The Baptist Version of The Book of Mormon Part 8: Faith
On to another central Protestant doctrine…
The Baptist Version of The Book of Mormon Part 7: Repentance
On to another central Protestant doctrine…
The Baptist Version of The Book of Mormon Part 6: The Lord Jesus Christ
“…And then shall they know their Redeemer, who is Jesus Christ, the Son of God…” –III Nephi 2:109
The Baptist Version of The Book of Mormon Part 5: Salvation
And now we turn our attention to one of the most central and cardinal Protestant doctrines of all…
The Baptist Version of The Book of Mormon Part 4: Plan of Salvation, Plan of Redemption
Here’s another Protestant theme…
The Baptist Version of The Book of Mormon Part 3: Born Again Experience
What I’m going to do for the remainder of this booklet is list various Protestant themes taken from Book of Mormon scriptures. If I seem a bit repetitious, it’s deliberate. I want you to get the full impact of the spirit of the wording. And my prayer is—may the Spirit of God bear witness to your spirit as you read.
The Baptist Version of The Book of Mormon Part 2: Its Central Theme
I’ll say it again. The central message of the Book of Mormon is—restoration of the covenants in these latter days! And that message is meant for all God’s children.
The Baptist Version of The Book of Mormon Part 1: Protestant Doctrines within the Book of Mormon
I’m a licensed Southern Baptist minister and I embrace the Book of Mormon.
That is, I believe the truths recorded in it. No, I’m not a convert to the Mormon faith, nor am I a member of any particular “spin-off” restoration group such as the RLDS (Reorganized Latter-day Saints), Hedrikites, or Strangites. I’m still a Baptist minister. To be exact, I’m “charismatic Baptist.” That is, I still embrace the “born again” experience. I still believe you’re saved by grace. By the shed blood of Christ. Salvation is by faith alone in His finished work on Calvary. I still believe in the Baptism in the Holy Spirit and the gifts of the Spirit. I believe and embrace those cardinal doctrines of Protestantism.
The Faith to Move Mountains and the Wisdom to Leave Them Be
“And Jesus said unto them, Because of your unbelief: for verily I say unto you, If ye have faith as a grain of mustard seed, ye shall say unto this mountain, Remove hence to yonder place; and it shall remove; and nothing shall be impossible unto you. Howbeit this kind goeth not out but by prayer and fasting.” -Matthew 17:20-21
Dear Brothers and Sisters, my mind is moved to write to you to address your great faith that you have in the Lord in a time when you will need it, and also to add a word of wisdom to that wellspring that you draw from. At this time, a great plague is moving across the land and the governments of every nation, kindred, tongue and people are in turmoil and confusion. At this time, we must remember what we have learned from the Gospel.
Baptism as a Part of Rebirth
“Therefore, come and be baptized unto repentance, that ye may be washed from your sins, that ye may have faith on the Lamb of God, who taketh away the sins of the world, who is mighty to save and to cleanse from all unrighteousness.” -Alma 5:25 RAV, 7:14b RAV
When Nicodemus came to Jesus to learn about salvation, he was told he would need to be born again (John 3:1-8). Baptism is a Sacrament offered to those that have covenanted with God to be His people. When we were born again we were washed clean and made members of God’s one true Heavenly church through this covenant. When moved by the Holy Spirit, we will wish to be baptized as a symbol of this covenant, thus it is called the baptismal covenant. As above, so below; as below, so above.
The Wide and Narrow Paths
“Enter ye in at the strait gate: for wide is the gate, and broad is the way, that leadeth to destruction, and many there be which go in thereat: because strait is the gate, and narrow is the way, which leadeth unto life, and few there be that find it.” -Matthew 7:13-14 KJV
With our conversations on grace and works, and in mitzvah and the sacraments, there is likely still some confusion. As human beings we tend to separate then regroup things. Yet God asks us to bring things together (see John 17). And so many ask themselves, how can we rely fully on grace if we do good works? How can we do good works if we rely on grace? And most importantly, if the path is that narrow, how can we know if we are truly saved? The answers are simple: we receive what we receive, do what we do and know what we believe is true because we are on the path of teshuvah. We know because we know.
Mitzvah and the Sacraments
“Nevertheless, the Lord God showeth us our weakness, that we may know that it is by his grace and his great condescensions unto the children of men that we have power to do these things.” -Jacob 3:8 RAV, 4:7 OPV
In Christianity there seems to be an ongoing battle between works and grace, salvation and exaltation, the Law and the fulfillment of that Law. Yet these are not opposites. The fulfillment of justice through mercy cannot be the opposite of judgment and justice as these forces, mercy and justice, are working in unity. Likewise, doing the works of God cannot be seen as evil as they are God’s works. The opposite of holy is the superficial, not the holy. We must therefore see not how to separate these two things of God, but how to unite them.