Another Testament of Christ’s?

In another triumph of Madison Avenue, a commercial has aired on television in which an attractive and articulate couple portraying husband and wife are discussing spiritual values which they favored, for themselves, and their family. The climax was reached when the woman announced that “we have another testament of Jesus Christ” … and produced a copy of the Book Of Mormon. Give credit where it is due: the commercial has superb production values, it was well written and well performed; persuasive, as far as the information presented goes.

But, it is a lie. The lady did not have “another testament of Jesus Christ.” There is not “another” testament of Jesus Christ. Several considerations make this apparent.

First: “For where a will is involved, the death of the one who made it must be established” (Hebrews 9:16). Jesus died and brought His true testament into force (Hebrews 9:17). When did He die again, for “another testament?” Romans 6:10 reads, “For the death he died he died to sin, once for all …. ” Christ died, once, to make His testament of force. He has not died again. He has not “another” testament.

Second, He has not “another” testament be- cause there is no need for it. His testament sup- plies every need. It is the testament revealed and preserved on the strength of Jesus’ promises. First, in John 14:26 (“But the Helper, the Holy Spirit, whom the Father will send in my name, he will teach you all things and bring to your remembrance all that I have said to you”) and then in John 16:13 (“When the Spirit of truth comes, he will guide you into all the truth, for he will not speak on his own authority, but whatever he hears he will speak, and he will declare to you; the things that are to come”). “All things”, “all that I have said unto you”, “all the truth”: does that sound like some information was going to be withheld, to be revealed centuries later? Did Jesus keep His promise? Did the Holy Spirit do His work?

Jesus’ testament, revealed by the Holy Spirit to men who wrote, is that of which Paul speaks in 2 Timothy 3:16-17, “All Scripture is breathed out by God and profitable for teaching, for reproof, for correction, and for training in righteousness, that the man of God may be competent, equipped for every good work.” The Scripture makes the man of God competent, “for every good work.” So, in writing to the Corinthians Paul expressed the desire that they learn “not to go beyond what is written,” (1 Corinthians 4:6); and Peter said that divine power has “granted to us all things that pertain to life and godliness, through the knowledge of him who called us …” (2 Peter 1:3). The testimony of Jesus was, then, revealed in words (1 Corinthians 2:13) and it was a complete revelation, “once for all delivered” (Jude 3).

Furthermore, this complete, once-for-all delivered testament is divinely protected: nobody has stolen part of it, or changed it. Jesus promised in Matthew 24:35, “Heaven and earth will pass away, but my words will not pass away.” In 1 Peter 1:23 Peter writes of “the word of God” as an “imperishable” seed, which is “living and abiding”; and then in verse 25 he quotes Isaiah, “the word of the Lord remains forever.”

That the Book of Mormon is counterfeit is also indicated in the stern warning of the Holy Spirit by the apostle Paul in Galatians 1:8-9: “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. As we have said before, so now I say again: If anyone is preaching to you; a gospel contrary to the one you received, let him be ac- cursed.”

Is the Book of Mormon the gospel Paul preached? Obviously not, their claim is that this is “another testament”. It is, then, a gospel “contrary to the one we preached to you”; and whoever preaches it is accursed, and anathema.

So: the Book of Mormon is not “another testament of Jesus Christ.” It is a forgery. If nothing else, it fails the test used for years against creeds, disciplines, catechisms and now questionnaires: if it says more, it says too much; if it says less, it says too little; if it says the same, why have it? All such creeds and “testaments” are divisive.

The superb production values of the commercial actually mean nothing: it is not how you say it, it is what you say, present trends and tendencies to the contrary notwithstanding. It does not make any difference how winsomely error may be packaged, it is still error: hate it (Psalm 119:104) and love truth.

Related

Abundant Life: November/December 2008

• What is Worship? by Mark Roberts
• Does History Really Repeat Itself? by T. D. Roberts