Foolishness or Defense?

When your apart of a ministry such as Ephesians 2 you tend to get quite the reaction from LDS apologist.
One such apologist who's name is Victor messaged me asking why I refused to allow him into a group our ministry has on facebook.  This group is for Christians who support Ephesians 2 Ministry and to allow them to ask for prayer or advise with any and all situations (ministry related or not).  Now why would an LDS apologist want to be a part of this other than to cause issues?  I have stated from the very beginning that Ephesians 2 Ministry is not for those who are content being LDS regardless of facts presented to them.  As the old saying goes you can lead a horse to water you just can't make them drink.  He started out the conversation by saying...

"I find it amazing how a ministry founded to reach out the the "lost" actually avoids those they claim are lost.  Or, better yet, a ministry that merely targets those with weaknesses in their faith, all the while avoiding those who actually have a strong faith and an ability to respond to the claims of said ministries.  Since when did the Great Commission omit any person?"

Now don't get me wrong.  Reaching the lost is the ultimate goal for Ephesians 2.  Not only by those who are a part of our team but making sure all those we serve have the knowledge and understanding to do so.  However there is a difference in trying to reach those who are lost and engaging those who are only out to argue. 2 Timothy 2:23 "Again I say, don’t get involved in foolish, ignorant arguments that only start fights."

I often refer to their mindset as the "Red pill, Blue pill" argument. So you can understand what this means you can watch the video here. For someone such as Victor who has seen all the evidence against his faith and refuses to acknowledge the falsehoods and convince himself that facts don't exist is doing exactly what you hear in the video.  Believing what you want to, not what is real. Now after informing him I wasn't interested in getting into debates with him he commented saying...

"Not a debate, just biblical Christianity. Jesus Christ never missed an opportunity to teach those who were misguided."

Never missed an opportunity yes.  However he also knew when those around him were only looking to pick a fight as we see in Mark 14:61.  As you can see he is following the norm.  Seeing where the conversation was going to go I asked him no end the conversation and to not contact me further till he was done defending a lie.  He responds with..

""Faith comes by hearing and hearing comes by the Word of God." How shall the uninterested then hear if ministries, such as E2, only seeks out those with interest in hearing?"

Again he would be correct that faith comes by hearing.  A conversation like this would go nowhere with someone who not only isn't interested in hearing how their church is a fraud, but avidly defends it spite the facts. Now again don't misunderstand me.  Engaging LDS in conversation is vital if they are to realize what they've gotten themselves involved in.  However in the case of an apologist that will not be the case. He then attempts to defend his case by saying...

"How un-biblical you can be. Saul defended a lie, yet Jesus Christ sought him out on the road to Damascus.  He didn't say to Saul, "when you are done defending a lie feel free to look me up."

Thank you for comparing yourself to Saul defending a lie Victor, however you are trying to compare Saul conversing with Christians to Jesus encountering Saul.  I pray you yourself one day receive a similar vision and stop attacking God's Word. His intentions after this became even more clear as he spends just as much time attempting to correct the errors made in my responses done by my phones auto-correct feature.  This is why Ephesians 2 will never tolerate LDS apologist attempting their slight of hand on our facebook page or any other form of social media.  They will be quick to say we are trying to hide the truth while at the same time attempting to silence those who oppose their church.  When you engage someone who is LDS that you do not know personally do keep this tactic of theirs in the back of your mind.  Be aware that their purpose may only be to waist your time.

May God bless you and keep you safe.

How God Got Me Involved in Outreach to Mormon’s and JW’s

It was an interesting period in my life. I had just gotten married two months earlier. My wife and I were in the honeymoon stage our marriage, I was exploring a career change into financial planning, and, sinfully, I was almost solely focused on making money. I remember being very susceptible to greed at that time. God used a knock at my front door and a heartbreaking realization to bring me powerfully into the world of counter-cult apologetics.

I opened the door and standing before me was an elderly woman and a man named Clay. These two were dressed very properly, smiling politely and introduced themselves. They were Jehovah’s witnesses. They came bearing the “good news” of the Bible and God’s coming kingdom.

 I was stunned. Here before me were two lost souls, and beyond the “Are you a good person test” that I had learned from Ray Comfort, I had no idea how to share the gospel with them. I kindly listened to them and the whole time felt frustrated and disgusted at my own ignorance. How could I say that I loved these people, yet I had never really tried to learn what they believe so that I can more effectively share the gospel with them?

I had a new mission. My desire to pursue a career in financial planning almost immediately vanished and I began furiously inhaling any information about Jehovah’s Witnesses and Mormons. My best friend from 5th grade on, was and is a member of the Community of Christ (RLDS) church which also lead me to want to understand their faith better. I would sit down with Clay three times over the course of the next year or so and discuss the diety of Christ with him. Hebrews 1 became a common scripture for us to review and he admitted that he was at a loss when approaching Hebrews 1 in relation with Psalm 102. I have not met with him in over a year. I will be moving to Yakima, WA in June and plan to have one final discussion with him, where I will be sharing this document with him: http://4witness.org/wfj/jw-bookstore.php#pj_fact, along with this challenging quote:

“We need to examine, not only what we personally believe, but also what is taught by any religious organization with which we may be associated. Are its teachings in full harmony with Gods Word, or are they based on the traditions of men? If we are lovers of the truth, there is nothing to fear from such an examination. It should be the sincere desire of every one of us to learn what Gods will is for us, and then to do it." John 8:32 (The Truth That Leads To Eternal Life, 1968, p. 13) 

 My engagement with Mormons has been more consistent, and more consistently frustrating. While Clay, the Jehovah’s Witness, was willing to go to the scriptures with me, I felt that the Mormon missionaries would use the bible disingenuously and, when pressed for reasons why I should believe them, would constantly resort to the “I know it in my heart to be true” to which I would always reply, “But a Muslim, Catholic, Jehovah’s Witness can say the same thing. Why should I believe your feelings over theirs?”. I have yet to receive a satisfactory answer to this question, and I sincerely doubt that I ever will.

 My heart aches for anyone who is lost, but there is a special place in my heart for Mormon’s, Jehovah’s Witnesses and Catholics, as I grew up with them and know so many. I now have an unquenchable thirst in my life to reach the lost and to engage not only their hearts but to force them to THINK about the issues as well. I think many churches, heretical and orthodox alike, do not do effectively equip their congregations to approach faith with our minds turned on, as society moves farther away from logic oriented decision making, and leans more and more on emotional, self-centered pragmatism and hedonism.

Lord, save us from our wicked hearts (Jeremiah 17:9), help us to repent and to make sacrifices to share the gospel boldly, with those whom we love.

 -Neil (Neil is the founder of Soul-Winning Students which can be found at http://soulwinningstudents.com)