My wife was talking to me the other day and telling me about some time that she had spent with a mother of my daughter's classmates. In the course of our conversation I asked my wife, "Does she go to church anywhere?" And my wife replied, "She grew up Catholic but she just started attending a Mormon church." I said, "Wow, how did that happen?" That's like going from worse to worser (excuse the poor English). My wife asked her the same thing and so proceeded to tell me her response. This young lady likes going to the Mormon church because she gets all kinds of advice and principles for marriage, parenting, the workplace and finances. My heart grieved...for several reasons.
The first being that she is going to a church where Christ is not exalted according to Scripture, where much of the same language as Christianity is used but the definitions are different, where law-keeping is a requirement for salvation and God is a man in an exalted state.
The second reason I grieved was because this type of preaching is exactly the way a large portion of Christian pastor's preach. They are under the impression that the unchurched will come to church if you give them principles by which they can better their lives. Some will add a one minute summary of a partial gospel at the end of their messages--a post script if you will, but the substance of preaching is not Christ--instead it is moral principles to live by. They treat Scripture as if it is an owner's manual to live be--not as though Christ is the substance of it all (Colossians 2:11, 16-17, John 5:39, John 5:46, Luke 24:27, Acts 17:2-3). I know some may disagree and say that only portions of the Old Testament referred to Christ, but if you look at how Christ and the Apostles used the Old Testament then you will see that they continually referred to Christ. They didn't call the unsaved together to hear sermons that would supposedly alleviate the stress they feel in this world. They preached Christ who came to deliver His enslaved people.
This is personally frustrating to me and scary at the same time. It is frustrating because the supremacy of the triune God is not exalted in preaching today...unregenerate man's perceived needs are. Much of today's preaching does not end with God Himself but with His gifts, His wisdom, His whatever. But preaching that exalts God is looked down upon as dry, uninteresting, and old-school. One catechism asks in the very first question: Who is the first and best of all beings? The answer: GOD is. And this is true. So for the pastor to get up each Sunday and proclaim God is to point his people and any unsaved in attendance to the One who can capture our hearts and minds forevermore. It is the opposite of dry and boring. During the preaching of the Word it is God Who serves us by showing us Christ in the Word. His gifts are secondary and only are shadows that lead us to HIM! And sadly much preaching today arouses affections towards the gifts that God gives us, but it never arouses any affections towards God Himself. And God's gifts are not to become more important to us than Himself. Such is the case with felt needs preaching. It never arouses love for God. All it does is direct the listener inwardly to focus on how their life can improve. And that is why this kind of preaching is scary to me. The unsaved can feel as though they are at peace with God because they are "practicing" the Bible. It can lead to a false sense of salvation.
If Mormon and Christian churches are giving principles by which to live out your marriages, finances, sex-life, parenting and so on, why should anyone choose a Christian church over a Mormon church. What really separates the two in message? For a lot of Christian churches the answer is nothing. There really is nothing distinct in the message.
Pastors, if your sermon can be preached in a Mormon, Catholic or Jehovah's Witness church and be received as if it is the same message they are preaching and if it can stand with no objections from them, then I dare say that you are not preaching the message of Scripture. You are not preaching Christ. And that is of no benefit whatsoever to so-called seekers. Indeed you are just scratching itching ears. You are giving false hope to the unsaved while you yourself may be deceived that the church is growing--that God is blessing your work--due to larger crowds.
Imagine how the church would be changed if Christ were supremely exalted and shown to be the treasure of all treasures. The worship of God would flourish. Local and worldwide evangelism would explode--for who can keep quiet about the one they love the most. Fellowship would be rampant and would not be based on external things like hobbies, former sins, etc. It would be based on the indwelling Spirit of Christ. And the Lord would sanctify, mature and disciple His people by the very Word which promises to conform us to the image of Christ--our all consuming desire.
Pastor, if your sermons are not weekly arousing affections for Christ, then what in the world are you preaching for? If the gospel message is a one minute P.S. at the end of a sermon, then can you honestly say that you care that the lost are without Christ? Your seeker-friendly sermons are not friendly at all.
Preach Christ.
Preach Christ.
Preach Christ or you have no business preaching at all. Your members and attenders might as well attend a Mormon service this coming Sunday.
2 comments:
You might be surprised...
On principal, I want to agree. I grew up as a Mormon from the age of 8 to 18. Definitely not the Gospel. The Lord got a hold of me at that time, and I was quite upset because no one taught me to know Him. I had known Him as young child, before my mother died. When she did, no one could teach me how to continue growing in faith. I had a lot of anger towards the Mormon church for many years.
There are two reasons why a person teaching scriptural truth in a Mormon church would be received well. These are important to know if one desires to reach their Mormon neighbors and coworkers.
1) They use the same words, but the meanings are different. You can speak a truth, and they might agree with you, but that is because they attach a different meaning to the words you are using, like salvation. I had a Mormon doctor who swore up and down they believe the Nicene creed.
2) Some of them may actually be genuine believers who for whatever reason have not discerned the messed up doctrine they are in the middle of. Love, patience, and prayer are the best way to reach these.
The proper name of the church Mormons attend is the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. As the name suggests, this church revolves around Christ and is firmly rooted in doctrine that brings people closer to Him. While this church offers a strong support group and advice on how to become more like Christ (moral principles that may extend to practical application for marriages and family life), it'a main purpose is to talk of, teach, and bring people unto Christ. If your friend is simply attending the Church for help in her marriage, I concede she could find similar information elsewhere. While she may attend for this reason, the purpose and goal of the Church is to preach of Christ; we each responsible of what we glean. I would suggest attending a three hour service at your nearest Latter-day Saint chapel and decide for yourself whether they preach of Christ or not; I think you will find that it is a bit different that what your blogpost suggests.
Post a Comment