Tag Archive for: Christianity

Buckle up friends, because it’s going to be a wild and crazy ride! Frank and Peter Boghossian pick up right where they left off from the previous episode, exploring the destructive ideology that currently dominates our culture, academia, and local schools. We’ve watched freedoms in the UK and Western Europe slowly fade away. Are we doomed to the same fate here in the U.S.? Tune in for the answer along with other questions like:

  • How did Peter use his creative writing skills to point out the ideological insanity of academia?
  • What makes the oppressed/oppressor lens so destructive?
  • What was Peter’s last conversation with Charlie Kirk?
  • Why does Peter think revamping teacher certification programs is the key to saving Western civilization?
  • How do universities operate as indoctrination factories?
  • Why does Peter think Europe is beyond hope?
  • Is “Islamophobia” a nonsensical term?
  • How can societies defend themselves from cultural and ideological collapse?
  • How does Peter define atheism and is he open to Christianity?
  • Is it possible to achieve meaning and purpose without the existence of God?
  • How does Peter ground objective morality as an atheist?
  • What is Peter’s advice to Christians and other listeners of Frank’s podcast?

WARNING: While there is certainly a lot to learn from the discussion, this episode explores sensitive topics and is not suited for young children. Please keep Peter in your prayers as he travels to France, and stay tuned to his YouTube channel and Substack for updates during the trip!

If you enjoyed this podcast episode PLEASE HELP US SPREAD THE TRUTH OF CHRISTIANITY BY SUPPORTING OUR MINISTRY USING THE LINK BELOW. 100% of your donation goes to ministry, 0% to buildings!

Resources mentioned during the episode:

Donate to CrossExamined
The ‘Impossible Conversation’ No One Saw Coming – Part 1
A Manual for Creating Atheists
How to Have Impossible Conversations: A Very Practical Guide
Frank and Peter at UC Berkeley
Chaos at Berkeley: Free Speech Under Siege
Peter’s Substack
Peter on X
Peter’s YouTube Channel
PeterBoghossian.com

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Scott Adams, the creator of the Dilbert comic strip died recently, and reports are saying that he had a death bed conversion. Lord willing, he meant it. I enjoyed his cartoons. He had some clever commentary. But of course, no amount of good works, humor, or wit can get anyone to heaven. I hope for his sake that his last rites were sincere, and that I’ll be able to meet him in heaven one day. Death bed conversions however pose a real problem.

The problem isn’t about the fact that they happen. That’s not a problem for Christian theology. We teach that salvation isn’t earned as a reward, it’s a received gift. So, death-bed conversions are possible even for people who’ve lived a long and rebellious life. Just ask the thief on the cross. God’s grace allows for all sorts of people to come to a saving knowledge of Jesus Christ, and NO ONE is good enough to deserve heaven. So, that’s not the problem.

The problem with death bed conversions isn’t about justice or grace, it’s about pragmatics. There are some looming practical problems for anyone who is planning to save their Christian conversion till after they’ve lived life on their own terms.

1. Tomorrow isn’t guaranteed.

You don’t really know when you’ll die. Your doctor might say you have 6 months or 60 years to live, but honestly, not even tomorrow is guaranteed. That’s why Paul “today . . . is the day of salvation” (2 Cor. 6:2).

2. You might not want to when the time comes.

Over the course of your life you’re cultivating your own character, for good or bad. You might think you’ll convert on your deathbed because, for now, you plan to “Live it up,” sow your wild oats, or some pithy nonsense like that. But, in the course of your rebellion you’re building moral momentum in a certain direction to where you just won’t make that turn, and do the right thing, even when your eternal life is on the line. Or, if you’ll pardon the mixed metaphor, you may think you’ll turn over the wheel to Jesus once you’re done driving, but you don’t realize after a lifetime of hogging the steering wheel you’ll never want to let someone else drive your life.

3. You might not be able to, when the time comes

There’s no guarantee that willfully rebellious people will somehow have the will-power and the prevenient grace to loosen their stiff neck, and soften their hard heart, to finally respond – on their death bed – to the gospel that they’ve been rejecting all their life. Now God can soften even the hardest heart, but that’s a literal miracle and we cannot assume that we can twist God’s arm and force him to perform a miracle to transform our hearts AGAINST OUR WILL That kind of work is God’s fiat, His choice, His rules. We don’t get to tell God what to do especially not after rejecting his gracious offers repeatedly assuming the window of opportunity would stay open to us forever.

4. You might be bargaining with a fake Savior

What makes you think that you can “bargain” with the literal King of Kings, the sovereign ruler over all the universe, and the resurrected God-Man who died on a cross to prove once and for all that his sacrificial love cannot be questioned and His infinite merit is our only hope of salvation? What makes YOU think you can bargain with HIM? If you think Jesus is some kind of roadside vendor to where you can haggle with Him over matters of eternity, you aren’t talking about the real Jesus. Sure, you might envision Jim Cavezil, on a bloody cross, or maybe some patchwork Sunday school version of Jesus H. Christ. But if you think he enacted the Gospel, written in his own blood, so that you could bargain with him for a “better deal” then you don’t understand the Gospel, you don’t know who you really are, and you don’t know who you’re dealing with.

5. God cannot be mocked.

When we finally understand who God is, and what he’s done for us, and the great gift He’s offering us, the only proper response is to receive that gift in grateful humility. But what if someone were to reject that gift saying, “I’m not interested right now, but try me again in a few years.” Every time we reject God’s gift of salvation, we are insulting the gift-giver, making a mockery of the Gospel, deluding ourselves into thinking that our self-sufficiency and personal plans are somehow more valuable than eternal glory. We cannot safely assume that we can mock God repeatedly and get away with it. For now, God might be keeping our hearts just soft enough to respond to the Gospel, but He is well within his rights to let us finally have the hard-heart we’ve been training for all these years.

Death bed conversions do happen sometimes. I pray Scott Adam’s conversion was sincere. God’s grace can save lifelong sinners, young believers, teenage Jesus freaks, gang members, murders, rapists, and that’s just biblical examples. He can save all sorts of people from every life circumstance. But, please please be warned. Every day you spend rejecting God’s saving grace you are training yourself to reject Him on your last day. If you’re planning to “live it up” and then, on your death bed, pray a little prayer sneaking into heaven by the skin of your teeth, then you might have been bargaining with a fake savior. No one gets to have salvation on their own terms. That was never an option. God is liable to grant you the locked door you’ve been asking for every time you rejected Him before.

“The times of ignorance God overlooked,
but now he commands all people everywhere to repent.”
Acts 17:30 (NIV)

Recommended Resources: 

The Great Book of Romans by Dr. Frank Turek (Mp4, Mp3, DVD Complete series, STUDENT & INSTRUCTOR Study Guide, COMPLETE Instructor Set)

Jesus, You and the Essentials of Christianity by Frank Turek (INSTRUCTOR Study Guide), (STUDENT Study Guide), and (DVD)      

How to Interpret Your Bible by Dr. Frank Turek DVD Complete Series, INSTRUCTOR Study Guide, and STUDENT Study Guide

Debate: What Best Explains Reality: Atheism or Theism? by Frank Turek DVD, Mp4, and Mp3 

 


Dr. John D. Ferrer is an educator, writer, and graduate of CrossExamined Instructors Academy. Having earned degrees from Southern Evangelical Seminary and Southwestern Baptist Theological Seminary, he’s now active in the pro-life community and in his home church in Pella Iowa. When he’s not helping his wife Hillary Ferrer with her ministry Mama Bear Apologetics, you can usually find John writing, researching, and teaching cultural apologetics.

How in the world could a Christian and an atheist have a civil conversation about the current political climate in the West? It’s easier than you think! As free speech collapses across Europe and ideological enforcement tightens its grip on the U.S., many are asking, are we truly “free” anymore?

This week, Frank is joined by philosopher Dr. Peter Boghossian, author of ‘A Manual for Creating Atheists‘, fresh off their surprise appearance together at the chaotic TPUSA event at UC Berkeley. Together, they examine why civil dialogue is breaking down, why Islam presents a unique challenge to Western civilization, and why the modern left seems incapable of self-correction. In this episode, Frank and Peter tackle questions like:

  • Why did Peter leave his position at Portland State University?
  • Why was Peter invited to the TPUSA event at UC Berkeley?
  • Why has the radical left “gone to crazy town” and seems unable to engage in meaningful dialogue?
  • Why do people who can’t form arguments call reason “oppression” and switch to bigotry and discrimination?
  • Why is it so important to have open dialogue with people who may disagree with you?
  • Why does Peter think Islamic immigration is an important topic that needs to be discussed?
  • What work did Peter do with prison inmates and what dangerous mission is he planning next?
  • Why does Peter care about freedom of religion even though he’s an atheist?
  • Why does a free society require free speech to survive?
  • Why doesn’t Peter publicize his events?
  • Why do facts often fail to change people’s minds?
  • Why does Peter call himself a “cultural Christian” even though he’s atheist?

In a world where people are starving for civil discourse, this light-hearted conversation between Frank and Peter is a breath of fresh air! Be sure to catch the next episode as their conversation continues on cancel culture, free speech, and how to ground objective morality.

If you enjoyed this podcast episode PLEASE HELP US SPREAD THE TRUTH OF CHRISTIANITY BY SUPPORTING OUR MINISTRY USING THE LINK BELOW. 100% of your donation goes to ministry, 0% to buildings!

Resources mentioned during the episode:

Donate to CrossExamined
A Manual for Creating Atheists
How to Have Impossible Conversations: A Very Practical Guide
Frank and Peter at UC Berkeley
Chaos at Berkeley: Free Speech Under Siege
Peter’s Substack – https://boghossian.substack.com/
Peter on X – https://x.com/peterboghossian
Peter’s YouTube Channel – https://www.youtube.com/c/drpeterboghossian
Peter’s website – https://peterboghossian.com/

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At 31-years old, Charlie Kirk accomplished more for the Kingdom of God than many people do in their entire lifetime. While his death was a tragedy, there’s another tragedy heading our way if we make the wrong decision. What is it? Be sure to tune-in to this bonus midweek episode, where Frank delivers a powerful Gospel message at TPUSA’s AmericaFest 2025 in Phoenix, AZ.

If you enjoyed this podcast episode PLEASE HELP US SPREAD THE TRUTH OF CHRISTIANITY BY SUPPORTING OUR MINISTRY USING THE LINK BELOW. 100% of your donation goes to ministry, 0% to buildings!

Donate to CrossExamined.org
Watch on YouTube

Wondering Should I read the Bible? Maybe you’ve never picked one up. Maybe you’ve only skimmed it and never really read it with purpose. Either way, the answer is yes. If you’re a Christian or wondering about Christianity, nothing will change your faith and life more than reading the Bible.

Reading the Bible daily is the most important habit any believer can have. It’s so important to read God’s word, deeply and thoroughly, that I say all Christians should be saturated in the Bible.

Becoming deeply saturated in the word changed my relationship with God forever. I spent too many years full of misunderstanding and carrying legalistic burdens because I didn’t have an accurate understanding of the Bible and didn’t really know God for myself.

My superficial relationship with His word had stunted my spiritual growth. I had missed so much of who God is and His messages for us. It was a process of slowly walking in truth for me.

I used to read my Bible using the flip method. I would pray, flip open my Bible, and stop on a random passage. While the verse was always something useful and almost always related to my circumstances, my knowledge of the scripture through this methodology was pretty limited. Nothing was connecting to anything else.

I wasn’t so much saturated in the word as much as slightly damp. God’s words are always good words, but just using the random flip method really limited my knowledge to the Bible stories I heard as a child, and verses from sermons at church, and these snippets from my daily reading. I didn’t even realize how much more there was for me to know.

What happens when you read the whole Bible?

I became more than a cultural Christian. About six or seven years ago, God grabbed a hold of my heart and helped me understand grace in a way I had never personally grasped. That moment of lightning bolt clarity eventually led to my fervent prayer surrendering all of my life, all my sins, all my desires, all my quirks, everything to God.

And that moment felt like scales falling from my eyes. The world went from black and white to color in a spiritual sense. I was flooded with the Holy Spirit who gave me discernment and wisdom.

 

Since that moment, I began to study God’s word differently, and that has made ALL the difference.

  • Read the WHOLE Bible – At least the first time, start at Genesis and go through Revelation. (It’s really okay if it doesn’t all make sense at first.)
  • Follow a reading plan – I use the YouVersion Bible App. They have several great read through the Bible in a year plans. I have tried several and learn something new each time.
  • Learn to use complementary guides or inductive studies to help you understand what you’re reading. I’ve personally found historical context commentary especially powerful in understanding the Bible.
  • Find some great apps to help – the Blue Letter Bible app is wonderful as a study aide.

In the years since, I’ve read through the Bible nearly six times cover to cover so to speak although I’ve followed several different plans (and only one was in order from Genesis to Revelation).

What happens when you read the Bible everyday?

First, reading the Bible everyday helps you become Biblically literate. You recognize the names and places. The terms become familiar. Books of the Bible become comforting friends.

But the craziest thing happened as I became increasingly Biblically literate, I began to better understand the character of God. I now see how strange Mosaic laws relate to the cross.

When you read the Bible everyday, you begin to understand the character of God.

Even some of the harder passages started to be clear to me. I understand now why God could command violence against some people because I know they were burning infants alive as sacrifices to their gods.

Reading the Bible everyday, I started to see the thread of Christ’s redemption that ties the entire Bible together. And I began to be able to tell the truth from a lie. When you read the whole Bible, you start spotting Satan’s lies.

And his lies are hard to spot. They are dipped in chocolate, wrapped in pretty ribbons, masked within the truth. Because the hardest lies to spot are the ones that are almost truths. Almost true, almost right, almost Christ-like, almost good, almost what that verse means . . . Is almost good enough?

Would you drink Windex?
It’s over 90% water. Water is good. Water is necessary. So why wouldn’t you drink Windex? Because it’s not pure water! It’s mostly water with a little bit of poisonous chemicals. Satan’s lies are just like Windex.

We think Satan’s lies are the big ones, the obvious whoppers, but he’s been doing this a long time. He knows just how to get to us. A lot of good stuff with a little bit of worldly poison.

That is why we must be truly saturated in God’s word. We have to be able to discern the truth from a lie.

“Behold, I am sending you out as sheep in the midst of wolves, so be wise as serpents and innocent as doves” (Matthew 10:16 ESV).

Because when we believe lies they become splinters separating us from God. Lies about who God is. Lies about our past. And lies about reality. When we don’t recognize who God really is and what the Bible really means, we get off course, maybe just a few steps off course at first, but over time even one step off course can become miles off target.

If our target is spending eternity with God, we have to make sure we are on the narrow path.

“Enter by the narrow gate. For the gate is wide and the way is easy that leads to destruction, and those who enter by it are many. For the gate is narrow and the way is hard that leads to life, and those who find it are few” (Matthew 7:13-14 ESV).

God gave us His Word so that we can know Him. Jesus extensively quoted the Old Testament. He never contradicted what the Old Testament taught, except when He established the new covenant, which replaced the old Mosaic covenant.

The Bible is how we hear from God. The Holy Spirit often brings a verse to mind or directs my thoughts, but He can’t bring to mind a verse I’ve never read.

If we want to know and follow God’s will, we have to read the whole Bible and be saturated in His wisdom. Being saturated means to be so totally filled that it permeates your very essence.

When you think of that, does someone’s face come to mind? Peaceful, Patient, Gentle, Kind, Loving, Faithful. She always exudes peace and joy, no matter her circumstances, even when life is hectic, you never get a sense that she feels frantic or rushed. I yearn to be that kind of Christian woman who reflects Jesus in every interaction.

If you’re still wondering Should I read my Bible? 

Reading the Bible daily is how can we grow to have that kind of relationship with God. It starts with being saturated in the word, which is how we begin to truly know God and discern “almost right” from His real truth in the world around us.

Being saturated in God’s word isn’t just how we know right from wrong. It’s how we recognize right from almost right. #ChristianWoman #ChristianBlogger #Godsword #ReadyourBible Share on X

What kind of relationship do you have with your Bible? I want you to know how to passionately love your Bible and ache to dive into its pages, to long to be saturated in the word.

Are you in that place? Or is it on a shelf somewhere, dusty from neglect? Maybe it’s sitting at the ready on your nightstand, only to let busy days distract you from reading it. Maybe you spend a few minutes each day reading your Bible, but don’t feel like it’s really making sense.

I challenge you to get into a habit of reading the Bible daily. Pick a plan and spend a few minutes every day reading toward the goal of reading the entire Bible. It might take you longer than a year if you stop and deeply study some sections, but have a goal and work towards it.

Even if having a busy day means you only read a verse or two, if you stay on your plan, you’ll find that your understanding and knowledge will grow deeper as you also find over and over the messages of grace, forgiveness, love, and redemption are woven through every part of the Bible.

Recommended Resources: 

Why We Know the New Testament Writers Told the Truth by Frank Turek (mp4 Download)

The Top Ten Reasons We Know the NT Writers Told the Truth mp3 by Frank Turek

Counter Culture Christian: Is the Bible True? by Frank Turek (Mp3), (Mp4), and (DVD)        

How to Interpret Your Bible by Dr. Frank Turek DVD Complete Series, INSTRUCTOR Study Guide, and STUDENT Study Guide

 


Jennifer DeFrates is a former English and Social Studies teacher turned homeschool mom and Christian blogger at Heavennotharvard.com and theMamapologist.com. Jennifer is a 2x CIA graduate (the Cross-Examined Instructors Academy) and volunteers with Mama Bear Apologetics. She has a passion for discipleship through apologetics. Her action figure would come with coffee and a stack of books. She is also the reluctant ringleader of a small menagerie in rural Alabama.

 

Originally posted at: https://bit.ly/49wm4ew

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Are Christian views on marriage and sexuality really “outdated,” or has culture slowly talked us into treating clear biblical teaching as a harmless disagreement? In this midweek podcast episode, Frank and Dr. Robert Gagnon continue their discussion by examining what the Bible actually teaches about homosexuality and why sexual ethics sit at the core of Christian morality. Tune in as they answer questions like:

  • When Jesus showed compassion to tax collectors and sexual sinners was he affirming their sins?
  • What was God’s primary purpose for food laws in the Old Testament?
  • Was homosexuality ever an “agree to disagree” issue for Jesus or the Apostle Paul?
  • Why does Paul specifically single out homosexuality instead of other sexual sins in Romans 1?
  • What are the three “new knowledge” questions?
  • What’s the underlying problem most people don’t realize when it comes to long-term and monogamous same-sex relationships?
  • What about the objection that the word ‘homosexuality’ wasn’t invented until 1946?
  • Should Christians attend same-sex weddings? And how can you refuse without losing relationships?

This episode challenges believers to examine who their true authority is and whether love, as Jesus defined it, still guides their convictions. Frank and Dr. Gagnon will also equip listeners with how to respond to today’s most common arguments and scriptures that are being misused to justify homosexuality and how to defend the true biblical position on marriage and sexual immorality. For a deeper dive, check out Dr. Gagnon’s flagship book, ‘The Bible and Homosexual Practice‘.

If you enjoyed this podcast episode PLEASE HELP US SPREAD THE TRUTH OF CHRISTIANITY BY SUPPORTING OUR MINISTRY USING THE LINK BELOW. 100% of your donation goes to ministry, 0% to buildings!

Resources mentioned during the episode:

Donate to CrossExamined
What Does the Bible REALLY Say About Homosexuality? Part 1 with Dr. Robert Gagnon
The Bible & Homosexual Practice by Dr. Robert Gagnon
Would Jesus Attend a Gay Wedding? with Becket Cook
RobertGagnon.net
Follow Dr. Gagnon on Facebook
Follow Dr. Gagnon on X

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Most Christians will struggle, at least once, with the issue of losing their salvation. For some people this struggle becomes a lifelong trial of frustration and anxiety. Some protestant denominations, including Methodists and Lutherans, teach that it is possible to lose your salvation. But other denominations, such as Presbyterians and Baptists, teach that once you become a Christian, you can never lose your salvation. So, who has the final say in such matters? We should always look to God and His Word as our first and final authority. He has given us His instructions in the Bible, and we’re responsible to study it diligently so we know the truth. In this article I will make the case that the Bible teaches that a Christian cannot lose their salvation.

What Does It Mean to Be a Christian?

First, let me explain exactly what it means to be a Christian. A Christian is simply someone who has been reconciled to God by repenting of their sins and placing their trust completely in Jesus Christ for their forgiveness. I’m using the term ‘repent’ here to mean when someone recognizes they’ve made moral mistakes and turn to God with a desire for Him to rescue them from their evil ways and transform them into a godly person from the inside out. In other words, a person needs to come to grips with the fact that they’ve sinned against a holy and righteous God. While they may not have committed sins as bad as some other people, repentance means recognizing your own internal rebellion against the God who created you. Our condition is hopeless, and if left alone we’d be completely lost and unable to make things right with God on our own. We should admit we deserve God’s punishment for our sin, which is eternal death, forever separated from the God of all good things. There’s nothing anyone can do on their own to fix their relationship with God, a relationship that’s been broken because of our sin. Every single person since Adam and Eve has been in this same unfortunate condition.

“Just as through one man sin entered into the world, and death through sin, and so death spread to all men, because all sinned” (Romans 5:12, NASB).

A Christian is also someone who has heard of God’s great love for them. Through a pastor, a close friend, a book, or some other means, they have been exposed to God’s solution to their sin problem. They’ve learned that, because God loved us so much, He sent His Son Jesus Christ to earth to become the sin bearer for the entire world. This Person, who was born two thousand years ago, was fully human and fully God at the same time. He lived the perfect life that we all failed to live. Then He died on the cross to take the penalty of God’s punishment for the sins of the whole world.

“Having now been justified by His blood, we shall be saved from the wrath of God through Him. For if while we were enemies we were reconciled to God through the death of His Son, much more, having been reconciled, we shall be saved by His life” (Romans 5:9-10).

Lastly, a Christian is someone who, after hearing this good news, placed their trust in Jesus Christ for the forgiveness of their sins. Instead of trusting in their own efforts to please God, they humbly admitted their sin and put their faith in Jesus alone to make things right between them and God. Trusting in Jesus isn’t a work or a task you do to earn forgiveness; it’s simply a way to receive God’s gift of forgiveness absolutely free. The Bible says when someone does this, they are immediately reconciled with God as He removes all the sins from their account, past, present, and future.

“And [I] may be found in Him, not having a righteousness of my own derived from the Law, but that which is through faith in Christ, the righteousness which comes from God on the basis of faith” (Philippians 3:9).

Many other things happen at that instant in time someone trusts in Christ. The Bible calls it being “born again” because, at that moment, the Holy Spirit indwells you and gives you supernatural power. These powers won’t enable you to fly through the air or lift a car over your head; the supernatural powers from the Holy Spirit are actually much better than that! What the Spirit’s power does is enable you to live for God with your whole life, to turn from sin and selfishness so you can walk with Jesus every day and grow more like Him in all of His kindness and love. Christians still make mistakes, of course, but God works in their life to empower, teach, and correct them, preparing them to spend eternity with Him loving God, loving others, and being loved in return. Sometimes in the Bible this is referred to as the Holy Spirit producing “fruit” in a Christian’s life.

“But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, self-control, against such things there is no law. Now those who belong to Christ Jesus have crucified the flesh with its passions and desire” (Galatians 5:22-24).

“I have been crucified with Christ; and it is no longer I who live, but Christ lives in me; and the life which I now live in the flesh I live by faith in the Son of God, who loved me and gave Himself up for me” (Galatians 2:20).

Four Reasons Salvation Cannot Be Lost

Now we come to the question of whether or not a Christian can lose their salvation. There are several places in the Bible that help explain why this is not possible. Below we’ll look at four of them:

1. Salvation Is a Free Gift

First of all, we need to remember that salvation is a free gift from God with no strings attached. Since a Christian didn’t earn salvation by performing good works to begin with, but by putting their trust in Christ, it’d be very strange indeed to think salvation could be lost based on performance. We can’t lose our salvation because of any sin or bad thing we may do because salvation is not by works but by faith. God tells us, however, that after He saves us He then empowers us to do good works for others which He’s planned out before we were even born.

“For by grace you have been saved through faith; and that not of yourselves, it is the gift of God; not as a result of works, so that no one may boast. For we are His workmanship, created in Christ Jesus for good works, which God prepared beforehand so that we would walk in them” (Ephesians 2:8-10).

2. You Can’t Walk Away

But couldn’t someone just stop trusting Jesus? No. The Bible teaches that once a person puts their trust in Jesus as their Savior, the Holy Spirit takes up residence in that person and supernaturally protects them from ending their faith in Jesus.

“Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, who according to His great mercy has caused us to be born again to a living hope through the resurrection of Jesus Christ from the dead, to obtain an inheritance which is imperishable and undefiled and will not fade away, reserved in heaven for you, who are protected by the power of God through faith for a salvation ready to be revealed in the last time“ (1 Peter 1:3-5).

To Him who is able to keep you from falling and to present you before his glorious presence without fault and with great joy – to the only God our Savior be glory, majesty, power and authority, through Jesus Christ our Lord, before all ages, now and forevermore! Amen” (Jude 24-25).

The Holy Spirit that indwells you when you first become a Christian is described in the Bible as a pledge or “down payment” you receive from God here on earth. A person is often required to pay a pledge or down payment at the beginning of a loan as a promise that they’ll pay the rest of it later or else they’ll lose what they’ve already put down. The Spirit plays a similar role in that His indwelling of a Christian functions as a pledge or a promise of more things to come when we die and go to heaven. Surely we know God will give us what He’s promised, but He’s gone further in giving us a down payment to show He can be fully trusted.

“In Him, you also, after listening to the message of truth, the gospel of you salvation – having also believed, you were sealed in Him with the Holy Spirit of promise, who is given as a pledge of our inheritance, with a view to the redemption of God’s own possession, to the praise of His glory” (Ephesians 1:13-14).

3. Satan Can’t Take Your Salvation Away

Could Satan or some demonic power take our salvation away? To do so they would have to be more powerful than God Himself!

My sheep hear My voice, and I know them, and they follow Me; and I give eternal life to them, and they will never perish; and no one will snatch them out of my hand. My Father, who has given them to Me, is greater than all; and no one is able to snatch them out of the Father’s hand. I and the Father are one” (John 10:27-30).

“What then shall we say to these things? If God is for us, who is against us? He who did not spare His own Son, but delivered Him over for us all, how will He not also with Him freely give us all things? Who will bring a charge against God’s elect? God is the one who justifies; who is the one who condemns? Christ Jesus is He who died, yes, rather who was raised, who is at the right hand of God, who also intercedes for us. Who will separate us from the love of Christ? Will tribulation, or distress, or persecution, or famine, or nakedness, or peril, or sword? Just as it is written, “For Your sake we are being put to death all day long; we were considered as sheep to be slaughtered.” But in all these things we overwhelmingly conquer through Him who loved us. For I am convinced that neither death, nor life, nor angels, nor principalities, nor things present, nor things to come, nor powers, nor height, nor depth, nor any other created thing, will be able to separate us from the love of God, which is in Christ Jesus our Lord” (Romans 8:31-39).

4. The Elect Are Kept by God

This last reason is a bit deeper theologically, but the concept isn’t too hard to grasp if you think through it carefully. First, read these verses:

“And we know that God causes all things to work together for good to those who love God, to those who are called according to His purpose. For those whom He foreknew, He also predestined to become conformed to the image of His Son, so that He would be the firstborn among many brethren; and these whom He predestined, He also called; and these whom He called, He also justified; and these whom He justified, He also glorified” (Romans 8:28-30).

The doctrine of election is a very deep subject, and good Christian theologians take different positions on how best to understand it. I myself affirm what’s called “conditional predestination” or “conditional election,” that God chooses to be saved those who meet the condition of putting their faith in Christ through the Holy Spirit’s empowerment. (To read more about that, see here: Election: God’s Right to Choose.) But regardless of what your position on election is, nearly all Christians agree that the Bible teaches that in eternity past God knew who would become Christians. It’s important to note that these people God knew would be Christians by putting their faith in Christ aren’t better than other people because faith isn’t something we can boast about. Faith doesn’t earn us salvation; faith is only a way to receive salvation. God desires all people to be saved (1 Tim. 2:4) and offers salvation to everyone, but only those who trust Jesus will have their sins forgiven. He knows who these people are and has predestined that they become like Jesus Christ in character and in love. These verses from Romans 8:28-30 are referred to sometimes as the “unbreakable golden chain” because those He foreknew, He then predestined, He then called, He then justified, and He will glorify. There is an unstoppable progression of events from faith to heaven (glorification) that nothing can stop because God orchestrates the process from beginning to end. We can be sure of our glory in heaven because the God who knows all things has predestined it.

Some “Problem” Passages

Now with all that said, there are some verses in the Bible that make it seem like Christians can fall away from the faith and lose their salvation. For example, consider the following:

Can People Partake of the Holy Spirit and Not Be Saved?

For in the case of those who have once been enlightened and have tasted of the heavenly gift and have been made partakers of the Holy Spirit, and have tasted the good word of God and the powers of the age to come, and then have fallen away, it is impossible to renew them again to repentance, since they again crucify to themselves the Son of God and put Him to open shame” (Hebrews 6:4-6).

A person like this may have experienced the mighty ministry of the Holy Spirit convicting them of their sin and encouraging them to trust Jesus, but if they resist and reject the Holy Spirit, then there is no other alternative but to pay for their own sins by being eternally separated from God forever. These warnings should be taken very seriously but not because they’re teaching that people can lose their salvation. Verses like this are warning people not to reject the Holy Spirit’s wooing and empowerment to trust in Christ. In other words, these verses are describing people who resist the empowerment of the Holy Spirit when God was drawing them to salvation. This empowerment from the Holy Spirit is described in Hebrews 6:4-6 as being enlightened, tasting of the heavenly gift, being partakers of the Holy Spirit, tasking the good word of God and the powers of the age to come. All of these descriptions help us understand just how powerful the Holy Spirit’s empowerment is when the Spirit is drawing someone to trust in Christ. However, according to these verses, this empowerment can be resisted. If someone resists this empowerment from the Holy Spirit and refuses to trust in Christ, then there is no hope for their salvation. This is similarly described in Acts 7:51.

“You men who are stiff-necked and uncircumcised in heart and ears are always resisting the Holy Spirit; you are doing just as your fathers did” (Acts 7:51).

Perhaps Someone Only Claimed to Be a Christian

The Bible also talks about people who claim to be Christians for a time but really aren’t.

The one on whom seed was sown on the rocky places, this is the man who hears the word and immediately receives it with joy; yet he has no firm root in himself, but is only temporary, and when affliction or persecution arises because of the word, immediately he falls away” (Matthew 13:20-21).

Such people claim to have trusted in Jesus, but in reality they haven’t. Some people know that their claim is false and they’re just faking it. Others may have actually deceived themselves into thinking they trusted in Christ, but in reality they haven’t really put their faith in Him. This is a scary concept, and that’s why the Bible repeatedly tells us to examine ourselves to make sure we are in the faith.

“Examine yourselves to see whether you are in the faith; test yourselves. Do you not realize that Christ Jesus is in you—unless, of course, you fail the test?” (2 Corinthians 13:5).

But what do you examine? How can you measure faith? Faith is simply trusting Jesus, and that is what makes you a Christian to begin with. We can’t see this born-again experience take place because it’s a spiritual transformation, but we can see the effects of it in a person’s life. Jesus explained it to Nicodemus in John 3 using wind as an example. We don’t see wind itself, but we see the effects of it: bustling leaves, swaying branches, knocked over garbage cans! In the same way, we don’t see the new birth when someone becomes a Christian, but we see the effects of it in their life. This is caused by the Holy Spirit, who transforms them from the inside out by empowering them to change their sinful and selfish ways and instead live a life of serving and loving others.

“The wind blows where it wishes and you hear the sound of it, but do not know where it comes from and where it is going; so is everyone who is born of the Spirit” (John 3:8).

Do We Have to Do Good Works to Maintain Salvation?

Does this mean we are saved by faith but to keep it we must do good things? No. We are saved by faith alone, but after we become a Christian the Holy Spirit changes our life from the inside out. It’s not about cleaning up our lives to look better on the outside. God gives us a new heart so that we want to live for Him and love other people. We should never look to good works in our life as things that earn or merit us God’s love but as evidence that Holy Spirit is really in us and transforming us. If you find that your life hasn’t changed at all since you became a Christian, then you should carefully consider if you’ve truly trusted in Christ as your Savior. It might be the case that you only said you trusted in Christ to impress others, to fit in with a particular group of people, or to alleviate peer pressure from friends or family.

James 2 discusses how our good works serve as evidence our faith is genuine. It’s important to start with James’ question: “What use is it, my brethren, if someone says he has faith but he has no works? Can that faith save him?” (James 2:14). It’s a rhetorical question, and the obvious answer is no, that kind of ‘faith’ can’t save him because, as James goes on to explain, it’s a ‘dead faith.’ The hypothetical person ‘says’ they have faith, but they really don’t, and this is evident because of a lack of good works in their life. James’ point throughout this section in James 2 is that this “false dead faith that can’t save” isn’t a real, true faith. He’s describing a false faith, and the evidence it’s false is that it hasn’t produced a changed life, that is, it hasn’t produced good works. So James is describing a faith that cannot save someone. He’s describing a false faith claim (someone who ‘says’ they have faith), a dead faith, and the evidence that it’s false and dead is that it doesn’t produce works. According to James, it’s that type of faith, a false, dead faith, that cannot save.

James here is explaining that if someone has no good works, then that’s evidence their faith is false and dead; they’ve ‘said’ they have true faith, but they really don’t. Conversely, the good works which a Christian does are evidence that their faith is true saving faith. Good works in the Christian’s life are evidence of God’s empowering grace to live a godly life, which they receive only as a result of putting their faith in Christ for salvation. Paul said something similar in Galatians:

“But I say, walk by the Spirit, and you will not carry out the desire of the flesh. For the flesh sets its desire against the Spirit, and the Spirit against the flesh; for these are in opposition to one another, so that you may not do the things that you please. But if you are led by the Spirit, you are not under the Law. Now the deeds of the flesh are evident, which are: immorality, impurity, sensuality, idolatry, sorcery, enmities, strife, jealousy, outbursts of anger, disputes, dissensions, factions, envying, drunkenness, carousing, and things like these, of which I forewarn you, just as I have forewarned you, that those who practice such things will not inherit the kingdom of God. But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, self-control; against such things there is no law” (Galatians 5:16-23)

When someone truly puts their faith in Christ, then God changes them from the inside out, and their life changes accordingly in that the Holy Spirit produces fruit in their life; that is, they engage in good works by God’s empowerment to live a godly life. That’s all that Paul meant when he wrote that what matters is “faith working through love” (Gal. 5:6). Jesus also talked about how we can know whether or not someone has true faith by their works:

“Beware of the false prophets, who come to you in sheep’s clothing, but inwardly are ravenous wolves. You will know them by their fruits. Grapes are not gathered from thorn bushes nor figs from thistles, are they? So every good tree bears good fruit, but the bad tree bears bad fruit. A good tree cannot produce bad fruit, nor can a bad tree produce good fruit. Every tree that does not bear good fruit is cut down and thrown into the fire. So then, you will know them by their fruits” (Matthew 7:15-20).

Jesus taught that false teachers will be known by their bad fruit and true teachers will be known by their good fruit. Similarly, James 2 is saying that if someone is a Christian, if they have true saving faith, then there should be fruit that functions as evidence that the Spirit is working in their life. One of James’ main messages throughout his letter is that Christians should “prove yourselves doers of the Word, and not merely hearers who delude themselves” (James 1:22-25). Thus, we can be confident that he’s not talking about doing good works to earn salvation (or earn the right to keep salvation) but is explaining that how people live their lives will be evidence as to whether or not their faith is genuine, real, true faith or if it’s a dead, unreal, false faith.

James illustrates his point in James 2:15-16 with an analogy of someone who “says” they’re concerned about a person who doesn’t have proper clothing and daily food but yet doesn’t do anything to help the person. The fact that he doesn’t do anything shows that his verbal claim of being concerned is hollow, unreal, and false. Similarly, if someone’s life hasn’t been changed at all by God’s empowerment, that can show that his verbal claim of having faith in Christ is hollow, unreal, and fake.

It is in this context that James goes on to drive home the point that good works in the lives of Christians are evidence of true faith. In other words, good works are the way to prove, or “show” evidence of, someone’s true faith that saved them. That’s why James wrote that someone can “show” their faith by their works (James 2:18). He argued that “faith without works is useless” (James 2:20), not only because it’s false and dead and thus can’t save but also because it provides no evidence of someone’s salvation; it can’t “show” that their faith is real. However, if someone “says” they have faith in Christ and is doing good works, then those works can be seen by others and considered as evidence that their faith is genuine and real. James then uses Abraham and Rahab as examples of how this plays out in practice.

Does James Say that Salvation Is Not by Faith Alone?

First, James affirmed salvation by faith apart from works when he, like Paul, pointed out that the Old Testament taught that “Abraham believed God, and it was reckoned to him as righteousness” (James 2:23). However, James explained that Abraham’s faith was evidentially justified by his action of being willing to sacrifice his son Isaac. James isn’t using the term ‘justified’ in this context to talk about salvation or to mean ‘to be made righteous’ like Paul often uses the term ‘justified.’ No, James is using the term ‘justified’ here to talk about how evidence justifies a certain conclusion. For example, a judge in a courtroom may say that the large amount of evidence justifies his conclusion that someone is guilty. Similarly, James is saying that good works in someone’s life serve as solid evidence that justifies concluding that the person is a Christian, that they have true saving faith. That’s what James was getting at when he wrote that “faith was working with his works, and as a result of the works, faith was perfected [evidenced]; and the Scripture was fulfilled [justified, i.e., shown to be true by the evidence] which says, ‘and Abraham believed God, and it was reckoned to him as righteousness,’ and he was called the friend of God” (James 2:22-23). In other words, Abraham’s good works were evidence that showed he had truly believed/trusted in God. James concluded that a person’s salvation is “justified [evidenced] by works and not by faith alone” (James 2:24), for we can’t ‘see’ a person’s faith, but we can see the works that a true faith will produce. In the same way, James explained that Rahab’s salvation was “justified [evidenced] by works” (James 2:25) when she protected God’s messengers. Both Abraham and Rahab showed evidence of their true faith, and the salvation that results from true faith, through their good works.

On the flip side, if someone ‘claims’ to be a Christian and yet there’s no evidence of good works in their life, then that might be evidence they’ve made a false claim about being a Christian. The reason this is the case is that when someone becomes a Christian by putting their faith in Christ, God then transforms them into a new, morally better person from the inside out. This transformation includes God giving them an inclination to do good works and empowering them with the ability to do them. So, if I have a friend who claims to be a Christian, but I don’t see God’s transforming work in his life, it would be appropriate for me to be concerned and lovingly talk to him to make sure that he hasn’t falsely claimed to trust in Christ when, in fact, he really hasn’t. People make such false claims for various reasons: to get people to stop bothering them, to appease others, to impress folks for whatever reason, to get a job, to convince someone to date them, etc. Jesus talked about this in Matt. 7:15-23 when he warned of false teachers who claim to be Christians in order to take advantage of people. Jesus explained that we will be able to spot them by their bad works, i.e., their lack of good works. That’s the point James was making when he wrote that “faith, if it has no works, is dead, being by itself” (James 2:17). That is, if someone ‘says’ they have faith but there are no good works in their life, then that’s good evidence that their faith is dead, that is, that they have no true saving faith in Christ at all; it’s a ‘false, dead faith.’

Lastly, it’s important to note that false, dead faith might include believing some true facts about Christianity. This was the point James was making, that mere intellectual agreement on a set of facts isn’t true saving faith, when he wrote to his hypothetical objector that “you believe that God is one. You do well; the demons also believe, and shudder” (James 2:19). This is a type of dead, useless faith; it’s merely intellectual assent, but since it’s not true saving faith/trust, it produces no good works in someone’s life. Real, true saving faith is not merely intellectual assent that certain facts are true; that would be a type of dead, useless ‘faith.’ As I noted above, faith is trusting in Christ, which includes repentance.

What If I Still Struggle with Sin?

In light of the four reasons we looked at above for believing someone can’t lose their salvation, it’s best to understand these falling away verses such as Hebrews 6:4-6 as referring to those people who pretended to be Christians but then later it became obvious they were faking it. Many of these verses are God’s way of trying to reach those who claim to be Christians but really are just faking it. However, these verses have also caused true Christians a lot of anxiety about whether or not they really are saved when they continue to struggle with sin. This can become a difficult and complex issue that we have to take seriously. We don’t want to be too easy on ourselves and not take our sin seriously. But at the same time we don’t want to be too hard on ourselves and question whether or not we’re really saved every time we struggle with sin. Overall, it’s best to evaluate our lives over the long run and see if there’s evidence the Holy Spirit is transforming us into a more godly person. This doesn’t mean that we’ll ever achieve perfection in this life, but there should be a steady growth in the fruit of the Spirit. And when we do sin, we should immediately recognize it as such, confess what we’ve done, pray to God for empowerment to do better, and consciously choose to trust that Christ’s work on the cross guarantees our forgiveness. At all times keep in mind that it is your faith in Christ that has fixed your relationship with God, not your good works, and you can never lose your salvation no matter how badly you mess up.

“The one who says, ‘I have come to know Him,’ and does not keep His commandments, is a liar, and the truth is not in him. …This is His commandment, that we believe in the name of His Son Jesus Christ, and love one another, just as He commanded us“ (1 John 1:4, 1 John 3:23).

Is it our responsibility to go around and examine other people to see if they are real Christians? No! The verse says to examine yourself, not others. And remember that Christians still sin and make terrible moral mistakes sometimes. There are certain times where it can be more obvious that someone was faking it when they claimed to be a Christian. For example, it can become more obvious if they completely turn their back on Christianity and go back to living their sinful lifestyle.

“They went out from us, but they were not really of us; for if they had been of us, they would have remained with us; but they went out, so that it would be shown that they all are not of us” (1 John 2:19).

But even true Christians can go through a period of strong rebellion. So, when we see someone completely turning their back on Christianity, it might be that they never were a Christian to begin with, or it might be the case that they are truly a Christian but are just going through a time of strong rebellion. We can’t know people’s hearts for sure; only God can. But we can know for sure that if someone truly puts their faith in Christ for salvation, then they can never lose that salvation.

Conclusion

If you are struggling over whether or not someone can lose their salvation, go to the Bible for your answers. In His Word God explains you cannot lose what He has freely given you. The falling away verses such as those in Hebrews 6 come from God’s compassionate heart that desires all people to be saved. They are warnings to those who are pretending to be Christians but who haven’t really put their faith in Him yet. If that describes you, delay no longer! Trust in Jesus today and be fully confident that you rest secure in His love and forgiveness.

Recommended Resources:

The Great Book of Romans by Dr. Frank Turek (Mp4, Mp3, DVD Complete series, STUDENT & INSTRUCTOR Study Guide, COMPLETE Instructor Set)

Jesus, You and the Essentials of Christianity by Frank Turek (INSTRUCTOR Study Guide), (STUDENT Study Guide), and (DVD)      

How to Interpret Your Bible by Dr. Frank Turek DVD Complete Series, INSTRUCTOR Study Guide, and STUDENT Study Guide

How Can Jesus be the Only Way? Mp4, Mp3, and DVD by Frank Turek

 


Adam Lloyd Johnson has served as the president of Convincing Proof Ministries since 2023. Prior to that, Adam was a university campus missionary with Ratio Christi at the University of Nebraska–Lincoln. He has also taught classes for Midwestern Baptist Theological Seminary and has spent time living and teaching at Rhineland Theological Seminary in Wölmersen, Germany. Adam received his PhD in Theological Studies with an emphasis in Philosophy of Religion from Southeastern Baptist Theological Seminary in 2020. Adam grew up in Nebraska and became a Christian as a teenager in 1994. He graduated from the University of Nebraska–Lincoln and then worked in the field of actuarial science for ten years in Lincoln, Nebraska. While in his twenties, he went through a crisis of faith: are there good reasons and evidence to believe God exists and that the Bible is really from Him? His search for answers led him to apologetics and propelled him into ministry with a passion to serve others by equipping Christians and encouraging non-Christians to trust in Christ. Adam served as a Southern Baptist pastor for eight years (2009-2017) but stepped down from the pastorate to serve others full-time in the area of apologetics. He’s been married to his wife Kristin since 1996, and they have four children – Caroline, Will, Xander, and Ray. Adam has presented his work at the National Apologetics Conference, the Society of Christian Philosophers, the Evangelical Philosophical Society, the International Society of Christian Apologetics, the Canadian Centre for Scholarship and the Christian Faith, the American Academy of Religion, and the Evangelical Theological Society. His work has been published in the Journal of the International Society of Christian Apologetics, Philosophia Christi, the Westminster Theological Journal, the Canadian Journal for Scholarship and the Christian Faith, the journal Eleutheria, and the journal Religions. Adam has spoken at numerous churches and conferences in America and around the world – Los Angeles, Chicago, Charlotte, Boston, Orlando, Denver, San Antonio, Canada, Germany, the United Kingdom, and Switzerland. He is the editor and co-author of the book A Debate on God and Morality: What is the Best Account of Objective Moral Values and Duties? published in 2020 by Routledge and co-authored with William Lane Craig, Erik Wielenberg, J. P. Moreland, and others. He is most recently the author of the book Divine Love Theory: How the Trinity is the Source and Foundation of Morality published by Kregel Academic in 2023.

Originally posted at: https://bit.ly/4pzpW4l

Can a biblical case be made to justify the practice of homosexuality? Does science support the narrative that people are “born gay”? And what did Jesus really teach about sexual ethics in light of the Old Testament? In this powerful episode, Frank is joined by Dr. Robert Gagnon, arguably the world’s leading scholarly authority on the topic, to tackle one of the most divisive moral issues of our time. Drawing from Dr. Gagnon’s landmark book, ‘The Bible and Homosexual Practice‘, widely regarded as the standard work on the subject for over 25 years, they examine what Scripture and science reveal about the issue of homosexuality. Tune in as they answer questions like:

  • What was the initial response to Robert’s book?
  • How does the Bible define love?
  • What’s wrong with “loving” someone of the same sex?
  • What factors influence the likelihood that someone could be attracted to the same sex?
  • If homosexual practices are off limits because of Leviticus 18 what about eating shrimp?
  • What did Jesus say about Old Testament teachings on marriage, divorce, and sex?
  • Does loving someone require affirming all of their desires or behaviors?
  • How do same-sex unions compare to traditional marriage in terms of measurable harm and human flourishing?
  • Why does affirming homosexuality logically open the door to redefining all sexual morality?
  • Why was polygamy sometimes permitted in the Old Testament and is it still ok today?

This episode kicks off the new year with a topic that many Christians avoid, but one we can’t afford to ignore as biblical morality continues to be challenged in the public square and the church. Along the way, Dr. Gagnon shares how publishing this book nearly cost him his academic career, and why the truth was worth the backlash. Don’t miss the next episode where Frank and Dr. Gagnon continue unpacking the cultural and theological consequences of redefining God’s design for sexuality.

If you enjoyed this podcast episode PLEASE HELP US SPREAD THE TRUTH OF CHRISTIANITY BY SUPPORTING OUR MINISTRY USING THE LINK BELOW. 100% of your donation goes to ministry, 0% to buildings!

Resources mentioned during the episode:

Donate to CrossExamined.org
The Bible and Homosexual Practice: Texts and Hermeneutics
Website – RobertGagnon.net
Follow Dr. Gagnon on Facebook – https://www.facebook.com/robert.a.gagnon.56
Follow Dr. Gagnon on X – https://x.com/RobertAJGagnon1

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Bart Ehrman (see timestamp 12:51 – 17:46) and Alex O’Connor (see timestamp 1:12:40 – 1:14:32) have both tried to undermine the eyewitness argument for Jesus’s resurrection by comparing it to the eyewitness testimony for Mormonism’s golden plates. Both Alex and Bart challenge Christian apologists with this question:

“Why do apologists reject the eyewitness testimony of Mormonism when their reasons for believing in Christianity are founded on the eyewitness testimony of the apostles?”

Are they right that this is a double standard? After all, Mormonism has a total of twelve eyewitnesses for its key claim about the golden plates. In addition to Joseph Smith’s testimony, eight witnesses say they saw the golden plates, plus three more witnesses say that an angel showed them the plates. There are a few simple points of response to this specific challenge.

  1. Christianity “Got There First”
    Christianity is privileged over Mormonism because it ‘got there first’. Just like Islam, Mormonism tries to build upon the historic Christian message.[1] And just like Islam, Mormonism is birthed from a supposed angelic appearance. But the apostle Paul writes all the way back in c.50 A.D.:

“But even if we or an angel from heaven should preach to you a gospel contrary to the one we preached to you, let him be accursed” (Galatians 1:8 ESV).

He also writes in 2 Corinthians 11:12-15 (ESV) that Satan disguises himself as an angel of light, whose servants likewise disguise themselves as servants of righteousness. Moreover, the Bible ‘signs off’, as it were, with a warning for all future generations. Jesus says in Revelation 22:18 (ESV):

“I warn everyone who hears the words of the prophecy of this book: if anyone adds to them, God will add to him the plagues described in this book…” 

And yet the Book of Mormon comes along in the 19th century and church authorities say in its introduction:

“The Book of Mormon was the most correct of any book on earth, and the keystone of our religion, and a man would get nearer to God by abiding by its precepts, than by any other book.”

The reality is that Christianity’s eyewitness testimony trumps Mormonism’s by the rule: first-come-first-served. Christianity is smart; it safeguards itself against specific alterations of its message, and that is the privilege it gets for being first on the scene. It beats Mormonism by 1800 years.

  1. For Mormonism, eyewitness testimony is unstable.
    Mormonism’s eyewitness testimony is unstable in comparison to the testimony of the apostles. The apostles’ eyewitness testimony is unified and doesn’t carry the stain of eventual scandal, faction, and dissension.

Mormonism’s witness history is much more stained. With the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints’ own official website, we learn that each of the three witnesses – who claimed to see an angel – later fell out with Joseph Smith and never reconciled with him. We also learn that some of the eight witnesses (who were mostly made up of two families) eventually became estranged from the LDS church.

In apostolic Christianity, there is no falling out between any of the key figures such that a key eyewitness like Paul, Peter, James, or John walks away from the church or is excommunicated from the church.

An important principle from Detective J. Warner Wallace is that we can learn a lot by observing the lives of eyewitnesses. Disunity stains the record of Mormon witnesses in their relationships with either the LDS church or with Joseph Smith, adding doubt to key elements of their testimony about the golden plates.

  1. Only One of These has a Support Structure
    Christianity’s testimony has a supporting structure; Mormonism’s doesn’t. To acknowledge Bart and Alex’s challenge; Christianity’s eyewitness testimony certainly has important evidential value. The apostles were willing to go to their deaths for what they believed, and it is difficult to pin them down for a false motive if they merely invented Christianity for personal gain.

But apostolic eyewitness testimony is only one piece of a broader cumulative case for Christianity.[2] The apostles proclaimed Jesus’s resurrection not only because they were convinced that they saw him alive, but they did so at personal cost and while appealing to the greater metaphysical story of the Old Testament (see for example Peter’s speeches in Acts 2-3, or Paul’s creed in 1 Corinthians 15:3-4).

And we also have non-Christian sources, written within 100 years of Jesus’s lifetime, from which we can verify and reconstruct the apostolic claim of the resurrection.[3] Notwithstanding the argument for biblical reliability, Christianity can still make a case for the resurrection even without the Bible.

Not so on Mormonism. Mormonism’s claim to the golden plates is isolated and does not locate itself within a greater plausibility structure (for instance, nowhere are the plates prophesied about in the Bible). And Mormonism cannot appeal outside of itself – neither to non-Mormon sources nor to archaeology – to verify its eyewitness claims about the golden plates.

In summary   

Christians are not guilty of a double standard for affirming the eyewitness testimony of apostolic Christianity but rejecting the eyewitness testimony of Mormonism. Mormonism’s eyewitness testimony can be criticised for three reasons:

  1. First, for claiming to have scriptural revelation in addition to the Bible, even though the Bible explicitly warns against this.
  2. Second, for disunity amongst its witnesses.
  3. Third, for its isolated claim without a greater plausibility structure.

By contrast, Jesus’s apostles warned of future false prophets altering their message, they remained committed to unity of faith until their deaths, and they plugged their eyewitness testimony into both history and an overarching structure of scriptural fulfilment and Messianic expectation.

Eyewitness testimony is only one part of a broader cumulative case for God’s existence and Jesus’s resurrection. But Mormonism solely appeals to taking 12 witnesses at their word in an isolated claim. Mormonism’s eyewitness testimony is not the same as Christianity’s.

References:

 

[1] [Editor’s Note: Latter Day Saints, also known as Mormons, commonly identify as a denomination of Christianity. From the perspective of historic Christianity that label however is mistaken since historic Christianity contradicts Mormon doctrine by affirming Trinitarian monotheism, rejecting polytheism, denying any “Heavenly Wife” of Father God, and more. The theological differences between Mormonism and historic Christianity are not just “denominational” disagreements but rather heretical divergence. In this way, Mormonism is better understood as a cult offshoot departing from Christianity rather than a denomination within Christianity. In this blog, “Christianity” refers to historic/orthodox Christianity (i.e., Catholicism, Protestantism, and Eastern Orthodox) in distinction from Mormonism/Latter Day Saints.]

[2] See for example Frank Turek’s 6 Es for the reliability of the New Testament; See also J Warner Wallace: The Cumulative Case For Christianity: Death By A 1,000 Paper Cuts. Incidentally, Wallace has plenty of work on the differences between Mormonism and Christianity on his YouTube channel.

[3] Besides archaeology, the two main non-Christian sources which testify to the apostles’ claims are Roman-source Tacitus (Annals 15.44) and Jewish-source Josephus (Antiquities 18.63–4). For more on the authenticity of Josephus’s passage, see T C Schmidt’s ground-breaking 2025 book “Josephus and Jesus: New Evidence for the One Called Christ.” A helpful chapter on external corroboration of the New Testament can be read in J. Warner Wallace, “Chapter 12: Were They Corroborated?” in Cold-Case Christianity: Updated and Expanded Edition (Colorado Springs, David C Cook Publishers: 2023).

Recommended Resources: 

Another Gospel? by Alisa Childers (book)

Early Evidence for the Resurrection by Dr. Gary Habermas (DVD), (Mp3) and (Mp4)

Why We Know the New Testament Writers Told the Truth by Frank Turek (mp4 Download)

The Top Ten Reasons We Know the NT Writers Told the Truth mp3 by Frank Turek

 


Sean Redfearn is a former Community Youth Worker who now works for Christian Concern in Central London, UK. He completed an MA in Religion at King’s College London, is in the process of completing the MA Philosophy program at Southern Evangelical Seminary, and is a 2022 CrossExamined Instructor Academy graduate. Passionate about Jesus, he is grateful for the impact that apologetics has had on his faith.

Ex-muslim turned Christian, Ridvan Aydemir aka “Apostate Prophet”, returns to the program to continue his conversation with Frank about theological problems with Islam and his recent conversion from atheism to Christianity. Together they answer questions like:

  • What role did David Wood play in his conversion from atheism to Christianity?
  • As an ex-Muslim, how did visiting Jerusalem change his point of view on Judaism?
  • Why is the resurrection of Jesus essential to the truth of Christianity?
  • Do we need 100% certainty to believe that anything is true?
  • Why is living a Christian life more fulfilling than any other worldview?
  • What inspirational words did Charlie Kirk share with Ridvan shortly before his death?
  • What advice would Ridvan give to Christians who want to evangelize to Muslims?

There’s even more important insights to share, so be sure to stay tuned for a future episode with the Apostate Prophet where he shares even more advice on evangelizing Muslims, the Hamas-Israel conflict, misunderstandings between Muslims and Christians, and why radical Islam has no place in the West!

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Resources mentioned during the episode:

Donate to CrossExamined
Ex-Muslim Tells Americans The Truth About Islam
How God Destroyed My Atheism with David Wood
Charlie Kirk and Apostate Prophet on Islam
ApostateProphet.com
The Apostate Prophet YouTube Channel
Follow the Apostate Prophet on X

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