Born-Again
Perspective

JOHN BUNYAN

“Whatever contradicts the Word of God should be instantly resisted as diabolical.”

AUTHOR OF PILGRIM'S PROGRESS

LET’S START WITH THREE QUESTIONS

LET’S START WITH THREE QUESTIONS

  1. What does God say about His Word?
  2. What threats oppose God’s Word?
  3. How does God tell us to respond to those threats?

1. WHAT DOES GOD SAY ABOUT HIS WORD?

Valuable

The judgments of the LORD are true and righteous altogether. More to be desired are they than gold, yea, than much fine gold: sweeter also than honey and the honeycomb (Psalm 19:9–10).

1. WHAT DOES GOD SAY ABOUT HIS WORD?

Successful

So shall my word be that goes out from my mouth; it shall not return to me empty, but it shall accomplish that which I purpose, and shall succeed in the thing for which I sent it (Isaiah 55:11).

1. WHAT DOES GOD SAY ABOUT HIS WORD?

Authoritative

 

Scripture cannot be broken (John 10:35).

1. WHAT DOES GOD SAY ABOUT HIS WORD?

Before All

In the beginning was the Word (John 1:1).

1. WHAT DOES GOD SAY ABOUT HIS WORD?

Powerful to Sustain

He upholds the universe by the word of his power (Hebrews 1:3).

1. WHAT DOES GOD SAY ABOUT HIS WORD?

Powerful to Destroy

But by the same word the heavens and earth that now exist are stored up for fire, being kept until the day of judgment (2 Peter 3:7).

2. WHAT THREATS OPPOSE GOD’S WORD?

Rejection

Did God actually say… (Genesis 3:1)?

2. WHAT THREATS OPPOSE GOD’S WORD?

Invalidation

Making void the word of God by your tradition… (Mark 7:13) 

2. WHAT THREATS OPPOSE GOD’S WORD?

Addition/Subtraction

I warn everyone who hears the words of the prophecy of this book: if anyone adds to them, God will add to him the plagues described in this book, and if anyone takes away from the words of the prophecy of this book, God will take away his share in the tree of life (Revelation 22:18–19).

2. WHAT THREATS OPPOSE GOD’S WORD?

Lying Prophets

And the LORD said to me: “The prophets are prophesying lies in my name. I did not send them, nor did I command them or speak to them. They are prophesying to you a lying vision, worthless divination, and the deceit of their own minds” (Jeremiah 14:14).

2. WHAT THREATS OPPOSE GOD’S WORD?

False Prophets

Beware of false prophets, who come to you in sheep’s clothing but inwardly are ravenous wolves (Matthew 7:15).

3. HOW DOES GOD TELL US TO RESPOND?

Think

The simple believe everything, but the prudent gives thought to his steps (Proverbs 14:15).

3. HOW DOES GOD TELL US TO RESPOND?

Test

Beloved, do not believe every spirit, but test the spirits to see whether they are from God, for many false prophets have gone out into the world (1 John 4:1).

3. HOW DOES GOD TELL US TO RESPOND?

Refute

He must hold firm to the trustworthy word as taught, so that he may be able to give instruction in sound doctrine and also to rebuke those who contradict it (Titus 1:9).

WHAT ARE THE TESTS
GOD HAS GIVEN US?

WHAT ARE THE TESTS GOD HAS GIVEN US?

  1. Conformity to previous revelation
  2. Accuracy of any prediction
  3. Character of the man

TEST #1: CONFORMITY

If a prophet or a dreamer of dreams arises among you and gives you a sign or a wonder, and the sign or wonder that he tells you comes to pass, and if he says, “Let us go after other gods,” which you have not known, “and let us serve them,” you shall not listen to the words of that prophet or that dreamer of dreams. For the LORD your God is testing you, to know whether you love the LORD your God with all your heart and with all your soul. You shall walk after the LORD your God and fear him and keep his commandments and obey his voice, and you shall serve him and hold fast to him. But that prophet or that dreamer of dreams shall be put to death, because he has taught rebellion against the LORD your God (Deuteronomy 13:1-5).

TEST #1: CONFORMITY

To the teaching and to the testimony! If they will not speak according to this word, it is because they have no dawn (Isaiah 8:20).

But even if we or an angel from heaven should preach to you
a gospel contrary to the one we preached to you, let him be accursed. As we have said before, so now I say again: If anyone is preaching to you a gospel contrary to the one you received, let him be accursed (Galatians 1:8).

TEST #2: ACCURACY

If you say in your heart, “How may we know the word that the LORD has not spoken?”—when a prophet speaks in the name of the LORD, if the word does not come to pass or come true, that is a word that the LORD has not spoken; the prophet has spoken it presumptuously. You need not be afraid of him (Deuteronomy 18:21–22).

As for the prophet who prophesies peace, when the word of that prophet comes to pass, then it will be known that the LORD has truly sent the prophet (Jeremiah 28:9).

TEST #3: CHARACTER

For certain people have crept in unnoticed who long ago were designated for this condemnation, ungodly people, who pervert the grace of our God into sensuality and deny our only Master and Lord, Jesus Christ (Jude 1:4).

But false prophets also arose among the people, just as there will be false teachers among you....And many will follow their sensuality, and because of them the way of truth will be blasphemed. And in their greed they will exploit you with false words (2 Peter 2:1-3).

Stop: Let’s REVIEW

Let’s REVIEW

  • God’s word is very special to God.
  • Some prophets, indeed, speak for God.
  • Some prophets say they speak for God but are lying.
  • How do we know if they’re telling the truth or lying?
  • God gives a three-question test:
  1. Do his/her words conform to existing biblical statements?
  2. Are his/her predictions of the future accurate?
  3. Does his/her character fit with New Testament qualifications?
  • Any failure = false prophet.

PROPHECY AND THE LDS CHURCH

President A. Theodore Tuttle. What Is a Living Prophet? Retrieved December 22, 2018 from https://www.lds.org/ensign/1973/07/what-is-a-living-prophet?lang=eng

KEY BELIEFS: NEEDED FOR SALVATION

Then has Christianity drifted all these years without communication from heaven? The denominations agree that there are no prophets among them, and they teach that neither prophets nor revelation are any longer needed. Rather, they say that the Bible—written in ages past—contains all that is necessary. Then does this constitute a departure from the age-old pattern of the Lord—that of presently guiding his people through living prophets?

PRESIDENT HAROLD B. LEE

STAND YE IN HOLY PLACES

KEY BELIEFS: BIBLICAL PATTERN

The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints. Joseph Smith. Retrieved December 22, 2018 from https://www.lds.org/topics/joseph-smith?lang=eng

KEY BELIEFS: JOSEPH SMITH, PROPHET

“If [Joseph Smith’s] claims to a God-given appointment be false, forming, as they do, the foundation of the Church in the last dispensation, the superstructure cannot be stable ....”

JAMES E. TALMAGE

ARTICLES OF FAITH

LDS CONCLUSION

FAIR ENOUGH—WHAT’S NEXT?

  • By all accounts, Joseph Smith claimed to be a prophet.

  • By all accounts, the LDS Church stands or falls on his claims.

  • Let’s obey God and put Joseph Smith to the 3-Question Test for all prophets:

    • Do his words conform to previous biblical statements?

    • Do his prophecies of the future prove accurate?

    • Does he meet New Testament character qualifications for leadership?

TEST #1: CONFORMITY

Joseph Smith says: “God himself was once as we are now, and is an exalted man, and sits enthroned in yonder heavens! That is the great secret. If the veil were rent today, and the great God who holds this world in its orbit, and who upholds all worlds and all things by His power, was to make himself visible—I say, if you were to see him today, you would see him like a man in form—like yourselves in all the person, image, and very form as a man” (King Follet Discourse, April 7, 1844).

Jesus says: God is spirit… (John 4:24)

God says: God is not man… (Number 23:19)

TEST #1: CONFORMITY

Joseph Smith says: “For we labor diligently to write, to persuade our children, and also our brethren, to believe in Christ, and to be reconciled to God; for we know that it is by grace that we are saved, after all we can do” (2 Nephi 25:23).

Jesus says: Truly, truly, I say to you, whoever hears my word and believes him who sent me has eternal life. He does not come into judgment, but has passed from death to life (John 5:24).

God says: Everyone who calls on the name of the LORD (Yahweh) shall be saved (Joel 2:32).

TEST #1: CONFORMITY

Joseph Smith says: “Wherefore, thou seest that after the book hath gone forth through the hands of the great and abominable church, that there are many plain and precious things taken away from the book, which is the book of the Lamb of God” (1 Nephi 13:28).

Jesus says: Heaven and earth will pass away, but my words will not pass away (Matt 24:35; Mk 13:31; Lk 21:33).

God says: The grass withers, the flower fades, but the word of our God will stand forever (Isa 40:8; 1 Pet 1:25).

TEST #2: ACCURACY

  • Joseph Smith made several clear prophecies about future events.
  • Let’s read them.

The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints. Doctrine and Covenants 87. Retrieved January 4, 2019 from https://www.lds.org/scriptures/dc-testament/dc/87?lang=eng

D&C 87:1, 3

The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints. Doctrine and Covenants 87. Retrieved January 4, 2019 from https://www.lds.org/scriptures/dc-testament/dc/87?lang=eng

D&C 87:6

The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints. History of The Church, Volume 2. Retrieved December 22, 2018 from https://byustudies.byu.edu/content/volume-2-chapter-13

SPOKEN IN 1835

THE LORD IS COMING IN 56 YEARS

The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints. Doctrine and Covenants 84. Retrieved December 22, 2019 from https://www.lds.org/scriptures/dc-testament/dc/85?lang=eng

D&C 84:1–5

TEST #2: ACCURACY

  • Did Great Britain ever enter the American Civil War?
  • Did the Civil War extend to other nations?
  • Did the Civil War bring “a full end of all nations”?
  • Did Jesus return during or before 1891 (1835 + 56 years)?
  • Is there an LDS temple in Jackson County, MO, on the place of dedication?

TEST #3: CHARACTER

The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints. Plural Marriage in Kirkland and Nauvoo. Retrieved December 22, 2019 from https://www.lds.org/topics/plural-marriage-in-kirtland-and-nauvoo?lang=eng

TEST #3: CHARACTER

A Bishop then must be blameless, the husband of one wife…
(1 Timothy 3:2, KJV)

Appoint elders in every town as I directed you – if anyone is above reproach, the husband of one wife, and his children are believers and not open to the charge of debauchery or insubordination (Titus 1:5–6).

Let deacons each be the husband of one wife (1 Timothy 3:12)​.

CONCLUSION

  • Do Joseph Smith’s words conform to what the Bible previously taught?
  • Was Joseph Smith accurate? Did his prophecies come true?
  • Did Joseph Smith’s character harmonize with the Bible’s requirements for church leaders?

BUT WE NEED A LIVING PROPHET!

JESUS WAS A PROPHET

And [Jesus] said to them, “What is this conversation that you are holding with each other as you walk?” And they stood still, looking sad. Then one of them, named Cleopas, answered him, “Are you the only visitor to Jerusalem who does not know the things that have happened there in these days?” And he said to them, “What things?” And they said to him, “Concerning Jesus of Nazareth, a man who was a prophet mighty in deed and word before God and all the people” (Luke 24:17-19).

TEST #1: JESUS’S WORD ALWAYS CONFORMED

Do not think I have come to abolish the Law or the Prophets; I came not to abolish them but to fulfill them (Matthew 5:17).

Do you not believe that I am in the Father and the Father is in me? The words that I say to you I do not speak on my own authority, but the Father who dwells in me does his works (John 14:10).

TEST #2: JESUS’S WORD
ALWAYS PROVED ACCURATE

“For which is easier, to say, ‘Your sins are forgiven,’ or to say, ‘Rise and walk’? But that you may know that the Son of Man has authority on earth to forgive sins”—he then said to the paralytic —“Rise, pick up your bed and go home.” And he rose and went home (Matthew 9:5-7).

Then Jesus answered her, “O woman, great is your faith! Be it done for you as you desire.” And her daughter was healed instantly (Matthew 15:28).

TEST #3: JESUS’S CHARACTER WAS FLAWLESS

For we do not have a high priest who is unable to sympathize with our weaknesses, but one who in every respect has been tempted as we are, yet without sin (Hebrews 4:15).

He committed no sin, neither was deceit found in His mouth (1 Peter 2:22).

JESUS IS OUR LIVING PROPHET

But on the first day of the week, at early dawn, they went to the tomb, taking the spices they had prepared. And they found the stone rolled away from the tomb, but when they went in they did not find the body of the Lord Jesus. While they were perplexed about this, behold, two men stood by them in dazzling apparel. And as they were frightened and bowed their faces to the ground, the men said to them, “Why do you seek the living among the dead? He is not here, but has risen. Remember how he told you, while he was still in Galilee, that the Son of Man must be delivered into the hands of sinful men and be crucified and on the third day rise” (Luke 24:1-7).

JESUS IS OUR LIVING PROPHET

See that you do not refuse him [Jesus] who is speaking. For if they did not escape when they refused him who warned them on earth, much less will we escape if we reject him who warns from heaven (Hebrews 12:25).

THE KEY QUESTION: CAN YOU HAVE BOTH?

CAN YOU HAVE BOTH?

  • Born-again Christians already have the living Prophet.
  • Joseph Smith fails all three of God’s prophetic test points at multiple points.
  • No matter how sincerely we want both, we can’t have both Jesus and Joseph Smith. One or the other has to be chosen.

CONCLUSION

  • Where did we find all of our information about Joseph Smith’s prophecies and character?
  • What would the ramifications be for you if you chose Jesus over Joseph Smith?
  • If you’ve already chosen Jesus over Joseph Smith, what are ways you’ve had to re-think faith in Jesus?