14 Do not be unequally yoked with unbelievers. For what partnership has righteousness with lawlessness? Or what fellowship has light with darkness? 15 What accord has Christ with Belial? Or what portion does a believer share with an unbeliever? II Corinthians 6:14-15 ESV
Yesterday Liberty University announced the speakers for their upcoming commencement ceremonies. Glenn Beck, a self-professing Mormon, has been announced as the headline speaker. Liberty’s website proclaims that they are the largest and fastest growing Christian Evangelical University in the world. Their Chancellor, Jerry Falwell Jr., states that, “Everything we do is designed to develop Christ-centered men and women with the values, knowledge and skills essential to impact tomorrow’s world.” Yet with this latest announcement, it seems as though the open invitation of someone who follows another gospel and believes in another Jesus than that of the Holy Bible, is in direct contrast to this statement. Beck, a national voice of political conservatives and champion of “Tea party” movements has not hidden his religious beliefs nor has he shied away from discussing his own conversion to Mormonism.
Mormonism, founded by Joseph Smith around the 1820’s, is a polytheistic (multiple gods, literally millions) religion that believes gods come from other gods. Smith’s foundation was upon his belief that an angel had given him a set of golden plates that only he could translate, resulting in the Book of Mormon (which Mormons ascribe the same authority as the Bible). This declaration goes against the warning of the Apostle Paul, “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.” Galatians 1:8 ESV Additionally Mormons do not hold to any major Christian doctrines concerning salvation, the person of God, or the person and work of Jesus Christ and ultimately deny the existence of the Trinity. This religion should be rejected as false by all those who call themselves children of God and absolutely no alliance with any followers of this religion should be accepted by Christians.
Despite this religion that is in direct opposition to the One True Living God, Liberty released the following statement regarding Beck, “Beck is one of the few courageous voices in the national media standing up for the principles upon which this nation was founded.” http://www.liberty.edu/index.cfm?PID=18495&MID=17949
This announcement is further evidence of the ongoing ecumenical shift taking place within the Church body. Alliances such as these are not glorifying to God, in that what association has God with false religions? The tangential dangers when the evangelical community unites with the secular world for the sake of social or political agendas are numerous because it leads to a dilution of truths from the Word of God, opens the door to give credence to non-believers within evangelical circles and ultimately leads to the eternal destruction of lost people. The passage from II Corinthians that I included above does not say, “Do not be unequally yoked with unbelievers, except for political or social unity.” No! There are no contingencies; there is no ecumenical loophole for agendas. The Apostle Paul is crystal clear, have no partnership with unbelievers. It’s for this same reason that many leaders in the evangelical community refused to sign the controversial Manhattan Declaration, because it too sought common ground among believers and non-believers for the cause of political unity. Liberty University, her administrators, and leaders have violated the Biblical mandate of spiritual purity for believers in Christ and as such they are called to repentance.
I am disgusted with people who claim to be “Christians” and who claim to be saved and redemmed and yet who condem to hell anyone who believes differently than they do. I find it amazing that so many so called “christians” don’t have anything better to do than to try and tell other people of other faiths what they believe and how they must live their lives, they are so far off the mark of what Jesus said his followers would be like that it is often times hard to tell the difference between the worldly and the “saved”. i would suggest that instead of tearing down others for what they live and believe that they should work to become more Christlike in their thoughts and deeds.
Bottom Line: Mormons are a threat because their leaders are not paid.
Bravo for this article! Has the Church lost all discernment in these matters? Very shocking indeed. I listen to Glenn Beck and share most of his political views but that is as far as it goes. Mormons are not Christians. If you don’t believe me, study the Bible then compare their teaching to what God’s Word says.
Apache, I think your frustration is evident, but adherence to the Word of God means that there truly is only One way to salvation and that is through Jesus Christ. Faith in Him, His death on the cross, His atonement for my sins, and His resurrection that I might have new life in Him is the only way to avoid hell. I don’t condemn anyone who doesn’t believe that, they’re condemned already. The words of Jesus ring so loud in John 3:18, “Whoever believes in Him is not condemned, but whoever does not believe is condemned already, because he has not believed in the name of the only Son of God.” The fact that Jesus claimed in John 14:6, “I am the Way, the Truth, and the Life. No one comes to the Father except through me,” is divisive. It is supposed to cause division as Jesus states in Matthew 10:34-35, “Do not think that I have come to bring peace to the earth. I have not come to bring peace, but a sword. For I have come to set a man against his father and daughter against her mother, and daughter-in-law against her mother-in-law.” The death on Jesus on the cross for the sins of all those is a stumbling block, it is foolishness to the natural man, but it is truth and all other ways will not see eternal life in heaven unless they repent of their sins and trust Christ as their Lord and Savior. In Him and Him alone. I really do pray that Glenn Beck is one of those who comes to repentence of his sins and trust in Christ as his Savior and leaves the mormon religion. He has an influential voice and I think he wants to believe in Christian ideals, but his religion has masked itself as truth and it has deceived a man that so many follow for his insight, intellect, and boldness. An “un-Christlike” behavior would be to sit back and allow someone to continue down a path of destruction without pointing them to truth and telling them the error of their way. I have nothing to gain from that, except that others might come to know the truth. So perhaps what you perceive as tearing down, is actually awakening a person to the realization that their way is a broad path that leads to destruction. Thank you for the comment, if you’d like to discuss anything more about Christ’s death on the cross and how faith in Him for forgiveness of your sins is the only true way, please let me know.
I agree Karen! So many in the Church today are willing to come along side any other religion that claims Christ, clearly showing that, as you say, discernment is so lacking today. As believers we need to wake up and seperate ourselves. Thank you so much for the comment!
Wow, thanks for the quote on Messenger and Advocate, I think. I thought your post, while in opposition to what I wrote was quite interesing. Please let me know if you’d like to discuss the differences between Mormonism and Christianity.
You seem to clearly ignore the first part of the verse. Do you know what “yoked” means? It means marriage. This entire verse is only referring to marriage. For if you were really to use that argument then how would Paul preach unto the Romans without associating with them? How would he have converted any of the Jews? How would anyone be converted if we are taught to fear and attack anything that is not the way that we view things?
I normally would not let an Anonymous comment through (why the anonymity?), but I think this is a good comment that addresses the many traditions imposed on interpreting the Bible. Who told you that yoked is strictly talking about marriage here? What in this passage would indicate that the Apostle Paul is talking about marriage? The problem is that the traditional application of this passage is in reference to marriage and there is certainly truth in that, but that is a narrow application and is not the intent of Paul’s argument. Yoked has the implication of a beast of burden, two of which were simultaneously joined together by “yokes”, the large wooden collars with two circular openings for each head of the plow team. The animals are not free to go in any direction they wish, but are under the direct guidance of the plow hand, or their master. To be “unequally yoked”, i.e. believer and unbeliever is to place oneself under the burden of the unbelievers master, i.e. Satan. This is why Paul expands his argument to next say “What accord has Christ with Belial?” Or what portion does a believer share with an unbeliever? What agreement has the temple of God with idols? For we are the temple of the living God; as God said, ‘I will make my dwelling among them and walk among them, and I will be their God, and they shall be my people. Therefore go out from their midst, and be separate from them, says the Lord, and touch no unclean thing….” It should be noted that this last verse (17) is cited from Isaiah 52:11 and is echoed in multiple passages including Revelation 18:4 “…come out of her, my people, lest you take part in her sins, lest you share in her plagues; for her sins are heaped high as heave, and God has remembered her inquities…” As I’ve mentioned, while I can see how the passage from Corinthians would also have a marriage application, it can’t be limited to that because of context and additional passages.
Contrast this with the statement made by Jesus Christ regarding His yoke, “Take my yoke upon you, and learn from me, for I am gentle and lowly in heart, and you will find rest for your souls. For my yoke is easy, and my burden is light.” The contrast cannot be clearer. Believers are to have no partnership with unbelievers. This may certainly include marriage, but again is not limited to that. In fact, it has much broader implications such as the pagan festivals that Paul may have been referring to, but certainly has application for us today. The ecumenical nature of modern evangelicalism is a direct affront to the passage that Paul outlines and I might add that the Apostle John speaks in similar tone in 2 John 10-11 “If anyone comes to you and does not bring this teaching, do not receive him into your house or give him any greeting, for whoever greets him takes part in his wicked works.” Today’s evangelicalism is seeking to become one faith and links arms with people across different faiths for various purposes, none of which involve proclamation of the Gospel and that is wrong.
To your next point regarding Paul preaching to the Romans, this is a contradiction to the meaning of each of these passages and certainly a glaring rejection of the Great Commission. Believers are called to “make disciples of all nations” and without argument we can agree that this includes evangelism of the lost, for “how can they hear if they have no preacher?” But there is a distinction that needs to be made between sharing the Gospel with an unbeliever and endorsing their particular beliefs. In this article, Liberty University did not take the opportunity to share the Gospel with an unbeliever, i.e. Mormon Glenn Beck, but instead gave him a platform to speak, which in this case is equal to an endorsement and receiving him as a brother, which as I’ve discussed at length he is not.
Finally, I may be mistaken, but I do not believe this article takes the perspective of fearing or attacking those with different beliefs and perhaps the ultimate shortcoming in this comment is in the statement, “not the way that we view things”, because it has nothing to do with the way I view things but what the Word of God says. As believers we are to explain, defend, and proclaim the Gospel albeit “speaking the truth in love.” Please note that I did not attack those with opposite beliefs, but I called to repentance those who make the same claim that I do of Christ as their Lord and Savior, which I am biblically obligated to do.
Thanks for the comment.
For the glory of His name,
John