Evaluation & Response to “Crossless” Theology, Part 2

Dear Guests:

Following is another example from Antonio da Rosa 

He wrote, “I believe Mormonism is a cult which teaches damnable heresies concerning Jesus.”

Then he writes,

“We can evangelize them using their own bible: the King James Bible, showing them that Jesus of Nazareth says that whoever doesn't believe in Him will be condemned, and all who entrust their eternal well-beings to Him will never perish and have everlasting life. If they trust in the Jesus of the King James Bible to save them from condemnation and give them eternal life whereby they can never perish, why aren't they saved? They have the right thing in the right person.”

Antonio is correct in that the Mormon holds to, “damnable heresies concerning Jesus.” In a witnessing situation, however, Antonio says he will dismiss their “damnable heresies about Jesus” as mere “misconceptions” to be dealt with later.

Antonio is saying that the Mormon, who steadfastly believes, “damnable heresies concerning Jesus,” can still be born again if he believes in the Jesus of the KJV. When did the Jesus of the KJV become the spirit brother of Satan; which is who the Mormon thinks Jesus is?

Antonio says that if the Mormon will entrust his eternal well-being to who he believes is a false-Christ that is enough to be born again.

For example he wrote, “Mormons, believing what they are taught, are lost, on their way to the lake of fire.”

Antonio’s position is that the Mormon can be saved even while he/she clings to and believes the same heresies (“what they were taught”) about Jesus that Antonio says, in that quote, make them “lost, on their way to hell.”

Antonio, speaking for the “Crossless” gospel is teaching that the object of faith does NOT need to be the Lord Jesus Christ whom we know as Deity. According to Antonio as long as the lost (Mormon or any lost man) believes in a promise of eternal life, no matter whom they think Jesus is, they are born again.

Yesterday (2/5/08) Antonio continued to explain his personal beliefs in regard to Mormon teaching on the deity of Christ. I’ll preface his latest statement with a question Rachel (Pursuit of Truth) posted to him. Rachel wrote, “I think we/you have confirmed in many ways that you believe a Mormon (or anyone) can be born again while still actively denying the deity of Jesus, as long as such a person was trusting in Jesus alone for eternal life. If this is not true of your position, please say so now.”

This was Antonio’s reply,

“A Mormon is not going to deny the deity of the Lord Jesus Christ. He everywhere confirms it. The Mormon definitely believes in the deity of Jesus.”

This was Rachel’s response,

“You are splitting hairs again, and you know it. Mormons teach that Jesus became God by following God’s commands. They also teach that Jesus was a created being and that he is the spirit brother of Lucifer. Both of these are false teachings and cannot be accurately described as ‘believ[ing] in the deity of Jesus’. Believing that some person named Jesus finally ascended to godhood is NOT the same as believing that Jesus IS God, especially when they teach that we all have that very same potential. If you’re going to expand belief in the ‘deity’ of Jesus to include mere attaining of godhood (as if that were even possible, even Matthew I think would agree that we cannot be ‘God’ as God is), then it essentially loses its meaning. Mormons teach that Jesus is a created being. Such teaching is inherently opposed to the orthodox teaching of Jesus’ deity, for ‘God’ cannot be created. Thus your comment that the Mormon will believe in the ‘deity’ of Jesus is disingenuous.”

I can’t be sure if Antonio's statement is “disingenuous,” or he actually believes what he is saying about Mormonism and the deity of Christ. Based on the mounting number of extremist statements coming from him, I think it may be the latter.

Once you adopt the egregious errors of a false Gospel, which the Zane Hodges "Crossless" gospel is, you will slide into more false teaching, such as we are witnessing with Antonio da Rosa’s latest affinity for Mormon doctrine on the Lord’s deity.

The kind of radical departure from Scripture is exactly what must be exposed to protect unsuspecting believers from being swept into this error. The “Crossless” gospel must be refuted and its advocates “marked” and “avoided” (Rom. 16:17-18) to protect Bible-believing churches from any more of this kind of egregious error.


LM

*Antonio's comments appeared on 1/23/2008 9:22am & 2/05/2008 5:04pm respectively at Rose's Reasonings