MORMON
SALVATION
EXPOSED TO THE LIGHT OF BIBLE
MORMON SALVATION
LDS teaching is that Christ's atonement only covers universal
resurrection, although it does open the door to individual
salvation. They go on to say that the right to forgiveness of
personal sins has to be earned by obedience to the laws and
ordinances of the LDS organization, plus virtuous living.
Furthermore, salvation is available through their church alone,
and then only if you have accepted Joseph Smith as God's true
prophet:
We believe that through the atonement of Christ all mankind may be
saved by obedience to the laws and ordinances of the [LDS]
gospel (3rd Article of Faith). (Editor's emphasis)
There is no salvation outside The Church of Jesus Christ of
Latter-day Saints (McConkie, Mormon Doctrine, page 670).
There is no salvation without accepting Joseph Smith as a prophet
of God, (Doctrines of Salvation, Vol. 1, page 188.)
The first effect [of the atonement] is to secure to all mankind
alike, exemption from the penalty of the fall [death], thus
providing a plan of General Salvation. The second effect is to
open a way for Individual Salvation whereby mankind may secure
remission of personal sins. As these sins are the result of
individual acts, it is just that forgiveness for them should be
conditioned on individual compliance with prescribed
requirements, obedience to the laws and ordinances of the [LDS]
Gospel. (LDS Apostle James Talmage, Articles of Faith, page
87). (Author's italics)
After this instruction, you will be responsible for your own
sins; it is a desirable honor that you should so walk before our
heavenly Father as to save yourselves; we are all responsible to
God for the manner we improve the light and wisdom given by our
Lord to enable us to save ourselves. (Teachings of the
Prophet Joseph Smith, compiled by Joseph Fielding Smith,
1976, page 227)
Immortality is assured to all of us through the atonement of our
Lord and Savior, Jesus Christ. But eternal life is a personal
responsibility we must earn and be worthy of. (LDS Apostle
Delbert L. Stapley, Member of the Quorum of the Twelve, The
Path to Eternal Glory, Ensign, July 1973, page 99.)
(Emphasis inserted by editor.)
None of the above teachings will be found anywhere in the Bible.
They are exclusive to Mormonism and actually contradict what the
Bible teaches. Regardless of this fact, the LDS consistently uses
biblical terminology when referring to their teachings, including
those on salvation. But in order to fit these biblical terms in with
their unbiblical doctrines, they have had to give them completely
different meanings (which will not be found in any dictionary). For
instance, they call universal resurrection, which they say does not
cover forgiveness of sins, "salvation by grace."
It needs to be noted at this stage, that in previous years (when
the editor was still a Mormon), the LDS regularly exhorted its
followers from the pulpit, never ever to call themselves Christians.
It was made clear to us that the teachings of Christianity were an
abomination in the sight of God. But it seems that the LDS is
entering into a new era. They are now pulling out all the stops to
become recognized as a Christian denomination. (For more information
on this, follow the link Mormonism's Claim to
be a Christian Denomination .)
Part of the strategy in their new plan to blend in with the Christian
church, is to be more subtle and to tone down on the exclusiveness of
their teachings. Many of their latest teaching manuals have been
amended accordingly to the extent of sometimes being deceptive. For
instance, a false impression is given that Brigham Young only had one
wife. And when it comes to their doctrines on salvation, in recent
years I have come across some Mormons who have been under the delusion
that their doctrines on salvation are the same as those written in the
Bible. But this is most definitely not the case, and the LDS's basic
doctrines remain exactly the same.
This confusion has been brought about by the fact that as an
organization the LDS has cultivated the habit of making diametrically
opposing statements, such as "Christ atoned for our sins,"
and "it's only right and proper that we should earn the right to
the forgiveness of our own personal sins." (Their third Article
of Faith also says that salvation is through obedience to the laws
and ordinances of the [LDS] gospel.) This makes it possible for them
to present their doctrines from whichever stance suits them at that
moment in time.
A BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF BIBLICAL SALVATION
"Salvation" as a biblical, New Covenant term, means
being rescued or saved from both the penalty of sin and its power
over us. So it covers the forgiveness of all our sins. And
because our sins form an effective barrier between ourselves and
a holy God, salvation from sin also has the effect of reconciling
us to God, through Christ the Saviour. Added to this, hand in hand
with forgiveness of sins is the gift of eternal life, for whosoever
who trusts in Christ.
Biblical salvation is by grace through faith in Christ alone. In
other words we don't have to earn the right to forgiveness of
our personal sins. Christ earned that right on our behalf,
by taking the punishment we deserve on Himself in His atonement
on the cross at Calvary. He's already paid the price for our sins.
The following are just some of the very many verses in the Bible
that teach salvation from personal sin by grace, through faith in
Christ:
And as Moses lifted up the serpent in the wilderness, even so must
the Son of man be lifted up: That whosoever believeth in him should
not perish, but have eternal life. (John 3:14-15, KJV)
For by grace are ye saved through faith; and that not of yourselves:
it is the gift of God: Not of works, lest any man should boast.
(Ephesians 2:8-9, KJV)
Not by works of righteousness which we have done, but according to
his mercy he saved us ..... (Titus 3:5, KJV)
In whom we have redemption through his blood, even the forgiveness
of sins: (Colossians 1:14 KJV)
Christ died for our sins according to the Scriptures (1 Corinthians
15:3, KJV)
God was in Christ, reconciling the world unto himself, not imputing
their trespasses unto them ..... (2 Corinthians 5:19, KJV).
And you, being dead in your sins and the uncircumcision of your
flesh, hath he quickened together with him, having forgiven you
all trespasses; Blotting out the handwriting of ordinances
that was against us, which was contrary to us, and took it out of
the way, nailing it to his cross (Colossians 2:13-14, KJV).
(Italics inserted by writer.)
Neither is there salvation in any other: for there is none other
name under heaven given among men, whereby we must be saved. (Acts
4:12, KJV)
As will be seen, the above scriptures invalidate the following LDS
claims regarding salvation:
That we have to earn the right to forgiveness of our personal sins;
That we have to believe that Joseph Smith is the true prophet of
God;
That we have to obey the laws and ordinances of the LDS Church;
and
That salvation is only available through the LDS Church.
SALVATION THROUGH A SUBSTITUTIONARY SACRIFICE
The Bible is a fascinating book. Concepts that aren't always all
that easy to understand are explained by the use of types and
"pictures." One such concept is salvation from sin
through a substitutionary sacrifice.
Nowhere in the Bible has God ever told mankind that they would
have to earn the right to forgiveness of their sins. Instead,
in the Old Testament He instituted the substitutionary sacrifice.
The sinner was required to take an unblemished animal to the altar.
Then he had to place his hand upon its head to indicate that it
was to be his substitute and would die in his place, to cover his
sin (Leviticus 1:4, 4:29,33). This was a picture of the coming,
promised Messiah who would sacrifice His life to pay the full
penalty for the sins of those who indicate by faith, that He is
their substitute sin bearer.
Scattered throughout the Old Testament, starting in Genesis, God
gave His people a series of ongoing messianic prophecies. And in
fulfillment of those prophecies, in the fullness of time the Lord
Jesus Christ came down to earth to give Himself as the final,
once-for-all substitutionary offering for sin. He selflessly and
heroically took our place on the cross at Calvary and bore the
shame, the disgrace and the punishment that we rightly deserve,
because of our sins. As Eugene Peterson so aptly puts it in 'The
Message,' "God put the wrong on him who never did anything
wrong, so we could be put right with God." (2 Corinthians
5:21)
To him give all the prophets witness, that through his name
whosoever believeth in him shall receive remission of sins. (Acts
10:43, KJV)
For he hath made him to be sin for us, who knew no sin; that we
might be made the righteousness of God in him. (2 Corinthians 5:21,
KJV)
Who his own self bare our sins in his own body on the tree .....
(1 Peter 2:24, KJV)
[John the baptist, who was God's prophet] seeth Jesus coming unto
him, and saith, Behold the Lamb of God, which taketh away the sin
of the world. (John 1:29, KJV)
BAPTISM PORTRAYS SUBSTITUTIONARY SACRIFICE
Besides being
a public testimony of the believer's faith in Christ, Christian
baptism is also a symbolic rite that portrays Christ's
substitutionary sacrifice as it applies to the believer. For this
reason it was the norm in the primitive church for believers to be
baptized immediately after they had come to faith in Christ, and
had been spiritually regenerated (Acts 2:41, 8:12, 16:15, 16:33,
18:18, 19:5.)
Know ye not, that so many of us as were baptized into Jesus Christ
were baptized into his death? Therefore we are buried with him by
baptism into death: that like as Christ was raised up from the dead
by the glory of the Father, even so we also should walk in newness
of life. (Romans 6:3-4, KJV)
Buried with him in baptism, wherein also ye are risen with him
through the faith of the operation of God, who hath raised him from
the dead. And you, being dead in your sins and the uncircumcision of
your flesh, hath he quickened together with him, having forgiven you
all trespasses. (Colossians 2:12-13, KJV)
As a believer, in undergoing baptism by immersion I symbolically
re-enact Christ's death and resurrection. It's my way of publicly
acknowledging that Christ is my Saviour. To free me from the
condemnation of my sin, He became my substitute and took the
punishment due to me on Himself, on my behalf. So when He died,
it was the same as if I had died — He represented me, so
"in Him" I died too. As I go under the waters of
baptism, it portrays my death "in Him" to the penalty of
the Law, as well as to the sinful fleshly life. When He arose
from the grave, He arose as my substitute: It was the same as if
I had arisen. So as I rise up out of the water, it portrays
my resurrection "in Christ," to a new life, "in
Him." This is what is known as the exchanged life. Paul
describes it as follows:
I am crucified with Christ: nevertheless I live; yet not I, but
Christ liveth in me: and the life which I now live in the flesh I
live by the faith of the Son of God, who loved me, and gave himself
for me. (Galations 2:20, KJV)
From the moment of his salvation (i.e. his regeneration or new
birth), the life of the believer is intrinsically intertwined with
that of His beloved Savior.
As the old hymn puts it, "I am His, and He is mine, forever
and forever."
THE REASON FOR THE OLD AND THE NEW COVENANTS
Had they fully kept all God's laws and ordinances provided under
the Old Covenant, the Israelites would have led a lifestyle that
fulfilled God's requirements for righteousness. But the sad fact was
that they were unable to do this. In spite of having God's laws, as
well as His guidance and protection, they still kept falling into
sin. The continuous pall of smoke arising from the sacrificial altar
where they burned their sin offerings bore mute testimony to this
fact.
The problem was not with God's laws, but with mankind. His laws are
good, but we are a fallen people. And try as we may, we cannot live
up to His standards of righteousness. Not for long, anyway. No
matter how hard man has tried he has never ever been able to
overcome his tendency to sin in thought, word and deed.
Reformation, education and social upliftment don't do the trick
either, because the problem is not our environment, lack of
opportunities or education; it is our fallen "selves."
Pogo
hit the nail on the head when he said, "We have met the enemy
and he is us." And as Dr. McGee so aptly put it, "You can
take the man out of the slum, but you can't take the slum out of the
man." It is a sad fact of life that countries enjoying a high
standard of living, low unemployment, and excellent educational
opportunities, still have overflowing prison cells.
The apostle Paul described his frustrations at one stage with his
own personal battle to live a holy life, complaining that he
kept doing the things he knew he shouldn't do and really didn't
want himself to do. And that although in his mind he knew that
God's ways were good and right, he kept straying from them.
(Romans 7:7-25).
The Bible makes it clear that because of our fallen natures we do
not have it within ourselves to live according to God's standards
of righteousness. In order to bring mankind to the realization of
the gravity of his situation and the dilemma he faces, God put
into effect the Old Covenant of Law. And as we have seen, even
although the Israelites were God's chosen nation and enjoyed all
the privileges and advantages that this entailed, they still failed
miserably in their attempts to fully keep God's righteous laws.
That was because Laws and Ordinances didn't have the power to save
anyone. They merely declared the holiness of God and revealed the
depravity of mankind. But then they were never intended to save.
The epistle of Galations explains that God merely used the Old
Covenant of Law as a teacher, to show fallen mankind his utter
inability to live according to His standards of righteousness.
This in turn revealed his desperate need for a Saviour:
Is the law then against the promises of God? God forbid: for if
there had been a law given which could have given life, verily
righteousness should have been by the law. But the scripture hath
concluded all under sin, that the promise by faith of Jesus Christ
might be given to them that believe. But before faith came, we were
kept under the law, shut up unto the faith which should afterwards
be revealed. Wherefore the law was our schoolmaster to bring us
unto Christ, that we might be justified by faith. But after that
faith is come, we are no longer under a schoolmaster. (Galations
3:21-25, KJV)
As Lehman Strauss says in his 'Doctrine of Salvation,' "The
idea of attaining salvation through self-effort and good works is a
fundamental characteristic of human nature. But try as hard as one
will, he cannot remove the guilt and penalty of his own
sins."
For this reason, in His wisdom and mercy, God has provided a
way of salvation through Christ, under the New Covenant of Grace,
that was tailor-made for the fallenness of man and caters for every
eventuality and possibility. Solely because of God's undeserved
mercy towards us, whosoever trusts in Christ will receive
forgiveness of sins, freedom from guilt and reconciliation with God.
There is therefore now no condemnation to them which are in Christ
Jesus, (Romans 8:1, KJV)
THE CONSEQUENCES OF MORMON SALVATION
In spite of the clear and consistent teachings in the Bible on the
forgiveness of our sins through Christ's atoning sacrifice, the
LDS Church has deliberately led their membership away from the way
of salvation that God Himself has laid down for us, and has decreed
that Mormons must earn the right to forgiveness of their own
personal sins through the LDS church. And in spite of the fact that
God has proved conclusively that man couldn't keep the Laws and
Ordinances that they already had, the LDS has added more of their
own. This is a direct rejection and a trampling underfoot of the
salvation that God has provided for us, through Christ, at an
astronomical cost to Himself.
Mormons need to ask themselves where their teaching came from,
because it directly contradicts everything that God has taught us
about salvation throughout the entire Bible. So it couldn't have
come from Him.
Just as the apostle Paul knew, Mormons also know deep down in
their hearts that their lives don't come up to God's holy
standards. But they placate themselves with the knowledge that
going to the second degree of glory after they die won't be so bad.
After all, they have been taught that even the lowest degree of
glory is more beautiful than anything they could ever imagine.
However, the LDS story of the three degrees of glory is not the
way it's going to be. They are the deceptions of a false prophet.
God never ever gives His prophets revelations that contradict what
He has already revealed to us. He is not a God of confusion. His
Word is truth, and the main ingredient in truth is its consistency.
It never, ever changes. Nor is it contradictory. And God's Word,
the Bible very clearly teaches that there are only two final
destinations after we die. We will either go to the place where
Christ and God are, which is called heaven, or else we will be
consigned to eternal separation from both the presence and the
influence of God in a place called hell.
Heaven will consist only of folk who have elected to follow God's
ways, including His way of salvation from sin. Those in hell
(Mormons call this "outer darkness,") will be folk who
would rather do things their own way. And God will allow them this
right, eternally, but not in His kingdom of heaven. After all, if
those who insisted on doing things their own way instead of God's
way were allowed into heaven, it would eventually become more
like hell, wouldn't it?
It's not God's desire that anyone should be end up in hell. But if
we choose to spurn His way of salvation in preference to our own
ideas, then we will we will end up facing His judgment.
Mormons need to give serious thought to the unlikelihood of
their being able to earn the right to the forgiveness of their own
sins, in the light of what the Bible reveals; as well as to the
eternal ramifications of their choice; bearing in mind that the
Bible clearly teaches only two destinations after death —
heaven or hell (outer darkness in Mormon terms).
The following articles explain the basics of the biblical way of
salvation and the error in the LDS teachings on the three degrees
of glory and eternal life:
What is Biblical Salvation?
Biblical Salvation and the way of Christ
The Three Degrees of Glory
Mormonism's False Teaching Concerning
Eternal Life
You are welcome to contact the writer at the following email
address:
reply@bibtruth.com
Copyright 2008 by Mormonism and Biblical Truth. All rights reserved.