GLOBAL CHRISTIAN OUTREACH
Preaching the Gospel to All Creation
Mark 16:15
MORMON Q & A
Your Questions Answered Regarding
the Bible and Mormon Doctrine
By Loren Franck and Richard G. Owen
©2010 Global Christian Outreach, Inc. All Rights Reserved
WILL CHRISTIANS BE JUDGED FOR THEIR SINS?
QUESTION
Currently a lance corporal in the United States Marine Corps, I converted to Christianity from atheism a year ago. The first lieutenant of my unit is a Mormon. We recently discussed the final judgment, and he said all people, including Christians, will be judged for their sins and must pay for them if not confessed and forsaken. However, my pastor says only unbelievers will be judged for their sins and will have to pay their price in the hereafter. He insists Christ paid and suffered for all believers’ sins on the cross, so Christians won’t have to pay for their sins in the next life. Who’s right?
Justin
Camp Pendleton, Calif.
ANSWER
According to the Bible, your pastor is correct, and your lieutenant is wrong. Before addressing the biblical view of the final judgment, though, let’s see what Mormonism teaches about it. Concerning the final judgment, the LDS church frequently quotes Revelation 20:12: “And I saw the dead, the great and the small, standing before the throne, and books were opened; and another book was opened, which is the book of life; and the dead were judged from the things which were written in the books, according to their deeds.”
The Mormon church says God will judge all people at the end of their lives. It claims he’ll evaluate all of our deeds, good and bad. For instance, Gospel Principles, an LDS-church-published study manual, reads,
“ . . . The day will come when we will stand before God and be judged. We need to understand how judgment takes place so we can better understand this important event. The scriptures teach that all of us will be judged according to our works” (1997 edition, p. 294).
Who Will Judge Us?
The Bible does say God will judge people at the last day. Yet, as we’ll discuss later, believers are exempt from judgment for their sins. Keep in mind that the Father has given all authority for judgment to Christ. “For not even the Father judges anyone,” Jesus taught, “but He has given all judgment to the Son, so that all will honor the Son even as they honor the Father . . . ” (John 5:22, 23). Similarly, Peter declared, “ . . . [Christ] is the One who has been appointed by God as Judge of the living and the dead” (Acts 10:42; also see Paul’s statement in Acts 17:31).
Boldly praising Christ’s magnificent work, Paul reaffirms this important doctrinal distinction. “Who will bring a charge against God’s elect?” Paul wrote. “God is the one who justifies; who is the one who condemns? Christ Jesus is He who died, yes, rather who was raised, who is at the right hand of God, who intercedes for us” (Romans 8:33, 34).
Scripture also says Christ will delegate portions of his judgment authority to others. For example, he assured the apostles, “Truly I say to you, that you who have followed Me, in the regeneration when the Son of Man will sit on His glorious throne, you also shall it upon twelve thrones, judging the twelve tribes of Israel” (Matthew 19:28; also see Luke 22:28–30). And Paul asked rhetorically, “ . . . Do you not know that the saints will judge the world?” (1 Corinthians 6:2).
Judged on What?
The final judgment will be according to one’s thoughts (Luke 8:17; Romans 2:16), words (Matthew 12:37) and conduct (Psalm 62:12; Matthew 16:27).
The Bible says everyone born on earth except Christ is a sinner. Paul affirmed, “There is none righteous, not even one” (Romans 3:10; compare with Psalm 14:1–3). He repeated this vital doctrine to the Ephesians, declaring that “we all once lived in the passions of our flesh, carrying out the desires of the body and the mind, and were by nature children of wrath, like the rest of mankind” (Ephesians 2:3 ESV, italics added). The apostle similarly instructed, “ . . . If a law had been given which was able to impart life, then righteousness would have indeed been based on law. But the Scripture has shut everyone under sin, so that the promise by faith in Jesus Christ might be given to those who believe” (Galatians 3:21, 22, italics added).
And if any doubt remained about all of mankind’s sinful status before God, Solomon furnishes clarity. “Indeed,” he wrote, “there is not a righteous man on earth who continually does good and who never sins” (Ecclesiastes 7:20).
Christians’ Sins Were Judged at the Cross
When anyone receives Christ as Lord and Savior, he no longer faces the white throne judgment for sins. This is the event mentioned in Revelation 20:12. Christ paid for believers’ sins at the cross. He unequivocally declared, “Truly, truly, I say to you, he who hears My word, and believes Him who sent Me, has eternal life, and does not come into judgment, but has passed out of death into life” (John 5:24). And Paul assures all believers that “there is no condemnation for those who are in Christ Jesus” (Romans 8:1).
Furthermore, as the author of Hebrews explains, Jesus “has been manifested to put away sin by the sacrifice of Himself” (Hebrews 9:26). However, Christians will appear before God in the bēma judgment, which is outlined in Romans 14:12 and 2 Corinthians 5:12. But as pastor and Bible scholar John MacArthur writes, these verses refer to a judgment when Christ will “evaluate believers for the purpose of giving them eternal rewards” (The MacArthur Study Bible, New American Standard Bible, Updated Edition, 2006, p. 1739). The word bēma, MacArthur explains, describes “an elevated platform where victorious athletes (e.g. during the Olympics) went to receive their crowns” (ibid).
Only One Sin?
Some Bible researchers suggest that lack of saving faith (heartfelt belief) in Jesus Christ is the only sin that can condemn man. There’s some truth in that. Before Jesus ascended into heaven, he told his disciples, “Go into all the world and preach the gospel to all creation. He who has believed and has been baptized shall be saved; but he who has disbelieved shall be condemned” (Mark 16:15, 16). One could ask whether the baptism indicated here refers to water baptism or the baptism of the Holy Spirit. Either way, we emphasize that only those who believe in Christ will be saved, and only those who disbelieve will be damned.
The Lord taught this doctrine during his mortal ministry. Anyone who believes in Christ, he promised, will not perish. Instead, they’ll receive eternal life (John 3:15, 16). Jesus added that those who believe in him will not be judged or condemned for their sins (John 3:18; 5:24). In fact, when the Bible says Jesus “put away sin by the sacrifice of Himself (Hebrews 9:26), it might mean unbelief in Christ is the only sin mankind for which mankind will be accountable.
A Tight Spot
As mentioned earlier, whether rich or poor, young or old, black or white, we’re all sinners. And yet, God requires our sinless perfection before we can enter heaven. “You are to be perfect, as your heavenly Father is perfect,” Jesus maintained (Matthew 5:48; also see Ephesians 5:5).
But even if a law ensured human perfection, nobody could keep it sufficiently. Jesus is the only one born on earth who never sinned (2 Corinthians 5:21; Hebrews 4:15; 7:26; 1 Peter 2:22). For if there were 1,000 commandments leading to heaven, and you broke one, you would be guilty of violating them all (James 2:10). Concerning this point, Pastor John MacArthur explains, “One transgression makes fulfilling the law’s most basic commands—to love God perfectly and to love one’s neighbor as oneself—impossible”
(The MacArthur Study Bible, New American Standard Bible, Updated Edition, 2006, p. 1898).
The Ultimate Solution
Within the gospel of Jesus Christ are two God-given steps leading from our sinful state in mortality to our sinless and glorious condition with God in heaven. First, we must be cleansed from sin; second, we must be made righteous. As noted earlier, we’re all sinners. We’re “by nature children of wrath” (Ephesians 2:3), so nobody can execute these steps on his own. We need someone perfect who, exercising God’s complete power and authority, would take our place on the cross and pay for all our sins. We also need eternal life granted to us because we can’t generate it ourselves. That “someone” is Jesus Christ.
Regarding our complete cleansing from sin, John wrote, “If we say we have no sin, we are deceiving ourselves and the truth is not in us. If we confess our sins, He is faithful and righteous to forgive us our sins and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness. If we say that we have not sinned, we make Him a liar and His word is not in us” (1 John 1:8–10). Paul agreed, saying Jesus has forgiven Christians all their sins (Colossians 2:13).
But God also bestows eternal life on us. He does this when we come to Christ. When lamenting the Jews’ disbelief, Jesus said, “You search the Scriptures because you think that in them you have eternal life; it is these that testify about Me; and you are unwilling to come to Me so that you may have life” (John 5:39, 40, italics added). Later in the text, Jesus concluded, “ . . . Unless you believe that I am He, you will die in your sins” (John 8:24).
Christ's Invitation Stands
Everyone who enters God’s kingdom is there because the Father draws him there. Jesus explained, “No one can come to Me unless the Father who sent Me draws him . . . ” (John 6:44). Christ stops no one from coming to him (John 6:37). In fact, he “desires all men to be saved and to come to the knowledge of the truth” (1 Timothy 2:4; also see 2 Peter 3:9). Global Christian Outreach urges all to come to the biblical Jesus. Only he can save you from death and hell. Christ is the only source of fulfillment and perfection (Colossians 2:10; Hebrews 10:14).
“Behold, I stand at the door and knock,” Jesus promises. “If anyone hears My voice and opens the door, I will come to him and will dine with him, and he with Me” (Revelation 3:20).
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Are We Saved by Keeping God’s Commandments?
QUESTION
I’ve been a Christian since early Childhood and believe Paul’s words, “For by grace you have been saved through faith; and that not of yourselves, it is the gift of God; not as a result of works, so that no one may boast” (Ephesians 2:8, 9).
But one of my coworkers, who doubles as a Mormon bishop, said people are saved—that is, receive eternal life—by grace, but only after thoroughly keeping the commandments. To support his argument, he read Matthew 19:16, 17 to me, which says, “And someone came to [Jesus] and said, ‘Teacher, what good thing shall I do that I may obtain eternal life?’ And He said to him . . . if you wish to enter into life, keep the commandments.’” Similar accounts are given in Mark 10:17–19 and Luke 18:18–20.
My coworker even quoted a Book of Mormon passage that says, “ . . . the fulfilling of the commandments bringeth remission of sins” (Moroni 8:25). He also read to me from the Doctrine and Covenants, a book of Joseph Smith’s supposed revelations. The passage asserts, “ . . . By keeping the commandments [those who receive exaltation in the celestial kingdom (God’s highest heaven)] might be washed and cleansed from all their sins . . . ” (Doctrine and Covenants 76:52).
Next time he and I discuss grace, keeping the commandments and eternal life, what should I say?
Lannie
Eureka, Calif.
ANSWER
The short answer? Nobody has ever been saved—or ever will be saved—by keeping God’s commandments. To understand this adequately, let’s briefly examine what we achieve by “keeping” the commandments and how the Bible says men are saved, that is, how someone receives eternal life.
Consider five important points:
1. EVERYONE SINS
Contrary to Mormon doctrine, everyone born on earth is a sinner. Christ is the only exception. Young or old, genius or mentally incompetent, recipient of the gospel message or not, we all sin. It’s an unpleasant reality, but it’s biblical.
“For all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God,” Paul wrote in Romans 3:23. In the same letter, he added, “For God has shut up all in disobedience so that He may show mercy to all” (Romans 11:32). And to the Ephesians, Paul explained that, until we’re born from above in Christ, all of us are “by nature children of wrath, even as the rest of mankind” (Ephesians 2:3 ESV, italics added). Many other Bible verses establish that “there’s no man that does not sin” (1 Kings 8:46; also see Ecclesiastes 7:20; Romans 5:12, 18; Galatians 3:22; 1 John 1:8–10).
2. GOD JUDGES MEN ACCORDING TO WORKS
Everyone will be judged by his own works (Psalm 62:12; Matthew 16:27; Romans 2:6). But all men sin, and no one can merit the kingdom of heaven on his own (Matthew 22:11–14; Ephesians 5:3–7; James 2:10). Referring to heaven, the inheritance reserved for believers, John wrote, “ . . . Nothing unclean, and no one who practices abomination and lying, shall ever come into it, but only those whose names are written in the Lamb’s book of life” (Revelation 21:27). Everyone must be free from sin to dwell forever in God’s presence, but our inherent sinfulness prevents us from earning that status ourselves. Therefore, someone had to do the work of salvation on our behalf. He had to cleanse us from all sin and credit us with perfect righteousness.
That “someone” is our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ. He appeased God’s wrath regarding all of our sins (Romans 5:9). Paul explains, “[The Father] made [Jesus] who knew no sin to be sin on our behalf, so that we might become the righteousness of God in Him” (2 Corinthians 5:21). Similarly, Paul taught the Romans, “For what the Law could not do, weak as it was through the flesh, God did: sending His own Son in the likeness of sinful flesh and as an offering for sin, He condemned sin in the flesh, so that the requirement of the Law might be fulfilled in us, who do not walk according to the flesh but according to the Spirit” (Romans 8:3, 4).
Jesus also granted us eternal life, which is an honor we could never earn (Romans 5:6–21; Ephesians 1:7, 11, 13–20; Colossians 1:19–22; 2:12–15). Perhaps painfully, the Lord told the Jews during his earthly ministry, “ . . . You are unwilling to come to Me so that you may have life” (John 5:40). “But God, being rich in mercy,” Paul explains, “because of His great love with which He loved, us, even when we were dead in our transgressions, made us alive together with Christ (by grace you have been saved)” (Ephesians 2:5). And to the Colossians, Paul echoed, “When you were dead in your transgressions and the uncircumcision of your flesh, He made you alive together with Him, having forgiven us all our transgressions, having canceled out the certificate of debt consisting of decrees against us, which was hostile to us; and He has taken it out of the way, having nailed it to the cross” (Colossians 2:13, 14).
3. WE’RE SAVED BY GRACE THROUGH FAITH, NOT BY OUR WORKS
All people access Christ’s forgiveness and provision of eternal life by God’s grace through faith in Christ, not by our works. It’s not “by grace that we are saved, after all we can do,” as the Book of Mormon claims (2 Nephi 25:23, italics added).
The Bible is unmistakable. Mankind is saved by grace alone through faith alone in Christ alone—not by obeying a checklist of commandments that includes temple ordinances, tithe paying, keeping the Word of Wisdom (abstaining from alcohol, tobacco, coffee and tea), obeying LDS church leaders, possessing Mormon church membership and many other legalistic requirements. In reality, when righteousness and salvation are viewed in God’s way, the opposite of legalism is true. Paul teaches, “Therefore, having been justified by faith, we have peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ, through whom also we have obtained our introduction by faith into this grace in which we stand” (Romans 5:1, 2). Similarly, Paul told the Ephesians that through Christ “we have boldness and confident access through faith in Him” (Ephesians 3:12).
Paul again underscores the doctrine of salvation by grace, not by works: “[God] has saved us and called us with a holy calling, not according to our works, but according to His own purpose and grace which was granted us in Christ Jesus from all eternity” (2 Timothy 1:9). Likewise, Paul reminded the Galatians, who needed spiritual maturity beyond legalism, that “Abraham believed God and it was reckoned to him as righteousness. Therefore, be sure that it is those who are of faith who are sons of Abraham. The Scripture, foreseeing that God would justify the Gentiles by faith, preached the gospel beforehand to Abraham, saying, ‘All the nations will be blessed in you.’ So then those who are of faith are blessed with Abraham, the believer” (Galatians 3:6–9). In fact, everyone who receives eternal life is “justified as a gift by [God’s] grace through the redemption which is in Christ Jesus; whom God displayed publicly as a propitiation in His blood through faith” (Romans 3:24, 25).
4. WHY CHRISTIANS SHOULD KEEP GOD’S COMMANDMENTS
From our experience among Mormons, they can’t hear the truth behind Ephesians 2:8, 9 and similar passages such as John 8:43 and 1 John 4:5, 6. At best, they rationalize them, fighting to maintain consistency between the Bible and Mormonism’s manmade doctrines. Salvation by works is one of “the precepts of men” Jesus addressed among the scribes and Pharisees (Matthew 15:9).
Devoted followers of Christ have several reasons to keep his commandments, but none of these claims leads to salvation. For example, Christians are to “let [their] light shine before men in such a way that they may see your good works, and glorify your Father who is in heaven” (Matthew 5:16). Peter worded the true doctrine of good works this way: “Keep your behavior excellent among the Gentiles, so that in the thing in which they slander you as evildoers, they may because of your good deeds, as they observe them, glorify God in the day of salvation” (1 Peter 2:12). So believers keep the commandments to glorify God.
Jesus and John offer additional perspectives about why Christians should keep God’s commandments. In one of his best-known utterances, the Lord instructed, “If you love Me, you will keep My commandments” (John 14:15). Several verses later, he similarly emphasized, “If anyone loves Me, he will keep My word . . . He who does not love Me does not keep My words” (John 14:23, 24). Therefore, another vital reason to keep God’s commandments is to demonstrate love for him. But showing love and earning salvation are completely different.
Finally, keeping the commandments proves we know God. This was John’s major point when he wrote, “By this we know that we have come to know Him, if we keep His commandments. The one who says, ‘I have come to know Him,’ and does not keep His commandments, is a liar, and the truth is not in him; but whoever keeps His word, in him the love of God has truly been perfected” (1 John 2:3–5).
5. WHAT ABOUT MATTHEW, MARK AND LUKE?
Despite insurmountable biblical evidence that men are saved by God’s grace through faith in Jesus Christ, not by human works, Mormons misinterpret passages to say otherwise. For example, Matthew 7:21, a favorite LDS proof text, reads, “Not everyone who says to Me, “Lord, Lord,’ will enter the kingdom of heaven, but he who does the will of My Father who is in heaven.” Mormons construe this, Luke 6:46 and other passages to mean that keeping God’s commandments guarantees us eternal life.
But Jesus clarifies what it means to do the will of the Father. “This is the will of Him who sent Me,” the Savior says, “that of all that He has given Me I lose nothing, but raise it up on the last day. For this is the will of My Father, that everyone who beholds the Son and believes in Him will have eternal life, and I Myself will raise him up on the last day” (John 6:39, 40, italics added).
In the Parable of the Talents (Matthew 25:14–30; also see Luke 19:11–27), the Lord urges his followers to exercise faith in him through stewardship and service, thereby garnering blessings. Verse 29 explains the parable’s moral: “For to everyone who has, more shall be given, and he will have an abundance; but from the one who does not have, even what he does have shall be taken away.” This doesn’t explain how to gain eternal life. Rather, it outlines blessings based on service and describes the fruit of faith. Accordingly, when discussing his sheep and goats (verses 31–46), the Savior describes their respective fates. The sheep will inherit God’s kingdom (verses 34 and 46); the goats will be cast out (verses 42 and 46). Accordingly, James says only believers whose faith produces fruit will receive God’s greatest blessings (James 2:14–26).
The accounts of the rich young ruler, cited in your question and found in Matthew 19, Mark 10 and Luke 18, present intriguing lessons for all believers. Jesus told the would-be disciple, “ . . . If you wish to enter into life, keep the commandments” (Matthew 19:17), but then proved the ultrastrict adherent of the Law couldn’t obey sufficiently. Jesus consistently says eternal life results from heartfelt faith, not works (John 3:15, 16, 36; 5:24; 6:47; 8:24; 11:25, 26). Paul was taught the gospel by revelation (Galatians 1:12), and he says emphatically, quoting Joel, “Whoever will call on the name of the Lord will be saved” (Romans 10:13). He did not say, “Whoever will keep the commandments will be saved.”
Salvation by grace alone through faith alone in Christ alone is a fundamental gospel doctrine. It’s a trademark of the Lord’s true disciples. Instead of isolating and twisting selected Bible passages, the topic should be considered in light of the entire Bible. Only then can one clearly see how the Lord distinguishes grace from works and how the commandments fit within his plan for mankind.
Have questions regarding Mormonism, Christianity and the Bible? Perhaps you’re being approached by Mormon friends, neighbors or coworkers who are urging you to join the LDS church.
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Like other LDS temples, the one in Los Angeles (above) features baptisms and marriages for dead people.
Doors to Mormon temples, such as this one in La Jolla, Calif., are locked to everyone except Mormons possessing “temple recommends.” Mormon doc-trine says you must be married in the temple to gain eternal life. But Jesus declared, “ . . . the Son of Man must be lifted up, that everyone who believes in him may have eternal life. For God so loved the world that he gave his one and only Son, that whoever believes in him shall not perish but have eternal life” (John 3:14–16 NIV, italics added).
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