Report from LDS General Conference and Discussion on Justification

The Dividing Line Opens With Scripture and Program Introduction

2nd Timothy 2 15. Be diligent to present yourself approved to God a worker who does not need to be ashamed rightly. Dividing the word of truth. Alpha and Omega Ministries presents the dividing line radio broadcast.

The Apostle Peter commanded all Christians to be ready to give a defense for the hope that is within us yet to give this answer with gentleness and reverence. Your host is dr. James White director of Alpha and Omega Ministries and an elder at the Phoenix Reformed Baptist Church.

If you'd like to talk with dr. White you can call now by dialing 5 0 8 0 9 60 that's 5 0 8 0 9 60 and now with today's.

Topic. Here's James White. Well hello and welcome to the program today. My name is Sean Han. I am the vice president of Alpha and Omega Ministries and also I am a deacon at Sovereign Grace Bible Church which is located at 29th Avenue and Bethany Home Road and I am sitting in the chair of James White today unfortunately James White as I understand is somewhere off the coast of Florida on a large cruise ship teaching a crew of folks there how to share and defend their faith as some sort of apologetical cruise that sounds somewhat like a difficult task that we've sent him off on but James White has definitely got it rough.

And today while I'm here I it is my desire to discuss with you the biblical doctrine of justification and what I'd like to do as I teach is to do a little contrasting with the LDS doctrine of justification what do they believe about how an individual is made right before God and I would like to show you some of the differences between what they believe and what biblical Christianity has to say.

And before I begin today I would also like to check in with the president of Alpha and Omega Ministries who is Rich Pierce he is up in Salt Lake City with a group of our volunteers standing outside the gates of the Mormon temple there and he is on a payphone which is about probably about 20 feet from the main entrance and it is the time of year that we go up there it's called General Conference.

We go to the General Conference up there twice a year and I believe that this will be our 26th consecutive conference that we have attended as a ministry as Alpha and Omega Ministry we normally fly up for the day and we have anywhere from 5 to 12 folks that go up there and and we stand outside the gates and there is approximately 30 ,000 LDS folks that are coming there to listen to their prophets speak and we stand outside the gates we are the welcoming party and we're there not to pick a fight or we're there not to to make enemies but we are there to share the gospel of God's grace and with our friends and I do emphasize they indeed are friends but nonetheless they are our deceived friends so we are there in all humility in love reaching out wanting to share the truth of what the Bible has to say and so before I begin our lesson today on justification I'd like to go to Rich Pierce who is on a payphone.

Report From Salt Lake City During LDS General Conference

Rich are you there? Yes I'm here Sean how are you today. Very very good. How are you Rich? Everything's coming over loud and clear. Good yeah yeah right it's excellent.

I have to tell you we got out here this morning and because of all the changes that are going on in the in the facilities up here we really wondered what our situation was going to be. They have built on the property north of the temple property a very large if you will replacement for the tabernacle.

I guess the LDS youth are calling it the Meganackle and this facility could be compared to America West Arena quite easily and so it is definitely they're expecting to have it really increase I think the attendance at general conferences etc.

The major issue is we've heard some rumors about the North Temple the street of North Temple that is between this facility and the main temple grounds that there would be a walkway built underground underneath the street so as the for the Mormons not to be able to have to encounter us when they go across the street.

I was just up there at this point in time I don't see any evidence of something like that being under construction so that's good news. Main Street which is the east side of the temple property has been purchased from the city of Salt Lake from the from the city of Salt Lake by the Mormon Church and we looked over the fences there and there's a huge huge hole in the ground so they're going to be building a major facility there of some kind I don't know what there's no sign to really tell us what they're doing there so there's major changes facilities wise.

We're not able to go on the southeast gate anymore like we used to because that property it now belongs to the Mormon Church is not public property. When we got out here this morning Sean if you've been up here before you know that there is a gentleman who is a fundamentalist Mormon who is here every time we come up who is protesting the Mormon Church's if you will non-stand on abortion right Mormon Church just doesn't have something to say on the issue.

They feel it's political and this gentleman and some of his friends got excommunicated years ago for being outspoken on it they've become fundamentalist and so this guy has a picket sign here with an aborted baby on this picture of it etc and he's usually right here on the South Gate.

When we got here this morning he was actually across the street at the Crossroads Mall standing outside there and we're like what's going on and he says well we have to have a permit to be over there.

I'm like wait a minute something's real wrong here. Why do we have to have a permit and so in coming over and talking with the police we I was very concerned that we would even be able to track today maybe some new City Council law or something like that.

Well what it turns out there was a gentleman here who apparently availed himself of an old ordinance that's been around for some time that I guess groups can pick it with a permit and if another group comes along and wants to have picket well the first come first serve and the other groups have to stay 50 feet away from him and it turned out this gentleman was an atheist who has been living here in Salt Lake.

He is moving away and wanted to take a parting shot at the LDS Church so he had a picket sign and some interesting garb etc and in talking to the police it turns out that did not apply to us at all. And the interesting thing is as Sean as you know this other gentleman that is a fundamentalist Mormon oftentimes repels rather than attracts and quashes many good conversations or the potential for good conversations that we've had so this has turned out to be a blessing.

Because he had to be across the street all morning long we've had great conversations this morning that were lengthy. We got a lot of tracks out and.

It's been a very fruitful morning as it is and I take the weather is is very.

Good as well. I'd say we're in the upper 60s maybe low 70s. It's really a.

Beautiful day here it really is. I'll never forget the year it must have been. Two years ago we were there and we had the blizzard like conditions and the snow would actually pile up on our tracks and we have to dust them off as we shared the gospel with our Mormon friends.

So let me ask you this rich. It sounds like we might not be able to to track thereafter they get this building.

Completed. Well I think it's really a matter of strategy. I don't think we're shut out. The interesting thing is that we still have the the crosswalk between the temple building a crossroads mall and crossroads has a very large food court in there and so when it comes to time to eat folks flock over to crossroads and they get to go by us.

In the process in looking at North Temple and the situation up there it looks like they're building a large crosswalk and it's not underground so it's going to be above ground. At this point that seems to be the indication of the LDS folks will be able to park on property on the new property.

It'll be a parking garage underneath. But then the the old temple here in Salt Lake is the major attraction so they may go to the tabernacle up there the new Megan Apple and and listen to the speaking.

But then during breaks everybody's want to go to the visitor center and see the temple. So I believe they'll be coming across North Temple and it will probably be more active than it ever has been so and so that's that's I think going to be a blessing for us as well.

And then of course after they get a chance to look around the the temple grounds they're going to be hungry. So they're going to be going out the South Gates over to crossroads mall and I think that that's going to give us another opportunity to be able to interact with them.

Good let.

Me ask this how many people do you have with you up there today. We've got seven.

Including a young gentleman who is a new convert from Mormonism. He has done a tremendous amount of study and really knows what he believes. Well he joined us up here as well as a couple from Phoenix that has come up.

They went to our witnessing to Mormon seminar back in March and this is their first time. They're also former Mormons and this has been you know the regular crew myself Larry and gentlemen from San Diego.

Randy Churchill has been interviewed on the program before is all over here and so we've got seven or eight people. We've got a pastor from a Baptist Church up in Ogden Utah that has come down just to observe and and so this has been a very very good day for us here.

Excellent. What.

Is it like not having James White with you. I believe this is the very first time that dr. White has not been able to attend. It is it is the very first time.

And by the way I do want to correct a number for you I believe our 30th oh this is my 27th and it would be 28 if it weren't for when the year that I messed up everybody's tickets. We had eight people going on the airplane that morning and I only bought six tickets and so I opted to stay behind that particular trip as well as Mike Porter did.

You were atoning for your sins. There you go. And. And so I believe this would have been James's 30th trip. Hmm well too.

Bad. Well we'll have to make a t-shirt or something for the. For the event. That's quite a how many years. That's 14 15 years now. Yes yeah. I started my first.

General conference was the April conference in 1986. Hmm. So we've been doing this for some time and it's this trip in my opinion has been exceptionally fruitful. It really has been a blessing. So it sounds like you've.

Had some excellent opportunities to to challenge the Mormon people and to share the scriptures with them to tell them about the true Jesus Christ absolutely.

We had a conversation with a young lady this morning that went on my must to talk with her for two hours and it was one of those you know I persuade and persuade and persuade and you can tell she just doesn't want to let go of Joseph Smith being a true prophet or let go of the Mormon version of anything.

And yet I went to Colossians 1. I read that for her. She looked at it and then she called it a parable and that she couldn't understand it as a parable. And in in facing up with that a little bit more and in saying hey this is what it says this is not a parable is straightforward.

Teaching and really concentrating on that fact she began to acknowledge certain points as we were talking with her. And I can tell you know this is a gal. I have to look herself in the mirror and she knows in her heart of hearts what I was saying is truth.

And and what she has to deal with when she goes before a holy God. When if.

She dies today. Mm-hmm that's right. Well well. Rich I think I'll get back to the back to your critical time there and sharing. Appreciate the time Sean and.

Wish you providential blessings and have a great show. Lord bless you will pray.

That you have a safe trip home. Okay. Thank you. Thank you rich. Well one of the most crucial crucial differences between what biblical Christianity has to teach and what the LDF LDS Church teaches is in the area of salvation.

Justification as the Heart of the Gospel

And this is going to be our topic for discussion today. And I would say that at the heart of every false religion every single false religion is some form or variation of a personal works righteousness.

In other words every false system of belief requires that the individual the adherent to this system of religious activity that the person himself or herself perform necessary deeds or necessary works that they might merit or earn salvation if I use that language and by the way I need to mention to you that the phone number that we have at the beginning of the program I believe is incorrect.

And I want to give you a local phone number and also a toll free 602 -274 -1360. You may call in with any questions that you have that will be relevant to our topic today or at 1 -888 -550 -1360 so I'll give those numbers again a little later in the program.

But I do invite your calls if you have some questions or comments are relevant. I would be glad to put you on the air. But anyhow back to our topic the LDS faith itself is no stranger to this area or to this error of works righteousness.

For example in the Book of Mormon there's a book called second Nephi at 2523 it says. For we know that it is by grace that we are saved. And here's the kicker after all we can do so you say you can you could reverse this.

You say we must do everything we can do on and in and of ourselves. And then we are saved by grace. And we'll see also in the book of Moroni which is also in the Book of Mormon. Moroni 1032 says if and this is a conditional statement.

It says if ye shall deny yourselves of all ungodliness and love God with all your might mind and strength then here comes then is his grace sufficient for you. Moroni 1032. So you've got to do something you've got to deny yourself of all ungodliness not just some of it all of it.

You've got to love God with all your might with all your mind and with all your strength. And then and then alone according to Moroni 1032 then is his grace sufficient for you. And what sets biblical Christianity apart from the rest of the world religions.

And this is one of the crucial differences between biblical Christianity and everything else is a works righteousness that is not our own. It's not our own. As a Christian I'm not saved because of my own good works and because of my own alleged righteousness.

No I'm saved and redeemed on the basis of the works and righteousness of Jesus Christ alone. I've got nothing to claim on my own as a Christian. The only thing I have to claim the only thing that I can take credit for is my sin and my rebellion.

And this is the doc. This is exactly what the doctrine of justification is concerned about. You might ask. Well how important is this doctrine. How important is the doctrine of justification. Martin Luther the great reformer said that this particular doctrine is the doctrine by which the church stands or falls.

The question which the doctrine of justification attempts to answer is this question. And this is a question that every single individual I don't care what kind of a system or religion you're a part of.

But every single human being creature of God made in his image must ask this question. How can a sinful creature be right with a holy God. And you can rephrase the question to make it even more explicit.

You could say how is a sinful and spiritually dead creature man how is he able to be made right and to be accepted by an absolutely holy and just God. To drive the point home a little bit more clearly.

This is the question that we must answer in order to understand this doctrine of justification. Theologian by the name of James Buchanan said that the best preparation for the study of this doctrine is neither great intellectual inability or much scholastic learning but a conscience that's impressed with a sense of our actual condition as sinners in the sight of God.

This is what the scriptures would have us to believe. So what is justification. What does Paul mean when he talks about being justified by God. Well an excellent answer is given to us in the Westminster Shorter Catechism an old catechism from the 1600s from the 1640s.

Actually it says the justification is an act of God's free grace wherein he pardoneth all our sins and accepts us as righteous in his sight only for the righteousness of Christ imputed to us and received by faith alone.

I'm going to say it one more time. Justification is an act of God's free grace wherein he pardons all our sins and accepts us as righteous in his sight only for the righteousness of Christ imputed to us and received by faith alone.

That is a fantastic definition of what it means to be justified. And this is about we are going to unpack this for the rest of our lesson. So ultimately the act of justification it's a legal transaction.

It has to do with legal matters. It's a legal concern. It's directly related to the law and to the justice of God. As a matter of fact we would say that it's a legal concern of the utmost importance. R .C. Sproul says the doctrine of justification involves a legal matter of the highest magnitude.

It involves a matter of judgment before the supreme tribunal of God. Let me ask you friend is there a higher court than that of the courtroom of God. I don't think. So now in order to understand the doctrine of justification there is a word that we must thoroughly understand.

This one word is a biblical word and it's found throughout the pages of scripture both Old and New Testament. And it is a word that is called imputation. And there's a word that is translated from a Greek word called legitimate and it means to reckon to regard or to consider as or even to place into one's account this imputation.

And we see it in a verse. And if you have your Bibles today it might be handy if you could follow me along I'll be referring to some scriptures. We'll look them up and I'll point some things out to you.

But in Romans 4 3 Paul says that Abraham believed God and it was reckoned to him as righteousness. This is the word that is coming from the Greek word which is imputation. It was reckoned to him and I'm reading that's a new American Standard translation of that word.

It was reckoned to him as righteousness and the NIV would use the word it was credited to him as righteousness. The K the King James version says it was counted to him and the New King James says that it was accounted to him.

So this is the idea imputation has to do ultimately in a biblical sense with the transferal of one one person's sin or righteousness to another by way of reckoning crediting or declaring. The act of justification is declarative in nature and it's based it's based upon wholly upon the accomplished work of Jesus Christ.

We would say that our redemption is accomplished by the works of Christ. Plural the works of Christ is because he both obeyed and he died for us my son. And answering the catechism. There's a children's catechism I use with him in the evenings and I ask him what does it mean to be justified.

And he would give me the answer. Now he's only five. And this is made for children who would give me the answer that it is God regarding sinners as if we never sinned. And that is a very good answer for a child.

But there's much more to the doctrine of justification for adults that we must understand. So let's get into this. What does justification involve. Well the essence of justification consists of a complete change in our judicial relation to God.

It's it's our legal standing before God. Remember that God is holy and you and I are not. We are not holy and God is holy and God demands holiness to be in his presence. He demands perfection. So you and I as his creatures as his fallen creatures have two choices.

We can either be holy in and of ourselves. We can attempt to do the the works of the law and to clean ourselves up and to to try to do things to to become holy. Or we can stop and we can cease this activity.

And we can trust God for his imputed holiness. And this is what we're talking about. So the essence of justification again is includes two things. It includes both the pardon of our sin so the forgiveness of our sin and the acceptance of the sinner.

So there's two things pardon and acceptance if you will. And now the pardoning of our sin involves the imputation of our sin of your sin and my sin to Christ. See this is this this legal transaction legal transaction that takes place.

Your sin and my sin is imputed to Christ. And this is what is referred to. Sometimes you hear theologians mentioned the negative aspect of justification. It's negative. Not in that it's bad news. But it's negative because it's the removal of our sin.

And in the atonement Christ satisfies the demands of God's justice by suffering and dying in our room instead. And he receives in himself the penalty that's due our sin. He receives the curse that is due his people who fail to keep the law of God.

Isaiah 53 verses 5 and 6 says. But he was pierced through for our transgressions. He was crushed for our iniquities. The chastening for our well-being fell upon him and by his scourging we are healed.

All of us like sheep have gone astray. Each of us has turned to his own way. But the Lord has caused the iniquity of us all to fall on him. And this is what we call the vicarious or the substitution erry work of Christ.

It's from another. This is something that Christ does for us. Christ died in behalf of his people. The Greek preposition is who pair. He did. He died in behalf of his people. And this is seen in Romans 5 6 where Paul says.

While we were still helpless at the right time Christ died for. And that's that Greek word who pair. So he died in behalf of the ungodly. And just a note note on this word ungodly the Prophet the alleged prophet of the Mormon Church Joseph Smith did not like the fact that God loved the ungodly.

And for instance the passage in Romans 4 5 which just precedes the one I read to you Paul again says. But to him that worketh not but believeth on him that justifieth the ungodly. His faith is counted for righteousness.

So here we have Paul saying that it is God that justifies the ungodly. And now there's a translation that Joseph Smith did called the JST the Joseph Smith translation. It is allegedly an inspired translation that he did.

And he changed this verse and he put but believeth on him who justifieth not the ungodly. He inserted the word not to change the doctrine of justification. He did not like the fact that God would justify the ungodly.

And so the atonement involves again the judicial imputation of our sins to Christ as Isaiah 53 6 again says the Lord has caused the iniquity of us all to fall on him. This is an amazing truth. And I beg you if you are a believer today and if you're not I pray that you understand some of these things.

But if you stop to meditate on the fact that if you're a believer and that your sins that you deserve to be punished for and separated from God those sins the penalty all of that has been dealt with in Christ they've been imputed to him and they have been dealt with our sins are imputed to Christ.

And then he in turn propitiates the wrath of God. I'd love to get into that word but he propitiates or satisfies the wrath of God. He satisfies God's justice by dying for sinners. Well I think I'd like to take a break at this time.

The Pardon of Sin and the Imputation of Christ's Righteousness

Are we ready and and when we come back we'll announce our phone number again we'll continue with our lesson. Thank you and welcome again to our program. This is Sean Han. I'm sitting in for dr. James White today and we're discussing the biblical doctrine of justification which is actually at the heart of biblical Christianity.

This is the gospel. This is one of the most crucial important doctrines for the believer to understand. And unfortunately it's something that is overlooked and often neglected today in and by Christians and it's not preached often over most pulpits today.

And and something I would like to say I understand that dr. White is is currently writing a book on the doctrine of justification. Hopefully it'll be out in the next couple of months but it's going to be a very large in scholarly work 450 page approximately hard bound.

And when you go to the Christian bookstore if you were to ask the clerk there for a book on justification you probably would be disappointed to find that there probably are none maybe one or two at the most on the bookshelf.

And it is something that is neglected. And it's unfortunate because it is probably one of the single most important doctrines for the Christian to understand. So back to our study today we're talking about the essence of justification.

What justification involves. We said it involves two things both the pardoning of sin and the acceptance of the sinner. These are two different things we're discussing. We talked about the pardoning of sin and now the other side involves our acceptance.

This is what we would call the positive aspect of imputation. This is where God gives us or he imputes to us the righteousness of Christ. Our acceptance and admission into God's favor our adoption on our inheritance our title to eternal life.

All of these things rest upon the active obedience of Christ. Now what do we mean by Christ's active obedience. Well the active obedience of Christ consists of everything that Jesus Christ did in observing and fulfilling the law of God while he was here and while he was in human flesh in his life here.

Matthew 517 our Lord says do not think that I came to abolish the law or the prophets. I did not come to abolish but to fulfill. He came to fulfill the law of God. He says in John 15 10. I have kept my father's commandments because he obeyed and fulfilled the law of God.

We then are accepted and considered as righteous as the recipients of his righteousness. A sinner is not accepted on the grounds of a righteousness that's infused into us or that's inherent within ourselves.

In other words it's not a righteousness that is poured into our souls whereby we actually become righteous in our being or in our person. It rather it's a righteousness that is vicarious. In other words it's from another it's from outside of ourselves and it's imputed to us.

It's it's given to us legally. It's decal. We are declared righteous. Christ's righteousness is imputed to us. We're talking about his righteousness. This is what he obtained in fulfilling and obeying the law of God perfectly.

He never once lusted after. I can hardly bring myself to say these things. But he never once lusted after another woman. He never told a lie and ever send against his neighbor never coveted anything. He fulfilled the law of God perfectly.

And this righteousness again is given to us as a judge would pronounce or declare a verdict. It's not something that's infused into us but it's declarative in nature. And so the essence of our justification again involves both God imputing or legally transferring our sins to the sin bearer and therefore not counting them against us.

And simultaneously God imputing or we could say reckoning or accounting Christ's righteousness to us. And you see both of these for instance in Daniel 924 says. He will make atonement for iniquity. This is the the first half.

This is the pardoning of sin and he will bring in everlasting righteousness. This is our acceptance. This is the blessing of justification. So justification then is this legal term and it signifies acquittal before God or pardon if you will.

And the declaring of a person to be just or righteous or holy in his sight to be accepted. And now an important question when we study this is how is it that Christ's obedience is imputed to you. And I how do we get this will be.

How do we. How do we get this righteousness. Well it is through faith alone. This is the great maxim of the 16th century Reformation sola fide. We are saved or we are justified through faith alone. Ephesians 289 says it's for by grace are ye saved through faith.

There it is. And that not of yourselves it is the gift of God not of works lest any man should boast. And this is again is quite different from our the Mormon gospel as seen in the Book of Mormon and Moroni 1032 it says.

If you shall keep if you shall deny yourself of all ungodliness and love God with all your might mind and strength then is his grace sufficient for you. So again the Mormon gospel of salvation is completely antithetical to biblical Christianity.

If you're looking for a place by the way when you're witnessing to your Mormon friends and you want to go somewhere I I would recommend going here go to the doctrine of salvation or the doctrine of God or the doctrine of Christ.

These are the three areas that I always encourage people to to to work with. But anyhow Romans 323 says of for we maintain. Paul says that a man is justified by faith apart from works of the law. We're justified by faith or through faith.

Faith is the means of our justification. It's not the ground of our justification. Our faith is neither our faith rather nor any other obedience or evangelical obedience represents a ground or a merit for our justification.

You see if that were the case then our faith would be meriting and earning our acceptance before God. And that's not the gospel friends that's a works righteousness. In other words we're not justified on account of or on the ground of our faith.

We are declared legally righteous by faith or through faith. And I to help you understand this concept of Joel Beakey mentions that on every occasion faith is presented as the means of justification. Justification by faith alone is never justification on account of faith but always justification on account of Christ.

In other words on account of the blood satisfaction of the Lamb of God being graciously imputed to and received by an undeserving sinner. So ultimately the ground of our justification is Christ and his righteousness alone.

We're not justified because of what faith is. It's not some mysterious thing but it's because of what faith lays hold of and receives. This is the key here. We are not saved for believing but we are saved by believing in the application of justification.

Faith is not a builder but it's a beholder. And so faith is not some meritorious work that we do in order to earn the favor of God rather truth. Faith is rather a looking away from ourselves to another who merits salvation for us.

And so the reason why faith is so important is because it alone by itself is the sole means whereby you and I receive the alien righteousness of Christ. We receive the righteousness of Christ only by relying on him completely.

He's the object of our faith. Unfortunately today many Christians are too preoccupied with talking about faith and looking at their faith. Or rather I say the act of faith rather than faith's object. And this is a crime.

You hear Christians talk about faith like it's a some sort of a God or some sort of a being in and of itself rather than the object of faith we would we would say that we receive and enjoy the righteousness of Christ through faith alone which is the gift of God ultimately as Ephesians 2 5 says in Philippians 129 likewise says.

For to you it has been granted for Christ's sake to believe in him. So faith again is opposite from works. Faith is the total cessation of every single attempt to gain favor with God. And the LDS doctrine of salvation is opposed to this kind of teaching in the book which is part of their scripture.

In the Doctrine of Covenants section 1 at verse 32 it says. Nevertheless he that repents and that parts good he repents and does the commandments of the Lord shall be forgiven. So you see that doing the commandments this obedience is prerequisite for forgiveness.

You've got to work for it. You've got to do something to be forgiven. You've actually got to get out there and obey those commandments. A newly converted person exerts a God-given faith for the very first time which for the very first time trusts God alone for his righteousness as Romans 4 at verse 2 through 5 says.

For if Abraham was justified by works he has something to boast about but not before God. For what does the scripture say. And Abraham believed God and it was reckoned to him as righteousness. Now to the one who works his wage is not reckoned as favor but as what is due but to the one who does not work.

And this is what we're talking about. We're talking about through faith alone. It's not a work but believes in him who justifies the ungodly his faith is reckoned as righteousness. Another passage that shows this is Romans 10 verses 3 and 4.

For not knowing about God's righteousness. And this is talking about the scribes and the Pharisees and seeking to establish their own. You see they're seeking to establish their own righteousness. Works works works.

They did not subject themselves to the righteousness of God. And then in verse 4 it says. For Christ is the end of the law for righteousness to everyone who believes. So real saving faith involves two different things.

Well they're really together. Two things forsaking everything self has that self-righteousness self worth self-value self-trust etc etc. That's the first thing. And secondly trusting holy. That's w-h-o-l-l-y trusting holy in Christ.