Waiting on God when He has not answered our prayers is one of the hardest places to be. There are times when we pray with everything in us and we need God to intervene and yet, nothing changes. So what then should we do when it seems as though God isn’t listening?
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For the last year or so, we have been confined to our homes and personal spaces. The conditions of a national lockdown have left us without places to go or activities to keep us occupied and some without employment. As a result, we may have fallen into a state of idleness. Idleness is a condition of being inactive, more so doing nothing meaningful. As the country prepares to ease restrictions, and leave lockdown, we must become aware of how idleness has been present in our lives and the impact it has had on our daily life. How do we negate idleness and what is the best use of our time?
Idleness can lead to fruitless and frivolous activities where we can spend hours doing nothing with no intended purpose. With the shortage of opportunities to pursue extra hobbies, there were moments during this lockdown that I lacked the desire to focus on meaningful pursuits. Instead time was spent on frivolous activities with little to no purpose – endlessly scrolling through feeds, constantly binge-watching TV shows and movies, engaging in conversations as distractions.
With every activity, there is a potential to be idle, if we do not understand the underlying intention of our actions. Even with work, we can be idle when we do not put our full focus and attention into the task we are undertaking (2 Thess. 3:11).
Besides that, they learn to be idlers, going about from home to house, and not only idlers, but also gossips and busybodies, saying what they should not
1 Timothy 5:13
The problem with idleness is, as a result, we can find ourselves in time-wasting situations or at worst, sinful ones. Therefore, it is important that we are careful to evaluate what we do, in light of our purpose as Christians. There is a great commission (Matt. 28:19) and our time on earth is finite (Matt. 25:13). We do not know when the Lord will return so we need to take advantage of every opportunity. Although the environment of lockdown may have been conducive to idleness, we can ensure that going forward we are making the best use of our time, for the glory of God.
Making the best use of your days because the days are evil
Ephesians 5:25
Truthfully, there is always something that we can be doing with our time. After all, there is a time for everything (Eccl. 3:1), including a time to work and a time to rest. When it is time to work, we know that the work we do is not to man but unto God. And in everything we do, we do in the name of the Lord Jesus (1 Cor. 10:31). Therefore we can be more intentional with our work and better use our time.
Here are some ideas on how to make use of our time:
Working with our hands – “Whatever your hand finds to do, do it with your might” (Ecc. 9:10)
Sharing the good news – “And he commanded us to preach to the people and to testify that he is the one appointed by God to be judge of the living and the dead” (Acts 10:42)
Volunteering -“And we urge you, brothers [and sisters], admonish the idle, encourage the fainthearted, help the weak, be patient with them all.” 1 Thessalonians 5:14
On the surface, idleness looks like laziness. However, we are all at risk of idleness if we do not consciously evaluate the activities and pastimes we engage in. There is a greater purpose to our existence, as Christians, which is to go out into the world and preach the gospel of Jesus Christ. Naturally, we can live quiet and peaceful lives without doing anything for Christ but that is not the purpose of the Christian life.
This is a call to stop being idle, to pick up our cross (Mar. 8:34) and to run with endurance the race that has been set before us (Heb. 12:1).
As I’ve grown in my walk with Christ, one of the things I’ve learnt to value is community and fellowship. Throughout the Bible, we are taught the importance of doing life with other believers. Proverbs 27:17 provides an illustration of how Christians can help one another grow in their faith. Out of all the relationships we can build, one of the most valuable is with a mentor. If we desire to grow and know God more, doing life intimately with a Christian who is more mature than we are is something that can be of great help.
A mentor can be defined as a person who is a “wise and trusted counsellor and/or teacher”. We don’t see the word mentor used explicitly in the Bible, however, we see many examples of people that had “mentors”. Joshua was mentored by Moses, Elisha was mentored by Elijah, Timothy was mentored by Paul, and the disciples were mentored by Jesus. These examples – specifically the example of Jesus and the disciples– point to the parallels that can be drawn between spiritual mentoring and discipleship.
Looking more closely at the example of Jesus, we see that Jesus was a great teacher and taught his disciples many things. However, he did not stop there; Jesus provided his life as an example for his disciples. He was someone they could model their lives after. A mentor is someone who doesn’t just teach with their words but also with their lives.
God has established a system of “lead and follow” to help the body of Christ grow into full maturity (Ephesians 4:11-13).
So Christ himself gave the apostles, the prophets, the evangelists, the pastors and teachers, to equip his people for works of service, so that the body of Christ may be built up until we all reach unity in the faith and in the knowledge of the Son of God and become mature, attaining to the whole measure of the fullness of Christ.
Ephesians 4:11-13
There are many people in our lives that can help with our spiritual growth, but the unique combination of characteristics a mentor has makes having one worthwhile. Firstly, mentors can provide an outside perspective and insight when giving advice and counsel. Learning from their lived experiences can prevent us from making the same mistakes that many others have made before us.
Like Jesus, a good mentor will practice what they preach, and they will also help you to do the same. Living a holy life is not easy (Romans 17:15), sometimes the temptation to sin and live a life of hypocrisy can be overwhelming. A mentor can help to overcome that as they discourage a life of sin and encourage righteous living.
One of the best places to find a spiritual mentor is in your local community. Spiritual mentoring requires discipleship which is done best with someone that you are constantly doing life with. It can be tempting to go out and look for someone with a public platform and accolades, but the reality is someone in your church could provide better discipleship.
Once you’ve found someone that could be a potential mentor, take time to observe them. Carefully examine their lives and establish if this person could be the right fit for you. Don’t be afraid to take the first step in approaching them, ask them for a coffee, get to know them. The worst that can happen is they say no. Lastly, come with clear expectations that can define the relationship, use them even when mentoring has begun to evaluate whether the relationship is fruitful.
It’s important to remember that Christ must be the centre of any spiritual mentoring relationship. Ultimately, a mentor is someone you follow as they follow Christ (1 Corinthians 11:1). The aim is spiritual growth and maturity, you’re not trying to become a disciple of your mentor, you’re becoming a disciple of Christ. God can use that person to help you on your journey, but the Holy Spirit is the one who does the work of sanctification and transformation. Be careful not to make your mentor an idol in your life. Always remembering that you have the best mentor living inside of you (John 16:13).
In 2009 G. Craige Lewis published his now infamous book and its subsequent series of teaching called ‘The Truth Behind Hip Hop’. For those who grew up in a Pentecostal setting, you may be familiar with this product. G. Craige Lewis aimed to expose the spiritual forces that are behind hip hop and to exhort the Christian to abstain from hip hop. Whilst this may be the most famous contemporary example of the widespread debate around secular music, the question of whether Christians should engage with secular music goes beyond the genre of hip hop. This is a question that I have wrestled with personally and I hope this article would help clarify how we should think about listening to secular music as Christians.
The debate surrounding secular music swiftly develops into forming binaries; it must either be sinful or not. The issue is when we try to make subjects that are unclear in scripture, clear, we actually do the doctrine of freedom a disservice. It is important to note when there is an unclear portion of scripture, and what I mean by this is that there isn’t a clear, prescriptive teaching on the subject in scripture, it doesn’t mean we throw that portion away or that it’s open to personal interpretation. What it does mean is that we use the clear portions of scripture to help us interpret the unclear. There is nowhere in scripture that declares directly that secular music is sinful. What the scriptures do say however, is that we must be careful with the words we use (Matthew 12:36, Proverbs 13:3, Proverbs 21:23) and the words we listen to (Galatians 5:7-8, Luke 8:18), which includes the music we consume.
The question that may be on some people’s mind is “Okay, so how do I choose which songs to listen to?”. I think this can either be a good question or a bad question. For this question to be good, the person would be focused on whether they can listen to a song in such a way that would magnify the glory of God (1 Corinthians 10:31). For this question to be bad, the person will be focused on how it makes them feel. Even after salvation, the scriptures never tell us to be led by our feelings but by the Spirit (Romans 8:14). Humans were made for God (Genesis 1:27) and if you are in Christ you are ‘doubly’ His, as you have been bought with a price (1 Corinthians 6:20). Whilst the world screams that you have autonomy, God does not echo those sentiments. Our freedom in Christ is not the ability to do whatever we want, instead, it is the power to do what we should (Galatians 5:13, Titus 2:12). Consequently, what we listen to matters. We cannot divorce the words we consume and living for the glory of God. The words we hear shape how we think and/or influence how we feel. Some may argue that music has no effect on them, whilst I would disagree with this position; how I would respond is does the music you listen to make you think much of Jesus? Whilst there can be a tendency to demonise things that aren’t directly Christian, there can also be the tendency to ignore the potential of so-called “neutral positions” that could veer into evil. This is the danger, in the aim to enjoy secular music we can deny that there is the potential for certain songs to stand in opposition to the glory of God. How can we spot this?
The issue of whether we ought to listen to secular music or not isn’t as straightforward as we would like it to be. There isn’t always a yes or no response to be given to this question but there are some questions we can ask ourselves to decipher whether secular music ought to be listened to or not.
1. How am I defining Secular Music? Clarity is vital. The term secular has become so convoluted and people mean different things when they use the term. What do you mean?
2. Do these lyrics helps me think rightly about God or well about people? Philippians 4:8 tells us what we ought to fix our minds on: things that are true, noble, right, pure, lovely, admirable, excellent or praiseworthy. Do these lyrics that I’m listening to help me do that?
3. How do these songs influence how I think or behave? Paul exhorts us to imitate Christ (Ephesians 5:1). The epistles are full of prescriptions and descriptions of how children of God ought to behave and think in light of their new nature in Christ. Do the songs you listen to help you do that?
4. Would I play these songs in front of young children? In Matthew 18:6 Jesus says “but whoever causes one of these little ones who believe in me to sin, it would be better for him to have a great millstone fastened around his neck and to be drowned in the depth of the sea”. Would you allow young children to listen to the songs you do? If not, why not?
This article is not to condemn anyone who listens to secular music, neither is it to affirm those who do not. Instead, my desire is that we would think carefully about what music we decide to consume. All of our lives must be submitted to the Lordship of Jesus Christ and that includes the type of music we listen to.
To find out more about the topic of secular music, listen to the latest episode of the On The Table podcast below:
“How truly wonderful and delightful to see brothers and sisters living together in sweet unity! It is as precious as the sacred scented oil flowing from the head of the high priest Aaron, dripping down his beard and running all the way down to the hem of his priestly robes. This heavenly harmony can be compared to the dew dripping down from the skies upon Mount Hermon refreshing the mountain slopes of Israel. For from this realm of sweet harmony God will release His eternal blessing the promise of life forever!” Psalms 133:1-3.
The Prayer Shield is a 365-day prayer initiative for God’s plans and purposes to be manifest in the United Kingdom. The vision for the Prayer Shield is to unite thousands in forming a shield of prayer over the United Kingdom. It was inspired by a picture impressed upon Pastor Agu Irukwu’s heart of a united Church engaging with God in prayer to establish His plans and purposes for the nation. For 365 days, Christian leaders of diverse denominations and expressions will lead daily prayers, declarations, and blessings for the nation.
We were invited to The Prayer Shield Initiative and you can listen to the prayer by our Director M.T Omoniyi below
It was greatly encouraging to see people from such high positions and large spheres of influence demonstrate a strong willingness to pray for the nation
As Christians, when we see the war, inequality, cruelty, disease and death (for simplicity this piece will group these under “suffering”) ongoing around our fallen world, what is our heart’s response? It can be a confusing topic because we are often reminded that God is sovereign and that all things work together ultimately for his glory, and this is a wonderful comfort for the Christian in the midst of pain and suffering. While that is true, it is important to remember that it is still appropriate to be moved by this suffering, we mustn’t allow ourselves to become numb to it, or void of compassion towards those going through tribulation.
Before we think about our emotions in response to suffering, let’s consider who has power over evil. Paul writes to the church in Colossae:
And he is before all things, and in him all things hold together.
Colossians 1:17
When we see suffering, it is right to remember God’s sovereignty. There is tremendous comfort to be found in the fact that nothing takes him by surprise. He isn’t caught off guard by the evil in the world as we are, and more importantly, no evil can triumph. The latter point is particularly relevant to ponder just after Easter. Consider the fact that because of the death and resurrection of Christ, death is defeated! Suffering although painful now, is ultimately powerless.
Remembering this glorious truth doesn’t mean we need to show no emotion in response to suffering. Consider Jesus’ response to his dear friend Lazarus’ death.
When Jesus saw her weeping, and the Jews who had come with her also weeping, he was deeply moved in his spirit and greatly troubled. And he said, “Where have you laid him?” They said to him, “Lord, come and see.” Jesus wept. So the Jews said, “See how he loved him!” John 11:33-36
It goes without saying that Jesus always knew who was in control, he is God made man, he knew better than anyone that God is sovereign over suffering. However, this didn’t prevent him from being deeply moved by death. What is also striking is that the Jews saw him weeping and exclaimed “See how he loved him!” A lesson we can learn here is that our response to suffering displays where our heart lies. How moved we are by the suffering others are experiencing is indicative of how much we care for them. We see clearly throughout the gospels that Jesus’ heart burned again injustice. He reached out to those in society who everyone else despised, he healed them, and he loved them. What a challenge for us.
A quote you may have heard before, perhaps at the funeral of a Christian, is “we don’t mourn as those with no hope.”
This is a very profound quote, and it is so comforting when we think about it. As Christians, we know the end of the story. God has revealed to us through his word, that one day he will make everything new. Read these beautiful words from the end of the Bible.
He will wipe away every tear from their eyes, and death shall be no more, neither shall there be mourning, nor crying, nor pain anymore, for the former things have passed away.”And he who was seated on the throne said, “Behold, I am making all things new.”
Revelation 21:4-5
This is the comfort that the Christian has, and there is no greater comfort. As we look around our world and see brokenness, pain and injustice, it should move us deeply, and furthermore it should make us long to share with others the comfort that we know.
It is the biblical response to be moved by suffering, but in our response let us also remember the one who is sovereign, and the gospel which changes everything.
Oversharing is not a new issue; people have been sharing intimate details on family, romantic relationships and past traumas in casual conversations long before the arrival of social media. But what does oversharing mean for us as Christians, is it good or healthy to share this much of our lives?
Oversharing is revealing an inappropriate amount of details about our personal life. Social media has made oversharing normal and it has become normal to share more of our lives through tweets, vlogs and stories. This has opened up a new world into the private lives of other people, making it acceptable to know personal details about the life of someone we are following, without really knowing them personally.
We are called to be a light in the world and not to hide our light, essentially our lives, under a basket (Matthew 5:14-15). Instead we are to shine, so that people may see our lives and give glory to our Father in Heaven (v. 16).
Understandably, this can lead us to sharing large parts of our lives as Christians, in an effort to be a witness for Christ. When we talk about our faith, struggles and journey of a deeper, more intimate relationship with God, even the often-unspoken details, people begin to feel more personable towards us as we share those intimate parts of our lives. Thus, we find ourselves divulging more, with friends and strangers alike, online and offline.
There can be solidarity, mutual understanding in certain situations and the solace that comes from shared experience. We can be a point of contact from which other Christians can seek advice or guidance pertaining to an issue we may have shared previously. In this way we can explain the gospel and the impact Christ has had on our lives from an inside perspective.
However, with exposing our lives in this way, also opens our faith up for scrutiny. If we fall or make a mistake, people will see that too in a very public way. Unfortunately, the more we share, the more people believe they have the right to comment. In these situations, the teachings of Jesus on forgiveness, compassion and empathy are easily forgotten. Oversharing increases the pressure to appear perfect and “put together”. People watching us may create a perception of us from what we have shared. This may not always reflect the complete truth of who we are. And sadly, as a result, the message we try to preach becomes lost along the way. Therefore, we should evaluate our reason for sharing this level of detail.
Deep down, if we find we are oversharing and if we do this often, we should ask why. Is there a deeper issue that needs to be resolved in private? Do we require validation from others through the information we are putting out? Are we seeking the approval of man? We do not need to say everything we think (Proverbs 17:28). In the same way we do not need to share everything that happens (Proverbs 28:11). There are aspects of our lives that should be kept private and we must be careful of oversharing.
There are other spaces, not as public, to share more personally;
Within a safe community – a group of friends or likeminded Christians with whom we can share our views and these details of our lives. Not everyone, a chosen few.
Journal – a more personal space where we can share our thoughts away from the attention of others, a private outlet
Through the Holy Spirit – we can forget the Holy Spirit is our helper, who can help us make decisions, including on what we should be sharing, whether online or in conversations offline
“But the Helper, the Holy Spirit, whom the Father will send in my name, he will teach you all things and bring to your remembrance all that I have said to you”
John 14:26
Finally, we can take our posts, tweets or vlogs to God first. All we do should be for His glory, to point others to Him and not self or for man (1 Cor. 10:31). If we take time to think about what we are sharing, we may not even share it at all. For if we live our lives for His glory, people will naturally notice it through our actions, whether we share it or not.
When most watch pornography it’s within the privacy of their rooms, bathroom stalls or their side of the bed. It’s exclusive- just you and your device. However, pornography just does not stay between you and your device- it is far-reaching. Mouldering branches of its empty end do not just remain behind the screen- they stretch out to your mind, your future and your community. In this article, we will explore how pornography affects the mind.
The pornographic film industry has grown over the past few years. From its advent in the 19th century, via the invention of photography and later on in moving imagery, pornography has become a normalised and even a celebrated aspect of modern everyday life. In its varying degrees and mediums, pornography has become increasingly accessible to everyone regardless of age or gender- with a click of a mouse, a change of channel, a turning of a page, an opening of an incognito tab- you’re there.
Everyone has a different story about how they first got exposed to pornography: maybe you were at your friend’s house and they wanted to show you a video they found; maybe you were forced to watch it; maybe you stumbled upon a relative watching it; maybe you saw an ad and you clicked; maybe you were just curious. In all of these maybes, one thing is for certain-all those images our minds took in, at that moment, are still ingrained into our memories to this very day. Given that most of us were children when we first viewed porn and continued to do so till our adult years, just goes on to show that porn is not only an adult problem, it also affects children.
The human brain is one complex organ. God has taken great care and quite splendidly designed it to be the base of every living thing. It controls our ability to think, see, smell, eat, feel- everything. Our being and quality of life are rooted in our brains. Our brains also control our responses to sex, as one pastor puts it, “our brains are intimately linked to the reality of sexual intercourse”. During sexual intercourse, the body releases a flurry of feel-good hormones, some of the main ones being oxytocin and dopamine. Dopamine is one of the main drivers in creating feelings of pleasure and reward. This hormone acts as an agent of motivation to repeat the behaviours that trigger its release- hence why we constantly repeat activities that give us pleasure. Oxytocin is a powerful hormone that plays an important role in human behaviour and emotion. It is released in high quantities during breastfeeding, labour and sexual intercourse. This is quite significant as the magazine, Insider, puts it, “all these activities are precursors to bonding.”
This hormone lesson may seem to be deeply positive, maybe enjoyable but it paints quite a bleak image when we consider our heavy use of pornography. Our brains are exposed to highly stimulating sexual images that feed our excitement and spark reward and pleasure centres in our brains – most probably resulting in intense peaks of pleasure. Our minds are then trained to repeatedly and lustfully seek for that peak, therefore leading to an increased engagement in watching pornography. However, over time, that peak wears off- leading us to search for more extreme forms of pornography or to indulge in longer periods of viewing porn.
Much scientific research has been carried out to show the troublesome effects that porn has on the brain. The complexity and adaptability of the brain is showcased through how neural networks/pathways are formed and their ability to change, grow and reorganise- this is known as neuroplasticity. Dr William Sruthers describes this using the analogy of a hiker. He states, “Like a path is created in the woods with each successive hiker, so do the neural paths set the course for the next time an erotic image is viewed. Over time these neural paths become wider as they are repeatedly travelled with each exposure to pornography.” He goes on to say that “over time pornography deepens a Grand-Canyon like gorge in the brain”. This leads to profound new changes in the brain, some of which would probably take years to unwind.
Neural pathways also thrive from frequent use. Pathways that are not used enough will get replaced, by new pathways– this is why when one does not frequently make use of a skill they once had, such as playing the guitar, they eventually forget how to play it at the same level they used to. Hence why the constant use of pornography is very problematic because that pathway that has been formed, is strengthened with every viewing. According to Fight the New Drug, pornography can create such strong long-lasting pathways in the brain, that no other activity can compete with it, including sex with your partner. This leads to the damning conclusion that “constant consumption of pornography can overpower the brains’ ability to have real sex.”
The brain can be prescribed to be the physical embodiment of our minds. What we consume, we think on. Now, what does that mean for us as Christians?
Our minds were made by God for God. When our minds glory in other things that were designed out of His specific order, we offend Him and that includes pornography. We are called to love God with all our heart, soul and mind. If our minds are not stayed on Him, we stray from Him.
The Bible says, “Do not be conformed to this world, but be transformed by the renewal of your mind”. The renewal of your mind can look like disabling the further growth of the pathways (mentioned above) by putting an end to porn consumption. Many have conquered with the right help. God has not left us to fend for ourselves and fight our sin by our own strength. Healing and deliverance can be instantaneous, or progressive through prayer and fasting. However, healing and deliverance can also look like professional specialised therapy and pastoral counselling. God our Father, uses a wide range of avenues to help His children- because it is Him who works in us to will, to desire, and to act out what pleases Him (Phil 2:13). This is not to say, the fight will be easy. It will be very hard and will require a lot of limb cutting, eye-gouging and leaning not on your own understanding or strength. ( Phil 4:13, Psalm 138:3, Psalm 18:1-2, Prov 3:5-6 and Matt 18:8-9)
We can approach His throne in full confidence that if we ask anything, according to His will- He will surely hear us (1 John 5:14). His will is for us to be holy and sanctified, and that is to stay away from sexual immorality (1 Thess 4:3). He promises us to grant anything we ask in His will, He will surely act accordingly to deliver us, from the sin of pornography that so easily entangles (Heb 2: 1). God hates sin. He made it very clear on the cross, where Christ took the punishment of our sins. Therefore, if He has taken this great measure to deliver us from being slaves to the kingdom of darkness to being slaves to righteousness (Rom 6)- He can surely and mightly deliver us in our fight against the clutches of pornography.
A dear friend of mine recently visited Chile, a catholic nation in South America. Whilst there, she was so overwhelmed by the sheer number of crucifixes which populated every street that she called me to ask “Why is the symbol of your faith an event where your God is degraded, humiliated and killed, why is this worth celebrating?”. This was spoken with a sincere note of inquiry. After answering the question, I began to think how in the eyes of the world, the cross is a symbol of weakness. Paul acknowledges as much when he writes “The message of the cross is foolishness to those who are perishing (1 Corinthians 1:18). However, with spiritual eyes, we see that the cross represents the greatest day in human history. Now more than ever, there is a great need to understand the biblical intent of the cross of Christ. In celebration of Good Friday, here are three things you should know about the cross.
Through Christ’s death on the cross, those who turn to Him are delivered from both the penalty and the power of sin.
1 Peter 2:24-25
Let’s take an example from the Napoleonic Wars, where young men would be enlisted into the french army via a lottery system. if your name was selected by the lottery, you had no choice but to be sent into battle. However, if you get someone to stand in your place you would become exempt, and instead, they would be sent off to war. On one famous occasion, when a young man’s name was drawn, he rejected the call on the basis that he was “killed two years ago”. The authorities questioned how this could be the case as he was standing before them alive today. He told them how when his name was selected years ago, a dear friend said to him “You have a large family, but I’m not married and nobody is dependent on me. I’ll take your name and address and go in your place”. The friend went on to later die on the battlefield. The authorities assessed his claim and the records proved his account to true. The man’s claim went all the way to Napoleon himself who ruled that France had no legal claim on the man, that he was free because another man had died in his place.
In a similar way, we are now free because 2021 years ago, another man called Jesus, died in our place. Christ took the sins we committed, onto Himself to pay the price for us. On the cross, he was our substitute. He was wounded so we may be healed. He was punished so we may be forgiven. He tasted death so we may inherit life. He was made a curse so we may receive blessing. He suffered rejection so we may be accepted as children, He was cut off that we might be joined to the Lord. Jesus bore our shame that we might share His glory. He became sin so we can be made righteous. Oh what scandalous Grace!
Without a sound doctrine of the trinity on the cross, we have no Gospel. There is a popular mischaracterisation of the cross which seems to pit and a vindictive God vs an innocent son. It is a reductionist view which grossly misses the message of the Gospel. All trinitarian action begins with the Father, is accomplished through the Son, and perfected by the Spirit. What is made abundantly clear when we read the scriptures is that all three members of the Godhead are offended by sin were committed to the liberation of humankind from the curse of sin through the son’s death and resurrection. Jesus Christ was not an unwilling party. He himself, in eternity past, together with the father and the Holy spirit devised this plan of salvation (Philippians 2:6–8). It was the love that all three Persons of the Trinity share for the lost world that led Jesus to offer himself up, according to the will of the Father, through “the eternal Spirit” (Heb 9:14). Jesus willingly took our place on the cross. This is what makes the Gospel, Gospel! This is the ultimate display of the love of God, the complicity of the son who died in our stead.
The Gospel is Jesus Christ is a triune Gospel which is good news from a Triune God.
“A Bible without a cross is a Bible without a climax, a Bible without an ending, a Bible without a solution”
Patrick Schreiner
The Bible isn’t a random collection of 66 filled with disconnected stories like in a newspaper. instead, there is a common thread with a unified story once you look at the big picture. Each book of the Bible is like individual moments of one great symphony, the symphony of the cross.
Let’s take the famous example of Tolstoy’s novel War and Peace. Most people, when asked to give an answer regarding what the book is about, often struggle. Many people would say that it is just a collection of many individual people and their stories. It isn’t until you finish the book that you see the story Tolstoy is trying to tell us. In a similar way, it can be quite easy to see the Bible as a collection of many individual stories, but it is important that we see what is God trying to say through all the individual stories and events recorded. The story of the Bible clearly presents us with one over-arching story which starts in the garden, climaxes at the life, death and resurrection of Christ and ends in a City of God, the New Jerusalem. Each of these smaller stories plays an integral role in the big story. Both understanding the individual stories as well as the larger story is an important part of helping you read the Bible. In order to understand the individual stories, you have to understand the big story, and in order to understand the big story, you have to understand the individual stories and how they all fit together.
If we look at the story of Issac, we see the one and only begotten son of the loving father Abraham, who carries a wood up a mountain to be sacrificed, but out of a thicket, a lamb takes the place of the son as the sacrifice (Genesis 22:13). The very next time we visit that same mountain in Scripture, mount Mariah, thousands of years later, we see Jesus, the Lamb of God, the one and only begotten son of the loving Father, carry a wooden Cross up a mountain to be sacrificed. Jesus was that lamb foreshadowed, who takes our place as the sacrifice. All the stories in the Bible point to the Cross of Christ.
So why do Christians celebrate the Cross? Because at the Cross, we witness God’s love, grace, mercy, plan, purpose, sovereignty, holiness, compassion and glory. 2021 years ago, Jesus Christ, the second member of the Godhead, the one and only son of God, took the punishment I deserved upon Himself. He lived a life I could not live and died a death I could not die. And on that old rugged Cross, I was redeemed, rescued, purchased and forgiven. This is the greatest story ever told.
You’re walking down a busy street. A sharply dressed man or woman approaches you. Their smile is friendly and inviting, but they’re eager to have a moment of your time. Their nametag reads: ELDER YOUNG – The CHURCH OF THE LATTER-DAY SAINTS. You’ve come across a Mormon. What are you supposed to say to them? How do you respond to their questions? In this article, I intend to provide a brief overview of who Mormons are and what they believe so that you may not be swayed by their false doctrine but share the truth with them.
The early 19th century was a period of heightened religious fervour amidst the Second Great Awakening. For a young man in 1820 named Joseph Smith, this was a time of great confusion and strife among denominations. Therefore, he sought divine counsel from James 1:5 – he asked for the necessary wisdom which God generously gives to all who ask. In doing so, he allegedly had a vision from heaven. God the Father and His Son Jesus Christ stood above him. He asked which one of the denominations were correct and which one he should join. However, he was informed that all denominations were evil and corrupt as they had fallen into apostasy. In 1823, Smith was persuaded that God had called Him to be a prophet which was confirmed to him by an angelic visitation. This positions us to discuss some of the Latter Day Saints’ (LDS) beliefs.
Mormons believe that the Bible is the word of God, but only ‘as far as it is translated correctly.’[1] They also regard other texts to be scripture: The Doctrine and Covenants, The Pearl of Great Price and most famously, the Book of Mormon. Accordingly, they state that the Bible and the Book of Mormon complement one another with the latter confirming the teachings of the former. [2] At his supposed angelic visitation in 1823, Smith was instructed to find a book written upon golden plates, which he translated by using two reading crystals ‘urium and thummim’ to then publish The Book of Mormon. Smith is said to have done so with the authority of a prophet.
Just like God spoke to Moses and Noah in the Bible, He also spoke to people in the Americas. These men wrote down God’s word. Their writings were eventually gathered into one book, the Book of Mormon: Another Testament of Jesus Christ.
The Church of the Latter-day Saints: How the Bible and the Book of Mormon Work Together
LDS doctrine undermines the sufficiency and inerrancy of Scripture. The suggestion
is that we do not have a closed canon, but need additional texts to make the Bible complete, correct its errors and make up for its deficiencies. In short, the Bible is not enough. This is at odds with what the Bible claims for itself. Psalm 19:7-14 and Psalm 119 are the signature texts on the sufficiency of Scripture. Psalm 119 uses eight different terms to refer to the law of God: ‘word’, ‘judgements’, ‘statutes’, ‘decree’, ‘law’, ‘commands’, ‘precepts’, ‘ways’ and ‘promises’. Dever suggests that such a vastness of terms evidences a broader understanding which extends beyond the Torah alone and to other portions of the Old Testament the psalmist had access to at the time. [3] God’s Word, which is found in the biblical text:
Moreover, God has spoken to us through His written Word communicated to us through
human authors who wrote under the inspiration of the Holy Spirit (2 Tim. 3:16). Thus,
the Bible is without and is incapable of error (Num. 23:19; Prov. 30:5; Titus 1:12; Hebrews 6:18). This renders the claim of the Bible only being the word of God if ‘translated properly’
nonsense.
According to their understanding, unlike the Holy Spirit, God [the Father] has a physical body as the Son does. [5] Moreover, they deny the doctrine of the notion of a triune God. Instead, The Father, the Son and the Holy Spirit are three distinct Gods, but not one.
In contrast, the Bible teaches that God is one in His being (nature) (Deu. 6:4; 1 Cor. 8:4). He also exists in three distinct persons – Father (John 6:27; Rom.1:7; 1 Pet. 1:2), Son (John 20:28; Titus 2:13; 2 Peter 1:1) and Holy Spirit (Acts 5:3-4; 1 Cor. 3:16). Each distinct person has different roles. For example, the Father initiates the plan for salvation (Eph. 1:3-5). The Son accomplishes this plan through His willing obedience (John 3:16; 6:38; Gal. 4:4; Eph. 1:9– 10; Heb. 10:5-7). We are then regenerated – receive new spiritual life – by the Spirit (John 3:5-8) who applies and seals this redemptive work (2 Cor 1:22; Eph. 1:13) and sanctifies us (Rom. 15:16; 1 Pet. 1:2). This is one great work performed by the One being of God in which each Person plays their respective roles.
Concerning salvation, Mormons believe that by placing your faith in Jesus’ atonement, repentance, baptism and receiving the gift of the Holy Spirit, you will be saved (using Acts 2:37-38 as the basis). However, a person’s salvation is conditional upon their continuance in faithfulness and obedience to the First Principles and Ordinances which contains the Ten Commandments among other things. Their official website reads:
Individuals cannot be saved in their sins; they cannot receive unconditional salvation simply by declaring a belief in Christ with the understanding that they will inevitably commit sins throughout the rest of their lives (see Alma 11:36–37). However, through the grace of God, all can be saved from their sins (see 2 Nephi 25:23; Helaman 5:10–11) as they repent and follow Jesus Christ. [6]
– The Church of the Latter Day Saints
In summary, the LDS teach a salvation of grace and works. Contrastingly, the Bible states that it is by the grace of God alone that we are saved (Ephesians 2:8-9). You must repent and believe in Jesus and place your faith in His life death and resurrection to be forgiven, receive eternal life, and save you from eternal punishment. We work as a result of the salvation we have received freely by faith, not to attain it.
The content of this article is not intended to be exhaustive, but to provide an overview of LDS beliefs. By familiarizing yourself with some basics, you have a foundation for further research and material for conversations with Mormons. Pray hard, study hard and share truth with kindness.
