Guarding The Only Gospel Of Salvation From Demon Doctrines By Understanding That Salvation’s Narrow Path Is Only The Real Lord Jesus Christ

140209AM ESH-5 Real Jesus Christ

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The Discipline of Truth: Guarding the Gospel of Salvation from Demon Doctrines By Declaring that Salvation’s Narrow Path is Only the Real Lord Jesus Christ   

1 Timothy 4:1; 2 John 1:7-11

Transcript

This morning, as you open your Bibles to 1 Timothy chapter 4, if I were to summarize salvation in just a phrase, it would be running to the open arms of Jesus Christ. It’s kind of like Isaiah 45:22, where God says, look unto me, all the ends of the Earth and be saved. In other words, God invites us to come to Him. So, that’s salvation, the open arms of Christ running to Jesus as our only hope of salvation. What’s the discipline of truth? Making sure you run to the correct Jesus. Because Satan’s goal is like the battle between the huge department stores in New York City. At one point, they were Macy’s and Gimbels, I don’t remember the names of them, but they were so big they were knocking out all the other little retailers. So, one small shop lodged between those two mega-department stores bought a sign, and all it said was main entrance, and everyone started coming directly into his shop, thinking they were going to Macy’s and Gimbels or whatever it was called back then. And it was just that deceptive sign. That’s exactly what the Devil does. He knows that salvation is running to Jesus. He just puts the main entrance sign over the wrong Jesus.

So, think about this. The discipline of truth is guarding the Gospel of salvation. By the way, there’s only one road, way, life, plan, gate, door, whatever you want to call it. There’s only one salvation, so we have to guard the Gospel of salvation from demon doctrines, that’s where we’re going to get to in verse 1 of 1 Timothy chapter 4, from demon doctrines by declaring that salvation’s a narrow path. Now, Jesus said the way is narrow, the way is difficult, and the gate is straight that leads to life. Now, Jesus Himself gives us, and we’re going to look at that in Matthew 7. He said it’s a very small target.

It’s kind of like, if you read the news this week, Wall Street Journal investigative reporter came out with the fact that there was most likely a terrorist attack almost one year ago in Silicon Valley on one of the most crucial electronic transfer stations of California, which could have cascaded into half of the US’ grid being out by a single pair of snipers who systematically shot 120 shots and hit 112 of them, knocking out 30 some transformers, which could have, if it had been in July, we would’ve had a blackout for a long time on the Western half. But it was that precision hitting of a very small target. Salvation is a very small target, and the Devil wants to obscure it, and that’s why we have to declare that salvation’s narrow path is only the real Lord Jesus Christ. Because all the world religions talk about Jesus and so do all the cults. They just don’t define Him the way the Scriptures that you have before you define the real Lord Jesus Christ.

So, that’s our focus this morning. So, salvation, the Bible says, is a person. Salvation, remember when Jesus talks about salvation in John 17, near the very end of His earthly ministry, He says, this is life eternal, that they may believe in Thee, the only true God, even Jesus Christ, to whom Thou has sent, John 17:3. Salvation is a person. It’s not a prayer. It’s not having something done to you: baptism, circumcision, joining the Church. It’s not a feeling, it’s a person. Now, the person is accompanied, usually prayer is talking to Him, and the event involves a declaration, which comes in baptism. But salvation is not any of those things that we do. It’s a person. If you’ve never met and know the person, Jesus said, you are not saved. Someday, we’ll also see in Matthew 7, He says, I’ll say to you, you said the right words, but you didn’t know Me. It’s a person.

Salvation is a person. Salvation is only through the right person. He’s named the Lord Jesus Christ. He is the Creator of everything. Not just of this universe with this Adam and with this cross and with this Eve, this fall, which is what the cults teach, that there are all kinds of Jesuses out there and there are all kinds of universes out there. No, the God who made everything that there is and ever will be, the Creator Himself of everything, not of our little whatever the cults describe it as, but of everything, is how the Bible describes who Jesus is. He is the Lord Jesus Christ, the Creator of everything. He is the Savior. He is God the Son. He Himself, God, the second person, the Son, died as the true Lamb of God. By the way, He’s also the final judge of all humans. He is the one who began everything. He is the one who offers the way of salvation, and He is the one who is going to sit on that great white throne and say, you I never knew, depart from Me. And each one, each human, one at a time, will be cast into the Lake of Fire, in front of Jesus Christ, who is the final judge. That’s what salvation is.

More than anything else, knowing and believing and following and trusting the real Lord Jesus Christ is the only hope of salvation, which takes us to 1 Timothy 4, where we have turned in our Bibles. Look what Paul says at the end of verse 1. He says, now the Spirit expressly says that in the latter times, some will depart from the faith, giving heed to deceiving spirits. Now, look at the very last part of verse 1, and the doctrines of demons. Doctrines of demons? Is it like a seance? We’re talking about witchcraft here? Are we talking about going to the tarot card or the horoscope person, or getting all wound up in astrological something? No. No. Whenever a doctrine about Jesus Christ is presented by an angel, and that angel does not say what God’s Word has already declared, that’s a doctrine of demons and what I just described to you is how Islam was revealed to Muhammad, how Mormonism was revealed to Joseph Smith, and how every single time that any religion says that a creature came and revealed something to them, and that creature does not agree with this revelation of God, Paul said that is a demon doctrine. It’s the main entrance to deceive everybody into going through the wrong door. That’s all Satan wants to do. He doesn’t want to defeat God. He knows he can’t. He’s smart. All he wants to do is thwart the message of the Gospel of the true Jesus Christ.

So, Paul says, watch out. People are going to depart from the faith. They’re going to give heed to deceiving spirits. They’re going to believe these doctrines of demons, and that’s the history of the titanic battle for the truth that’s gone on from the beginning. Satan started this way back in the Garden of Eden when he deceived Eve and said to her, ah, you won’t die because of your sin. No, you can be a god. I’m going to really open your eyes if you follow me. And see that lie is the doctrine of demons that we find woven into every false teaching, every cult, every world religion that has a broad road that leads to whatever paradise that they have thought of. Be aware of doctrines from demons, and we’re living in a time when Paul said, not only would people depart from historic Christianity, but they would do so by listening to demon-inspired, false, and eternally damnable teachings.

Now, let’s go to another passage, and this is one we’re going to read. In fact, we’re not just reading it silently; we’re going to read it out loud. But look at 2 John. You know it goes 2 John, 3 John, Jude, and Revelation. So, just go to the maps, Revelation, backup, and go to the really short little epistles there and look at 2 John chapter 1. It only has one chapter anyway, and this morning, what we’re studying in 2 John is, as you turn there, think of how vital the topic of what we’re looking at this morning is. Our eternal souls are tied to trusting the right person. Think about that. It’s not saying the right words. It’s making sure the words we say are properly defined biblically, because as you’ll see this morning, everybody is basically saying similar words, but what they mean by them is absolutely categorically different, and that’s the danger of deception.

You don’t deceive someone with blue currency. If you’re going to fake American currency, it can’t be blue or yellow. You know what I mean? It has to be green. You’ve got to start with the right color, and you’re just as closely as possible imitating it, but you’re counterfeiting it. You counterfeit the truth by getting so close, as Jesus said, that it would be possible to deceive even the elect and they would be deceived. That’s how good the Devil is. That’s why we need to be vitally concerned about the discipline of truth because Satan is not at work this morning in the heroin thing with Philip, whatever his name was, who just died last week, the heroin traffic that is going on. Satan is not really working in the heroin traffic in New York City. He’s not really working in all of the immorality red light districts. Humans don’t need any help in that division. Satan focuses on religious deception. That’s his realm. Confusing people and getting them away from the truth and getting them to not understand what God has said is Satan’s realm.

That’s why the very first exercise for spiritual health assigned by God to us in the Church is the discipline of truth, and we are to study the truth so we can recognize spiritual errors and cling to the doctrine of Christ. That’s what it’s called right here. The doctrine of Christ is what we are to cling to. And as we cling to the doctrine of Christ, we will hear God speak. And as we read 2 John, we will feel the weight of what God is saying to us today. Because in this passage, He says, make sure, individuals, that you know the doctrine of Christ, you cling to the doctrine of Christ, and when you meet someone that comes to you that doesn’t declare the doctrine of Christ, you say, you can’t even come into my house. I’m not even going to give you the civility of a greeting because you are teaching a false Christ.

Now, think about that this morning. Would you go to a Christian concert celebrating Jesus Christ written by a Buddhist? No, probably not. Would you go to a concert extolling the Lord Jesus Christ, written by a Jehovah’s Witness and performed for Jehovah’s Witnesses? You’d say, Uh-uh. How about a Muslim who did an entire choral presentation of Christ? Would you go to that knowing that the Muslim doesn’t believe in the same Jesus as you? See, that’s what this is saying. This is saying know what the doctrine is of the person that is talking to you, that’s teaching you, that’s trying to entertain you, and if their doctrine is wrong, don’t even let them in to your life.

Okay. 2 John, chapter 1, and we’re going to read this out loud, so let’s all stand together. You can hold your Bible if you want, but so we can all say the same thing, it’s projected on the screen, and it’s two screens, and let’s say it together in unison. For many deceivers have gone out into the world who do not confess Jesus Christ as coming in the flesh. This is a deceiver and an Anti-christ. Look to yourselves that we do not lose those things we work for, but that we may receive a full reward.

Whoever transgresses and does not abide in the doctrine of Christ does not have God. He who abides in the doctrine of Christ has both the Father and the Son. If anyone comes to you and does not bring this doctrine, do not receive him into your house, nor greet him, for he who greets him shares in his evil deeds.

Wow. Let’s bow together. Father, I pray that we would hear Your voice as John, the last living apostle, looks out at the horrific storm clouds of deception, the spirit of Anti-christ, the Devil, and all of his false teachers at his command. As the aged John looked at this new Church that was birthed at Pentecost that was spreading throughout the world, we can just hear the concern in his voice as he communicates Your very Word and says, watch out, because deceivers are going to come and they’re going to redefine the doctrine of Christ. We must know and defend and believe and cling to the doctrine of Christ if someone comes to us who doesn’t believe; we are not to receive them. We’re not even to greet them. Oh Lord, how I pray that we would know and believe the doctrine of truth and discipline ourselves to know and defend the doctrine of Christ, in whose name we pray, Amen.

You may be seated. As you’re seated the bottom line of what the Bible says is to abide in the doctrine of Christ. Now, let’s just do a quick study of what the doctrine of Christ is. Go back with me to Matthew 7, and the doctrine of Christ would have, of course, been what Jesus Christ said about Himself and what his disciples, apostles, and the prophets right about Him. So, let’s just do a little study because one warning rises above all other warnings Jesus made, and He repeats it over and over again. And what He says is, beware of spiritual deception. Now, starting in verse 13, look what Jesus says in the book of Matthew, verse 13. He says this, enter by the narrow gate. So, salvation, He compares to a narrow gate. For wide is the gate, broad is the way that leads to destruction, and there are many who go in by it. So, Jesus gives them a word picture. He says a gigantic, wide gate; most people are on it. That’s the way to destruction. Narrow. Narrow gate is the way to life.

Now, He keeps going. Look at verse 14, because narrow is the gate and difficult is the way which leads to life. Who is speaking? Jesus. Who is the author of Salvation? Jesus. Who is the greatest evangelist and Gospel presenter that there could ever be? Jesus, right? Nobody articulates the Gospel better than Jesus because He is the Gospel. So, this is how Jesus presents salvation. Narrow is the gate, verse 14, difficult is the way that leads to life, and few who find it. Wow. Verse 15, beware of false prophets. They come to you in sheep’s clothing. They act like, Jesus said, you are My sheep, the sheep of My pasture. So, they act like they’re Christians or they’re in the Spirit of Christ, but they’re false prophets. They’re only wearing sheep’s clothing, but inwardly, they’re ravenous wolves. They’re trying to destroy and disrupt the Gospel of Jesus Christ.

Why? Because at the judgment, there will be people who cling to the wrong thing. Look down at verse 22, 21 of the same passage. Not everyone who says to me, Lord, Lord, not everybody who says the words that are attached to Christianity shall enter the kingdom of Heaven, but those who have a supernatural change, those who do the will of my Father in Heaven. That’s the miracle of salvation, that I am changed, that I am transformed, that God does something inside of me that changes what I want and changes how I live that I can never do myself. It’s supernatural.

But look at verse 22. Many will say unto Me in that day, Lord, Lord, haven’t we prophesied in Your name and cast out demons in Your name and done many wonders in Your name? We were involved. We were with it. I’ll declare to them, I never knew you. Salvation is knowing a person, the real person, Jesus Christ. At the judgment, there will be people who died clinging to the wrong Jesus. They believed in a false Jesus, and either they made Him up or a false teacher taught them a false savior, and they clung to the wrong one.

Look at Matthew 24 at the end. This is how Jesus started His ministry, and look, it’s like a broken record. He says the same thing at the end of His ministry. He doesn’t alter His message. He’s consistent in Matthew 24. Look what He says starting in verse 4 of Matthew 24. At the end of His ministry, Jesus gave these sweeping warnings again about false teaching. In verse 4, Jesus answered and said to them, take heed, no one deceives you. Verse 5 for many will come in My name and they’ll say, I’m the Christ, and they will deceive many. Look down at verse 11, then many false prophets will rise up and deceive many. Look at verse 24, for false Christs, false prophets will rise, will show great signs and wonders to deceive, if possible, even the elect. So, this one warning rises above all other warnings that Jesus made. He repeats it over and over. Don’t be spiritually deceived. And to counter all the false teachers. Jesus Christ told his disciples on the night before the cross that there’s one thing they had to remember, and this is how Jesus summarizes it the night before the cross. He says, trust in the real Lord Jesus Christ.

Now, let’s go there to John 14. You all know this verse; most people have it memorized. Think of the context. This is Jesus’ legacy. This is His final time with his disciples. It’s the last time; it’s like it used to be. It’ll never be that way again. He is going to go through His death and burial and resurrection and rise from the dead and be gloriously not walking around with them like He used to anymore. Everything changes. So, it’s His last time teaching them, and they have lots of questions. John 14, their hearts are troubled. They know something’s happening, and they’re talking about how they’re going to get there if He goes away and all that.

Look what Jesus says. Jesus adds another element to the doctrine of Christ for us. He already said in all of his teaching in Matthew that the gate is narrow and the way is hard. And it’s not just saying, Lord, Lord, it’s a supernatural change. But look what He says in verse 6. Jesus said to him, I am the way, the truth, and the life. No one comes to the Father except through me. See, salvation is a person, not a church, not an experience, not a prayer. It’s a person we connect with. And what Jesus says is trust in the real Lord Jesus Christ. The One who is the way, the One who is the truth that squares with everything that the Word of God has said. The one who brings the genuine life. Christ Jesus tells us there’s only one doorway to God. The doctrine of Christ says that the Lord Jesus Christ is the door. Christ Jesus said, there’s only one road to the Father, and I am the only way to God. I’m the only truth that reveals God. I am the only life that lasts forever. So, Jesus says, cling to the real Lord Jesus Christ. John, in his final epistle, says many deceivers are coming to twist the doctrines.

Now, in your Bibles, go to 1 John. We were in 2 John when we were reading. But now go to the book just before it 1 John. It goes, 1, 2, 3, John, Jude, and Revelation. Because I want to show you how much this theme that John starts in his Gospel, saying that Jesus is God in human flesh. He is quoting Jesus saying, I and My Father are one. And showing how many times the Jews, who hurt Him, wanted to stone Jesus because He was claiming to be God.

Now, look what 1 John chapter 4 says, because here John gives us a test in God’s Word to find out who is really in God’s family and who is not. The test is to examine whether the person confesses that the Lord Jesus Christ is God in human flesh, the second person of the Trinity, and you notice that it’s a very small little target that he zeroes in until there’s only one person in the universe we could be trusting in. It’s a very, very significant test for us in Christ. 1 John 4, here is a scripture that tells us whether or not someone really has the endless life of God. I printed it out for you. It’s the first three verses. Look what he says. Beloved, he’s talking to Christians, don’t believe every spirit, but test the spirits, whether they’re of God.

If someone says, oh, God revealed this to me, you go, oh, okay, just a second. If God revealed that to you, it would not be different than what He has already revealed in His once and for all settled Word of God that is once and for all settled in Heaven. It’s not going to have constant addendums and additions. Revelation, at the end, God said don’t add to my Word. This is it. If you add to it, you’re going to get the plagues in the book. That’s how it starts out, way back in Deuteronomy. Moses said you shall not add to the Word, which the Lord thy God has commanded you, or diminish not from it. This is a package that God delivered to us. John says when some spirit talks or reveals or talks to, Moroni talks to Joseph Smith, or whoever talks to Muhammad or any other spiritual event in the world, test it to see whether they’re from God, because many, verse 1, false prophets have gone out into the world, and by this, you shall know the Spirit of God. Every spirit that confesses Jesus Christ has come in the flesh is of God. What is he talking about now?

Remember, it’s the same author, John. Remember how John begins chapter 1 of 1 John? That which was from the beginning, which we’ve seen, which we’ve heard, which we’ve looked upon, which our hands have handled. For the Word was made flesh and dwelt among us, John 1 says. He is the creator. We saw that last week. He’s the revealer of God. This is what he’s talking about. The confession that Jesus Christ was God eternally existing, and He came in the flesh. That’s called the incarnation. It’s called that Jesus didn’t begin to exist in Bethlehem. He eternally existed as God, and He came in human form as God the Son. Now, make sure the spirit that confesses that Jesus Christ has come in the flesh. Those spirits are from God. So, that means every spirit that confesses Jesus that didn’t come in the flesh is a demon. They’re giving demon doctrines, and that’s what cults and false religions are.

Continuing. Look at verse 3. Every spirit that does not confess that Jesus Christ has come in the flesh is not of God. This is the spirit of the Anti-christ, which you’ve heard was coming and now already is in the world. So, basically, what John is saying is this: he says, when God the Son came to Earth, He warned us that we must always be on guard for anyone who tries to say that Jesus Christ is not God. He is not God the Son. He is not the second person of the Trinity. What was John talking about? Whether or not they confess Jesus Christ is the infinite, eternal God the Son come in human flesh. Anybody who will not confess that does not believe the truth.

So, what is the truth? The divine, God the Son, Lord Jesus Christ, is the only way of salvation. See, that’s the central, most important point of all. People are all concerned about all kinds of stuff. I meet people, and they say we’re moving and we’re looking for a good church now. We want to really have a good music program. We really want to have a good youth program. We really want to have good support and everything. I say, have you checked the doctrine? Have you checked the doctrine of Christ? I won’t even run down that pathway, which just crossed my mind, that the fastest growing segment of evangelicalism or Christianity, I don’t know if it’s evangelicalism, is the Word of Faith movement of charismatics. And if you ever study what they believe about the doctrine of Christ, it sends shivers up and down, but that isn’t our topic today.

We’re talking about the divine, God the Son, the Lord Jesus Christ is the only way. And to know who He is, John says you need to test for two things. Do they confess that Jesus is a divine Lord? That’s what we read in verses 1-3. If you look down in 1 John chapter 4, he goes on to say, do they square with the Word? Do they follow what you have heard? He says you have heard in verse 4, if you look down in your Bible, you are of God, little children, you have overcome them because He who is in you is greater than he who is in the world. They are of the world; therefore, they speak as the world and the world hears them. Verse 6 of 1 John 4, but we are of God. He who knows God hears us. Do you understand? John is writing this down. People are reading this in a letter. The letter is the Word of God.

What he says is that the test is twofold. You check whether or not they’re confessing that Jesus is the divine, God the Son, Lord Jesus Christ, the only way. And then you check and see if what else they’re doing squares with what God has already said. The Word of God. What’s amazing is that the two characteristics of all cults are that they have the same pattern. If you look at them, they attack the person of Christ, and they postulate a substitute or they add to the Bible. You notice that each of the cults has a different Christ, and then they have an addendum, kind of an addition; The Pearl of Great Price, or the writings of their founder, or whatever, and they add to the Word of God. It’s not sufficient, it’s not authoritative, it’s not final. All cults have those two characteristics. They do not have a commitment to the divine Lord, nor do they have a commitment to the divine Word.

Nothing much has changed since the time of Christ. Remember, He says false prophets, false teachers, all this. He said that way back in Matthew 24 and Matthew 7. Many people thought Jesus was a great teacher in the 1st century. Many people who are going to Hell forever thought He was a great teacher in the 1st century. And they thought He was a great healer too, and they thought He made great bread, and He could do unbelievable things. They just didn’t believe in Him and allow Him to transform them. In fact, the eastern religions of today, even Islam and almost all the others, consider Christ to be a great teacher. They think He’s like Confucius, He’s like Muhammad, He’s like Buddha. He was a great teacher, but he was not God in human flesh.

In fact, what’s amazing is that if you look at most of the world’s false religions and cults, Jesus figures into all of them. He is a great teacher of Eastern religions. He’s one of the prophets of Islam. He was an angel brother of Satan, and He is the Savior of this world. That’s Mormonism, but there are a lot of worlds and there are a lot of saviors, and you can be one too, and you can be a God, and they add to it. To some, He’s a lesser created god. That’s the Jehovah’s Witnesses. He’s not God with a capital G. He’s just a little G god. That’s the way that Satan is deceiving, but he’s none of these. The reason the major cults are cults is that they have a defective doctrine of Christ. The Mormons, the Jehovah’s Witnesses, and any of the Eastern religions say they believe in Christ, but what kind of Christ? It’s not the Christ of the Scriptures. Do you remember how strongly Paul warned us in 1 Timothy 4:1 at the beginning of the discipline of truth? He says, watch out for demon doctrines.

What are demon doctrines about Jesus? What would be a demon doctrine? What’s an example of a demon doctrine? A demon doctrine will come through a false teacher who will go against Christ’s deity and will subtly misrepresent Him. For example, the Jesus of Mormonism is a created Jesus who is the spirit brother of both Adam and Lucifer. See, most people think that Mormons are just confused Christians. They are not, they’re absolute pseudo-Christian Pagans, that’s what they are. They are more akin to Hinduism than Christianity. I think they have such a good advertising campaign. The heart of the demon doctrines of the American cult of Mormonism is their doctrine that Jesus was a created god. He was created by a God who was created by another God. There’s just this succession of gods. Actually, that’s a form of Gnosticism. The Demiurge, the urge. It’s just this idea that the gods keep going out, and it’s almost like a plume, and there’s this stream of gods creating one another, and you can get in the flow. It’s just another demon doctrine.

God’s Word says that the Jesus of Mormonism is not the true Jesus. He’s a false Jesus. But all around us, we hear Mormons using our language. They use our Bible. They affirm that they believe in the Jesus we believe in, and that shouldn’t surprise us. We’ve been taught from the beginning, false teachers would come, and instead of being surprised, we should just test the false teachers and what they say against the Word of God. It has always been Satan’s Anti-christ strategy to affirm the wrong Christ, the wrong Jesus, and subtly deceive people by redefining Jesus. It’s very effective, it’s just like the doorway, the main entrance door. It works. It is the spirit of Anti-christ to give honor to a false Jesus. That is deadly. And by the way, it’s found its way amazingly into evangelicalism. We can be shocked by what people who call themselves Christians believe. But we must believe that they’re under the sway of the great deceiver, Satan himself, and the spirit of the Anti-christ that he projects into the world.

Now, remember where we started. In 2 John, Jesus is presented as the Christ and the doctrine of Christ. John tells us that deceivers will come, and they will not confess that Jesus is coming in the flesh, the divine, God the Son. If they don’t abide, verse 9 says, in the doctrine of Christ, they don’t have God, no matter how much they talk about Him. If their doctrine of the deity of Christ is defective, they are not Christians, no matter how many times they affirm they are. If anyone doesn’t bring the doctrine of Christ, don’t welcome him in as a trusted member of the family.

There are increasing movements in general Christianity to embrace people with a defective Christology, like the Mormons, as fellow Christians. This started with the men’s movement, the Promise Keepers. Did you know that the Mormons were invited in because they use the same Bible? So, in those huge Promise Keeper rallies, I remember the one in Detroit, it was vastly inhabited by Mormons who felt very comfortable around us because we all say the same words. Then we have all of our efforts to help our culture, like the Right to Life movements. They’re right there, too. They’re all for that. So, if we’re not careful, when we work side by side with these people, we share the same common value or respect for life or for the family, but we forget that, though they use the same words, they don’t mean what we mean by these words. So, Mormonism is the wrong way to God, but it’s the most classic example currently of what demon doctrines look like.

Let me give you a little interview because this is fascinating to me. Are Mormons Christians? No. How do I know that? I’ll answer that question by an account of what John MacArthur, the author of many books and Bible commentaries and the MacArthur Study Bible, who spent one full day with the two leaders of the Mormon Church, the chairman of the Theology Department of Brigham Young University, and the associate chairman. These two men are the Mormon gatekeepers of theology, and John spent an entire day with them.

How it happened was these two key Mormons sat in a room and told Dr. MacArthur they believed in salvation by grace and salvation through faith, and salvation in Christ. After an entire day with them, graciously, he looked at them, and they said are Mormons Christians? They wanted to know if Mormons were Christians. John said, no. Here’s why, and this is how he explained it. This is published. This is what precipitated his answer to are Mormons Christians? No. The Mormon church has seven presidents who are actually like seven apostles. They make all the doctrinal decisions if it’s not in the Doctrine of Covenants, in the Book of Mormon. The two Mormon theologians who came to spend a day with me, and John is writing this in the first person, came under the authority and commission of the seven presidents of the Mormon church to talk theology. We sat in a room, and they told me they believe in salvation by grace and salvation through faith and salvation in Christ, and they wanted to affirm those things we have in common.

Now, John says, there are some people that would’ve said, wow, there’s a revival in the Mormon church! But when we got done with hours and hours of discussion with these two very gracious men, who had been reading through all of my books, John said, they had read all four volumes of his commentary on Matthew. They read both volumes of his commentary on Romans. They had read the Gospel According to Jesus. They had read Faith Works. They had read the Sufficiency of Christ. They were drawn to me, John says, because they never really understood the Bible like that, and they came because they wanted to know me personally and ask questions. And they said, we just want to affirm salvation by grace alone with you. We want to affirm salvation by faith. We want to affirm that salvation is in Christ.

So, at the end of six hours, John said, after listening to them and discussing, he said, okay, I just have three questions for you. Okay? Question number one, he says, can you tell me about your God? We’ve talked about my books, and after six hours of discussion with these men, at the end of the day, and in a gracious way, John said, I said, can you tell me about your God? And they gave me a god who didn’t have three persons. They’re Unitarians. So, I said, whatever we want to talk about regarding grace, faith in Christ, let’s get it straight. We worship a different God, number one.

Number two, he said, I have a second question. Can you tell me about your Christ? And they said, Jesus was created by God. He is a high order of created beings. I said let me make this clear. We also have a different Christ. God says if anybody comes and preaches a different Christ, Galatians 1:7-8 says, he’s accursed.

John said, I have just one last question. If I want to get to the highest Heaven, in other words, if I want salvation, what would I need to do? And the head of theology and Doctrine of the Mormon Church and his right-hand man, explained it this way. You would need to join the Mormon church. You would need to evidence certain obedience’s. You would need to be baptized with a certain kind of spirit-empowered baptism in our system.

So, John MacArthur said, okay, then let me get this clear. We have a different God, we have a different Christ, and we have a different Gospel. Apart from those, we agree. And yet, most people don’t test doctrine against God’s Word.

One of the most fascinating things, and one of the great dangers of not testing doctrines against God’s Word, is that Church history records that in the 1st century, there was a cult group that used similar words to Christianity. It was the cult of Mithras. It was from Persia and over in the far East. Members would go up to each other on the streets that were part of this cult in Rome, and they would say, I’ve been washed in the blood of the Son of God, I have been born again. Now, can you think about hearing those words in all the persecutions going on in Rome? And if you had heard someone at a coffee shop talking and excitedly saying, I’ve been washed in the Son of God, I’ve been born again, you would’ve run to them and said, whoa, you ought to come to our Bible study. We have a local church here. Wow. Praise the Lord.

But the problem is, if you took a moment and asked them a few questions, describe your God, describe your Christ, describe your way of salvation, like John MacArthur did to the Mormons, you would find out that their God was Mithras, the ones in the 1st century in Rome. His blood was the blood of a bull. Being born again was part of a ceremony with a real animal, a living bull. You would stand beneath in a pit under that bull while it was sacrificed over your head. When you got out of the pit covered with blood, you would tell people you were born again. So, are we talking about the same Christ, the same Son of God, and the same new birth with the Mithras people of the 1st century cult, or with the pseudo pagan-Christian cult called Mormonism that uses all of our words? No, we are not.

They use the same words, but that’s why it’s so important that we, as believers, beware of Christian words in demon doctrines. If you look closely past the winsome TV ads, inviting people to learn the teachings of Christ from the Mormons who call themselves the Church of Jesus Christ of the Latter-day Saints, Mormonism is not really Christian. It has perverted true Christian teachings, and it’s really a pseudo-Christian false teaching from demons. Why?

Mormonism is a demon doctrine because it teaches multiple gods. The Book of Mormon says, you can become a god and you have your own world. In fact, our world was started by someone from another world who wanted to be a god and ascended up through the system and made it and they had their own planet. And that is totally unchristian. That is paganism. That is closer to Eastern religions than anything the Bible teaches. Jesus Himself said, I and My Father are one. God the Father and Jesus are distinct persons. They are not separate beings or separate gods. This is a clear teaching. Hear, oh Israel, the Lord our God is one, and Mormonism teaches multiple gods. It’s polytheistic.

Secondly, Mormonism is a demon doctrine because it teaches the deification of the human soul. What I mean by that is the Mormons teach that all believers are progressing toward godhood. By the way, that’s where the Word of Faith movement has gotten dangerously close to this false doctrine that you have a god in you and you just need to let that god out and you can command things to happen and if you believe enough, they will, which is so pagan.

The Scriptures teach exactly the opposite. We’re born according to our father, the devil, the prince of the power of the air. We’re following his way, and then we’re redeemed and we’re given the righteousness of Christ, and then we partake of His righteousness. And as God says, I am the Lord. This is My name and My glory; I’ll not give to another. Even in Heaven, we will remain God’s creatures, worshiping Him as God, not as fellow gods. We never attain divinity the way the pagans describe it.

Finally, Mormonism is a demon doctrine because it teaches the possibility of salvation after death. Mormonism is well known for the practice of baptizing people for the dead. Most people just think that’s kind of weird. No, you should understand what they’re talking about. Mormonism believes that people who die without having heard of the Mormon gospel will have an opportunity to hear and believe even after they die. Baptism is viewed as essential to their salvation, so the dead are baptized by proxy; that is, living people go and stand in for the souls of people who they know have died without becoming Mormons. That’s what they’re doing constantly. That’s why the Mormons are so into genealogy. You’re going back and finding every relative you had that wasn’t a Mormon, you go to Salt Lake City, and you get baptized in their place. And when they wake up, they’re going to get another chance, and they’re going to hear about how to become a little god. Amazing.

But the Scriptures say exactly the opposite. In fact, if you want one last place to look at, look at Hebrews chapter 9 and verse 27. Because this is what God says, which is absolutely opposed to Mormonism. Mormonism is the wrong road to God because Mormonism teaches the idea of a second chance, which is categorically denied by the Scriptures. Hebrews 9:27 says this, it is appointed unto men once to die, and there goes the new Adrian Incarnation notions, and there goes the second time around, and no one has ever lived as someone else and come back. But then God says, after we’re appointed to die, but after this, the judgment. There is no second chance. Death, either you awaken the presence of Jesus Christ in His image, or death, and you face immediate conscious punishment awaiting judgment. That’s all God allows for.

Mormonism is a pseudo-Christian cult. And this coming Easter, the Mormons are presenting an Easter cantata in Kalamazoo, written by a Mormon, written by a writer of the music for the Mormon Tabernacle, and all the LDS stakes all over the country. And the Christians of Kalamazoo are going to sing a cantata, a musical, written by a pagan about Jesus Christ. Would you sing in a cantata written by a Buddhist? Would you sing in a cantata written by a Muslim? Would you sing in a cantata written by a Jehovah’s Witness? They’re all equally as pagan as a cantata written by a Mormon. That’s why the discipline of truth says we guard the Gospel of salvation from demon doctrines by declaring that salvation’s narrow path is only the real Lord Jesus Christ, not a pseudo-pagan main entrance the Devil has written.

Let’s all stand for word of prayer, and as we stand, if there is any doubt in your mind who you’re trusting in, at every service we have men and women of God who stand here with the Scriptures and they would love to point you to either assurance of hope in Christ or get you started in your new walk with Christ. And they’re always here, and they would love to pray with you.

Let’s bow. Thank You, dear Father, that without controversy great is the mystery of godliness. God was manifest in the flesh, justified in the Spirit, preached unto the world, seen of angels, and received up into glory. We know that You, oh Christ, are God in human flesh, and that You are incarnated, sinlessly, perfectly living the only perfect life that’s ever been lived, dying the only perfect death that could be offered as a sacrifice for sin. You did that once and for all, not on many worlds and many planets all throughout the universe, but once here, 2,000 years ago. And everyone who will turn and face You and fall before You as the only hope and cling to You as God in human flesh, our Savior, the Lord Jesus Christ, only those have endless life. We bow before You, thanking You for Your great salvation. In the name of Jesus, we pray, and all of God’s people said Amen. God bless you as you go.

Notes

Salvation is a person, but eternal salvation is ONLY through the RIGHT person: named the Lord Jesus Christ, who is the Creator of Everything, who is the Savior God the Son who died as the true Lamb of God, and who is the Final Judge of all humans.

More than anything else: knowing, believing, following, and trusting the REAL Lord Jesus Christ is the ONLY hope of salvation. In 1 Timothy 4, as we study the Discipline of Truth: note the words of the very strong warning Paul gives: 1 Timothy 4:1 (NKJV) Now the Spirit expressly says that in latter times some will depart from the faith, giving heed to deceiving spirits and doctrines of demons,

Beware of Doctrines From Demons

We are living in a time when Paul said not only would people depart from historic Christianity; but that they would do so by listening to demon inspired false, and eternally damnable, teachings. Open with me now to 2 John, as you turn there think of how vital the topic of our study is this morning: our eternal souls are tied to trusting the right person for our salvation.

That’s why the very first exercise for Spiritual Health assigned by God to us in the Church is the Discipline of Truth. We are to study the truth so we can recognize spiritual errors, and cling to the Doctrine of Christ.  Now, to hear God speak, and to feel the weight of our lesson today, please stand with me as we read together these verses from 2 John.

2 John 1:7-11 (NKJV) For many deceivers have gone out into the world who do not confess Jesus Christ as coming in the flesh. This is a deceiver and an antichrist. 8 Look to yourselves, that we do not lose those things we worked for, but that we may receive a full reward. 9 Whoever transgresses and does not abide in the doctrine of Christ does not have God. He who abides in the doctrine of Christ has both the Father and the Son. 10 If anyone comes to you and does not bring this doctrine, do not receive him into your house nor greet him; 11 for he who greets him shares in his evil deeds.

Abide in The Doctrine of Christ

One warning rises above all other warnings that Jesus Christ made. He repeats it over and over: Beware of Spiritual Deception. Look at Jesus repeated warning at the start of His ministry in Mat. 7.

Matthew 7:13-15 (NKJV) “Enter by the narrow gate; for wide is the gate and broad is the way that leads to destruction, and there are many who go in by it. 14 Because narrow is the gate and difficult is the way which leads to life, and there are few who find it. 15 “Beware of false prophets, who come to you in sheep’s clothing, but inwardly they are ravenous wolves.

Why? Because at the Judgment there will be people who died clinging to the wrong Jesus. They believed in a false Jesus, one they made up or one that a false teacher taught them. Look at v. 22-23:

Mt. 7:22-23 (NKJV) Many will say to Me in that day, ‘Lord, Lord, have we not prophesied in Your name, cast out demons in Your name, and done many wonders in Your name?’ 23 And then I will declare to them, ‘I never knew you; depart from Me, you who practice lawlessness!’

Then, at the end of His ministry, Jesus gave these sweeping warning of false teaching in Mat. 24:

Matthew 24:4-5, 11, 24 (NKJV) And Jesus answered and said to them: “Take heed that no one deceives you. 5 For many will come in My name, saying, ‘I am the Christ,’ and will deceive many. 11 Then many false prophets will rise up and deceive many. 24 For false christs and false prophets will rise and show great signs and wonders to deceive, if possible, even the elect.

So this one warning rises above all other warnings that Jesus Christ made. He repeats it over and over: Beware of Spiritual Deception. To counter all false teachers Jesus Christ told His disciples on the night before the Cross, that He was the ONLY way to God.

Trust in the Real Lord Jesus Christ

Turn onward to John 14:6, as Jesus adds another element to the doctrine of Christ for us.

John 14:6 (NKJV) Jesus said to him, “I am the way, the truth, and the life. No one comes to the Father except through Me.

Christ Jesus tells us that there is only one doorway to God; and the Doctrine of Christ says that the Lord Jesus Christ is the Door. Christ Jesus said that there was one road to the Father; and that He was the ONLY Way to God, the ONLY Truth that reveals God, and the ONLY Life that lasts forever with God.

John in his final Epistle says that many deceivers are coming to twist the doctrines of the deity of Christ. Here is a test from God’s Word, to find out who are in God’s family, and who are not. The test is to examine whether they confess that the Lord Jesus Christ, God in human flesh, second person of the Trinity is the only way. Look at 1 John 4 because here is what the Scriptures tell us is the test of whether or not someone really has the endless life of God.

1 John 4:1-3  (NKJV) Beloved, do not believe every spirit, but test the spirits, whether they are of God; because many false prophets have gone out into the world. 2 By this you know the Spirit of God: Every spirit that confesses that Jesus Christ has come in the flesh is of God, 3 and every spirit that does not confess that Jesus Christ has come in the flesh is not of God. And this is the spirit of the Antichrist, which you have heard was coming, and is now already in the world.

When God the Son came to Earth He warned us. We must be always on guard for anyone that tries to say that Jesus Christ is not God the Son, the Second Person of the Trinity.

What was John talking about? Whether or not they confess that Jesus Christ is infinite, eternal God the son come in human flesh. Anybody who will not confess that does not believe or have the truth.

The Divine God-the-Son, the Lord Jesus Christ is the ONLY Way

To do that, John said to test for two things: confession of the Divine Lord (1 John 4:2–3) and commitment to the Divine Word (vv. 4–6).  All cults have the same pattern if you look at them. They attack the person of Christ and they postulate a substitute or addition to the Bible. Either they have their own revelation or they kind of change the Bible by adding theirs.

Nothing much has changed since the time of Christ. In Jesus’ day many thought He was a great teacher and still do. In fact the eastern religions—even Islam and all of them consider Christ to be a great teacher—He was like Confucius, Mohammed, Buddha—He was a great teacher but not God in human flesh.

The contrast of truth and error remains, so the confusion over who Jesus Christ truly was and is remains:

To some He was a great teacher (Eastern religions);

To some He was one of the prophets (Islam).

Some teach that He was the angel brother of Satan (Mormonism);

To some He was a lesser, created God (Jehovah’s Witnesses): He is not God but a little “g” god.

But He is none of those. The reason the major cults are cults is because they have defective doctrines of Christ. The Mormons, Jehovah’s Witnesses, or any of the Eastern religions say they believe in Christ but what kind of Christ? Certainly not the Christ of the Scriptures.

Remember how Paul so strongly warned us in 1 Timothy 4, to watch out for:

Demon Doctrines About Jesus

What is an example of “demon doctrines”? Demon doctrines come through false teachers who go against Christ’s deity, by subtle misrepresentation. For example, the Jesus of Mormonism is a created being, who is the spirit brother of Adam and Lucifer.

The heart of the demon doctrines of Mormonism is their doctrine that: Jesus was created by a god, who was created by another god.

God’s Word says that Jesus of Mormonism is not the true Jesus, but a false Jesus. But all around us we hear Mormons using our language, using our Bibles, and affirming that they believe in the Jesus that we believe in.

That should not surprise us. We have been taught from the beginning that false teachers would come, and instead of being surprised, we just test what they say against the Word of God.

It has always been Satan’s anti-christ-strategy to affirm the wrong Christ, the wrong Jesus, and thus to subtly deceive people, by redefining Jesus. It’s been very effective.

It is the spirit of antichrist then to give honor to a false Jesus. And that is deadly. It has found its way, amazingly, into evangelicalism. We are shocked by what people believe who call themselves Christians. But we must realize that they are under the sway of the great deceiver, Satan himself, and the spirit of antichrist that he projects into the world, when they are satisfied to believe in a false Jesus.

Look onward to 2 John, where we read earlier.

2 John 1:7-11 (NKJV) For many deceivers have gone out into the world who do not confess Jesus Christ as coming in the flesh. This is a deceiver and an antichrist. 8 Look to yourselves, that we do not lose those things we worked for, but that we may receive a full reward. 9 Whoever transgresses and does not abide in the doctrine of Christ does not have God. He who abides in the doctrine of Christ has both the Father and the Son. 10 If anyone comes to you and does not bring this doctrine, do not receive him into your house nor greet him; 11 for he who greets him shares in his evil deeds.

There are increasing movements in general Christianity to embrace the Mormons as fellow Christians. This has happened through the men’s movements (Promise Keepers) and all of our efforts to help our culture (Right to Life).

So if we are not careful, when we work side by side with these people, we share a common value—respect for life or for family; and we forget that though they use the same words: we do they don’t mean what we mean by the words.

Even here in Kalamazoo this Easter season, the Mormons are organizing a choir singing a Mormon musicale, written by a Mormon composer for use in Mormon services, but now  being sung in interfaith “Christian” event. Never forget that:

Mormonism is the Wrong Way to God

Mormonism[1] has an ascending hierarchy of numerous gods who are physical men, each a former sinner, each redeemed by one of many Jesus’ on different earths, and that “salvation” involves secret rituals which exalt Mormons to become gods ruling over their own earths, each with another Adam and Eve, another Satan and fall, another Jesus to die, etc.

But, Mormons seem to be good family people with conservative values; and they talk about God, Christ, salvation, resurrection, and eternal life. Do they mean what true born-again Christians mean when they use our terms?

Let me answer that question with you by an account of when John MacArthur, author of many books, Bible commentaries, and the MacArthur Study Bible, spent a full day with the two leaders of the Mormon theology: The Chairman of the Theology Department of BYU and the Associate Chairman.  They are the two Mormon gatekeepers of theology.

These two key Mormons sat in a room and told Dr. MacArthur[2] they believe in salvation by grace and salvation through faith and salvation in Christ.  Here was his reply at the end of the day and in a gracious way:

Are Mormons Christians? NO

The following is how John MacArthur explains what precipitated that answer as he taught a message at Tulsa Bible Church march 18, 1998 (this is from a transcription of that audio message):

The Mormon Church has seven presidents that are actually like seven apostles.  They make all the doctrinal decisions if it’s not in the Doctrine of Covenants, the Book of Mormon.  The two Mormon theologians came to spend a day with me under the authority and commission of the seven presidents of the Mormon Church to talk theology.

We sat in the room and they told me they believe in salvation by grace and salvation through faith and salvation in Christ; and they wanted to affirm the things we have in common.  Now there are some people who would say, “Wow!  It must be a revival in the Mormon Church.”

But when we got done with hours and hours of discussion, with these two very gracious men, who had been reading through, all four volumes of my commentary on Matthew, both volumes on Romans; and they’d read the Gospel According to Jesus, Faith Works, and the Sufficiency of Christ.

They were drawn to me because they never really understood the Bible like that; and they came because they wanted to know me personally and ask questions.  They said, “We want to affirm salvation by grace alone.  We want to affirm salvation by faith.  We want to affirm salvation is in Christ.”

The Three Key Questions

So after six hours of discussion with these men, at the end of the day and in a gracious way I said, “I want to ask you three questions”:

I said, “Can you tell me about your god.”  And they gave me a god who didn’t have three persons.  They’re Unitarian, so I said,  “Well, whatever it is we want to talk about regarding grace, faith and Christ, let’s just get it straight, we have a different God.”

And I said, “Can you tell me your Christology.”  And they said, “Jesus is created by God.  He’s a high order of created beings.” I said, “Now let’s make this clear, we have a different Christ.  And if anybody comes and preaches a different Christ, Galatians 1:7-8 says he’s cursed.”

Then I said, “If I wanted to get to the highest heaven, in other words, if I want salvation, what would I need to do?”  They said you would need to join the Mormon Church, you would need to evidence certain obediences, and you would need to be baptized with a certain kind of spirit-endowed baptism in the system.

I said, “Then let me get this clear, we have a different God, a different Christ, and a different Gospel.  Apart from those, we agree.”[3]

You see it’s not enough to say I believe in Jesus Christ, I believe in the grace of God, I believe in faith in Jesus Christ, I believe that He died. That belief must square with the meaning Scriptures give to those words. Beware of:

The Danger of Not Testing Doctrines Against God’s Word

Church history records a First Century cult group that used similar words to Christianity.  Mithras members would go up to each other on the streets of Rome and say, “I’ve been washed in the blood of the Son of God, I have been born again”.  Think of hearing those words.  Wouldn’t you just run up to them and say, “Wow, praise the Lord.”

But the problem is that if you took a moment and asked a few questions you’d find their God was Mithras. His blood was the blood of a bull. Being born again was part of a ceremony with real animal blood from a living bull, as you stood in a pit beneath that bull while it was sacrificed over your head. When you got out of that pit covered with blood you would say you were born again.

Are we talking about the same Christ, Son of God and New Birth? NO. But they used the same words; and that’s why it’s so important that believers believe:

The way of God: that only Jesus Christ is the door to Heaven.

The truth of God: how Christ Jesus, sin, Son of God, grace, faith, and conversion are defined in God’s Word.

Beware of Christian Words in Demon Doctrines

Winsome TV ads invite people to learn the teachings of Christ from the Mormons, who call themselves the Church of Jesus Christ of the Latter Day Saints. But is Mormonism really Christian? Mormonism has perverted true Christian teaching. Mormonism is really Pseudo-Christian false teachings from demons.

Mormonism is a Demon Doctrine because it teaches multiple gods.

The Book of Mormon says that you can become a god and you can have your own world. In fact our world was started by someone from another world who wanted to be a god and ascended up through the system and made it and they had their own planet. That is a total unchristian belief.

Jesus Himself said, “I and my Father are one” (John 10:30). God the Father and Jesus Christ are distinct Persons, they are not separate beings, or separate Gods. This is the clear teaching of Scripture: “Hear, O Israel: The Lord our God is one Lord” (Deut. 6:4).

Mormonism is a Demon Doctrine because it teaches the deification of the human soul.

This is in harmony with the Mormon notion that all believers are progressing toward godhood.

The Scriptures teach exactly the opposite—they say we were born according to our father the devil, the prince of the power of the air—we were following his way and that we were redeemed and given the righteousness of Jesus Christ and we partake of His righteousness.

Even in the Glory of Heaven, we will remain God’s creatures worshipping Him as God not as a fellow god. We will not attain a divinity of our own, or even share His deity. “I am the Lord,” He says. “That is My name: and My glory will I not give to another” (Isa. 42:8).

Mormonism is a Demon Doctrine because it teaches the possibility of salvation after death.

Mormonism is well known for the practice of baptizing people for the dead. Mormons believe that people who die without having heard the Mormon gospel will have an opportunity to hear and believe even after they die. Since baptism is viewed as essential to their salvation, the dead are baptized “by proxy”—that is, living Mormons stand in for the souls of people whom they know have died without being baptized in the Mormon church. But Scripture says the opposite. Turn to Hebrews 9:27.

Mormonism is a wrong road to God and their whole idea of the second chance is so categorically denied by the Scriptures. The Scriptures say that we can only get saved while we are alive and breathing and conscious on this planet. As Hebrews 9:27 says:

“It is appointed unto men once to die”: there goes all the New Age reincarnation notions—there is no second time around—no one has ever lived as someone else and come back;

“but after this the judgment”: No second chance. Death, and either awaking in the presence of Jesus Christ in His image, or immediate conscious punishment, awaiting judgment. That’s all that God allows for.

Mormonism is a Pseudo-Christian Cult

The Discipline of Truth: Guard the Only Gospel of Salvation from Demon Doctrines By Understanding that Salvation’s Narrow Path is Only the Real Lord Jesus Christ.

Rob Gardner is a composer and conductor. In addition to Saints and Pioneers, he has written and produced Joseph Smith, The Prophet; He is Jesus Christ and The Price of Freedom.

Rob Gardner has composed for film, television, studio recordings, and the concert stage. Among his works are four stage musicals: Blackbeard, The Price of Freedom, Twelve Princesses and Joan of Arc. Rob is also the author of several sacred oratorios, He is Jesus Christ, Joseph Smith the Prophet, Saints and Pioneers, and most recently, Lamb of God. He was also a member of and arranger for the bestselling 7-man a cappella group “Two Five Nine.” Among his other credits are several documentary films for which he contributed music. Rob graduated with a BS in Business from Brigham Young University and did graduate studies in film music composition at the University of Southern California in the prestigious Scoring for Motion Pictures and Television program. He is co-founder and president of Spire Music, a nonprofit organization dedicated to producing concerts and superior music recordings of a sacred and inspiring nature.

APPENDIX:

[1] Dave Hunt, Berean Call, May 2000.

[2] Transcribed from a sermon preached by John MacArthur at Tulsa Bible Church in March 18, 1998.

[3] Transcript of a message preached at Tulsa Bible Church Wednesday, March 18, 1998.

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