I'm on the Highway to Hell: Introduction to Mormonism Series; Sermon 3

[Doc Thomas]

Minister Gerald A. “Doc” Thomas, Westside Baptist Church

 

Living easy, loving free; Season ticket on a one-way ride. Asking nothing, leave me be; Taking everything in my stride. Don't need reason, don't need rhyme; Ain't nothing I would rather do. Going down, party time; My friends are gonna be there too. I'm on the highway to hell. Despite all of the evidence for the existence of hell in the Bible, the Mormons don’t believe there is one. “For a fire is kindled in My anger, And shall burn to the lowest hell; It shall consume the earth with her increase, And set on fire the foundations of the mountains.”--Deuteronomy 32:22; “Let death seize them; Let them go down alive into hell, For wickedness is in their dwellings and among them.”--Psalm 55:15; “But he does not know that the dead are there, That her guests are in the depths of hell.”--Proverbs 9:18; “The way of life winds upward for the wise, That he may turn away from hell below” are just a few mentions of this place that they claim doesn't exist. Since unbelief is the greatest of all wickedness, we must address several things that the Mormons don’t believe in, insofar as the accuracy of the Bible is concerned. No hope, no peace, accusing consciences—that is a small slice of how the Bible pictures the state of all nonbelievers, including the Mormons. Is the way of life winding upward for you; are you wise?

 

Nevertheless, we have difficulty applying this to Mormons since they appear so happy and successful. Even when their unhappiness does surface, it is still difficult for us to be compassionate. Even then, they don’t act or look like victims. In reality, however, a large number of Mormons are hurting: people who are victims; people who are not intentionally deceptive but sincerely deceived; who are not arrogantly self-righteous but incredibly unhappy; who need not only our compassion but most importantly, our Savior. May we be led both to be compassionate to them and to reach out with the saving message of the true Gospel! “Finally, all of you be of one mind, having compassion for one another; love as brothers, be tenderhearted, be courteous; not returning evil for evil or reviling for reviling, but on the contrary blessing, knowing that you were called to this, that you may inherit a blessing.”--1 Peter 3:8-9. Can you have compassion for these people or is your pride more powerful than God's Word?

 

In Christ, we have hope. That’s very different in Mormonism. The Bible says: “So they said, “Believe on the Lord Jesus Christ, and you will be saved, you and your household.”--Acts 16:31. In “The Life and Teachings of Jesus & His Apostles” page 291 the following: “No man can be saved and exalted in the kingdom of God without the woman, and no woman can reach the perfection and exaltation in the kingdom of God alone.” Spencer W. Kimball quoted in “Doctrines and Covenants Student Manual” page 326: “No one! It matters not how righteous they may have been, how intelligent or how well trained they are. No one will enter this highest glory unless he enters into his covenant, and this means the new and everlasting covenant of marriage.” What is the highest glory? The bible speaks of heaven, earth, and under the earth; God WILL NOT share His glory. “I am the LORD, that is My name; And My glory I will not give to another, Nor My praise to carved images.”--Isaiah 42:8.

The above statement by Kimball is yet, another direct contradiction to the Bible on how to be saved and have everlasting life. It is written: Thomas said to Him, “Lord, we do not know where You are going, and how can we know the way?” Jesus said to him, “I am the way, the truth, and the life. No one comes to the Father except through Me. “If you had known Me, you would have known My Father also; and from now on you know Him and have seen Him” and all of us recite what John 3:16 states: “For God so loved the world that He gave His only begotten Son, that whoever believes in Him should not perish but have everlasting life.”

Now I would like to address the Mormon practice of baptism for the dead. Baptism for the dead is a non-biblical practice where a living person is baptized in lieu of a person that passed away. This is a means of making a public profession of faith for a person that was already deceased. We can, essentially, think of it as the practice of baptizing a dead person. Christians understand that when a live person is baptized, the baptism represents the death, burial, and resurrection of the Omniscient One. Let's look at this from Luke 16:18-31: “There was a certain rich man who was clothed in purple and fine linen and fared sumptuously every day. But there was a certain beggar named Lazarus, full of sores, who was laid at his gate, desiring to be fed with the crumbs which fell from the rich man’s table. Moreover the dogs came and licked his sores. So it was that the beggar died, and was carried by the angels to Abraham’s bosom. The rich man also died and was buried. And being in torments in Hades, he lifted up his eyes and saw Abraham afar off, and Lazarus in his bosom.

“Then he cried and said, ‘Father Abraham, have mercy on me, and send Lazarus that he may dip the tip of his finger in water and cool my tongue; for I am tormented in this flame. But Abraham said, ‘Son, remember that in your lifetime you received your good things, and likewise Lazarus evil things; but now he is comforted and you are tormented. And besides all this, between us and you there is a great gulf fixed, so that those who want to pass from here to you cannot, nor can those from there pass to us. “Then he said, ‘I beg you therefore, father, that you would send him to my father’s house, for I have five brothers, that he may testify to them, lest they also come to this place of torment.’ Abraham said to him, ‘They have Moses and the prophets; let them hear them.’ And he said, ‘No, father Abraham; but if one goes to them from the dead, they will repent.’ But he said to him, ‘If they do not hear Moses and the prophets, neither will they be persuaded though one rise from the dead.’” After reading this passage, what are they thinking when they baptize someone to save a dead person from eternal destruction?

The practice has as its basis, the misinterpretation of 1 Corinthians 15:29: “Otherwise, what will they do, those being baptized on behalf of the dead? If the dead are not at all raised, why indeed are they baptized on behalf of the dead?” This passage is difficult to interpret, but we do know by comparing it with the rest of Scripture, that it doesn't mean that a dead person can be saved by being baptized by someone else, because baptism isn't a requirement for salvation in the first place.

Ephesians 2:8 states: “For by grace you have been saved through faith, and that not of yourselves; it is the gift of God” God provides grace & faith; Romans 3:28 says: “Therefore we conclude that a man is justified by faith apart from the deeds of the law.”; Romans 4:3 reads "For what does the Scripture say? “Abraham believed God, and it was accounted to him for righteousness.”

The entire passage of 1 Corinthians 15:12-29 is about the surety of the resurrection, not about baptism for the dead therefore, once more, the Mormons got it wrong. Their favorite saying is: “I believe what is in the Bible as long as it is interpreted correctly.” Who are you going to believe, Joseph Smith or the Living word of God? The Bible says in Romans 3:4: “For what if some did not believe? Will their unbelief make the faithfulness of God without effect? Certainly not! Indeed, let God be true but every man a liar. As it is written: “ That You may be justified in Your words, And may overcome when You are judged.”

What was being baptized for the dead? Can the Mormons be the only ones that get this passage correct? It is a mysterious passage, and there have been more than thirty different attempts to interpret it. 1. The plain meaning of the Greek in verse 29 is that some people are being baptized on behalf of those who have died—and if there is no resurrection, why are they doing this? 2. Either Paul is referring to a pagan custom (notice he uses they, not "we"), or to a superstitious and unscriptural practice in the Corinthian church of vicarious baptism for believers who died before being baptized. 3. Either way, he certainly does not approve of the practice; he merely says that if there is no resurrection, why would the custom take place?

The Mormon practice of baptism for the dead is neither scriptural or sensible. Baptizing someone to save their loved one's life a pacifier for those who are ignorant and deceived by those they trust to tell them the truth. Manipulating to get money or power is so appalling especially when the ones that their lying to are hurting and need no more examples but need a Savior. These people need Jesus, the Christ to be the Lord of their lives. Baptism for the dead is a practice that was common in the pagan religions of Greece and is still practiced today by some cults; but it doesn't change a person's eternal destiny, for that is determined while he lives. Again, let's refer back to Luke 16:25-31: "But Abraham said, ‘Son, remember that in your lifetime you received your good things, and likewise Lazarus evil things; but now he is comforted and you are tormented. And besides all this, between us and you there is a great gulf fixed, so that those who want to pass from here to you cannot, nor can those from there pass to us.’ “Then he said, ‘I beg you therefore, father, that you would send him to my father’s house, for I have five brothers, that he may testify to them, lest they also come to this place of torment. Abraham said to him, ‘They have Moses and the prophets; let them hear them.’ And he said, ‘No, father Abraham; but if one goes to them from the dead, they will repent.’ But he said to him, ‘If they do not hear Moses and the prophets, neither will they be persuaded though one rise from the dead.’”

Paul answers this question very emphatically: "For we walk by faith, not by sight. We are confident, yes, well pleased rather to be absent from the body and to be present with the Lord. Therefore we make it our aim, whether present or absent, to be well pleasing to Him.”--2 Corinthians 5:7-9. If what Paul said is true, physically dead people's destiny is immediately known. If they weren't saved prior to their physical death hell, not one of the three glories, await them. Those who were redeemed by the blood of the Lamb, are looking directly into the eyes of their Maker upon their physical death.

Now, let's turn our attention to families are together forever in the celestial kingdom. That's what in the spotlight today. That's what they are highlighting in their advertising. But they do not mention that only gods can have eternal families. McConkie, quoted in “The Life and Teachings of Jesus & His Apostles, page 130, was as follows: “Marriage and the family unit are the central of the plan of progression and exaltation. All things center in and around the family unit in the eternal perspective. Exaltation consists in the continuation of the family unit in eternity. Those for whom the family unit continues have eternal life; all others have a lesser degree of salvation in the mansions that are prepared.”

Now, let's focus on the confrontation between Jesus and the Sadducees. Matthew 22:25-32 reads: “Now there were seven brothers among us. The first married and died, and having no children left his wife to his brother. So too the second and third, down to the seventh. After them all, the woman died. In the resurrection, therefore, of the seven, whose wife will she be? For they all had her." But Jesus answered them, "You are wrong, because you know neither the Scriptures nor the power of God. For in the resurrection they neither marry nor are given in marriage, but are like angels in heaven. And as for the resurrection of the dead, have you not read what was said to you by God: 'I am the God of Abraham, and the God of Isaac, and the God of Jacob'? He is not God of the dead, but of the living."

With this being said, what does it mean to have a lesser degree of salvation? Such statements help us see why Mormons value the family so highly. Because of this emphasis on the family, Mormons can easily give the impression that the family is more important than God and for many Mormons, family has taken the place of God. This violates God's Commandment: “I am the LORD your God, who brought you out of the land of Egypt, out of the house of bondage. “You shall have no other gods before Me.--Exodus 20:2-3 and “For thou shalt worship no other god: for the LORD, whose name is Jealous, is a jealous God.”--Exodus 34:14. Although we know that there will not be procreation in heaven, this is not the belief of the Mormons. Mormons believe that they will be able to procreate spirit children for all eternity. This ability to procreate spirit children is what is meant by “a continuation of the seeds for ever and ever” as explained in D&C 132:19.

As Jesus stated above: “For in the resurrection they neither marry nor are given in marriage, but are like angels in heaven.” Since this is a true statement, given by Christ, there can't any such thing as “eternal families,” I believe that we must believe what Christ said above. Paul said it this way: “Indeed, let God be true but every man a liar. As it is written:“ That You may be justified in Your words, And may overcome when You are judged.”--Romans 3:4. We must look at the credibility and character of the two camps; which one will you believe; Joseph, Brigham, Walter, etc....or the Living Word of God? I believe that stainless, sinless, undefiled Word of God; my Savior, My Rock of Salvation; my All-in-All; Jesus-the-Christ; God-the-Son!

I encourage each person here to look at the Mormons not as hopeless but one's with hope because Jesus came to save sinners; sinners like us and like them. We cannot look down our proverbial noses and make comments or thoughts like we're better. They want to gain godhood and procreate spirit children and have jurisdiction over worlds and those worlds will be peopled by their own offspring and have an endless eternity. What happens to the rest of the dead who aren't Mormons? We must remember that Jesus paid it all and He redeemed us with the price of His blood on Calvary's Cross with no help from us. When we all get to heaven, what a day of rejoicing there will be; when we all get to heaven, we will sing and shout the victory! Let's witness to and help bring the Mormons to repentance and watch our God work a miracle of hope in their lives also.

Let us pray: