Book of Mormon, that Jesus 540 00:29:08,800 --> 00:29:11,560 from the Doctrine and Covenants, that Jesus from the Pearl of 541 00:29:11,560 --> 00:29:15,560 Great Price may be called Jesus, but he is not Jesus. 542 00:29:16,280 --> 00:29:19,480 He is another Jesus. What do they believe, just very 543 00:29:19,480 --> 00:29:21,800 quickly about who Jesus Christ is? 544 00:29:21,800 --> 00:29:25,160 They believe that Jesus is the spirit brother of Lucifer. 545 00:29:26,320 --> 00:29:29,200 I'll say that again. They believe that Jesus is the 546 00:29:29,200 --> 00:29:32,120 spirit brother of Lucifer that comes from the Pearl of Great 547 00:29:32,120 --> 00:29:36,040 Price, the book of Moses chapter 4 verses one through 3. 548 00:29:36,320 --> 00:29:39,360 The Latter Day Saints teach that all humans including Jesus and 549 00:29:39,360 --> 00:29:42,680 Satan are spirit children of the Heavenly Father Elohim in pre 550 00:29:42,680 --> 00:29:46,440 mortal existence, making Jesus and Lucifer literal brothers who 551 00:29:46,440 --> 00:29:48,800 volunteered in a heavenly council. 552 00:29:49,560 --> 00:29:52,120 They believe that Jesus was the first born spirit child of the 553 00:29:52,120 --> 00:29:54,320 Heavenly Father. Christ is portrayed as the 554 00:29:54,360 --> 00:29:56,880 eldest spirit brother among God's offspring and their pre 555 00:29:56,880 --> 00:30:00,360 existence, not eternally begotten, but created as the 556 00:30:00,360 --> 00:30:03,760 first among equals. They believe the Godhead 557 00:30:03,760 --> 00:30:07,120 consists of three separate gods, not a Trinity. 558 00:30:07,320 --> 00:30:12,160 Father, Son and Holy Ghost are three distinct beings, gods 559 00:30:12,160 --> 00:30:15,920 united only in purpose. Jesus is a separate God who 560 00:30:15,920 --> 00:30:19,000 progressed to divinity. They believe that Jesus 561 00:30:19,000 --> 00:30:22,880 atonement actually occurred in the Garden of Gethsemane, not on 562 00:30:22,880 --> 00:30:24,720 the cross. The suffering and blood 563 00:30:24,720 --> 00:30:27,000 atonement for sins habit in Gethsemane according to the Book 564 00:30:27,000 --> 00:30:31,600 of Mormon, Mosiah chapter 3 verse 7, with the cross merely 565 00:30:31,600 --> 00:30:35,600 finishing what began there, emphasizing his emotional agony 566 00:30:36,240 --> 00:30:40,160 over his sacrificial death. Jesus visited and ministered to 567 00:30:40,160 --> 00:30:42,280 people in the Americas after his resurrection. 568 00:30:42,480 --> 00:30:45,800 Book of Mormon Third Nephi verses 8, chapters 8 through 11. 569 00:30:46,040 --> 00:30:48,400 Post resurrection, Christ appeared to ancient inhabitants 570 00:30:48,400 --> 00:30:51,320 of the Americas teaching and performing miracles as recorded 571 00:30:51,320 --> 00:30:54,800 in the Book of Mormon. Also, Jesus progressed to good 572 00:30:54,800 --> 00:30:58,760 godhood through obedience as part of eternal exaltation. 573 00:30:59,000 --> 00:31:02,360 Like humans, Jesus advanced from Spirit child to exalted God by 574 00:31:02,360 --> 00:31:05,760 keeping Father's commandments, modeling the path for believers 575 00:31:05,760 --> 00:31:10,200 also to become gods. Doctrines and Covenants 93 576 00:31:10,200 --> 00:31:14,480 verses 12 through 14 and doctrines in Covenant 76 verses 577 00:31:14,480 --> 00:31:18,600 58 through 59. What do we see here that they 578 00:31:18,720 --> 00:31:23,440 get Jesus Christ all wrong? They get him wrong. 579 00:31:24,000 --> 00:31:26,480 So what do we do? We discard the line of thinking. 580 00:31:26,920 --> 00:31:29,720 We do not listen to it. We don't bear it. 581 00:31:30,400 --> 00:31:32,160 We make sure we win these people to Christ. 582 00:31:33,040 --> 00:31:34,560 I asked this question this morning as well. 583 00:31:34,880 --> 00:31:37,480 What about this fact that the church just disappeared? 584 00:31:38,000 --> 00:31:42,000 Now we've seen a version of this teaching through the Jehovah 585 00:31:42,000 --> 00:31:45,000 Witnesses, but even the Jehovah Witnesses, they tried to put on 586 00:31:45,000 --> 00:31:46,720 this veneer. Do you remember watching some of 587 00:31:46,720 --> 00:31:50,840 their videos where they tried to hold up certain historical 588 00:31:50,840 --> 00:31:55,000 Christian people and tried to hold them up and basically said, 589 00:31:55,000 --> 00:31:57,160 well, they weren't Jehovah Witnesses, but they were, they 590 00:31:57,160 --> 00:31:59,520 were decent people. They tried to do that. 591 00:31:59,520 --> 00:32:03,440 The the Mormons have no desire to do that whatsoever. 592 00:32:03,960 --> 00:32:07,320 In fact, they said basically that once the apostles were 593 00:32:07,320 --> 00:32:10,120 gone, that biblical Christianity was gone. 594 00:32:10,520 --> 00:32:13,480 But do you think that Jesus would have ever spoken about 595 00:32:13,480 --> 00:32:15,480 something like this? Do you think Jesus would have 596 00:32:15,480 --> 00:32:17,920 ever brought up the fact that maybe the church would just 597 00:32:17,920 --> 00:32:20,960 disappear after his disciples were dead? 598 00:32:21,400 --> 00:32:24,480 Well, I would submit to you that he did very much bring this up 599 00:32:24,480 --> 00:32:27,800 during his life and made an emphatic defense about why that 600 00:32:27,800 --> 00:32:30,840 would not be the case. So turn to Matthew chapter 16. 601 00:32:30,840 --> 00:32:35,840 And this is one of those chapters where Peter says 602 00:32:35,840 --> 00:32:37,640 something good. And we like that, don't we? 603 00:32:37,920 --> 00:33:07,520 Matthew, Chapter 16. All right, look at verse #16 604 00:33:07,520 --> 00:33:12,440 actually, let's go to verse #13 When Jesus came to the coast of 605 00:33:12,440 --> 00:33:16,240 Caesarea Philippi, he asked his disciples, saying, Whom do men 606 00:33:16,240 --> 00:33:20,760 say that I, the Son of Man, AM? And they said, some say that 607 00:33:20,760 --> 00:33:25,640 thou art John the Baptist, some Elias, others Jeremias, or one 608 00:33:25,640 --> 00:33:29,520 of the prophets. He saith unto them, But whom say 609 00:33:29,560 --> 00:33:31,960 ye that I am? Because here's the question, it 610 00:33:31,960 --> 00:33:35,480 really doesn't matter what other people think about Jesus Christ 611 00:33:35,720 --> 00:33:37,280 as it deals with your eternal soul. 612 00:33:37,640 --> 00:33:40,160 Here's the question, what do you think of Jesus Christ? 613 00:33:40,400 --> 00:33:43,440 Again, not that what you think of Jesus Christ changes who 614 00:33:43,480 --> 00:33:46,040 Jesus Christ is. Listen, he is who he is whether 615 00:33:46,040 --> 00:33:49,440 we get on board or not. But when it deals with our 616 00:33:49,440 --> 00:33:53,160 eternity, the question is not, were your parents believers? 617 00:33:53,800 --> 00:33:56,920 The question was not, are your grandparents believers? 618 00:33:56,920 --> 00:34:00,880 What was your dad, a pastor? Those aren't the questions. 619 00:34:01,080 --> 00:34:03,760 The question is this, What think ye of Christ? 620 00:34:04,280 --> 00:34:07,640 And so here's Peter, God love him, what does he say? 621 00:34:07,960 --> 00:34:10,960 Thou art the Christ, the Son of the living God. 622 00:34:11,199 --> 00:34:15,080 Peter gets it right. And Jesus answered and said to 623 00:34:15,080 --> 00:34:18,199 him, Blessed art thou Simon Bart Jonah, for flesh and blood have 624 00:34:18,199 --> 00:34:21,880 not revealed it unto thee, but my Father, which is in heaven. 625 00:34:22,280 --> 00:34:25,520 And I say also unto thee, that thou art Peter, and upon this 626 00:34:25,520 --> 00:34:28,520 rock I will build my church, and the gates of hell shall not 627 00:34:28,520 --> 00:34:31,560 prevail against it. Now there's a couple things 628 00:34:31,560 --> 00:34:33,760 going on here in this verse that I want to make clear. 629 00:34:34,040 --> 00:34:38,159 Verse #18 is oftentimes used by the Catholic organization. 630 00:34:38,159 --> 00:34:40,320 Why? Because it is a proof text for 631 00:34:40,320 --> 00:34:43,480 them that Peter himself was the first Pope. 632 00:34:43,520 --> 00:34:46,800 Now there is nothing within this text that would indicate that 633 00:34:46,920 --> 00:34:49,600 Jesus was, or rather Peter was the first Pope. 634 00:34:49,800 --> 00:34:51,600 It doesn't come up, it's not mentioned. 635 00:34:51,760 --> 00:34:53,840 There's no historical information or biblical 636 00:34:53,840 --> 00:34:55,760 information that Peter ever made it to Rome. 637 00:34:56,080 --> 00:34:58,800 Peter made it very clear that Jesus was the chief cornerstone. 638 00:34:58,800 --> 00:35:01,920 He said that more than once that Peter himself would not have 639 00:35:01,920 --> 00:35:03,440 been the vicar of Christ on the earth. 640 00:35:03,440 --> 00:35:06,160 In fact, he would have thought it to be repugnant to be called 641 00:35:06,160 --> 00:35:08,240 the vicar of Christ here on this earth. 642 00:35:08,240 --> 00:35:10,760 He would have had nothing, nothing to do with that. 643 00:35:11,040 --> 00:35:13,880 Thou art Peter, and upon this rock I will build my church. 644 00:35:14,320 --> 00:35:17,240 When he's saying that Jesus is saying this Peter, the 645 00:35:17,240 --> 00:35:21,000 declaration that you just made that I am the Christ, the Son of 646 00:35:21,000 --> 00:35:24,200 the living God. That declaration will be of the 647 00:35:24,200 --> 00:35:26,920 foundation upon what the church is built upon, because what is 648 00:35:26,920 --> 00:35:29,200 our church built upon? What is any Bible preaching 649 00:35:29,200 --> 00:35:31,960 church built upon? It's built upon Jesus Christ. 650 00:35:32,520 --> 00:35:38,240 And so he's not saying, Peter, you are the one of which the the 651 00:35:38,240 --> 00:35:42,280 church is going to be built upon that that is wild fantasy by the 652 00:35:42,280 --> 00:35:45,160 Catholic Church. But what he's saying is that the 653 00:35:45,160 --> 00:35:51,800 declaration you just made the statement that Jesus is the Son 654 00:35:51,800 --> 00:35:52,880 of God. Yes, that is. 655 00:35:53,160 --> 00:35:55,720 And you could even have looked at it this way, that that Peter 656 00:35:55,720 --> 00:35:59,360 even or that Christ is talking of himself, that thou art Peter. 657 00:35:59,720 --> 00:36:03,560 And upon this rock, again, the same connotation. 658 00:36:03,560 --> 00:36:07,440 Upon this rock I will build my church because again, Jesus is 659 00:36:07,680 --> 00:36:10,240 taught by Peter as the chief cornerstone. 660 00:36:10,520 --> 00:36:13,120 But getting on to that, because I'm getting off course with the 661 00:36:13,120 --> 00:36:15,440 Mormons, I, I'm going over to the Catholic Church and that's 662 00:36:15,440 --> 00:36:16,880 not where we're supposed to be going this morning. 663 00:36:17,200 --> 00:36:20,040 And it says this and the gates of hell shall not prevail 664 00:36:20,040 --> 00:36:21,720 against it. Now, what does it say? 665 00:36:21,720 --> 00:36:26,440 The gates of hell will not prevail against the church, The 666 00:36:26,440 --> 00:36:28,920 church. Now, what's interesting about 667 00:36:28,920 --> 00:36:30,600 that? The gates of hell means this, 668 00:36:30,800 --> 00:36:32,800 that the church is making forward progress. 669 00:36:33,320 --> 00:36:36,200 The church is making forward progress and is marching against 670 00:36:36,200 --> 00:36:38,720 the very gates of hell. A lot of times I think we get 671 00:36:38,720 --> 00:36:42,640 this idea that what Jesus is preaching here and what Jesus is 672 00:36:42,640 --> 00:36:45,040 saying here is that listen, just hunker down in the church. 673 00:36:45,280 --> 00:36:47,200 Just hunker down. You just get down low. 674 00:36:47,840 --> 00:36:50,800 Don't talk to anybody, don't make waves, don't get out there 675 00:36:50,800 --> 00:36:53,840 in the world and listen, Satan will will fire his arrows at 676 00:36:53,840 --> 00:36:56,160 you, but as long as you stay safe in the church, you won't 677 00:36:56,160 --> 00:36:58,520 get hurt. What's the opposite of what he's 678 00:36:58,520 --> 00:37:00,320 saying? In fact, he's saying this. 679 00:37:00,920 --> 00:37:06,400 Go forward, go boldly, go up to the very gates of hell and 680 00:37:06,400 --> 00:37:10,280 attack them, and the gates of hell shall not prevail against 681 00:37:10,280 --> 00:37:11,080 thee. Why? 682 00:37:11,080 --> 00:37:14,440 Because of us? No, because of him and because 683 00:37:14,440 --> 00:37:16,480 of his protection. Meaning this, that we go out in 684 00:37:16,480 --> 00:37:20,160 the world and we try to win as many as we can from Satan's 685 00:37:20,160 --> 00:37:22,880 Kingdom, and to try to bring them into the Kingdom of God, 686 00:37:22,880 --> 00:37:26,240 into the Church of God. But it says this, that Satan, 687 00:37:26,520 --> 00:37:29,880 the gates of hell, shall not prevail against the church. 688 00:37:29,880 --> 00:37:35,280 But yet the Mormons would teach that the that Satan prevailed 689 00:37:35,280 --> 00:37:37,280 against the church for about 1800 years. 690 00:37:38,600 --> 00:37:42,760 They made Jesus to be a liar. Well, the Bible makes it clear. 691 00:37:43,600 --> 00:37:45,840 Were there times where the light was dim? 692 00:37:46,280 --> 00:37:48,600 Well, you look at the dark ages and you look at the 693 00:37:48,600 --> 00:37:52,240 strangulation of the Catholic Church upon real believers and 694 00:37:52,240 --> 00:37:54,160 you'll find this. There were time the light was 695 00:37:54,160 --> 00:37:56,680 dim, but the light was never extinguished. 696 00:37:57,600 --> 00:38:00,760 They're always Bible believers and Bible believing churches. 697 00:38:01,600 --> 00:38:03,680 How can you historically say that? 698 00:38:03,680 --> 00:38:05,240 How, how, what proof do you have? 699 00:38:05,240 --> 00:38:08,600 My proof is Jesus Christ said that's what it would be. 700 00:38:09,560 --> 00:38:13,080 And so that's what it was. Well, that's exceedingly simple, 701 00:38:13,080 --> 00:38:14,600 pastor. Well, he's a simple Christ. 702 00:38:14,600 --> 00:38:16,360 I think we covered that, didn't we? 703 00:38:16,880 --> 00:38:21,240 He said it, we believe it. And by the way, history proves 704 00:38:21,240 --> 00:38:23,480 this to be the case. We can look at history and find 705 00:38:23,480 --> 00:38:26,240 that there are records that even the Catholic Church itself, 706 00:38:26,240 --> 00:38:29,640 Cardinal Hoshus, would have gone back to say these Baptists have 707 00:38:29,640 --> 00:38:32,720 basically been around for about forever. 708 00:38:33,640 --> 00:38:35,440 So yes, we know. And there are other Bible 709 00:38:35,440 --> 00:38:37,880 believers as well, not just Baptist or groups that align 710 00:38:37,880 --> 00:38:39,840 with Baptist teaching that weren't necessarily called 711 00:38:39,840 --> 00:38:41,680 Baptist, but they've always been believers. 712 00:38:41,680 --> 00:38:44,720 But the Mormons that have you believe until Joseph Smith came 713 00:38:44,720 --> 00:38:47,640 along, people were getting it wrong. 714 00:38:48,640 --> 00:38:50,760 They got the Bible wrong because they didn't have the other three 715 00:38:50,760 --> 00:38:53,160 books. They got Jesus wrong because 716 00:38:53,160 --> 00:38:55,560 they believed that he had always been God. 717 00:38:56,160 --> 00:39:00,080 They got the Godhead wrong because they they, they were 718 00:39:00,080 --> 00:39:03,280 teaching 3:00 and 1:00 instead of three separate entities. 719 00:39:03,840 --> 00:39:06,320 And they got it wrong because they weren't teaching people 720 00:39:06,320 --> 00:39:11,600 this, that if you keep your nose clean and you stay right, that 721 00:39:11,600 --> 00:39:14,840 you can be a God like Jesus someday too, friend. 722 00:39:14,840 --> 00:39:16,520 That's blasphemy of the highest order. 723 00:39:17,360 --> 00:39:19,760 There's nothing gospel related about that. 724 00:39:19,760 --> 00:39:23,840 It is another gospel which is no gospel. 725 00:39:24,680 --> 00:39:26,560 So Joseph Smith perpetuates this. 726 00:39:27,120 --> 00:39:31,480 Brigham Young follows as the second of the presidents and 727 00:39:31,480 --> 00:39:34,480 continues this as they move to Salt Lake City and as they start 728 00:39:34,480 --> 00:39:37,920 to build Salt Lake City for it to become what it is today. 729 00:39:38,360 --> 00:39:40,520 There's a lot of that that I was hoping to look at today, but we 730 00:39:40,520 --> 00:39:43,480 took a lot longer in our text than I had anticipated. 731 00:39:43,480 --> 00:39:46,440 But that's OK because I think we laid a good foundation this 732 00:39:46,440 --> 00:39:49,400 morning for what is to come, because I want us to see these 733 00:39:49,400 --> 00:39:50,680 things. And we'll look at this next 734 00:39:50,680 --> 00:39:52,680 week. We'll look at who Joseph Smith 735 00:39:52,680 --> 00:39:54,640 is. And we'll learn that while the 736 00:39:54,640 --> 00:39:57,920 Mormon church will call him a martyr and a hero, he was 737 00:39:57,920 --> 00:40:01,680 anything but. We'll look at the fact that 738 00:40:01,680 --> 00:40:05,320 Brigham Young continue to grow the Church of the Church of 739 00:40:05,360 --> 00:40:07,840 Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints and most people are 740 00:40:07,840 --> 00:40:10,200 actually more familiar with Brigham Young than Joseph Smith 741 00:40:10,200 --> 00:40:12,360 because they're familiar with the name Brigham Young 742 00:40:12,360 --> 00:40:16,280 University and they're used to the football team or something 743 00:40:16,280 --> 00:40:17,880 like that. So they've heard that name 744 00:40:17,880 --> 00:40:21,400 before. We'll look at the words that how 745 00:40:21,680 --> 00:40:26,160 you worship in the the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day 746 00:40:26,160 --> 00:40:29,760 Saints, but also the temples as well that there are over 200 747 00:40:29,760 --> 00:40:32,160 temples and more under construction all the time around 748 00:40:32,160 --> 00:40:33,720 the world. Believe it or not, there is a 749 00:40:33,720 --> 00:40:36,360 temple according to Mormon Church in Boston. 750 00:40:36,440 --> 00:40:39,080 And I use the term Boston like this because, you know, people 751 00:40:39,080 --> 00:40:41,920 who don't live in Boston think that everybody lives in Boston. 752 00:40:41,920 --> 00:40:44,520 If you live within a 50 mile radius, you know, they think 753 00:40:44,520 --> 00:40:47,480 people that live in, you know, Springfield probably live in 754 00:40:47,480 --> 00:40:48,920 Boston. You know, that's kind of the way 755 00:40:48,920 --> 00:40:50,920 it is. There's a Mormon temple, the 756 00:40:50,960 --> 00:40:53,720 100th Mormon temple actually, that was built, was built in 757 00:40:53,720 --> 00:40:56,600 Belmont and it is there in operation today. 758 00:40:56,800 --> 00:40:59,600 And only members in good standing are allowed to go 759 00:40:59,600 --> 00:41:01,640 inside. One of the reasons why is 760 00:41:01,640 --> 00:41:05,360 because of the practices that take place inside. 761 00:41:05,360 --> 00:41:08,440 I would call them a cultish practices, some of them which 762 00:41:08,440 --> 00:41:10,760 came from Freemasonry many years before. 763 00:41:10,960 --> 00:41:13,600 And we'll look at all of those ties and how all those go 764 00:41:13,600 --> 00:41:15,960 together. And I didn't get nearly where I 765 00:41:15,960 --> 00:41:18,360 thought I'd go this morning, but I think we got where we needed 766 00:41:18,360 --> 00:41:20,680 to go. Praise the Lord by going through 767 00:41:20,680 --> 00:41:22,080 His words. So I hope that was a help to you 768 00:41:22,080 --> 00:41:24,520 this morning and that maybe lay the groundwork for how we look 769 00:41:24,520 --> 00:41:26,480 at the Mormon church in upcoming weeks. 770 00:41:27,440 --> 00:41:30,080 Thank you for listening to the sermon from the pulpit of 771 00:41:30,080 --> 00:41:33,000 Liberty Baptist Church. If this message was a blessing 772 00:41:33,000 --> 00:41:36,480 to you, or if there's any way we can serve you, please let us 773 00:41:36,480 --> 00:41:41,080 know by contacting us at info@mylibertybaptist.org. 774 00:41:41,360 --> 00:41:45,880 Or you can visit us this Sunday at 800 Washington St. in Easton, 775 00:41:45,880 --> 00:41:48,720 MA. May the Lord bless you as you 776 00:41:48,720 --> 00:41:49,920 grow in His Word.