Evangelism=Intolerance?
Long time no blog. My bad. I went on vacation with my fam. I’m back and I do solemnly vow to be a more consistent blogger…..
Lots happening! Perhaps you saw the TIMESNEWS editorial condemning Lighthouse for “picketing and leafleting the new Mormon Temple” and “impeding other’s free exercise of faith”. There have been so many rumors flying around about us that I’ve lost count….
-”Lighthouse has a $85k account that they are going to use to launch a protest against the Temple”
-”Lighthouse has secretly hired two bums to hand out anti-Mormon material” (no joke)
-”Lighthouse bashes Mormons”
Let me just say (after I quit chuckling) that none of these or the other rumors are true. The truth is we love Mormons….so much that we want them to come into a saving relationship with the real Jesus Christ! And I applaud and pray for those few Lighthouse brothers who have been down at the Temple humbly directing people to an awesome and very informative website <sacredorsecret.com>. We did not, however, organize this outreach. A few brothers felt led of the Lord to go reach out to those taking Temple tours.
So, the TIMESNEWS accused our church of being intolerant. So here’s the question: Is evangelism by default intolerance? That seems to be the implication. I suggest to you that Satan (very real being–not mythical, metaphorical, wearing red spandex or otherwise unreal), is attempting to ‘hamstring’ the Church by making whole groups of people off-limits to the gospel. “It’s intolerant” we’re constantly told. But I’m throwing my lot in with the Apostle Paul who said, “I’m not ashamed of the gospel for it is the power of God unto salvation to those who believe” and “Woe unto me if I preach not the gospel…”. (Rom.1/1Cor.9) And didn’t our Savior, Lord and Hero, Jesus Christ command us to “Preach the gospel to every creature”? (Mark 16:15)
Anyway, God bless you guys who are down at the Temple reaching out to the Mormons in love. I’m proud of you.
Below is our response to the TIMESNEWS editorial……
peace, pastor g
With all due respect to the Times News Editorial staff, to our knowledge no one from our church (Lighthouse) is picketing or opposing the existence of the new LDS Temple. We absolutely affirm the right of the LDS to build their Temple and worship as their faith dictates. Again, we are not opposed to the existence of the Temple or the rights of Mormons to worship there.
We do, however, see a vast difference between LDS doctrine and what the Bible actually says. The difference is so vast that the LDS ‘gospel’ is unrecognizable from the Bible’s gospel of grace. As a result, we must obey our Lord’s command to “proclaim the gospel to every creature” (Mark 16:15) and reach out in love to our Mormon neighbors. We don’t see this as “impeding others’ free exercise of faith,” as you suggested. It’s what Jesus did when He challenged the beliefs of the Samaritan woman (John 4). It’s what the Apostle Paul did when he spoke to the Greek philosophers on Mars Hill, challenging them to abandon their false religion in favor of worshipping the one true God (Acts 17). It’s what followers of Jesus have done since the day of Pentecost. It’s commonly called ‘evangelism’.
The truth is that God loves Mormons, Muslims, Hindus, Agnostics, Atheists and people of every nation, background and religion. He does not want anyone to perish (2 Peter 3:9). All the various religions of the world have essentially one thing in common: they teach a works-based salvation. That is, you must earn your way and do your part in order to reach heaven (or whatever the ultimate goal is). The Bible, however, reveals a gospel of grace. God accomplished everything necessary for us to be saved by becoming a man and dying for the sins of mankind upon the cross and then rising from the grave.
From the cross, Jesus cried, ‘It is finished!’ Therefore, when a person abandons their self-righteousness (i.e. religion) and puts their faith and trust in Jesus Christ, they enter into a completed work. Jesus was asked ‘What must we do to be doing the works of God?’ And He replied, ‘This is the work (singular) of God, believe on Him whom He has sent.’ (John 6:28-29)
Salvation is free. It cannot be earned. This is truly good news! The few folks from Lighthouse that have felt led to go down to the Temple and share with the gospel, do so out of obedience to Jesus’ commands and love for the precious Mormon people.
While we affirm the rights of Mormons to build a Temple and worship there, we also take to heart our Lord’s command to proclaim the gospel of grace.
In Christ’s love,
Greg Fadness, Ron Heath, Kevin Newbry, Dan Marks, Bryan Devore and Mike Littleton (The pastoral staff of Lighthouse)