Growing Through 1 & 2 Peter

For this reason the gospel was preached also to those who are dead, that they might be judged according to men in the flesh, but live according to God in the spirit.--1 Peter 4:6

The Mormon interpretation of this verse teaches that an individual can receive his or her salvation even after they are dead. That's why living Mormons go to great lengths to ascertain the genealogy of their families. The Mormons gather in their temples to perform specific rituals on behalf of dead, non-believing relatives. This particular doctrine devised by the Latter Day Saints allows the dead relative to escape "spirit prison" and move on to one of three kingdoms in the Mormon heaven. 

For there has already been enough time spent in doing what the pagans choose to do: carrying on in unrestrained behavior, evil desires, drunkenness, orgies, carousing, and lawless idolatry. So they are surprised that you don't plunge with them into the same flood  of wild living--and they slander you. They will give an account to the One who stands ready to judge the living and the dead.--1 Peter 4:3-5

The context demonstrates that Peter first focused on the living, breathing evil people who were busy slandering his Jewish-Christian friends. Peter promised that these unrestrained, wild people would have an appointment with God's judgment (Hebrews 9:27). He went on to explain that those who had already died had had the truth preached to them when they were alive. So--Mormonism's doctrine of salvation for the dead that has provided millions of Mormons a false hope of salvation in the hereafter is heresy.

Earlier in his letter, Peter wrote: "[Jesus] also went and made a proclamation to the spirits in prison" (1 Peter 3:19). It is a struggle to determine exactly what's meant by this statement. Yet, it is clear that the text doesn't say that the spirits had an opportunity to accept the Christ's gospel and escape God's judgment. AND--the text clearly doesn't support the Mormon notion that someone can save a dead, unbelieving relative from sin by being baptized for that family member.

The right time to get right with God is right now!

For God says,“At just the right time, I heard you. On the day of salvation, I helped you.” Indeed, the “right time” is now. Today is the day of salvation.--2 Corinthians 6:2

Don't delay the decision to become a disciple of Jesus Christ! He is coming back. Are you ready for his return?

But you must not forget this one thing, dear friends: A day is like a thousand years to the Lord, and a thousand years is like a day. The Lord isn’t really being slow about his promise, as some people think. No, he is being patient for your sake. He does not want anyone to be destroyed, but wants everyone to repent.--2 Peter 3:8-9

Growing Through James

If you need wisdom, ask our generous God, and he will give it to you. He will not rebuke you for asking.--James 1:5

This verse is regularly cited by the Latter Day Saints to substantiate the practice of praying to God in order to validate the Book of Mormon and, subsequently, Mormonism. When a Mormon "elder" visits your doorstep, he will challenge you to pray about the Book of Mormon and "ask God if it's true." They offer the promise that you can have an inner assurance that the Book of Mormon is true if you simply pray to God about it. They call this assurance "the burning in the bosom."

The Mormon beliefs of presidential hopeful, Mitt Romney, has recently created quite a stir. The media's attention to his religious background has many people asking, "Is Mormonism true?"

No! Mormonism isn't true.

Mormonism contradicts the nature of God. 

• They believe in a plurality of gods and teach that "as man is, God once was; as God is, man may become." For Christians, Jesus is the self-existent creator of all things (Colossians 1:15-20). For Mormons, he is the spirit brother of Lucifer having been conceived through the Father's sexual intercourse with Mary.

Mormons are confused about the authority of Scripture.

• They don't believe that the Bible is the infallible revelation of God. Instead, the Book of Mormon is "the most correct of any book on earth, and the keystone of our religion."

Mormonism compromises the way of salvation.

• Instead of standing before God in a robe of righteousness given to us through the sacrifice of Jesus Christ (Romans 3:21-22), Mormons teach that they will appear before the Father dressed in an apron made of fig leaves holding good works in their hands--waiting for their appointed place in one of three heavens.

So, not to take anything away from Mr. Romney's political aspirations, but the doctrinal inclinations of Mormonism exclude it from rightly being called Christian. To know the truth, you don't need to experience a burning bosom--you need to experience Jesus Christ. After all, he claimed to be the only way!

Growing Through Hebrews

IS THERE SOMETHING MORE?

It's a common question—is this life all there is? Because even when life is going well, there's still a nagging void—one that can't be filled with possessions, people, or popularity. We sense that something, or someone, has called us to something more—to a journey of faith. The book of Hebrews emphasizes this faith-journey:

And so this is still a live promise. It wasn't canceled at the time of Joshua; otherwise, God wouldn't keep renewing the appointment for "today." The promise of "arrival" and "rest" is still there for God's people. God himself is at rest. And at the end of the journey we'll surely rest with God. So let's keep at it and eventually arrive at the place of rest, not drop out through some sort of disobedience.--Hebrews 4:8-11 (MSG)

As Christians, we faithfully "keep at it" in order to live a life that's pleasing to God. One day our faith-journey will come to an end and we will "eventually arrive at the place of rest." Nothing feels better than crawling into a warm, cozy bed after a long, hard day's work. So what will it feel like to enter God's rest after a hard life's work?


Jesus' followers will enjoy the realities and rewards of heaven. We will truly experience something more! Our lives in heaven will include rest and relaxation (Hebrews 4:1-11). I think it is hard to appreciate heaven as a place of rest because we have such a tough time finding rest now. Don't you think it's odd that throughout our lives we work hard to make time for rest? No wonder so many of us are asking, "Is there something more?"


If you're searching for something more, the best place to find it is in the body of Christ--the local church. All of us need a good community of explorers to assist us on our faith-journey. For those of you living in Fluvanna County/central Virginia, Lake Christian Church meets on Sundays at 10:30a--and we welcome all upward thinking travel companions who long for something more--who are looking for something better:

But they were looking for a better place, a heavenly homeland. That is why God is not ashamed to be called their God, for he has prepared a city for them.--Hebrews 11:16

In his book, Heaven, Randy Alcorn writes (p. 20):

To long for Christ is to long for Heaven, for that is where we will be with him. God's people are "longing for a better country" (Hebrews 11:16). We cannot set our eyes on Christ without setting our eyes on Heaven, and we cannot set our eyes on Heaven with setting our eyes on Christ. Still, it is not only Christ but "things above" we are to set our minds on.

Since you have been raised to new life with Christ, set your sights on the realities of heaven, where Christ sits in the place of honor at God’s right hand.--Colossians 3:1

Growing Through Titus

The effectiveness of Lake Christian Church isn't measured by what goes on at the worship service on Sunday morning, but by what goes on in the lives of the members throughout the week. Our faith is meant to impact every area of life! As it says in Titus 2:10, we "must show ourselves to be entirely trustworthy and good. Then they will make the teaching about God our Savior attractive in every way."

In the book God's Message for a Growing Church, the author challenges the complacent Christian by pointing out the fact that we live in a culture that expects the church of Christ to keep quiet about matters of faith. People in the world don't care if we get together on Sunday and talk about Jesus Christ. But they don't want our faith to permeate other areas of society:

• In the schoolhouse, educators say, "Morals are meant to be taught at home. Spiritual values can be taught in the church. But in the schools, we demand value-free instruction."
• In the White House, politicians say, "I'm personally against abortion, but I refuse to impose my personal values on my constituents. After all, people should be able to choose what they want."
• In the trading house, brokers say, "Don't try to mix business and ethics."
• In the courthouse, lawyers say, "It's legal to celebrate Christmas in the home, but a creche on public property violates the principle of the separation of church and state."

Even some Christians prefer it that way. Show up on Sunday for a sip of juice and a sermon--then do what you want the rest of the week. But is that all there is to being a believer?

We should live in this evil world with wisdom, righteousness, and devotion to God.--Titus 2:12

You're expected to devoted to Jesus Christ and make him the Lord of everything! Your faith is a new way of living! No area of your life should be untouched by Jesus Christ. The unbelievers of the world may not like it, but that's the truth.

Everything is pure to those whose hearts are pure. But nothing is pure to those who are corrupt and unbelieving, because their minds and consciences are corrupted.--Titus 1:15

Growing Through 2 Timothy

All Scripture is inspired by God and is profitable for teaching, for rebuking, for correcting, for training in righteousness, so that every man of God may be complete, equipped for every good work.--2 Timothy 3:16-17

What exactly does "inspired" mean? The Bible claims something very specific when it says it is inspired. When you pick up a Bible, you hold the actual words of God in your hands.

The Bible's Source Is God

This is the only instance in the entire Bible where the word translated "inspired" ever shows up. It means "God-breathed"--as if each and every word came directly from the mouth of God. Inspiration means the Bible--all of it--is God's word speaking to us.

The Bible Is Given Through Men

Even though the inspired word is really God's word, God used people to compose the Bible. Each writer used his own point of view to communicate God's word. The Lord used different people with their unique personalities, life experiences, and vocabularies to write the different books of the Bible.

The Bible Is True

One person asked, "Since people wrote the Bible and people can be wrong, does this mean parts of the Bible might be wrong?" In a word, no. Since the ultimate source of Scripture is God, then the Bible cannot be wrong.

The Bible, then, is all of what God wanted to reveal to us. It should teach us, guide us, correct our errors, and train us up to become men and women pleasing to God.