June 1926
T H E K I N G ’ S B U S I N E S S
352
The following Mormon prophecy spoken in 1838 is a satisfactory proof/ of the unreliability of Mormon prophe cies: "There will not be an unbelieving Gentile upon this continent 50 years hence. And if they are not greatly scourged and overthrown ten years from this date (1838) then the Book of Mormon will have proved itself false.” Relation to Civil Government They teach that ‘jthe priesthood holds the power and right to give laws and commandments to individuals, churches, rulers, nations and the world, to appoint, ordain and estab lish constitutions and kingdoms; to appoint kings, presidents, governors or Judges.” This doctrine is antagonistic to all human government, and but for the politicians the Mormon church would never have been permitted to gain a foothold in the United States. It is like the claim of the Roman Catholic church— the priority of obedience to the church over obedience to the gov ernment. This makes its followers slaves to the ambition and lust and passion of sinful men. It is an abom inable teaching and hn insult to God and man (Rom. 13:1-7; 1 Tim. 2:1, 2; 1 Pet. 2:13, 14.) (T h e su g g e stio n s giv en a b ove are taken from a C orresp on d en ce co u rse on “ P erson a l and P ra ctica l Ch ristian W ork , by T . C. H orton , on e o f th e m an y cou rses offered b y the C orresp on den ce S ch ool o f the B ib le In stitu te o f L os A n geles. F u r th er In form ation co n ce rn in g t h e s e co u rse s w ill be ch e e rfu lly g iv e n b y the S ecreta ry, K eith L. B rook s, 536 So. H ope St., L os A n geles, C a lif.) (Next Month, “ New Thought.“ )
plan of salvation through the house of Israel is a failure, and the entire fab ric of Christianity without foundation. Polygamous marriage is necessary to the highest exaltation in heaven, which is becoming ‘gods.* Christ was a polygamist.’’ This last statement is so sacrile gious that it seems unnecessary to use time and space to contradict it. The United States government has pro hibited polygamy, and the Mormon church has professedly acquiesced, though many Mormons are still poly gamists. Texts which apply are (Matt. 19 :4 -8 ): "They twain shall be one flesh.’’ (Deut. 17:17; 1 Tim. 3 :2 ). Modern Miracles They teach that miracles are the credentials of every Christian and that the fact that the gift of miracles is possessed by every Mormon and not by others proves Mormonism to be the only true religion. A miracle is a manifestation of sup ernatural power. The only miracle workers are God and Satan. God could never accommodate Himself to a false system such as MormoniBm, and the only agent then left would be Satan. (Rev. 16:14; 2 Thess. 2:9-11.) We cannot deny that Satan might glad ly use Mormon prophets and professed prophets, but the only miracle which has been performed in the Mormon church to our knowledge 1 b that of making men and women believe the preposterous statements and lies in ) connection with their system.
“And by him nil that believe are Jaatl- fled from all thins* from which ye could not he Jnatlded by the law of M o m .” (Rom. 4:25; Oal. 1 :4 ). (2) They teach that salvation is only by obeying the ordinances of the Mormon church; not by faith. If this were true, then of course there could have been no salvation for any one for f&00 years. ThiB is equal to Mrs. Eddy’s claim. It is well in dealing with these errors to put up a question like this: "What do you suppose be came of all the people that lived pre vious to this revelation?” VYou will find that most of these people never think very deeply, and this may start them to thinking. The whole Bible gives the lie to this statement, for it is nothing if not a testimony to the necessity of salvation through a blood offering. (Eph. 2:8, 9; Titus 3:5, 6). (3) They teach that the doctrine of justification by faitli is evil. (Heb. 11:6; Rom. 1:17; Gal. 3:2; 5 :6 ). The Priesthood They teach that the priesthood pos sesses divine authority to act for God, and is answerable only to God. This statement has a measure of truth, insofar as every believer is a priest of God, but believers constitute a kingdom of priests, and there is but one High and Holy Priest and He is in the heavens. (Matt. 7:15, 20; 23: 8; Heb. 9 :24 ). Polygamy and Marriage Extracts from their teaching on this subject are as follows: “ If plural marriage be unlawful, then the whole
^ itk i i i i i i Ou tline Studies in the Ep istles o f John / T. C. Horton t h e f ir s t E p is t l e o f john Outline o f the Epistle: (1) Introduction (1 :1 -4 ). (2) God is Light: Fellowship .with God ip light (1:5 to 2:28). (3) God is Love. The sonship of the believer (2:29 to 3:24). (4 ) Source of Sonship: Possessed by the Spirit (4:1 to 5:12). (5) Conclusion. The law of love (5:13-21). Outline of Third Chapter: (1) Our Present Position and Glor ious Prospect, vs. 1-3. “Whosoever abldeth in him sinneth nott whosoever sinneth hath not seen him* neither known him. “ Little children, let no man deceive you i he that doeth righteousness is righteous even as he is righteous* “ He that commltteth sin Is of the devil | for the devil sinneth from the beginning. For this purpose the Son o f God was manifested, that he might destroy the works of the devil. “Whosoever Is born o f God doth not commit sin t for his seed remalneth in him i and he cannot sin, because he is born o f God. *«In this the children of God are mani fest, and the children of the devil | who soever doeth not righteousness Is not of God; neither he that loveth not his firother .9 RIGHTEOUSNESS: He that doeth righteousness, is righteous. Whoso doeth not righteousness, is not of God. Righteousness is the c a u s e of enmity. Three things are true of sin: (1) It is unruly. The argument here is: Christ is coming. The anticipation of that event (the impending event) is the inspiring, controlling motive in the life of the believer. Continuing in sin would ruin the hope of the Lord’s return.
(2) Our Purifying Hope, 4s. 4-10. (3) Our Peculiar Obligation, vs. I l ls . (4) Our Purpose and Practice, vs. 19-24. Having considered last month the first division of the third chapter, “ Our Present Position and Glorious Prospect, vs. 1-3,” we come now to (2) OUR PURIFYING HOPE, vs. 4- 10 . “Whosoever commltteth sin transffres- seth also the law ; for sftn is the trans gression of the law. “And ye know that he was manifested to take away our slnsi and in him is no sin*
(2 ) It is unlawful. We are com manded not to sin. The new nature rebels agalnBt sin (v. 9 ). Our Risen Head kept the law. He was sinless. The new nature in us (which is His nature), that which is "born of God” (v. 9 ), cannot sin; but the old nature which is still with us, can and does sin (1:8-10). (3) It is unnatural. Our allegiance is to Christ, the sinless One. The devil sinneth from the beginning (v. 8). But Jesus came to put away sin, to destroy it (v. 8). (Continued on next page)
The theme of our last lesson (vs. 1-3) was “ The wonder of God’s love, manifested to us, bestowing Upon us the title of ’children,’ and imparting to us a living hope.” The theme of vs. 4- 10 is “ The relation of sons to right eousness and to sin,” dealing as they do, with the practical outworking of the hope described in vs. 1-3. A sim ple outline of this section would be: SIN: Whoso is born of God, cannot sin. Whoso sinneth, hath not seen Him. Whoso sinneth is of the devil.
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