Mormon Teaching Ravi Zacharias (Must See)

my question simply this I don't know if it's necessarily simple but is Mormonism the same as Christianity and why or why not yes no no I'm just kidding you know are you aware that I spoke at the Mormon Tabernacle a few years ago do you know that okay yeah boy did I ever take some heat for that they sent three one apostle and one professor and one of the men came to my office several years ago and they asked me if I would come and speak in the Mormon Tabernacle stunned you know I go to places where I figured I need the message the most so I do listen earnestly so I said why why are you asking me they said we believe that you'll have a message for us I said is any of angelical ever spoken there they said 104 years ago deal moody I said oh wow if he spoke there I could probably say okay so I said I said two conditions I get to speak pick the subject I get to bring the music so they said what will your subject be I said the exclusivity and sufficiency of Jesus Christ they said we'd have to ask the head apostle on that one whether there is that it and they said music I said I'd like to bring Michael card with me so then they miss it okay so I phone Michael card he said I'll drop everything I'm doing and I'm gonna come and Michael card sang we there Stacy you did yes Stacy used to be on our staff then she went the way of all flesh got married and we're trying to kidnap her and get her back to Atlanta now her mother's been heavily involved in putting all of this together by the way we there miss her so much but we had this moment Tabernacle and he sang here a song that he wrote from Peters encounter with Cornelius the words were I'm not supposed to be here you talk about 7,000 people listening to a song I'm not supposed to be here and he's talking about the gospel and if you want to listen to that message that I delivered we still have it and we get a lot of Mormon people writing in for it I compromise nothing on the message I haven't addressed and the uniqueness of the Trinity and their and their exclusivity and the completeness of the work of Christ and I'd spoke I think at Brigham Young and one of the universities did open forums there and so on just about a month ago the number three apostle flew back to Atlanta and they're talking to me about coming back to the universities and doing open forums so the first thing I say to you is I took a lot of heat for that I took a lot of flack and some of the radio programs are really going after me that's all right at this stage in my life I have to do what I believe God is calling me to do if I can take the message to hostile arenas in India and Pakistan and advertise so why am I not going to take it to place the disagree with me it's the I'm not just going to people who agree with there I go to people who disagree with me even more than that and it took a lot of flack because the Walter Martin's family had asked me to edit after he passed away the book the kingdom of the cult so my name is writ large on the top of that book and of course Mormonism is one of chapters in there but they knew I would be respectful but I would not be compromising but here's what I say to you classical historic Mormonism has to answer this question when the Christian uses the word cult Christian not generally speaking when the Christian uses the word cult a cult is generally defined as that which claims to be rooted in historic Christianity but has deviated or abandoned the finished work of Christ or compromised on his person that's the definition okay so in strict Christian terms yes Christ was not sufficient today if you talk to an average Mormon or on the table Issa no I follow Jesus Christ and then you bring all the other doctrines that I've added on and some of them get very uncomfortable with what it is the Adam God doctrine the celestial marriage the doctrine and the covenants the pearl of great price and all of these other additions that were brought in there I think that it is critical we understand that the that Jesus said we are complete in him and when you add or detract you can give yourself whatever name you want but your impugning the completed work of Christ on the cross okay so there are other titles that one can give to those faiths but it is not historic Christianity at that point now I think your question goes deeper and I want to be very careful and I may be hid out here badly does one vote for a candidate who belongs say to a faith other than the Christian faith everyone has to vote according to their conscience and what God is prompting them to do because it's a very privileged role that we are given in this nation my view of the philosophy of history and politics is this when you're choosing between leaders none of whom will give you the groundswell of the Christian faith on which their life is built which may not guarantee that they may be the best leader I either you know but if that's not there you have to go for a person who will help a nation provide the best moral soil on which the freedom to believe in disbelief can actually function it is on a moral soil that the freedom to believe actually works best and truth can ultimately triumph if you have an immoral soil created then the truth is evicted and you're not even given to the opportunity of voicing your ideas in the marketplace and in the public setting and in the arena the Christian faith ought to have a voice in the marketplace it ought to have a voice in the Academy it ought to have a voice in polity it ought to have a voice in business and any leader that'll create the moral soil to make it possible for us to continue to proclaim that that's the kind of leader we may have to ultimately work no matter what tag they put on them on the outside if you're choosing between those for whom the Christ is not supreme and salvation you have to choose one who will give you the best moral soil in order to allow you to live for Christ and live out your faith that's the implication of the answer that I have given the genome could I can I go back and add one footnote to the previous question and I think it's important I say this because these things are recorded in in theological terms and Christian terms what we define a cult is the way I have given it to a departure from the historic person in the work of Christ has been deemed cultic if it still lays claim to the historic work but as departed from it but to use it in a general sense in a general community in a general audience is not a wise way to do it you use that in a setting of theological debate and dialogue and discussion when the word is tossed around like that in a public setting because of all the issues we had with people like Jim Jones and others it brings baggage with the term that makes it much more than what a mere theological discussion would be so that's a term we leave for the classroom not for a public arena because it says much more than what I think one is intending to say with the statement law that we need to be wise and be mindful of the implications of a of a loosely used word it's a very technical word reserved for a theological discussion around the table or a lecture hall with that in mind we shall go back and I shall go and look at the mountains and you can continue to do what you're doing my brother I don't know Tyler or less which of you they're Stella thanks by the way for having me it's been great god bless you with some shining [Applause] [Music] you

Channel: Jason Burns

Views: 3,016,609

Rating: 4.7305293 out of 5

Keywords: Ravi Zacharias, Mormonism, mormon, teaching, cult

Id: RArBX64Xno8

Length: 8min 57sec (537 seconds)

Published: Sun Dec 16 2012