Worship vs. Non-worship

There are two kinds of people:

There are those who strive to worship God.

And there are those who don’t.

Those who don’t:

It has become my understanding that worship flows from the heart. If a man sins against God by disobeying what God has commanded, that man failed to worship. There is something misfiring in his heart, which was meant to delight in God and his Word. As a result of this failure to worship, God is dishonored and offended.

God was so offended by the Judaizers’ love for the old covenant in the book of Galatians that he inspired Paul to write some harsh words: “I wish those who unsettle you would emasculate themselves.”

God the Father sent God the Son to be killed and to rise from death that those who believe in him would be justified by faith. So Paul, in the book of Galatians, wrote against men who teach and preach the old covenant of justification by circumcision to those who are under the new covenant of justification by faith. God clearly wanted his children to experience the new covenant and was commanding that it be preached to all nations (Matt. 28:16-20). Thus God took umbrage with the men who disobeyed him in this to the point of his desire for their castration.

God saw that, in the hearts of these false teachers, there was greater love and devotion to their religion than there was to him thus they failed to worship.

Likewise, if a man performs an outward act of worship without an inward desire to make much of God, that man has failed to worship him. We see throughout the Bible that God is not happy with those who perform an act that is seemingly worshipful with a heart that does not follow.

At the beginning of Revelation 3, a sacred letter to the church of Sardis states, “I know your works. You have the reputation of being alive, but you are dead. Wake up, and strengthen what remains and is about to die, for I have not found your works complete in the sight of my God.”

Many people wear the mask of a worshipper to be praised for their own “greatness”. Likewise, many people see God as a means to an end and not the end and so their worship flows from a heart that wants something besides the Living God. No matter what the false motive may be, its always sinful because its not birthed out of sheer and utter delight in God.

It all comes down to the simple fact that our sin issue is a worship issue.

Those who do:

No one has worshipped God perfectly. We have, at one time or another failed to worship because of sin and/or false motive. Because God is gracious, loving, and good, we are forgiven of our false worship and sanctified to keep pressing on towards worship that is more pure and more beautiful.

It is important for us to realize that our very best worship will never be good enough for God because he is sovereign, holy, and just. However, in his mercy, he chooses to see us through the blood of his Son, Jesus, that was shed on the cross thereby deeming our worship to be acceptable in his sight. Because of this wonderful truth, we can now live as temples of God’s Spirit.

For the people of the old covenant (the Jewish people), the temple was a sacred and holy place where the Spirit of God dwelled. Thus God’s children would go to worship him there. However, now that Christ has died and was raised to life, God’s children have become the temple. This means that those who confess with the mouth and believe in the heart that Jesus is Lord, can worship in all ways, in all places, and at all times.

We as believers can worship God night and day. We can worship on the job, at school, at the fitness center, around a dinner table with family, and in just about any other place imaginable. We worship by serving someone in need, sharing the gospel with unbelievers, enjoying Christian community, repenting of sin, giving financially to our church, going on mission trips, paying our taxes, and loving our families.

So why gather on Sunday morning to sing worship songs?

This is an important act of worship. The songs we sing contain important truths about Jesus that when spoken or sang hold great power because He is our heart’s greatest delight. We sing as an outward expression of a deep longing to please God and see his kingdom come on earth as it is in heaven. We sing because it brings God great delight to hear his people confess their love for him. We sing because the truth of the cross stands victoriously over Satan, sin, and death. And because of these things, we won’t stop singing.

Mormonism: A plausible argument?

Friends, please know that this is not written as any sort of apologetic, rather, I wrote it to serve those who are truly in Christ, that they might not be deceived or confused. I hope it is beneficial.

In Colossians 2:1-4, the Apostle Paul writes, "For I want you to know how great a struggle I have for you... and for all who have not seen me face to face, that their hearts may be encouraged, being knit together in love, to reach all the riches of full assurance of understanding and the knowledge of God's mystery, which is Christ, in whom all are hidden all the treasures of wisdom and knowledge. I say this that no one may delude you with plausible arguments."

Paul is concerned for those whom he has not yet had the chance to meet and speak with face to face about the matters of belief that Christians hold fast to. There are things in our theology that are inflexible and anyone who preaches any doctrine contrary to these truths is in sin and is likely not a true brother or sister in Christ (1 Tim. 6:3-5). Unfortunately, there was a high potential for false teachers to approach the Colossian church with "plausible arguments," and there is a high potential for this to happen today.

One example of this is Mormonism. The Church of Jesus Christ and the Latter Day Saints is growing exponentially due to their effective missionary programs. Some years ago, the LDS church was very much separated from mainline, evangelical Christianity. However, more recently this has changed as they are attempting to become more mainline although they cannot rightly be considered evangelical.

The LDS church always been very aggressive in sending missionaries to neighborhoods, cities, and other nations in order to gain converts, but recently their strategy in doing so has changed immensely. Mormons used to be upfront with Christians about the fact that their religion is much different from traditional, orthodox Christianity. They used to shamelessly acknowledge the distinctions between what they believe and what evangelicals believe. However, they've adopted a new method of reaching Christians: in order to try and convert evangelicals, they claim that we're both on the same team.

If you were talking to a Mormon and you told them that you are a Christian, they would try and convince you that what you believe and what they believe isn't that different, and that you should read the Book of Mormon as authored by the "prophet" Joseph Smith.

This is an utter impossibility because of the fact that there are beliefs that make orthodox Christianity distinct from other world religions and cults; the LDS church does not affirm said beliefs. It is simply a deceptive method used to dupe naive Christians into joining the Mormon cult. In order to eliminate any confusion as to whether or not evangelicals and Mormons are joined together in Christ, I will expound on two of these beliefs in particular.

The Godhead: One God in Three Persons or three 'Spirit Beings'?

"Mormons do not believe in the Trinity (three beings in one entity with God as a spirit-entity who came to earth incarnate) as some Christians do. What Mormons do believe in is the Father, Son, and Holy Ghost as one Godhead who are three distinct personages who are one in power, knowledge, glory, perfection, love, and purpose. God the Father and Jesus Christ have glorious, resurrected bodies of flesh and bone, while the Holy Ghost is a personage of spirit. The logic in this knowledge is inescapable–all Christian religions profess a belief in the resurrection of Jesus Christ. Why was he resurrected if that is not the perfected immortal state we all desire? Why would he be resurrected, and then return to the spiritual trinity that is God?" (http://www.historyofmormonism.com/157/mormon_godhead)

It is clear that the LDS church rejects the orthodox Christian doctrine about the Godhead. The Bible is clear about this. According to Scripture, the Father is God(Ps. 89:26, Rom. 1:7b), the Son is God (John 1:1, 14, Rom. 9:5), and the Holy Spirit is God (Acts 5:3-4). Scriptures like Matt. 3:6-7 make it clear to us that God is somehow three persons, yet He is somehow one Being according to Duet. 6:4. Mormons tend to over-emphasize the threeness of God at the expense of His oneness. Theologian Wayne Grudem writes in his work Systematic Theology that, "God is three persons. Each person is fully God. There is one God."

Christianity is, always has been, and will continue to be a monotheistic religion. We believe that God is a singular Being with plurality to His personhood. Mormonism proposes that there are three "Spirit Beings" that are the Godhead. Whats more disturbing is that, although they may deny it, Joseph Smith taught that that Mormons can enter into a state of godhood. See the Doctrines of Salvation 2:43-44, 48:

http://www.mormondoctrine.net/did_they_really_say_that/gods_over_other_planets.htm

The LDS church also proposes that God the Father is a polygamist with a body like ours, made of flesh and bone, who came to earth to have sexual relations with the virgin Mary in order to conceive Jesus.

The Father is Flesh and Bone?

Mormons say that because we are made in the image of God, God must have a body of flesh and bone. However, Romans 1:23 makes it clear to us that this view is erroneous as it says, "and [they] exchanged the glory of the immortal God for images resembling mortal man..." Furthermore, in John 4:24, Jesus states, "God is spirit, and those who worship him must worship in spirit and in truth." Col. 1:15 and Luke 24:39 also offer compelling evidence that God is a spirit.

The Father had Sexual Relations with the Virgin Mary?

Matthew 1:18 tells us that "...Mary had been betrothed to Joseph, before they came together she was found to be with child from the Holy Spirit." It is abundantly clear in Scripture that, rather than God the Father having sexual relations with Mary, the Holy Spirit impregnated Mary supernaturally. If God the Father, who has a body of flesh and bone, were to have sex with Mary, it would be false to call her a virgin; the very thing that Scripture does: "Behold, the virgin shall conceive and bear a son..." In essence, they have contradicted Scripture.

The second Mormon prophet (second to Joseph Smith) Brigham Young says:

"When the Virgin Mary conceived the child Jesus, the Father had begotten him in his own likeness. He was not begotten by the Holy Ghost. And who is the Father?...Now remember from this time forth, and forever, that Jesus Christ was not begotten by the Holy Ghost. I will repeat a little anecdote. I was in conversation with a certain learned professor upon this subject, when I replied, to this idea "if the Son was begotten by the Holy Ghost, it would be very dangerous to baptize and confirm females, and give the Holy Ghost to them, lest he should beget children, to be palmed upon the Elders by the people, bringing the Elders into great difficulties." (Journal of Discourses, Brigham Young, 1:51-52, April 9, 1852)

Young also says in contradiction to Scripture:

"...I believe the Father came down from heaven, as the Apostles said he did, and begot the Saviour of the world; for he is the ONLY begotten of the Father, which could not be if the Father did not actually beget him in person." (Journal of Discourses, Brigham Young, 1:237 238, July 24, 1853)

To sum it up, the LDS church wrongfully suggests that there is more than one God, which, however much they might deny it, is polytheism, which is antithetical to true, orthodox Christianity. If they are willing to say that the Father, the Son, and the Spirit are three beings, then they have said that there are three gods, and not one. It would be impossible for a Mormon to explain this away from utter heresy without any contradiction, therefore the Mormon religion cannot be considered Christian.

The Book of Mormon: Equal to the Bible?

Another point of heresy in the LDS church is the belief that the Book of Mormon is viewed as sacred scripture alongside the Bible.

At the conclusion of the book of Revelation, John writes, "I warn everyone who hears the words of the prophecy of this book: if anyone adds to them, God will add to him the plagues described in this book..." (Rev. 22:18)

Revelation is the last book of the Bible, not only in the order of Scripture, but also chronologically. Mormons may contend that John was warning against adding to Revelation and not to Scripture altogether, but this is highly erroneous. Because of the fact that Revelation was the last written book of the Bible, God uses 22:18 to make it abundantly clear to us that there is nothing more to be said and that the cannon has been closed. If, perhaps, Revelation was, for instance, the second to last written book, then they might have a case. But since the ending of Revelation is utterly conclusive and it is, chronologically, the final book, we can trust that there will not be another testament.

Because all Scripture is "God-breathed" (2 Tim. 3:16) and both the Old and New Testaments are God's inerrant and holy Word, we can view the conclusion of Scripture in Revelation as intentionally placed to reveal to us that the 66 books of the Bible are sufficient and perfect. Therefore Christians must reject the Book of Mormon as a third testament.

To be sure, Mormons do believe that the Bible is God's Word. However, they arrogantly place the writings of Joseph Smith over the Bible and view God's Word in light of Smith's. This is a problem.

A Fitting Conclusion:

We can rightly conclude that no matter how plausible the arguments of the LDS church might seem, evangelicals must divide from them. This does not mean that evangelicals do not serve Mormons in love and kindness. This also does not give license for pride and arrogance. We must always be Christ-like in our dealings with outsiders (Col. 4:5-6). However, we also cannot set vital doctrines aside in the name of tolerance. The desire for an absence of conflict is not reason enough to warrant a reduction in the importance of sound Bible teaching.

For the Christian, its not about being "right" or arguing better than someone else; its about striking a balance of a love for people and a love for truth. Some people lean more towards loving the truth and they can become prideful and lofty in their speech towards others and without compassion, repel them from the love of Christ. And on the other hand, some people can be more concerned with engaging and reaching people and in doing so, abandon the important truths of the gospel. We might be careful not to sway too far to one side or the other. The Christian life is a life of balance and we must exemplify this by being peaceable and loving towards others while remaining immovable and faithful in our doctrine.