Are Mormons Christians?

Wow! That’s a thought-provoking question! The truth is that I, along with many Christian scholars, do not believe that Mormons are Christians and here’s why:

First, Mormons do not follow or believe that Jesus is God. We believe that Jesus is both man and God (John 1:1, 14) and that He is God’s only son (John 3:16). The Mormons believe that Jesus was created by the father (a separate being) and is a spirit brother to Lucifer (the devil).

Next, we believe there is only one God. He exists as three distinct personalities; the Father, the Son and the Holy Spirit but He is still ONE God. The Mormons believe there are many gods and that humans, by doing good works, can eventually become a god.

Finally, and most importantly, the Mormons believe you have to earn your salvation through good works or good deeds and by meeting church requirements. We believe that it is by grace that we’ve been saved, through faith. We don’t have to do anything to earn God’s grace (Ephesians 2:8-9, Romans 3:22-24). It is a gift given to us by God.

So, based on those three reasons, we believe that Mormons are not Christians.

Why did Eve listen to Satan and eat the forbidden fruit?

Wow! That’s an awesome question! There are actually two reasons and they kind of relate to each other. First, Eve was deceived by the serpent. That wily old snake came to Eve and confused her. He twisted God’s words (which, by the way, he does all the time with you and me) and made her question God.

Remember what he said to her? He first said, “Did God really say ‘You must not eat from any tree in the garden?’” So, he first got her to question God. Then he said, “You will not surely die!” Again, making her question what God said!

Then, Satan added, “For God knows that when you eat of it your eyes will be opened, and you will be like God, knowing good and evil.” Now here’s where it gets interesting. Satan first got Eve to question God, then he appealed to her pride. He told her she could be “like God.”

Did you know that pride is one of the sins God absolutely detests? In Proverbs 6:16-19, it lists seven things that are detestable to God and pride is listed first. That is because pride was the first sin ever committed, even before the creation of man. In fact, it was Lucifer (Satan) that committed the sin of pride when he wasn’t satisfied just being an angel and wanted to be “like God.” (Sound familiar?). His sin of pride also took a third of the angels with him.

So, Satan both deceived Eve and appealed to her pride, which caused her and Adam to eat the forbidden fruit. The result: sin entered mankind.

Now, if that were the end of the story, our lives would be hopeless! The Bible tells us that the wages of sin is death (Romans 6:23). But, God, in His infinite mercy and by unending grace gave us His One and Only Son, in the person of Jesus Christ, and it is through our acceptance of Jesus as our Lord and Savior that we are spared death and assured eternal life in Heaven. The key is that you have to accept that gift of grace. The beautiful part is, you don’t have to do anything to earn it! It’s His gift to you! Have you made that commitment yet? If you have, are you living out your faith every day?

If God knew that Satan would turn bad, why did he create him?

Wow, that is an awesome question! The truth is that no one knows why God does certain things. When God initially created Satan, Satan’s name was Lucifer and he was an archangel. In fact, he was the equivalent of God’s second-in-command. Lucifer was the most beautiful angel and he was given a lot of power. His job was to take care of God’s glory.

But, then Lucifer became prideful and thought he could do the job just as well as God could do it. So he tried to take over heaven. The problem was: Lucifer was a created being created by God! He only had the power and authority God gave him. God, on the other hand, has always been here and always will be here and He is all-powerful, all-knowing and ever-present. There was no way Lucifer could win.

I suppose God could have just destroyed Lucifer right then and there but, instead, he cast him down and, sadly, also threw one-third of the angels out of heaven that decided to align themselves with him. And ever since that time, Satan has been corrupting this earth and God’s people through sin.

God has allowed Satan to live and roam the Earth and let bad things to happen And, for the record, let me just say that God could take Satan out anytime that He chooses, if he wanted to, but that God has a greater unstoppable plan in store for us. In fact, I know God can take Satan out because, eventually, God does get rid of Satan by throwing him in the Lake of Fire.

The real question is why didn’t God do it yesterday or why doesn’t God just do it now??? I mean, if God had gotten rid of Satan yesterday, I wouldn’t be tempted the way I am today, right? The best way to get rid of temptation, it seems to me, is to get rid of the Great Tempter, right??? So, why doesn’t God do that?

Well, the Bible does not directly answer that question. But, here is a truth we do know: God sent His one and only Son to us and it is through His death on the cross that you are saved! And when you put your love, faith and trust in Jesus despite Satan’s lies, tricks and temptations, Jesus’ glory will shine through you and you will be able to overcome anything! “I can do all things through Christ Jesus who gives me strength.” (Philippians 4:13)

What would happen 2 da world if Satan turned [his heart] to God and became good??

Wow, that is a very interesting question! Do you realize that if there was no Satan, then there would be no evil or no temptation? If Satan became good again and became Lucifer, the archangel, there would be no wars, no hate, no jealously, no sin, period! That would be kind of cool, wouldn’t it?

What would we be like??? Would we be like robots just worshipping God without really understanding who God is? Would we know who Jesus is? Would there even be a Jesus??? I mean, if there was no sin, then there wouldn’t be a need for Jesus would there? Hmmm…

But, sadly, there is a Satan and he is a terrible, terrible being. He uses lies, doubt, distractions and evil to take our eyes off God. And, because there is a Satan, that’s why God sent us a Savior. God sent His one and only Son down to Earth to take all the sin of the world upon Him so that we wouldn’t die but that we could have eternal life with God in Heaven.

And, here’s sort of the weird part about this that kinda sounds kooky but it’s true: Satan exists so that we can have a personal relationship with God. Like I said earlier, if there was no Satan, we wouldn’t need Jesus and we’d all walk around like a bunch of robots not knowing God’s full greatness. But, because Satan shows us how weak we really are, we know we need Christ in our lives to overcome Satan’s attacks. And the only way to know Christ is to have a personal relationship with Him.

We need to accept Christ into our hearts and talk to Him every day through prayer and ask Him to help us from the evil one’s temptations. Remember when Jesus taught his disciple how to pray? It’s called the Lord’s Prayer and part of it, after acknowledging God and His greatness, is a request where we ask God to, “lead us not into temptation but deliver us from the evil one.” Jesus knew Satan’s power and knew that we couldn’t battle Satan without God’s help. It was so important that he included it in His prayer.

That tells me that, as tough as I think I am, I can’t do it without God’s help. I need God in my life. I need Jesus, who died for me on that cross, to save me from Satan. And, the best part is…He will! All you have to do is ask Him and trust in Him and believe that He died for your sins and the sins of the world.

If Satan is evil in Heaven and in the Bible it says there is no sin in Heaven, why did Satan sin then?

WOW!!! That is a very awesome question! And, to be quite honest with you, I don’t know the answer to that question and I don’t think anyone, other than Jesus, really knows. But, here’s what I do know to be true:

God absolutely hates sin. He cannot even be in its presence.
There is no sin in Heaven.
Satan was once God’s most perfect angel named Lucifer and he was cast out of Heaven because he sinned against God.
A third of the angels also sinned and were cast down to Earth with Satan.
Satan is also known as the “accuser of the brethren” because he gets to go to the Throne of God and point out the sinners to God but Jesus protects us by saying, No, Satan, you’re wrong, They are covered by my death.” (Job 1:6-12 and Revelation 12:7-9 tell some of the story!)

So, there are a lot of bible scholars who believe that there are different realms of Heaven and that when Lucifer sinned against God it was in one of the realms of Heaven but not Heaven itself. There are also some Bible scholars that believe the Throne of God isn’t in Heaven but just outside Heaven which would allow Satan to come close to Heaven without being able to get it to Heaven itself.

We have to remember that God is all-knowing, all-powerful and ever-present. He has an unstoppable plan for us and for Satan. Don’t forget…Satan is not God or the opposite of God. He is a created being just like you and me. God created Satan. Satan cannot create life, he is not all-knowing, he is not all-powerful and he cannot be in two places at once. Never, ever think that God and Satan are equal because they are not.

In fact, if God wanted to, He could make Satan disappear with just a thought. But, God has a plan for us all, including Satan, and God’s plan is perfect and unstoppable. We cannot ever imagine or begin to know why God does some of the things he does or allows some of the things he allows. We will never know, until we go to Heaven, why God allowed Satan to sin.

How does God know how we feel when we're guilty if Jesus never sinned?

Excellent question!!! In order to understand God’s awesome abilities we have to expand our own imagination and remember that God is not like us. One of the reasons we have difficulty understanding God’s power is because we try and humanize God. It’s easier to picture Him if we think of Him to be like us.

But, God is so much greater than us. God is omniscient, which means He knows everything, is aware of everything and understands everything. He has a complete knowledge and perception of all things.

Don’t forget, God created the Earth and the universe and everything in it, including you and me. You and I are created in God’s image so everything you and I are capable of doing or thinking or feeling, God is capable of except to a much greater degree.

The fact that Jesus never sinned doesn’t mean God doesn’t know what sin is or the guilt associated with sin. Not only does He know what sin is, He hates it! God can’t even be in the presence of sin because He is so holy and perfect. Even before Adam and Eve took that bite from the apple, sin existed. Do you know who committed the first sin and do you know what that sin was?

It was an angel named Lucifer. Lucifer wasn’t just an angel though. He was God’s second-in-command (so to speak) and he was the most beautiful angel and the most intelligent angel in Heaven and was given a lot of power. But, do you know what happened to that angel? Lucifer became prideful and felt he could do a better job than God. The sin of pride entered into Heaven. Lucifer tried to take over but he lost and was cast out of Heaven. He also took a third of the angels with him. You may know Lucifer by his other name…Satan. And those angels are his demons.

God knows when we sin, He knows how we feel when we sin and He knows the guilt associated with sin. But, here’s the great news. God can and will forgive all sin. Not only does He forgive, but once you truly repent, He also forgets it. He’ll never, ever hold it against you. It’s like it never happened. I guess what I’m trying to say is, if God can forgive and forget then there is no reason to hold onto guilt about committing that sin. And that is AWESOME!!!

What does Satan look like? If you have a picture, please add it.

I’ll bet you’re wondering if he looks evil or if he’s red with horns and a tail. Well, let’s look at who Satan is…or was… His name was Lucifer and he was God’s Annointed Cherub (or angel) and he was set apart for God’s divine purpose. He was described as a being “of perfect beauty.” He was covered in every precious stone and had pendants and jewels of gold. He was an expression of God’s own beauty and power. But, when he sinned and his nature changed, his physical appearance could have changed too. We really don’t know what he looks like now.

Did God make bad things or did the devil?

This is a complicated question - good one! Genesis chapter 1 tells us that God created the heavens, the earth and everything in it, and everything God created “was good” (See Genesis Chapter 1 verses 10,12,18,21, 25 & 31).

If everything God created was good then why are there bad things? Well, here's what happeened ... somewhere between the time of creaion and the time of Adam and Eve one of God’s most special angels, Lucifer, decided he wanted to be like God and began to disobey God (sin). As a result God threw Lucifer (who is the devil/Satan) out of heaven. Since that time Satan has been working against God anyway possible; by deceiving, destroying, betraying and disturbing all that he can in his fight against God (Isaiah 12:12-14, Ezekiel 28:12-17). It is originally through Satan that sin entered the world, and then Satan deceived Eve and Adam. From that point on the world that God created - that “was good” - was disturbed (Genesis 3). Ultimately, it is because of Satan and sin that there are bad things.