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| Submitted questions:: :::Many Christians think that Mormons believe Jesus was only a good man and a prophet. However, Mormon missionaries have told me that they believe He is the Savior. With the possibility that the Republican nominee for President could be a Mormon I see this a possible problem with many Baptist voters. Your thoughts! ~ Response ~ As I have talked to Mormon missionaries and local ward attenders, they have told me openly, and with excitement that Jesus is the Savior of the world. I wish I was sitting with one of them to help answer this question, because I do not want to misrepresent them in any way. In an attempt to be unbiased, I want to give the LDS (Mormon) definition of two key parts to this question: Jesus and Salvation. 1. Jesus is the firstborn spirit son of God. He is distinct in person, not one in the same as the Father. Jesus is our "elder brother" in God's family. 2. Salvation through Jesus is universal. Because of Jesus' death, everyone is saved, regardless of beliefs or life practices. Salvation primarily means "you will live eternally" (in one Mormonism's 3 levels of heaven). In Christian theology, Jesus is not separate from the Father. Jesus stated "I and the Father are one" (John 10:30) and made this type of statement numerous times (John 10:38, John 14:10, John 17:11, John 17:22). In fact, this is the reason the Jews wanted to crucify Jesus... because He claimed to be one with God the Father. Additionally, Christians believe that salvation is a gift of God that comes through faith and grace (John 3:16, Ephesians 2:8-9). Here are the major differences. Jesus, to Christians, is the One and Only Living God (John 1:18). To Mormons, Jesus is a God in the family line of the Heavenly Father. Jesus, to Christians, provides salvation (eternity in heaven) for those who by faith accept Him as God who lived on earth, died on the cross and was raised again to life. To Mormons, salvation is given to everyone (there essentially is no Hell) regardless of beliefs and how you spend eternity depends on the way you live on earth. So, the Jesus (and salvation) of Mormonism is completely different than the Jesus of Christianity. When asked about passages like Matthew 25:31-46, some Mormon missionaries will concede that Jesus and salvation are not the same for Christians and Mormons. Therefore, the Mormons do not believe that Jesus was just a prophet. They do believe that He is the Savior (the one who provides salvation). But when a Mormon says Jesus is the Savior, they mean something very different than a Christian who makes that same statement. ::: 2 Corinthians 5:14 says, "For Christ's love compels us, because we are convinced that one died for all, and therefore all died." Does this mean that everyone was crucified with Christ, only believers died with him, or really no one actually did? ~ Response ~ I think the best way to understand quotations like this one is to look at what the rest of the Bible (and specifically Paul's letters) have to say on this subject. It is important to understand Paul's perspective since he is the one who originally made this statement. In Romans (another book Paul wrote), this idea comes up a number of times. Romans 5:18-19 says the result of Jesus' death is "life for all men." Read in context it seems clear that this "all men" refers to people who believe in Jesus. Romans 6:3 moves even closer to the question when it says "all of us who were baptized into Christ Jesus were baptized into his death." Again, Paul is painting a picture of what happens in the life of believers. (The practice of baptism - or being "buried and raised" with Jesus - is an act of belief.) So, while I do not claim to understand this perfectly, it seems like 2 Corinthians 5:14 is referring to believers. The verse immediately after this one in question indicates that Paul is speaking about believers ... "And he died for all, that those who live should no longer live for themselves, but for him who died for them and was raised again." Finally, if you back up one chapter, to 2 Corinthians 4:11, Paul talks about this "dying" experience for believers. He says, "For we who are alive are always being given over to death for Jesus sake, so that his life may be revealed in our mortal body." Therefore, when you bring all of these things together, it seems that when Paul says "all died" he is more likely saying "all (of us [believers]) died" than "all (humanity) died". ::: Why does the Bible say that "an evil spirit from God" attacked King Saul in 1 Samuel 16:14? ~ Response ~ The Bible is very clear that evil does not originate with God (James 1:13-14, 1 John 1:5). The Bible also says that God is Sovereign (Psalm 83:18, Psalm 135:6, Daniel 4:35, 2 Peter 2:1). That means He reigns over everything...nothing happens in the world without His approval. In the book of Job, Satan had to get permission from God before attacking Job (Job 1:6-12). That seems to indicate that when an evil spirit attacks someone, it has gotten permission from God first. While God often protects people, if they continually refuse to come close to Him, He will eventually give them over to the evil desires of their hearts (Romans 1:21-24). So to the best of my understanding, 1 Samuel 16 is stating that God allowed an evil spirit to attack Saul, but it was not God who initiated the evil. While God cannot - because of His perfect purity - develop evil, He can take evil and manipulate it to accomplish His good purposes (think of Jesus' death). |
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