‘We believe in the more than imperial status of human
beings. We believe that our spirits are the offspring of Deity, and we hold
that when Christ said to His apostles, ‘Be ye therefore perfect, even as you Father
which is in heaven is perfect,’ He was not talking of a merely idealistic yet
impossible achievement; but that on the contrary He meant that it was possible
for men to advance until they shall become like unto the Gods in their powers
and in their attainments, through righteousness.’[1]
The Bible nowhere speaks of ‘perfect’ human beings progressing to become Gods, yet Mormonism teaches that for their members to enter the celestial kingdom, and potentially achieve Godhood, they must be perfect in this life. The Mormon needs to hear what the Bible says about how a person can be forgiven and seen as righteous by Heavenly Father. Let us consider some verses that we could share with Mormon who is striving to be perfect.
Righteous
Righteousness
is described as the quality of being morally right, in other words, perfect.
The Bible teaches that we cannot be righteous through our good works, but
rather to be right with God we need to come to Christ.
As it is written, There is none righteous, no, not one: There is none that understandeth, there is none that seeketh after God. They are all gone out of the way, they are together become unprofitable; there is none that doeth good, no, not one. (Romans 3:10-12 KJV)
Brethren,
my heart's desire and prayer to God for Israel is, that they might be saved.
For I bear them record that they have a zeal of God, but not according to
knowledge. For they being ignorant of God's righteousness, and going about to
establish their own righteousness, have not submitted themselves unto the
righteousness of God. For Christ is the end of the law for righteousness to
every one that believeth.
(Romans
10:1-4 KJV)
That if thou shalt confess with thy mouth the
Lord Jesus, and shalt believe in thine heart that God hath raised him from the
dead, thou shalt be saved.
For with the heart man believeth unto righteousness; and with
the mouth confession is made unto salvation. For
whosoever shall call upon the name of the Lord shall be saved. (Romans
10:9-10,13 KJV)
Forgiveness
‘Nevertheless, he that
repents and does the commandments of the Lord shall be forgiven.’[2]
‘That by keeping the
commandments they might be washed and cleansed from all their sins, and receive
the Holy Spirit by the laying on of hands of him who is ordained and sealed
unto this power.’[3]
Notice here how that forgiveness for the Mormon is always connected with the keeping of commandments. These commandments of course are the laws and ordinances of the Latter-day Saint gospel. But what does the Bible say about how a person is to receive the forgiveness of sin.
‘And he commanded us to
preach unto the people, and to testify that it is he which was ordained of God
to be the Judge of quick and dead. To him give all the
prophets witness, that through his name whosoever believeth in him shall
receive remission of sins.’ (Acts 10:42-43 KJV)
Be it known unto you therefore, men and
brethren, that through this man is preached unto you the forgiveness of sins: And by him all that believe
are justified from all things, from which ye could not be justified by the law
of Moses.
(Acts 10:38-39 KJV)
If we confess our sins, he is
faithful and just to forgive us our sins, and to cleanse us from all
unrighteousness.
(1 John 1:9 KJV)
The
consequences of being forgiven can then be pointed out to our Mormon friends.
He hath not dealt with us after our sins; nor
rewarded us according to our iniquities. For as the heaven is high
above the earth, so great is his mercy toward them that fear him. As far as the east is from the west, so far hath he removed our
transgressions from us. (Psalm 103:10-12 KJV)
Behold, for peace I had great
bitterness: but thou hast in love to my soul delivered it from the pit of
corruption: for thou hast cast all my sins behind thy back. (Isaiah 38:17 KJV)
For I will be merciful to
their unrighteousness, and their sins and their iniquities will I remember no
more.
(Hebrews 8:12 KJV)
Jesus is Enough
‘Even Christ himself was not perfect at first;
he received not a fulness at first, but he received grace for grace, and he
continued to receive more and more until he received a fulness.’[4]
It
is no surprise that Jesus is not enough for Mormons when we consider the quote
above. The Mormon Jesus, just like they themselves, had to be obedient and
follow the commandments to become perfect. This means that rather than
believing Jesus to be their Saviour (they will say He is), he becomes their
example. They can be perfect because Jesus, their spiritual brother, himself
became perfect through obedience. The Bible does not teach this. Rather it
teaches that Jesus has always been the perfect Son of God. It is He, as the
perfect sacrifice, that makes us perfect.
‘For by one offering he hath
perfected for ever them that are sanctified.’ (Hebrews 10:14 KJV)
How our Mormons friends need to look to the Lord Jesus. In
seeking to justify themselves through the keeping of commandments they negate
the forgiveness of sin received only through faith in Jesus. So, what would
Jesus have Mormons do?
Then said they unto him, What shall we do,
that we might work the works of God? Jesus answered and said unto
them, This is the work of God, that ye believe on him whom he hath sent. (John
6:28-29 KJV)
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