Brad Wilcox "the GOSPEL" examined

Reformed Ex-mormon

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Hi there, welcome to Reformed Ex Mormon, I'm Pastor Brayden. I hope you're having a wonderful and blessed day today.

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Today we're going to be examining a talk that was recently given on February 6th of 2022 by a gentleman named

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Brad Wilcox who is a BYU professor as well as the second counselor of the

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Young Men's Presidency for the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter -day Saints. And this this talk was given at a tri -stake fireside program in the

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Alpine, Utah area and in his hour -long message, which I encourage you to please go and watch, he talks about what the gospel is.

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Now, according to Galatians chapter 1, 8, and 9, it says this, that if we or an angel from heaven come to you and preach to you a gospel contrary to the one that you have yet received, let him be accursed.

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And then it says in verse 9, for if any man comes and preaches to you a gospel contrary to the one that you have yet received, let him be accursed.

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How are we to know if somebody is presenting to us a false gospel or not?

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The only way that we can know what the gospel is is by looking into the Word of God itself and seeing what

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God has defined the gospel as. And so if you are LDS, or even if you're not, and you're thinking about clicking away from this video,

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I would encourage you to please listen to this one Bible verse before you do so and compare these things to everybody and anybody that says that they know what the gospel is.

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The gospel message, in its shortest summation, is found in 1st Corinthians chapter 15, verses 1 through 4.

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And it says again in verses 1 through 4, it says, Now I make known to you, brethren, the gospel, which

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I preach to you, which also you receive and which also you stand, by which also you are saved.

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So I want to pause here very quickly and say that it's the gospel that saves, and Paul is defining that gospel.

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It then goes on to say, If you hold fast the word which I preach to you, unless you believed in vain.

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So we are saved by this gospel as long as we stand in it by faith. Otherwise, if we don't, we are not saved.

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Verse 3 and 4 then say this, For I deliver to you as a first importance what

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I also received, that Christ died for our sins, according to the scriptures, and that he was buried, and that he raised again on the third day, according to the scriptures.

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It is the death, burial, and resurrection of Jesus Christ, according to scriptures, that in its shortest summation of what the gospel is, that is it.

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And if anybody adds to it that which is not found in the word of God, or takes away from it that which is not in the word of God, they are to be accursed.

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And it doesn't matter what authority they claim to have. It doesn't matter if it's an angel from heaven.

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It doesn't matter if it's a pastor. It doesn't matter if it's a prophet, a supposed prophet. It doesn't matter if it's a man in a religion organization.

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If they present to you a false gospel, they are to be accursed. And so that is what we are looking at today, is looking and seeing what

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Brad Wilcox has said, that these are the six doctrines, the blessings of the gospel, only found in the

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LDS Church. And we're going to compare these things. And I would like you to please compare with me, compare myself against what the word of God is said as well.

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So this is what Brad Wilcox says the gospel is. He says that it is six doctrines that he has put into an acronym format, and that acronym is the gospel itself, gospel, the word gospel.

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And each one of those letters represent a different doctrine of the gospel. He says that G stands for Godhead.

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And he then says that the Godhead of the LDS Church is different than all other Christians, and to that I say absolutely, amen.

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That is why you are not a Christian, Brad Wilcox. He says and believes that Joseph Smith saw two separate beings in his first vision account, the father and the son.

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Where Jesus says in John chapter 10 verse 30, I and the father are one.

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And the Jews take up stones to stone him. And Jesus says, for which of the good works are you going to stone me?

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And the Jews say, not for a good work, but for blasphemy, and that you being a man have made yourself out to be

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God. The reason the Jews rejected Jesus Christ was not because they were hypocritical, was not because of their necessarily their sin, even though these things are all true.

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The foundation of why the Jews rejected Christ was because Christ claimed to be

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God. And they saw that as blasphemy. And if Jesus isn't

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God in flesh, then that would be blasphemy. And according to Isaiah chapter 43 through Isaiah 46, as well as many, many, many other places in both the

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Old and New Testament, it says that there is only one God, and there are none before him.

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There are none after him. He knows not any. There's only one God. And according to John 1 ,1 it says, in the beginning was the

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Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God. And then if you go to verse 14, it says that the Word became flesh and dwelt amongst us.

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Jesus Christ is fully God, the second person of the Trinity, dwelling amongst us.

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In fact, in Luke chapter 5 verses 17 and on, it says that there's this paralytic man that is lowered through this house, and Jesus says, your sins are forgiven you.

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And the Jews say, and they start reasoning amongst themselves, who is this man? Only God can forgive sins, and they are right.

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Instead of Jesus saying, I rebuke you, not only God can forgive sins, I, being separate being, can forgive sins, too.

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No, Jesus does not say that. Jesus knows and is aware of what they're saying.

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And he says to the paralytic man, get up and walk. Take home your bed.

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And what happens? The paralytic man rises from the ground, and it validates all the claims of Christ.

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And so likewise, in John chapter 8 verses 23 and 24, Jesus says, unless you believe I am, you shall die in your sins.

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And that word, I am, is the word that is used for God over 6 ,000 times in the

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Old Testament. Ego -emi. Christ proclaims to be the God of the

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Old Testament, the one and only God that there's none before nor after. He claims to be that one and only

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God, and if you do not have faith in that, ye will die in your sins. And when

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Jesus died, was buried, and in his resurrection, like when the paralytic man rose from the ground, it validated

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Jesus forgiving his sins, because God alone can forgive sins. Likewise, when Jesus rose from the grave, it validated all his claims.

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His claims of divinity. His claim of being God in flesh.

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So right there, looking at this, the Godhead is not found in 1

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Corinthians 15, 1 through 4. The way that Brad Wilcox defines what the Godhead is.

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Let's now look at the next doctrine point. He says that the O in this acronym of the gospel is for the only true church.

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The LDS Church claims that after the death of the apostles, all the way until the 1800s, when

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Joseph Smith received the authority of the church, that the church had fallen away in this great apostasy.

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Now this cannot be true, and that is because Christ does not lie.

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In Matthew chapter 16, verse 18, he says to this, Blessed are you, Peter, upon this rock

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I will build my church, and the gates of Hades shall not prevail against it.

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Now, who is the rock that is being spoken of in verse 18? I would encourage you to go look at Acts chapter 4, verse 11.

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It says that he was the stone which the builders rejected, and that stone became the very chief cornerstone, and that stone is

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Christ. And then in the next verse, there's no other name under heaven whereby a man must be saved other than Jesus Christ.

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Jesus is the rock that was rejected by the Jews and has become the foundation of the church.

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And because of that foundation, the church will never fall away. The gates of Hades shall never win.

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It shall never have dominion or power over it. It will not prevail over it.

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But as the way the LDS defined the great apostasy, it is clear to see that the gates of Hades prevailed against it, according to their definitions, thus making

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Jesus Christ a liar. Plus, I would encourage you to look and consider 1

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Corinthians chapter 12, verse 27. It says, now you are Christ's body and individually members of it.

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That's the definition of the church. It's not found in walls. It's not found under a roof.

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It's not found in a supposed authority from a figure that is at the, as a pastor or teacher or prophet or seer.

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It's not that which is the church. The church is those that have faith in the gospel, the death, burial, and resurrection of Jesus Christ.

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It is they who the church are. The invisible church has never fallen away.

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There's always been those that profess faith in the Jesus Christ of the Bible, thus fulfilling

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Christ's prophecy there in Matthew chapter 16. So there is the second way that Brad has preached a false gospel, according to 1

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Corinthians 15, 1 through 4. He then would say that the S of that doctrine is the spirit.

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And he says, what do they feel, speaking of those that are not part of the church of Jesus Christ of Latter -day

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Saints? He says that everybody has the spirit, but not everyone is indwelt by it, and that the spirit reveals truth through feelings, and it is through feelings that brings guidance into our life.

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I would encourage you, please turn with me to Jeremiah chapter 17, verse 9. Jeremiah chapter 17, verse 9, says this,

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The heart is more deceitful than all else, and is desperately sick, wicked.

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Who can understand it? As a pastor and as a Christian, I would never encourage someone to follow their heart.

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For the heart is desperately wicked, and no man can trust it. Listen to me.

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Truth is independent of feelings. Two plus two is always four.

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No matter how much you feel or want it to be five, it always is four.

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It doesn't matter how much you think and want it to be three.

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Two plus two is four. That is truth. Truth does not change by my feelings.

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Truth is not subject to my feelings. Truth is independent of how one feels about it.

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Truth can be accompanied by feelings. We can have love towards God in a truthful manner.

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We can have these emotions towards God in a truthful manner. But that does not deny the truth thereof.

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I would never encourage somebody to follow their heart. I would encourage somebody to follow Jesus Christ, who says in John 14,

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I am the way, the truth, and the life. No man can come to the

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Father except through me. He kept on arguing from this this place of emotion rather than scripture.

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He only, from what I could recall from the video, he only made mention and reference of two Bible verses.

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And he never even told the place where you could find them in your own Bible. And he didn't even actually read it.

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He alluded to this hour -long conversation. He only made mention of two Bible verses.

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That should throw so many red alarms in your ears. It was filled with analogies.

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It was filled with emotion. It was filled with you not abandoning your feelings.

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The Bible tells us to not trust our heart. It is desperately wicked and that no man, including you and I, can trust it.

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That is the third way that I see this gospel that Brad Wilcox himself presents as being a false gospel.

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Let's look at P, according to him, the fourth doctrine. He says that P is priesthood authority.

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I'm going to turn and read Hebrews chapter 7, verse 24 through 27.

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It says this here in chapter 7. But he, on the other hand, because he abides forever, he holds his priesthood permanently.

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Hence, also, we, or he, is able to save forever those who draw near to God through him, since he always lives to make intercession for them.

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For it was fitting that we should have such a high priest, holy, innocent, undefiled, separate from sinners, and exalted above the heavens, who does not need daily like those high priests to offer up sacrifices first for his own sins and then for the sins of the people, because this he did once for all when he offered up himself.

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I would ask the person that's LDS that has this idea of what priests are in the Old Testament. Where are the priests today that are offering sacrifices in the places of the holies of holies?

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We don't see priests in the Old Testament performing marriage ceremonies behind the temple door.

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We do not see them performing baptism for the dead behind the temple door. These are lies that are being told from the

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Church of Jesus Christ of Latter -day Saints about which is the priesthood authority. What were the priests for in the

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Old Testament? They made a sacrifice of a perfect lamb.

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And here in Hebrews chapter 7, it tells us that Christ is our high priest who has offered himself.

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Those things were mere shadows of the reality of who Christ is. He is our great high priest.

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He is there today interceding for us continually. He has made intercession for us in his death burial and resurrection that he offered himself being our high priest and our lamb.

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Revelation chapter 1 verse 6 says this, and he has made us to be a kingdom priest to his

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God and Father to him be the glory and dominion forever and ever. From the day that Christ died was buried and rose again.

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He made us to be a kingdom. Those that prophesied prophesied that gospel message to be a kingdom and to be priests.

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And what are these priests to be? We are to be a part of his kingdom, that invisible body whose service unto each other and others and neighbors and we are doing so for service to God.

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That is what priests are in the New Testament. It is the believers of God that God has made to be priests.

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And we look unto our high priest who is after the order of Melchizedek who not only himself was a high priest, but was himself the sacrifice.

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That is the fourth reason that Brad Wilcox brings up a false gospel.

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As he would say that the priesthood authority had been lost for roughly 1700 years between the death of the apostles and Joseph Smith.

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And here in Revelation 1 -6, it says that we are to be priests forever and ever.

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The authority of Christ has never departed this earth. Christ is ruling and reigning over it today.

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And the gates of Hades shall not prevail against it. What is the fifth thing that Brad says is a doctrine of the gospel?

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He says everyone, E is for everyone, is invited. He would then say and quote words that Jesus Christ himself never said.

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He said Jesus says to get baptized or you're not going to heaven. Jesus has never said these words.

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Jesus says repent and believe in the gospel. Your sins are forgiven you.

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Those are the words of Christ. Come unto me. I am the way the truth and the life.

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He never commands us to be baptized in order to be saved.

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But he says to the thief on the cross next to him today, you will surely be with me in paradise.

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Christ forgives sins and that is the way we are saved. And that is an offer made unto all men to turn from our wicked ways unto the cross of Calvary and see the sin that we were committing being laid upon the lamb and having the wrath of God being poured about on him.

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There is no second chance that if you do not repent and believe in that gospel, you will one day suffer the wrath of God in judgment and torment.

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And suffer the second death according to Revelation chapter 20, you will suffer these things.

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There is no such thing as a second chance theology that the LDS church is teaching. They are talking about with this e -doctrine of the gospel that the church of Jesus Christ of Latter -day

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Saints invites everyone according to Brad that they invite everyone those living and those that have passed away.

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Your works do not justify you. Nor do your works justify anyone else.

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Romans 3 chapter 28 says, for we maintain that a man is justified through faith apart from good works, apart from good works.

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It is through faith in Jesus Christ and that gospel message alone that we are saved.

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This is the fifth way that Brad Wilcox fails at describing the gospel found in first Corinthians 15, 1 through 4.

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He then says for the final point L that the gospel

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L is for living prophets. Where at in first Corinthians 15, 1 through 4 does it ever mention that one has to believe in living prophets in order to be saved?

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It does not say those things. In fact, turn with me if you're still in the book of Hebrews to Hebrews chapter 1.

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Hebrews chapter 1. Hebrews 1 verses 1 through 2 say this,

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God after he spoke long ago to the fathers and the prophets in many portions and in many ways in these last days has spoken to us in his son whom he appointed heir of all things through whom he also he made the world.

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Luke 16 16. I would turn there next. Luke 16 16.

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The law and the prophets were proclaimed until John. Since then the gospel of the kingdom of God is preached and everyone is forcing his way into it.

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The time of the prophets were until John the Baptist the final prophet the forerunner of Christ that which was in the bank of Jordan looking up and seeing

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Christ come to him saying behold the lamb of God who takes away the sins of the world that is the final prophet.

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And he has spoken to us in these last days through his son Jesus Christ who sits at the right hand of the father now in all dominion and glory and supremacy and has revealed sufficiently to us the means of salvation and that is through himself dying upon a cross.

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There are many things that we could discuss about why each one of these doctrines are wrong and against and contrary to that which we see in the gospel, but it is clear that according to Galatians 1 8 and 9 that if any man or angel is to preach to you a different gospel other than the one that you have yet received let him be accursed.

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I'm going to read from Galatians chapter 2. Galatians chapter 2 verse 16 says this

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Nevertheless knowing that a man is not justified by the works of the law but through faith in Christ Jesus Even we have believed in Christ Jesus that we may be justified by faith in Christ And not by the works of the law since by the works of the law shall no flesh be justified

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But if while seeking to be justified in Christ We ourselves have also been found sinners is

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Christ then a minister of sin may it never be for if I rebuild What I've once destroyed

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I prove myself to be a transgressor for through the law I died to the law that I might live to God I have been crucified with Christ And it is no longer

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I who live But Christ lives in me And the life which I now live in the flesh

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I live by faith in the son of God who loved me and delivered himself up for me

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I do not nullify the grace of God for if righteousness comes through the law then through the law then

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Christ died needlessly Whether you are a christian or a mormon

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A youth that sat through brad wilcox's speech or brad wilcox himself

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I call to you now to repent and believe in the gospel Abandon your good works as a means of justifying yourself as if you believe that that in any way saves you justifies you

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Or it makes you so you have salvation Then according to these scriptures christ died needlessly and you are to be accursed because you preach a false gospel

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Brad wilcox Your six doctrines That you proclaim is the message of the gospel that you taught before children

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Is heresy and is to be accursed I plead with you that you are a great sinner that have violated

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Great law And you are to turn and repent and believe in the gospel and be saved today

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And if you are a youth of the church of jesus christ of latter -day saints Jesus christ alone saves

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Run to him Come to him See your sin being laid upon his arms at the cross

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See the wounds that have pierced our savior See the wrath of god that has been poured about because of your sins

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And see that christ lives again That the grave does not hold him there any longer and that it has validated everything that he has said prior to it

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I want to read a bible verse that brad wilcox alluded to in the beginning of his speech

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It's found in matthew chapter 11 We'll read verses 28 matthew chapter 11 verses 28 through 30 say this

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Come to me All who are weary and heavy laden And I will give you rest

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Take my yoke upon you and learn from me For I am gentle and humble in heart and you shall find rest for your souls

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For my yoke is easy and my load is light It is christ alone that saves

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And if you hear a gospel message from a false teacher That teaches you that you have to do things in order to have salvation

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And adds to the gospel message of first corinthians 15 1 through 4 You do not have rest you do not have peace and it does not matter about any feelings you have that are associated with your beliefs

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Your salvation your eternal life today is dependent on who you place your faith in And if it is in anyone else other than the jesus christ of the word of god of the bible according to scriptures

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You have placed your faith in a false idol a false christ

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And you are deserving of the wrath of god Turn today and be saved

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Through the death burial and resurrection of jesus christ I hope that this video has blessed you as you examine the words of brad wilcox to scripture

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And do not take anything. I have said as truth today For jesus is the way the truth and the life

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And compare what I have said to his word And in there you shall find eternal life