Mormons!

Beloved, when I gave all diligence to write unto you of the common salvation, it was needful for me to write unto you, and exhort you that ye should contend earnestly for the faith which was once for all delivered unto the saints.

Jude 1:3

Yep... I had an encounter with Mormons yesterday. This is how it happened...

It was about 7:30PM, I had just gotten home from work, and felt the call to go to Main Ave to share the Gospel. There I was passing out tracts to people when I saw a couple of Mormons coming up the street. Mormons are some of the nicest people you will ever meet, very polite, kind, and sincere in their faith. With that said, none of these qualities can forgive someone's sins, only the blood of Christ can do that.

I gave one of them a tract and immediately he smiled and said "Thanks, I also have something for you." We exchanged literature. He saw that what I gave him was a Ticket to Heaven so I asked him, "So what do you believe someone must do to get to Heaven?" His basic response was that a person must 1) believe in Jesus Christ 2) repent 3)get baptized 4)receive the Holy Spirit 5)produce good works. YOWZA! That is a works-based salvation which the Bible condemns. So I asked him what would happen if a person didnt have time to do all that, "What if I only had 3 minutes to live? What would you tell me?" His response included the prospect of having a second chance to do all those things in the afterlife. I told him, "Sure doesnt seem like the rich man in Luke 16 got that second chance. Or did he?"

A little later on I mentioned something along the lines of whether Hitler also received that second chance; Elder Quincy's response was that repetitious murder was too big a crime to be forgiven. I took the opportunity to ask him whether he had ever hated anyone which God sees as murder. He had. After some probing, I realized that both Elder Quincy (age 19) and Elder IforgothisName (20) were self-righteous (they thought they were good people) so I proceeded to walk them both through the law of God in hopes that it would bring them a fuller understanding of the gravity and depth of their sin. Most specifically I expounded on the gravity of blasphemy. I told them that blasphemy was probably even more serious than murder "for the Lord will not hold him guiltless who takes His name in vain." They admitted to being guilty of breaking Gods laws and deserving of God's punishment but quickly mentioned "Thats why Jesus came... so that we can be saved."

This is when things got interesting, I told them that I was a Christian and asked them whether or not Mormons and Christians believe in the SAME Jesus. They said we do, which is NOT true. After much talk, this is the recap of what we concluded in respects to the nature of God and the Gospel:

Mormons

• Three gods (The Father, The Son, and The Holy Spirit) who exist among other gods
  
• God was once a man who became God
• Jesus came into existence after the Father
• Jesus is the brother of the devil
• Salvation is by faith after all we can do

Christians

• One God who is Triune (The Father, The Son, and The Holy Spirit)
  
• God is eternal
• Jesus is God who is eternal
• Jesus created ALL things including the devil and hell
• Salvation is by grace through faith, not of works

One particular passage that they had an especially hard time dealing with was John 1:3. Here it is in context:

In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God. The same was in the beginning with God. All things were made by Him, and without Him was not anything made that was made.

This means that Jesus of Nazareth is the Creator of ALL things. Amen.

This is what I was going for: I was trying to get them to admit that Mormons and Christians believe two different Gospels. We believe in two different natures of God, two different Jesus', two different plans of salvation. In essence, two different Gospels. Once I got them to agree to that... We turned to Galatians chapter 1:

I marvel that ye are so soon removed from Him, that called you into the grace of Christ, for another gospel. For this is not another; but there are some who trouble you and would pervert the Gospel of Christ. But should we, or an angel from Heaven, preach any other gospel unto you than that which we have preached to you, let him be accursed. As we said before, so say I now again: If any man preach any other gospel unto than that which ye have received, let him be accursed!

Galatians 1:6-9

YOWZA! Did you read that? Re-read it please. Notice how it says that even if an angel from Heaven... (Picture that for a moment. Imagine looking up and seeing a beautiful magestic angel in the sky! How do you think you would react to that? People usually get scared when they see that.) Anyhow, the Scripture says that even if an angel from Heaven preaches to you any other gospel than the one the apostles preached, let him be accursed. When it says "accursed" it means that the preacher of this false gospel shall be damned to an eternity in hell. What makes this extra interesting is that that is exactly how the founder of the Mormons, Joseph Smith, claimed to have received his "gospel"... from an angel named Moroni.

So I did my best to reason with them to repent of their sins and put their trust in the Jesus of the Bible! I told them that the created Jesus who is the brother of Satan cannot save anybody. That they must trust the Jesus who is Creator of all things in order to be saved. I pleaded with them that if they didnt repent of their going after false gods the wrath of God would remain upon them and they would surely lose their souls. Did they repent right on the spot and believe? I wish that I could tell you that they did but I cant. But glory to God that one more seed was sown!!! Please pray for Elder Qunicy and Elder IforgothisName, that the Lord will grant them repentance and faith in the Lord Jesus.

As an aside. Here is a verse that could have helped me in our discourse:

Ye are my witnesses, saith the LORD, and my servant whom I have chosen; that ye may know and believe me, and understand that I am he: before me there was no God formed, neither shall there be after me.

Isaiah 43:10

Drive-Thru Theology

It is always a great idea to have tracts in your car. Tracts stashed in your car are perfect for giving to toll booth workers, people you ask for directions, gas attendants and drive-thru workers!

Just today I gave one to the McDonalds drive-thru guy while picking up some early morning breakfast. After I paid, I handed him a Ticket to Heaven tract. Now, usually people will just take them and I'll be on my way, but every now and again you will get someone who eagerly takes the tract and begins reading it right then and there. As he inspected it, I told him what it was and he responded that he already had a ticket to heaven. When I asked him what was his ticket he told me, "The Lord, who is in my heart." I asked, "So you're a Christian?!" He told me that he was a Roman Catholic so I asked whether he had been born again (John 3:3). He asserted that he was. He called himself a born again Roman Catholic. Now this is when things got really weird. I said, "Yeah man, thats our only ticket to heaven, our Lord Jesus." He responded with, "Not Jesus. His Father."

So this took us off into a discussion as to who Jesus really is. He said that Jesus was the Son of the Father and Mary, that He was created, and that the true Lord is God the Father. I urged him to make sure he was believing in the right Jesus because the Bible makes it perfectly clear that Jesus Christ is in fact more than just the "Son of Mary". I referred him to John 1:1-14 which says, "In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God" and "The Word became flesh and made His dwelling among us." Those verses make it clear that God, the Creator of all things, became flesh in the person of Jesus of Nazareth. In the Bible, Jesus is referred to as the Lord of lords, and King of kings. I also pointed to the verses where Jesus told Phillip, "If you have seen me you have seen the Father," and "I and the Father are One" and "Before Abraham was, I AM. "I AM" is the same name by which God identified Himself to Moses and the children of Israel. Still he insisted that Jesus was just "God's Son and not God Himself." I then reminded him that the Holy Trinity (which I assumed he believed in being that he was a Roman Catholic) teaches that Christ is Himself God. He wasnt hearing it.

As his co-workers urged him to get back to work, I urged him one last time to make sure he was believing in the right Jesus. The Bible makes it clear that if you don't have the Son, you dont have the Father. Then we said our good-byes and I moved forward to the second window to pick up my McGriddle. Who knows? Maybe now he'll go home and crack open his Bible and see the truth of who Jesus really is?! Remember, it isnt our job to convert the sinner's heart, it is to point them toward the Savior. I pray to God that He will open that guy's understanding and lead him safely into the arms of the true Jesus of the Bible, the Lord of the universe. This would not have happened if I didn't carry tracts in my car!

Jehovah's Witness

Woke up early today and while surfing the net I hear my doorbell ringing. Who could it be so early on a Saturday morning? You guessed it... Jehovah's Witnesses! Here weee gooooo...

So I opened the door to receive two men in suits that want to hand me some Watch Tower literature. I invited them in but they said they were in a hurry. (Turns out they spoke to some of the people in my family before and I guess they already knew we were Christians) Anyway so I started asking them questions to see, from their point of view, what it is exactly that they believe. I asked, "So what must I do to be made right with God?" They told me that it required much in depth study of the Bible and trying to obey what it says. So then I asked them if they had "studied enough and done enough good to already be right with Him?" They said that they are trying. Well actually it was just one guy that was talking to me. So he said that he was trying. I asked him if he was a good person and he said that he wasnt perfect... that noone is (I agree). So then I took him through the Law and asked him if he would be innocent or guilty should God judge him by those Commandments. He told me that "God forgives." I was like, "Great! So tell me what I must do to be forgiven because I too have broken the Laws and Im worried about my eternal destiny!" He couldnt tell me! He said that he asked God for forgiveness and is now trying to do the right thing by speaking to people like Paul did. I explained to him how a "good" judge will not let a guilty murderer go free just because he asked for forgiveness and promised to stop killing. The trainee Jehovah's Witness agreed, his name is Juan. I also reminded them that nowhere in Scripture does God promise us even one more minute of life... So it came down to me asking him, with much love and concern, "Friend, so what are you bringing me? You guys are just like me, we have broken those Laws and the Bible says that the wrath of God abides upon us. If you were to die today you would be found guilty and suffer Gods punishment as would I. Please tell me what I must do to be saved! Dont just leave me here on my way to hell! When Paul went from town to town bringing the word of God did he just leave people on their way to hell and suggest they study?" (No! This is what he did---> Acts 20:20-21) They said they didnt know but would come back; so we scheduled a meeting for early next Saturday. Please pray for them!! Pray that the Holy Spirit will convict them of their sin and the judgment to come. Their names are Juan and I forgot the other one's name.

By the way, here is an interesting sermon on how to deal with Jehovah's Witnesses---> click here

Mom and Teen

Had some interesting encounters today. Here are a couple:

After passing out a couple Million Dollar bills I see a lady telling her kid to pick one up from the floor. (I dont know if someone threw it out or dropped it... it was pretty cold and kind of windy) So I informed her that I was the one passing them out and joked that they are indeed not real but were instead gospel tracts. Then I asked her what she thought happens when someone dies. She said she didnt know, that she thought maybe heaven. So I asked her if she considered herself a good person. She said, "I dont have to go to church to be a good person. Even though I dont go I still do good and pray to myself." I joked "You pray to yourself?" She said, "Oh. No, I pray by myself at home." So I asked her if she kept the Ten Commandments and walked her through some of them. She admitted that she was a lying, thieving, murderer at heart and that she would be guilty on Judgment Day but that she still thought she would go to heaven. While reasoning with her about how a good judge must punish guilty lawbreakers, I asked her if she thought God was good. She said that God was good but also did evil. So I gently pointed out to her that if thats her idea of God that she was guilty of violating the 2nd Commandment, she had formed her own version of God. The Holy Spirit was really working on her heart because at that point she stopped justifying herself and realized that she was headed for hell. (Romans 3:19) I asked her if this was something that concerned her and she said it was. I asked if her if she knew how to get right with God and she said, "No, wont you please tell me?" So I told her that was the reason I came to her, to tell her the Good News! I explained to her how God became a Man, Jesus Christ, and died on the Cross in her place. That even though she broke God's Law, Jesus paid her fine... and that 3 days later, He rose from the dead. Then I told her to repent of all her sins and put her trust in Jesus Christ as her Lord and Savior and that He would forgive all her sins once and for all and grant her everlasting life. She thanked me for talking to her and told me that no one had ever explained to her why it was that Jesus died on the Cross. I offered her a New Testament but she said that she had a Bible at home and was going straight there to read it. Amen! Please pray for her!

I also got the chance to speak to a bunch of teenagers. One of them sticks out: After walking him through the Commandments I saw that he was really convicted. He realized that he was headed for hell and needed God's forgiveness so I shared the Good News of Jesus Christ dying for his sins and wanting to save him. After explaining to him that he must be born again and asking him if he understood what that meant... I asked him, "So whats stopping you from repenting and receiving Christ right now?" He said, "My friends." His other friend said "Society." So I told them that Jesus said that if your eye causes you to sin, to pluck it out and cast it from you because its better to go to heaven half-blind than to go to hell with both eyes (Matthew 18:9) and asked him, "What does it profit a man to gain the whole world but lose his soul?" (Matthew 16:26) Then I reminded them that they might die tonight and if they died in their sins they would end up in hell. He was very convicted and seemed on the verge of tears so I pleaded with him to repent and receive Christ in the privacy of his own heart or to lock himself in his room when he got home and get right with God tonight. May the Lord grant him repentance and draw him towards Himself! Please pray for this kid!

I also got the opportunity to meet up with another Christian. We fellowshipped for about 15 minutes. I encouraged him to seek and save the lost and exhorted him to do so soon because there is only a certain amount time.

Gambler and Jose the Sanitation Worker

These encounters took place on Oct 29, 2005:

My Professor gave us a 15 min break today... so I hit up the NYC streets! These were my two encounters.

First: A gambler. I took him through the Law and he confessed to being a lying, thieving, blasphemous adulterer at heart. He said that he would be guilty on Judgement Day but still believed he would go to Heaven as long as he repented before he died. I put him in the court room amd showed him that repentance wasnt enough... he still had a "fine" to pay. ("For the wages of sin is death" Romans 6:23a) He didnt know the way of salvation so I explained to him about Jesus and what He did on the cross. I told him that he needed to not only repent but to put his trust in the Savior. He told me it made sense to him. Basically, it came down to him saying something like, "But if I do that then I cant do this (in reference to betting on horse races or something!)" So I told him that by not getting right with God he was making the ultimate gamble; spending eternity in hell. Pray for him.

Second: I approached Jose, a sanitation worker, with the "Million Dollar Question"... an IQ Test. He got it wrong but found it pretty funny. So then I gave him another chance at the Million Dollar bill... but this one is called the "GoodPersonTest." He said that he did in fact consider himself a good person so I asked him if I could ask him a few questions to see if he really is. I informed him that I would be asking him about the Ten Commandments to which he replied by naming the ones he knew, "Dont lie, Dont kill, Keep God first." So I told him, "Those are great, have you kept them? Lets see... have you lied?" He confessed that he did and was in fact a liar. I told him that God saw hatred as murder to which he also confessed to having been guilty of. And finally I informed him that he obviously hadnt kept God first if he was going around breaking His commandments!

He said that he felt he would be guilty on Judgement Day but... that God forgives. So I put him in the courtroom. He quickly saw that he would be guilty and a good judge would have to punish him, so he confessed that he was headed for hell, a fact which greatly concerned him. So I asked him if he knew what God did for him so he wouldnt have to go to hell... He responded, "He gave me life, and a son?" I told him that God was indeed great for giving us life and other good things, but then we went ahead and sinned against Him... I told him that God had provided a way for us to be made right with Him.

I shared the Good News with him. He said that he had accepted Jesus when he was young but wasnt living for him, but I could see that he was visibly shaken with tears welling up...a little.. So I told him that salvation isnt something you want to play around with, its something you dont want to be wrong about so I suggested he should "rededicate" his life to the Lord.

And he did! He prayed right there! He asked God for forgiveness, asked Jesus to save him, and told Him that he didnt want to live for himself anymore, and instead wanted to live for Him from now on! Then I prayed with him and gave him a Save Yourself Some Pain booklet and a Gospel of John and suggested the he find a Christ-centered Bible believing church to attend.

Then... back to class.