Does that statement come as a bit of a shock to you? Well, if you listen to the latest rhetoric from several evangelical Christian leaders who have endorsed Robert Millet’s A Different Jesus? The Christ of the Latter-day Saints, a book which was written by a dedicated LDS apologist and actively practicing Mormon, you just might get the impression that Mormonism is now an acceptable form of Christianity.

Well, at least this is the very real idea you might get from several evangelical Christian leaders who have actually endorsed Robert Millet’s A Different Jesus? The Christ of the Latter-day Saints, which as I said is a book written by a dedicated and practicing Mormon. For those who don’t know, Millet is Richard L. Evans Professor of Religious Understanding at Brigham Young University and an active apologist for the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints (LDS). Christian Research Service (CRS) further informs us that Millet is “the ‘Manager of Outreach and Interfaith Relations’ with the Mormon Church Public Affairs” (Online source)

Now The Bats Have Finally Flown Out Of The Belfry

Many of us who have dedicated ourselves to the study of Comparative Religion and counter-cult evangelism quite frankly are still in disbelief. And yet it is true. Evangelicals the stature of Dr. Richard Mouw, president of Fuller Theological Seminary, and Dr. Craig Blomberg, distinguished professor of New Testament at Denver Seminary, have indeed lent their names to this book from a leading LDS apologist in Robert Millet. And the pro-Mormon Millennial Star blog tells us why this is so welcomed by the LDS Church:

A Different Jesus- The Christ of the Latter-day Saints is now available from Eerdmans, where it’s prominently displayed on the front page… I predict some Evangelicals will actually read it and find that Mormons are not as heretical as previously thought, but not as many as I’d hope. (Online source)

Dr. James White, President of Alpha and Omega Ministries, and an apologist for true historic orthodox Christianity puts this issue squarely in perspective when he says:

Robert Millet is the Richard L. Evans Professor of Religious Understanding and professor of ancient scripture at Brigham Young University. A believing Mormon, he has been key in the dialogues taking place between certain non-LDS scholars and pastors and LDS scholars from BYU. His book, Another Jesus?, though advertised by Eerdmans as a work “intended to inform rather than to convince or persuade,” is pure apologetic from start to finish. You could find this kind of work at your local LDS bookstore, but thanks to Richard Mouw of Fuller Seminary, now you will be able to find it in your Christian bookstore, too!

Yes, friends and neighbors, not only has Richard Mouw apologized for all of us mean-spirited folks who have labored to witness the true God and the true Christ and the true Gospel to Mormons for decades, but now he has made sure to provide a “Trojan Horse Apologetic,” a work that attacks the Trinity, deity of Christ, sola scriptura, justification by grace through faith alone, the sovereignty of God in salvation, the finished work of Christ on the cross—OK, like I said, it is an LDS work of apologetics, so it is pretty well opposed to sound theology at just about every point—and he has made sure that book will be right there in your local Christian bookstore (how many bookstore owners will recognize it for what it is? Then again, what section will they put it in anyway?). Cards, roses, and copies of the Book of Mormon can be sent to Fuller Seminary in thanks. (Online source)

And get this; Dr. Mouw is also the same man who was part of the whole Ravi Zacharias debacle in Salt Lake City, and as I mentioned he is currently president of an ostensibly orthodox Christian theological school. Mouw wrote both the Foreword and the Afterword for Millet’s book. Here is that Afterword from an evangelical Christian which has it appeared on the websites of LDS bookstores while being used to promote the non-Christian cult of Mormonism:

“I think that an open-minded Christian reader of this book will sense that Bob Millet is in fact trusting in the Jesus of the Bible for his salvation. That is certainly my sense.” (Online source)

Another notable evangelical leader who has also had a severe lapse in judgment concerning Millet’s book, and who also endorsed this vehicle for the promulgation of the Mormon faith was Dr. Craig Hazen. Amazingly enough Hazen is actually Director of M.A. Program in Christian Apologetics at Biola University as well as Associate Professor of Comparative Religion and Apologetics. He most assuredly should have know better. And CRS further informs us:

In 2004 during a radio interview, Craig Hazen stated that “I actually believe that Mormonism is a tremendous achievement of the devil! You know, sometimes the devil is very clever about dancing right on the edge of what appears to be Christian. He’s most effective in doing that. We need to be aware of that.” However, in 2005, Hazen compromised big-time, played nicer than God, and gave a glowing endorsement of Robert Millet’s book, A Different Jesus? The Christ of the Latter-Day Saints!

How is it possible to “contend for the faith” and endorse a book written by a cultist that defends a cult that is based on a Jesus that never existed in the first place?! Hazen’s endorsement is a kick-in-the-pants to sincere apologists and cult-evangelists worldwide, and a shot-in-the-arm to Mormonism’s agenda to be recognized as Christian (Online source, emphasis in original).

It should also be noted that Dr. Hazen is Vice President of Evangelical Ministries to New Religions (EMNR). This group, EMNR founded in 1982, “was formed to become ‘a consortium of Christians in North America, seeking to help people distinguish authentic from in-authentic Christianity and strengthen evangelical Christian ministries to new religionists and cultists’” (Online source, emphasis added).

Oops, I guess all these distinguished apologists in this “consortium of Christians” missed this bit of information about the LDS church from Dr. Walter Martin, widely regarded as “the father of modern Christian cult apologetics.” It was only in his classic textbook The Kingdom Of The Cults Dr. Martin warned the unwary that:

it is evident for all to see that Mormonism strives with great effort to masquerade as the Christian church complete with an exclusive message, infallible prophets, and higher revelations for a new dispensation that the Mormons would have us believe began with Joseph Smith, Jr.

But it is the verdict of both history and biblical theology that Joseph Smith’s religion is a polytheistic nightmare of garbled doctrines draped with the garment of Christian terminology. This fact, if nothing else, brands it a non-Christian cult system.

Those who would consider Mormonism would be greatly profited by a thoughtful consideration of the facts and evidence previously discussed [in this book], lest they be misled into the spiritual maze that is Mormonism (259, emphasis added)

Too bad Hazen et al didn’t take more careful note of Dr. Martin’s sage advice, for now this book of LDS apologetics has been firmly planted within mainline Christian bookstores. And as an extremely discernible sign of the consuming darkness of this rapidly accelerating apostasy, Christianity Today, which is supposed to be an evangelical publication is actually promoting and selling this book of Mormon theology!

The Example Of Christ

You should be asking yourself at this juncture: How in the world could something this ridiculous possibly have happened? Here is Christ’s evangelical community now actually helping to advance the Mormon Church. An organization that is about the most clear-cut group that could ever be classified as a non-Christian cult, with the assistance of evangelical leaders, is inching even closer to being considered orthodox! Surely the Lord is not going to put up with much more of this madness masquerading as Christian love. And the only way we are ever going to come to a clearer understanding of how to approach the subject of showing love toward people who claim to be Christian, but whose beliefs are not in line with the Bible, is to get back to the best Example of Christianity there ever was – Christ Jesus Himself.

Our misconceptions about God’s love are due to our thinking as men think, and not as God thinks. We’ve bought into a worldly way of thinking: Love doesn’t confront people, love tolerates all things; after-all, we don’t want to offend anyone – this way we’ll all live together in peace. Emergent Church pastor Rob Bell recently canonized this very popular Christian mantra “God loves you just as you are,” in his twisted book Velvet Elvis. It seems today all people ever hear is half the story: Jesus loves you. That may be true, but now let’s get to “the rest of the story” – as that noted radio theologian Paul Harvey used say. The rest of the story is that one-day this same Lord Jesus is going to judge you!

It is often asked: What difference does it make what someone else believes, religion is a private matter; after-all, it’s their own business, right? Why should we confront false doctrine in the Church, or why be critical of other people’s religions or beliefs about God? Aren’t we just supposed to love them? Yes; that is true, we are to love one another, we are agreed. But I ask you this question: Who is the most loving person who ever lived? If you say Jesus, you are correct. In fact, 1 John 4:16 tells us that God is love. The Greek word used here for “love” is agape – the most pure, self-sacrificing love that there is – God’s love.

Colossians 2:9 tells us that Jesus of Nazareth was God in human flesh, for in Christ all the fullness of Deity – [everything that makes God Who He is] – all the fullness of Deity lives in bodily form. Therefore Jesus of Nazareth, the only begotten of God, at the same time fully God and fully Man, was incarnate love in human flesh. So, if we also wish to show love toward those who would claim to be Christian, and yet deny cardinal doctrines of the Faith, then we’ll need to look at how the Master handled the false religions and false beliefs of His day. But somehow it’s been lost that Christianity is a controversial faith. Its Founder, the Lord Jesus Christ, is the most controversial Figure in the entire history of mankind! Let me get this point across to you once and for all: They didn’t flog people nearly to death and then nail them to the cross to be left to die for being part of the “in-crowd”!

The Controversial Christ

The former professor of Biblical Criticism and Exegesis at Manchester University, the late Dr. F.F. Bruce, known to many as “the Dean of evangelical scholars”, wrote of Jesus Christ in his book The Hard Sayings Of Jesus:

Our Lord’s sayings were all of a piece with His actions and His way of life in general. The fewer preconceptions we bring from the outside to the reading of the Gospels, the more clearly shall we see Him as He really was. It is all too easy to believe in a Jesus Who is largely a construction of our own imagination-an inoffensive Person Whom no one would really trouble to crucify. But the Jesus we meet in the Gospels, far from being an inoffensive Person, gave offense right and left. Even His loyal followers found Him, at times, thoroughly disconcerting. He upset all established notions of religious propriety.

And Jesus proves Dr. Bruce correct when He tells us Himself in Matthew 10:34-35 that this is exactly what He had come to do, and keep in mind this had already been written about hundreds of years before Messiah arrived. The Bible tells us:

The day of your watchmen has come, the day God – [notice Who is coming–God–and not the “first spirit child of God”] – the day God visits you. Now is the time of their confusion. Do not trust a neighbor; but no confidence in a friend. Even with her who lies in your embrace be careful of your words. For a son dishonors his father, a daughter rises up against her mother, a daughter-in-law against her mother-in-law—a man’s enemies are the members of his own household. (Micah 7:4-6)

You must understand that Jesus took our place and died on the cross for the sins of mankind in order to bring those of us who would believe peace with God, but it is not going lead to peace with each other as men. Look at Romans 12:18 – If it is possible, as far as it depends on you, live at peace with everyone. By the way this sentence is written we know that it will not always be possible to live at peace with everyone. And while this Book of Scripture does go on to tell us to submit to our earthly authorities, to bring balance; there is also a higher Law as well – “We must obey God rather than men!” (see–Acts 5:29)

Dr. Martin, who was a renowned defender of the true Christian faith, was correct when he wrote:

the New Testament itself, the very cradle of Christianity, reflects in a startling way the fact that the faith of Jesus Christ was built and nourished upon the controversy which it provoked. It was said of the early Christians that they “turned the world upside down” (Acts 17:6); indeed the message of the Cross itself is offensive and controversial by nature. Robert Ingersoll, the late great agnostic and renowned antagonist of Christianity, was wise enough to recognize this fact and stated in his famous lectures “If this religion is true, then there is only one Savior, only one narrow path to life. Christianity cannot live in peace with any other religion” (Kingdom, op. cit., p.473).

Christ Confronted False Doctrine

When we confront error in the Church, or criticize other religions, we are simply following the example of our Lord Jesus Christ. In Matthew 15:6-9 the Master confronted the false doctrine of the Pharisees: Thus you nullify the word of God for the sake of your tradition. You hypocrites! Isaiah was right when he prophesied about you: “ ‘These people honor me with their lips, but their hearts are far from me. They worship me in vain; their teachings are but rules taught by men.’ ” Jesus Christ, pure self-sacrificing love in human flesh, expressed the righteous indignation of a Holy God when He overturned the tables of the moneychangers and drove them out of His Temple!

And then again, Jesus expresses the wrath of God against false doctrine in Matthew, chapter 23 during His scathing rebuke of the corrupt religious system of Lord’s own chosen people, Israel, because they refused to acknowledge the truth of God–that Jesus of Nazareth is the Messiah. Among other things in this passage of Holy Scripture, the Lord of lords says to the religious leaders of Israel: You hypocrites; blind guides; children of the devil; brood of vipers; you are like white-washed tombs full of dead men’s bones; and sons of hell! Strong words indeed, because God happens to think that what a person believes about Him matters a great deal!

This pattern of confronting false doctrine continued on with the early Church as Luke the historian tells us in his book of Acts. Space only permits a couple of examples. In Acts, chapter 13, beginning with verse 6, where Paul, as was his custom, proclaimed the Word of God in the Jewish synagogues, in this case he did so with Barnabus and John Mark, the author of the Gospel of Mark.

 

Paul then had strong words of rebuke for Elymas, he didn’t try to call him brother. In verse 9 the Apostle Paul, filled with the Holy Spirit, looked straight at Elymas and said, “You are a child of the devil and an enemy of everything that is right! You are full of all kinds of deceit and trickery. Will you never stop perverting the right ways of the Lord? As you can see, God the Holy Spirit takes the defense of the Gospel seriously, and so should we.

Later, in Acts 15:1-2, we read, Some men came down from Judea to Antioch and were teaching the brothers: “Unless you are circumcised, according to the custom taught by Moses, you cannot be saved. This brought Paul and Barnabas into sharp dispute and debate with them. This doesn’t sound like they wanted to join hands with these heretics and pray to see if they could work out their respective views about the Gospel of Jesus Christ together. In this historical narrative preserved by God in Holy Scripture, it doesn’t look to me like Paul and Barnabus were ready to write an endorsement for any of the circumcision groups’ papyri so that they would better be accepted in Christian circles. And it sure doesn’t appear, Dr. Mouw, like these true spokesmen for Jesus Christ were in any mood to apologize for their “significant differences” with these false teachers.

In fact, in Galatians 2:11-14, we see Paul even lovingly confronted the beloved Apostle Peter when he got caught up in error. Once again, we run into this same faction in the early Church known as the circumcision group (also called the Judaizers) who taught that for the Gentile to be saved he must also be circumcised (among other things), thereby adding works to the Gospel of Christ – which is no light matter. Peter himself was hesitant – not unlike so many of our weak-willed evangelical leaders today – to correct this false teaching and was staying apart from non-Jewish converts, rather than to make a firm stand for Christ by telling these Judaizers that all men are free to come to Christ just as they are and receive His gift of salvation by faith – apart from any works.

The great Church reformer Martin Luther wrote in his commentary on Galatians:

Paul had no small matter in hand, but the chief article of the Christian religion. When this article [salvation by faith alone–apart from works] is endangered, we must not hesitate to resist Peter, or an angel from heaven. Paul paid no regard to the dignity and position of Peter, when he saw this article in danger. As [Jesus said]: “He that loveth father or mother or his own life, more than me, is not worthy of me.” (Matt. 10:37.) The cause we are called to defend…[is] the cause of God. In defense of that cause we must be firm and unyielding.

False Prophets Are To Be Expected

As the man God moved to nail the 95 Theses to the door of the church at Wittenberg that ignited the Protestant Reformation, Luther’s words were backed up by his actions. When he saw how the Roman Catholic Church has made the very same mistake Paul was confronting Peter about – adding works to salvation – Luther risked his very life for the sake of the Gospel. I wonder, with the proliferation of non-Christian cults continuing to grow in this country, and the pressure to be “tolerant” of the various religious practices of the many nationalities within our diverse culture, where are the Luthers of our day?

Certainly not to be found among these evangelical Christian men who so foolishly endorsed a book of apologetics written by a practicing cultist, lending him their names, and thereby making it credible within the orthodox Christian Church! But who among us today understands the real issue: While we have every right to enjoy our ethic backgrounds, and to even help others enjoy them as well, never forget that we are creations of the one true and living God, and when God was on His earth the Lord told us there is only one narrow way to spend eternity with Him.

Listen to Jesus in Matthew 7:13-14, Enter through the narrow gate…small is the gate and narrow the road that leads to life. The Christian Church needs to remember that our Master then goes on to warn us in verse 15 to Watch out for false prophets. They come to you in sheep’s clothing – [so that they’ll look like Christians] – but inwardly they are ferocious wolves. Can you hear that Dr. Mouw? Paul would later echo these words under the inspiration of God the Holy Spirit (Acts 20:29-30) – I know that after I leave, savage wolves will come in among you –false prophets from outside of the Church. As Dr. Martin used to say: “if you don’t know the difference between fleece and fur, you’re going to lose your spiritual arm right up to the elbow.”

But we must remember that the Church of our Lord is under a two-pronged attack, (verse 30), Even from your own number men will arise and distort the truth – these false prophets will come from inside the Church. In 2 Corinthians 11:13-15 Paul goes on to say such men are false apostles, deceitful workmen masquerading as apostles of Christ. And no wonder, for Satan himself masquerades as an angel of light. It is not surprising then, if his servants masquerade as servants of righteousness.

Peter also warns us of these false prophets and false teachers who will introduce destructive heresies in 2 Peter, chapter 2. Jude, the Lord’s half-brother, speaks of them as well – these godless men…dreamers who follow their own evil desires in his own epistle. And even John, “the Apostle of love”, warns of many antichrists that went out from us, but they did not really belong to us…[they are] those who are trying to lead you astray. (1 John 2:26) Do you get the idea that these godly men weren’t quite as tolerant as we’ve become today? And then when you consider that as authors of Scripture they were inspired by God the Holy Spirit Himself – what do you think this should tell you about how God wants us to be today!

There Can Be No Peace With The World

I’ve gone into such depth regarding this unpleasant area of the Christian faith in hopes to bring balance to a Christianity which is striving for harmony with the world system through the emergent church and the PDL, instead of being willing to confront the evil so rampant in our society. James 4:4 – don’t you know that friendship with the world is hatred toward God? The true servant of Christ Jesus must come to understand that non-Christian cultists and people of the world don’t need the Church to keep telling them the good points they have, because they’re already busy doing that for themselves. It’s called self-ishness–sin. The world is in desperate need of real answers to real problems! The Lord Jesus Christ is the answer, and God has the solutions to those problems in His Holy Bible! Or, don’t we even have the backbone to believe this anymore?

Men and women, we must share this absolute truth with those who live around us! The Church must confront error! It must confront the evil schemes of Satan, whom the Bible calls the god of this age! (2 Corinthians 4:4) The Church must be ready to make war against the rulers, against the authorities, against the powers of this dark world and against the spiritual forces of evil in the heavenly realms. (Ephesians 6:12) Yes, we who are Christians do serve the King of kings, the glorious Lord of lords – but our King is at war! And He has entrusted us to bring His Gospel into this world gone mad with sin; and if we don’t do it, it won’t get done!

Briefly, it all boils down to this; in 2 Corinthians 11:4 we read – For if someone comes to you and preaches a Jesus other than the Jesus we preached, or if you receive a different spirit from the one you received, or a different gospel from the one you accepted, you put up with it easily enough. If we look closely here we can see at least two things. One: There are other Jesuses, other spirits, and other gospels. And two: There are many seeker sensitive churches within EMC and PDL today making the same mistake that the Holy Spirit was rebuking the church at Corinth for making. We are not defending and confirming the Gospel (Philippians 1:7), but instead are accepting false teachings because we don’t test the spirits to see whether they are from God. (1 John 4:1) The doomed Church Growth Movement, and the self-aggrandizing evangelical camp, in a futile attempt not to offend anyone, now risks offending our Lord, Who has told us to test everything. (1 Thessalonians 5:21)

In the Spirit I tell you, the time has now come when we must take up the Bible and start testing what those who claim to teach God’s Word are teaching us. We need to be like the Bereans (Acts 17:11) who were of more noble character than the Thessalonians, for they received the message with great eagerness and examined the Scriptures every day to see if what Paul had said was true. Check out for yourself what I am teaching you. If it is not in line with the Word of God, throw it out. But if it is in the will of God–and it most certainly is–then by all means we need to act on it.

Can You Be Christian And Deny What Christians Believe?

Let me give you an example that should be easy enough to follow. Around virtually every holiday people will begin to see many commercials for The Book of Mormon, which is proclaimed to be “Another Testament of Jesus Christ” by the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints–the Mormons. Many people won’t speak out about the Mormon Church because of ignorance, and a reluctance to offend their neighbors, or friends and family, who might be involved. They have a mistaken idea about Christian “love”, thinking that somehow it’s unloving to criticize another person’s faith. And the LDS Church – next to the apostate Church of Rome – is probably the closest counterfeit to Christianity because, as one minister used to put it, “many times they act more like Christians than we do.” And we are always to approach people with love, but it must be love for our God, for our Savior Jesus Christ, that comes first, and then our love for mankind. As His disciples, we are to love what Jesus loves, but also to hate what He hates. And in Hebrews 1:8 God the Father says about [His] Son… Your throne, O God, will last forever…You have loved righteousness and hated wickedness.”

Permit me, if you will, to show you how this all relates to our example, the non-Christian cult of Mormonism, which did not even begin until the year 1820. So, this means that for 1,820 years, obviously, the historic orthodox Christian Church said absolutely nothing negative about the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints for the simple fact that they didn’t even exist! Then, in 1820–according to the official version of the story (there are 9 different versions)–a 14 year old boy by the name of Joseph Smith says that Jesus Christ appeared to him in person and told him that all of Christianity was “corrupt” and “an abomination,” and that Smith was to “restore the true church” back to the earth. The following is from the Mormon book of Scripture Pearl of Great Price, Joseph Smith-History 1:19, where Smith says he asked the two “personages” that appeared to him (he says they were God the Father and His Son Jesus) which Christian church he should join, Smith writes, and I quote:

I was answered that I must join none of them, for they were all wrong; and the personage who addressed me [Jesus] said that all their creeds were an abomination in his sight; that those professors were all corrupt; that: “they draw near to me with their lips, but their hearts are far from me, they teach for doctrines the commandments of men, having a form of godliness, but they deny the power thereof.” (emphasis added).

Now I ask you: Who fired the first shot in this war? As anyone can see, it was Joseph Smith, and the Mormon Church! He said God told him that everything that the historic Christian Church had believed for 1800 years was “an abomination” in His sight. The very beliefs that we hold sacred: The Holy Trinity; the eternal Deity of Jesus Christ; His Virgin Birth; His precious blood shed on the cross for the forgiveness of sins; our justification by grace alone through faith alone in Christ alone – all of these biblical truths are “an abomination” in God’s sight – and all of us are “corrupt” who hold these doctrines dear! I’d dare say that this type of rhetoric from the founder of the Mormon Church sounds just a tad bit offensive, wouldn’t you?

The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints further teaches that God the Father as once a man no different than you or I; that Satan is the spirit brother of Jesus Christ; that Jesus of Nazareth was conceived on earth through incestuous sex between God the Father and His own child, the Virgin Mary; that the Bible is corrupted and can’t be trusted; the Mormon Church further teaches that man can also become a god; and that it is not right to have a personal relationship with Jesus, nor is it even proper to worship Him.

Is that what you believe? Is that what the Bible teaches? Is that even Christianity? Of course it isn’t! Then, for Jesus’ sake we must tell them! We must defend His name and His glorious Gospel! We were Christians first, and we have defined what that means by the inerrant, infallible Word of God, the Bible. And what kind of madness is this where our Evangelical leaders are attempting to get into bed with this spiritual harlot!

The Church In America Needs To Grow A Backbone

Hasn’t the real Christian Church turned its other cheek long enough! The Mormon Church uses very deceptive techniques in their advertising, and in their door-to-door approach with their “missionaries” that fool unsuspecting people into thinking that they are Christians – which they decidedly are not! Using a military analogy: Can we afford to just sit by as Satan, the mortal enemy of men’s souls, “bombs” innocent people with lies about the one true living God; His Christ; His Word–the Bible, and His Gospel, and just say nothing? How would the War in Iraq have turned out if when our Commanders gave the order to attack, our troops didn’t want to risk “offending” the Iraqi’s, or felt it was “someone else’s” job, or worse yet, had said they were just “too busy”?

The darkness is spreading over our land and the true Christian Church must awaken from our slumber and follow the directive of our great “Commander of all commanders,” Christ Jesus the Lord, in Jude 3 to contend earnestly for the faith which was once for all delivered to the saints (NKJV). So let’s mobilize our Lord’s forces and lift up the banner of Jesus Christ of Nazareth–our great God and Savior–for the whole world to see! Greater is He [Christ] who is in us than he [Satan] who is in the world. (1 John 4:4) Might we give ourselves completely to the Lord and let Him use us to rescue those lost in the twisted kingdom of the cults. Let’s renew our dedication to our Heavenly Father, so that He can also use us to reach those who are trapped in the darkness of sin, and bring them into the glorious light of the Gospel of our Lord and Master Christ Jesus.

Right now is the time that all of us must take inventory of ourselves. Let’s take a lesson and learn from the nauseatingly lukewarm stand of Drs Mouw, Hazen, Blomberg, and the rest. If we who are in the Church aren’t sure whether these truths we profess to believe are worth sacrificing for, then how on earth do we expect those who aren’t even born again to want to come to the Lord? 2 Corinthians 5:20 – We are therefore Christ’s ambassadors, as though God were making his appeal through us. Or, do we even believe this anymore? We implore you on Christ’s behalf: Be reconciled to God.

The 18th century evangelist John Wesley–regardless of what you may think of every area of his theology–was a good friend of George Whitefield, and a man who was known for his devotion to the cause of Christ. Wesley’s comment on this verse is quite insightful:

Herein the apostle might appear to some “transported beyond himself.” In general he uses a more calm, sedate kind of exhortation, as in the beginning of the next chapter. What unparalleled condescension and divinely tender mercies are displayed in this verse! Did the judge ever beseech a condemned criminal to accept an act of pardon? Does the creditor ever beseech a ruined debtor to receive an acquittance in full? Yet our almighty Lord, and our eternal Judge, not only vouchsafes to offer these blessings, but invites us, entreats us, and, with the most tender importunity, solicits us, not to reject them. (Online source)

As a matter of fact, the word implore used in this passage is a very strong word, and should remind us of what Jesus said in Luke 14:23, “Go out to the roads and country lanes and make them come in.” The Greek word here in this verse for “make” is anagkazo, another strong word which can even imply “by force.” Certainly a person must be free make his own choice, but our presentation of the greatness of our Lord’s Gospel should be strong enough that we “implore” them not to reject it, because Hebrews 9:27 warns – as man is destined to die once, and after that to face judgment. We must try to “make” people understand that regardless of whatever beliefs they may or may not have, there is only one God, and this is what He has said period–end of story.

Don’t Be Fooled

This age of apostasy that we live in has the Devil setting his trap for you. His trap is actually quite simple for the professing Evangelical. Divide the Church into sections like PDL and EMC, which in the end are really only two sides of the same ecumenical coin. In his man-centered Church Growth Movement Satan is playing on the heartstrings of man’s self-centered sentimentality. Think about it; all these “bleeding” hearts running around preaching seeker sensitive half truths about God’s love, and His purpose for you, all the while telling you that you need to experiment with your spirituality in an emergent church to find out just how it is that God is going to relate to you. And, as usual with the enemy, it’s all backward from Christ. It has been aptly stated elsewhere: He who dines with the Devil ought to have a very long fork.

The Mormon Church, despite its public posturing to the contrary, just like the Church of Rome–it’s “one true church on the face of the earth” harlot half-sister–will never be an orthodox Christian Church. God’s true plan is NOT to bring all men together, it never has been. Those who are really familiar with the Bible know that the Lord’s plan has always been to call out a people – from the world and other religions – to be His own. And there is only one way you are ever going to be a part of that Body of believers, and that’s to totally surrender your life to the Lord Jesus Christ, and become His doulos–His slave.

For the Lord says:

This third I will bring into the fire; I will refine them like silver and test them like gold. They will call on my name and I will answer them; I will say, ‘They are my people,’ and they will say, ‘The LORD is our God’ ” (Zechariah 13:9)…All that the Father gives me will come to me, and whoever comes to me I will never drive away (John 6:37)

A Different Jesus?

Let us return to the key question here: Does Robert Millet’s book A Different Jesus? The Christ of the Latter-day Saints speak of the Jesus of biblical revelation? The answer is NO! Anyone with even a passing knowledge of Mormonism knows that the “Jesus” of the LDS Church is clearly not God the Son–Second Person of the eternal Holy Trinity–born the God-Man Jesus Christ of Nazareth. And Holy Scripture is quite clear that Jesus is Kyrios, which is to say LORD, God Himself in human form. For it is written:

that at the name of Jesus every knee should bow, in heaven and on earth and under the earth, and every tongue confess that Jesus Christ is Lord, to the glory of God the Father (Philippians 2:10-11).

Cross-reference this passage of the Bible with Isaiah 45:21-24 and you will quickly see we are talking about Yahweh, the eternal one true and living God of Israel.

The Bible unmistakably teaches that the Savior–Messiah–the Christ–is an eternal Being. Micah 5:2 – “But you, Bethlehem Ephrathah, though you are small among the clans of Judah, out of you will come for me one who will be ruler over Israel, whose origins are from of old, from ancient times.” If you read this in the Septuagint (LXX) you will see that the last part of this verse can also be translated “whose goings forth were from the beginning, even from eternity.” Jesus Christ of Nazareth has always existed, and therefore cannot possibly be the first spirit child born to a resurrected god and one of his goddess wives.

And since the Mormon Church denies the clear witness of Holy Scripture about Who our glorious Lord and Master truly is, they cannot ever be a Christian church. For the Bible says with pristine clarity:

Who is the liar? It is the man who denies that Jesus is the Christ. Such a man is the antichrist—he denies the Father and the Son. 23 No one who denies the Son has the Father; whoever acknowledges the Son has the Father also. (1 John 2:22-23).

The Mormon Church says they believe that Jesus is the Christ, but they don’t believe in the Christ of biblical revelation. And the Christ of Holy Scripture has been existing before time began. The Mormon Church says they believe in Jesus as their Savior, but they don’t believe in the Jesus of biblical revelation. And the Jesus of Holy Scripture is the eternal God Himself come in human flesh.

And so, LDS apologist Robert Millet can say he believes that Jesus Christ is his Savior, but as an active Mormon he doesn’t believe in the Jesus Christ of biblical revelation. However, the absolute truth is that the Jesus Christ of Holy Scripture is Yahweh Elohim–the LORD God of Israel Himself–come to seek and save those of His that were lost. And the Bible emphatically says about Jesus Christ of Nazareth:

“Salvation is found in no one else, for there is no other name under heaven given to men by which we must be saved” (Acts 4:12).

And our Lord Christ Jesus Himself said:

“I told you that you would die in your sins; if you do not believe that I Am, you will indeed die in your sins (John 8:24, literal Greek)…I am the way and the truth and the life. No one comes to the Father except through me” (John 14:6).

The False Jesus Of Mormonism

Briefly, the LDS Church teaches that the Godhead is made up of three separate gods, Elohim, who is Heavenly Father; Jehovah, who is Jesus the Christ; and the Holy Spirit, who work together as “one” in unity for this particular planet. Christian researcher Mike Oppenheimer of Let Us Reason Ministries fills us in about the Mormon “Jesus”:

Joseph F. Smith the sixth prophet of the LDS Church said of their Jesus, “Among the spirit children of Elohim, the first-born was and is Jehovah, or Jesus Christ, to whom all others are juniors” (Gospel Doctrine, p. 70). Mormons believe that Jesus Christ, Lucifer, and all of us were spirit children of God in the pre-mortal world (Mormon Doctrine, p. 278). Jesus is called “the First Spirit Child born to God the Father in Preexistence” (Ibid. p.28). (Online source)

Mormon theology also teaches that Jesus is the older spirit brother of Lucifer aka Satan, an idea that is especially repugnant to true Christians. Moriel Ministries, the teaching ministry of J. Jacob Prasch, asks the critical question regarding the non-Christian cult of Mormonism:

Who is the true Jesus? He is the only begotten Son (John 1:14,18; 3:16). Mormons add “in the flesh,” thinking they were once God’s “spirit children.” “The principal personalities in this great drama were a Father Elohim, perfect in wisdom, judgment, and person, and two sons, Lucifer and Jehovah,” meaning Satan and Jesus (Teachings of Spencer W. Kimball, pp.32-33). This is why Mormon’s refer to Jesus as an “elder brother.” McConkie fancifully argues, “suffice it to say that our Lord was born of a virgin, which is fitting and proper, and also natural, since the Father of the Child was an immortal Being… He is the Son of God in the same sense and way that we are the sons of mortal fathers” (The Promised Messiah, pp.466, 468). No! Lame excuses do not suffice! Allegedly, the Mormon god had sexual intercourse with his own spirit daughter, Mary, in an incestuous relationship. That’s immoral! The Mormon Jesus was the sexual offspring from one of the many wives of God. No! The “sign” of Christ’s birth was Mary’s virginity, not virginity until conception! Jesus was miraculously conceived by the Holy Ghost, not the Father! (Isaiah 7:13; Mat. 1:18; Luke 1:34). He was placed in the womb without the normal means of conception (Luke 1:35) because nothing is impossible with God! (Luke 1:37). (Online source)

By the way, the “McConkie” mentioned above is a reference to the late Elder Bruce R. McConkie who was one of the Twelve Apostles of the LDS church. The Mormon owned Deseret News bookstore said of “Apostle” McConkie: “No one in the history of the Church has written more by way of testimony of Christ than Bruce R. McConkie”
(Online source).

And Bill McKeever of Mormonism Research Ministry tells us about:

Another inconsistent aspect of LDS Christology is the idea that Jesus had to “work out” his salvation. Bruce McConkie claimed, “Jesus kept the commandments of his Father and thereby worked out his own salvation, and also set an example as to the way and the means whereby all men may be saved” (The Mortal Messiah, Vol.4, p.434). (Online source)

Obviously, the Mormon Church does not believe in the Jesus of biblical revelation as taught by the historic orthodox Christian Church for two thousand years. And, did you know, no less an authority on Mormonism than LDS president Gordon B. Hinckley admits as much. This is from the “LDS Church News Archives, Saturday, June 20, 1998 Pres. Hinckley speaks to 6,600 in Paris, Geneva” –

In bearing testimony of Jesus Christ, President Hinckley spoke of those outside the Church who say Latter-day Saints “do not believe in the traditional Christ. No, I don’t. The traditional Christ of whom they speak is not the Christ of whom I speak. For the Christ of whom I speak has been revealed in this the Dispensation of the Fulness (sic) of Times. He, together with His Father, appeared to the boy Joseph Smith in the year 1820, and when Joseph left the grove that day, he knew more of the nature of God than all the learned ministers of the gospel of the ages. “Am I Christian? Of course I am. I believe in Christ. I talk of Christ. I pray through Christ. I’m trying to follow Him and live His gospel in my life” (Online source, emphasis added)

Will The Real Christian Church Please Stand Up For Jesus

Well now, I guess we can now all see the answer to the question that is posed by Robert Millet’s Book A Different Jesus? LDS President and Prophet Gordon B. Hinckley, allegedly God’s mouthpiece on the earth–with all due apologies to Christ’s other “vicar” in Rome–tells us himself that the Mormon Church does not believe “in the traditional Christ.” Perhaps the Evangelical “endorsers” of Millet’s cultic book forgot Jude 3 – Beloved, while I was very diligent to write to you concerning our common salvation, I found it necessary to write to you exhorting you to contend earnestly for the faith which was once for all delivered to the saints (NJKV).

For those who don’t know, the “traditional” Christ is the one Who is the Author and Finisher of the faith which was once for all delivered to the saints. You know, lately, as I have surveyed the lunacy going on within the Evangelical church, I have found myself beginning to look for an emergent church with a purpose to drive us. And no, I haven’t swung over to the other side. I’m not talking about the counterfeit emergent church of the Brian McLarens and the Rob Bells, and I have no interest in joining the purpose driven Christianity Lite of the Rick Warrens and the Richard Abaneses.

What I am praying about, and what I am asking is: When is the real Christian Church going to emerge from this apostasy and begin to live for the real purpose that Christ has raised it up for–to worship Him, and to bring God the glory that is His alone! Enough with this insipid tolerance and glad-handing with non-Christian cults that are actually preying upon the unsuspecting sheep! And enough already with this entire fetid PDL/EMC seeker sensitive church growth movement with its watered down man-centered love!

O that we might remember, if but just once more, the awesome splendor and majesty of the LORD God Almighty:

I will bless the LORD at all times: his praise shall continually be in my mouth. My soul shall make her boast in the LORD: the humble shall hear thereof, and be glad. O magnify the LORD with me, and let us exalt his name together. I sought the LORD, and he heard me, and delivered me from all my fears. (Psalm 34:1-4, KJV)

In the end, there are many nice people – as far as people are concerned – within the LDS Church, just as there are in every false religion and even in the unbelieving world. But, there can never be unity of the true Body of Christ with the thoroughly pagan and eternally polytheistic cult of Mormonism because Holy Scripture expressly says:

Do not be yoked together with unbelievers. For what do righteousness and wickedness have in common? Or what fellowship can light have with darkness? What harmony is there between Christ and Belial? What does a believer have in common with an unbeliever? What agreement is there between the temple of God and idols? For we are the temple of the living God. As God has said: “I will live with them and walk among them, and I will be their God, and they will be my people.” “Therefore come out from them and be separate, says the Lord. Touch no unclean thing, and I will receive you.” “I will be a Father to you, and you will be my sons and daughters, says the Lord Almighty.” (2 Corinthians 6:14-18)

And these words from Dr. R. A. Torrey, a real man of God, still ring as true today as when he wrote them in 1922:

The devil’s counterfeit of true Christian unity is a man-made unity. It is a mere outward unity; it is a union out of Christ – it is a union between those who disagree on fundamental doctrines; it is a union between the forces of Christ and Antichrist, it is a union between those who are born again, thus becoming children of God, and those who are unregenerated and, therefore, children of the devil. It is a union of the forces of Christ and the forces of antichrist.

For a true Christian unity let us pray and let us labor and let us make every necessary sacrifice. As to the devil’s counterfeit of true Christian unity, let us fight it to the last ditch, knowing that it is the devil’s great strategic masterpiece for the defeat of our Lord’s work in the world. The enemies of Jesus Christ are far less dangerous when openly fighting against us than they are when they claim to be one with us and seek our cooperation in the substitution of any other gospel,…for the saving Gospel of the once crucified, now risen and soon returning Lord (True Christian Union and the Devil’s Counterfeit,copy on file).

He who testifies to these things says, “Yes, I am coming soon.”
Amen. Come, Lord Jesus.