A tree has a root structure that supports the base and the weight of the tree. Inerrancy is the root structure and base on which the doctrine of Scripture is built. God has given special revelation of Himself via Scripture and inspired His servants to record it. Christians want assurance that the Bible is a dependable source of revelation from and about God. The doctrine of inerrancy gives Christians the confidence that God’s Word is without error, and entirely reliable in all that it teaches.
Inerrancy is a test for orthodoxy, but it is not a test for salvation. One can potentially deny inerrancy and be saved, but we need to ask the following questions: “Are they inconsistent in their beliefs? All salvific truths are found in the Bible, but how can one trust those salvific truths without inerrancy? What if the salvific statements are wrong?” To be consistent in their beliefs, Christians should affirm the inerrancy of Scripture. In this article, we will see inerrancy as a test for orthodoxy as we view two beliefs held by Mormonism and Jehovah’s Witnesses, as well as church history’s refutation of those beliefs. Then we will be able to determine our response to these arguments today from those who would claim the name “Christian”, while their doctrine is not rooted in inerrancy. Inerrancy of Scripture and its divine inspiration provides the contrast between true and false Christianity.
Unorthodox Views of Christ and the Word
The doctrines of both Mormonism (including FLDS and RLDS/Communities of Christ) and the Jehovah’s Witnesses are riddled with error and heresy. There is no way possible in this article to cover the breadth of them. However, two of the errors they share revolve around the Word of God and the person and work of Jesus Christ. These two areas of doctrine are constantly under attack today, and we would do well to examine these issues briefly and consider how Christians today should stand on the inerrant and authoritative Scriptures to defend against those who falsely claim Christianity.
Mormonism
The Mormon Church (The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints; LDS) holds an unorthodox view of the Word. Mormonism teaches that the Bible is correct only so far as it is “correctly translated” and is considered “basically trustworthy”, according to Mormons. These followers of the teachings of Joseph Smith have four standard works in their religion: the (modified) King James Bible, the Book of Mormon, Doctrine and Covenants, and the Pearl of Great Price (which includes the “Book of Abraham”, a burial instruction written in ancient Egyptian, having nothing to do with Abraham). The eighth Article of Faith in Mormonism states, “We believe the Bible to be the word of God as far as it is translated correctly.”[i] They further clarify that “errors do appear in the original renders from the original renderings from the Hebrew and Greek,” and the biggest issue is that within the delivery of the ancient texts to the present day, “many plain and precious things [were] taken away” (1 Nephi 13:28).[ii] What they mean is that, “one-way modern revelation helps clarify and confirm the truths in the Bible is by restoring other truths that were lost.”[iii] None of these works—according to their official church doctrine—is considered without error and without the possibility of error.
Furthermore, Mormons have an unorthodox view of Jesus Christ. They do not hold that Jesus, the Son of God, is one with the Father and the Holy Spirit, but rather they are three separate persons. This warped view of the Trinity also leads to a flawed understanding of the work of the second person of the Trinity, Jesus Christ. The atonement of Christ does not atone enough for the Mormon Church; they believe that salvation comes not only by the work of Christ, but also by our work on earth. While it is not my purpose to describe all of the errors found within the doctrines of the Mormon Church, I believe that addressing these two dissentions to the inerrant, inspired Word of God will bolster the believer in defending the Scriptures against these same attacks today.
Jehovah’s Witnesses
Jehovah’s Witnesses, on the other hand, also hold unorthodox views of Christ and the Word. Jehovah’s Witnesses teach this about Scripture: “Only this organization functions for Jehovah’s purpose and to his praise. To it alone, God’s Sacred Word, the Bible, is not a sealed book.”[iv] And according to Watchtower, the organization’s publication, they also believe as follows: “The Bible is an organizational book and belongs to the Christian congregation as an organization, not to individuals, regardless of how sincerely they may believe that they can interpret the Bible. For this reason the Bible cannot be properly understood without Jehovah’s visible organization in mind.”[v] The Jehovah’s Witnesses are in great error as they proclaim that the Word of God is not complete and therefore interpret many facets of biblical truth as false.
One example of the Jehovah’s Witnesses’ view of the Bible in action is that only 144,000 can be saved—a misinterpretation of the book of Revelation, chapters 7 and 14. Therefore, they officially teach, “Likewise, the Greater Moses, Jesus Christ, is not the Mediator between Jehovah God and all mankind. He is the Mediator between his heavenly Father, Jehovah God, and the nation of spiritual Israel, which is limited to only 144,000 members.”[vi] They explain, “The exact number of the ‘little flock’ approved by the Father to be Kingdom heirs was not known until Christ, through an angel, revealed it to be 144,000 ‘who have been purchased from the earth.’ This ‘little flock’ of 144,000 Kingdom heirs, then, are those ones from among mankind who are ‘born again.’”[vii]
In truth, however, the “144,000 witnesses” refers not to the number of people saved, but to the Christians taken from the twelve tribes of Israel, commissioned by God to preach and teach the gospel, the song they know (Revelation 14:3).[viii] Not only is the Jehovah’s Witnesses’ interpretation of these chapters a distorted (mis)understanding of Scripture, this also results in a distorted and false understanding of the identity and work of Jesus Christ.
In a conversation I once had with a Jehovah’s Witness on the Boise State University campus, I asked, “What’s your view of Jesus?” The man responded, “I don’t believe in the corrupt Bible you believe in. Also, I don’t believe that doctrine matters.” His statement that he didn’t “believe in the corrupt Bible” that I believe in refers to his belief that the Protestant Bible is not clear (or perhaps not correctly translated), which means it’s also not authoritative to him. Only the Jehovah’s Witnesses’ translation of the Bible would be considered clear to him. Interestingly, this man was on the campus of BSU (Boise State University) spreading his “doctrine” by handing out leaflets, contradicting his own statement that doctrine doesn’t matter. Sadly, my experience with this Jehovah’s Witness is not the exception but the norm, as it has similarly been with Mormons, who equally dismiss orthodox views of the Bible.
Much like the Mormon Church, the Jehovah’s Witnesses also have a deeply flawed understanding of Jesus Christ and His work. While it is far beyond the scope of this article to detail all of the ways in which their understanding of Jesus Christ is incompatible with the truth of Scripture, we will take a closer look at the same error made by the Mormons—that Christ’s atonement is not sufficient for salvation, and works are required.
Without a proper understanding of Scripture and Christ, they are sorely lacking salvation in Christ alone, which we will see later in this article. Now, we will go to the early Church and the Church throughout history to better understand the fight for these truths that has already taken place, from which we can learn to respond to the false religions of Mormonism and Jehovah’s Witnesses.
Precedential Refutations from Church History
Because all Scripture is God-breathed, it is useful and profitable for Christians and the Church. As Paul instructed Timothy, so Christians today should make good use of Scripture for teaching, reproof, correction, and training in righteousness (2 Timothy 3:16). In the early Church, many questions were raised about the faith once and for all delivered to the saints (Jude 3). As the gospel spread among the Greco-Roman civilization and beyond, the task of clarifying orthodox doctrine became critical.
As we consider the religions of Mormonism and Jehovah’s Witnesses, we need to understand these are not new heresies but old ones, with their roots going back to the Church’s beginning. Biblically-minded Christians have good biblical and historical reasons to reject the teachings of Jehovah’s Witnesses and Mormonism, since the Church has previously responded to such false teachings at the Councils of Nicaea and Chalcedon. In this section, we will glimpse what the early Church and councils in church history believed and fought to protect regarding the deity of Jesus Christ, as well as the inerrant, authoritative Word of God.
Jesus’ Deity and Divinity
While throughout the first three hundred years of the Church various heresies had come and gone, few—if any—of the heresies would cause significant issues like those of Arianism. Arius (256–336 A.D.), a presbyter in the Alexandrian Church, argued that “God is by nature, essentially uncreated and owes his existence to nothing else. That being so, [Arians] argued the Son cannot not be God, because he owes his existence to something else—the Father. And if the Son was begotten by the Father, then there was a time when he did not exist, which is hardly compatible with being God. Moreover, how can there be two Gods?”[ix]
Arius’s belief centered on how the Son of God was not divine, but rather a creature (a mere created being) or an archangel. This, of course, caused conflict in the Church because the Church taught that Jesus was both fully God and fully human, as Paul explained in Philippians 2, verses 5-8:
Have this mind among yourselves, which is yours in Christ Jesus, who though he was in the form of God, did not count equality with God a thing to be grasped, but emptied himself, by taking the form of a servant, being born in the likeness of men. And being found in human form, he humbled himself by becoming obedient to the point of death, even death on a cross.
The Council of Nicaea was called to deal with the issues raised by Arius’s ex-communication, and also to settle the meaning of what exactly was considered orthodox.
Also, part of this Council of Nicaea, Athanasius (295–373 A.D.) was a bright and dynamic leader of the Alexandrian Church, standing as a fierce defender of the orthodox doctrines of Christian faith against Arianism. This man had a strong faith and a sharp mind. His argument was based on the belief that Father and Son are one (John 10:10). He is a key player in both defending the Word and the deity of Jesus.
Athanasius argued that divine will has nothing to do with the decision of the will. Jonathan Hill writes, “It is the nature of the Father to beget the Son, just as it is in the nature of the Son to be begotten. This essentially means that the divine nature itself exists in this way, on the one hand, begetting, and on the other hand, begotten.”[x] Athanasius was heavily persecuted throughout his life for upholding the Trinity, but Christianity is indebted to his boldness and work at the Council of Nicaea and the clarification and defense of the Nicene Creed.
At Nicaea, it was distinctly clarified what the Church would believe, and Arius’s views were soundly rejected. Inerrancy and the authority of Scripture became the foundation by which Christians were able to make clear distinctions between what was and was not orthodox.
As the Church began to form, more attacks came against it, so the need to clarify precisely what was Scripture/Scriptural became more critical. To determine what (New Testament) Scripture was, they used a test. First, the writer had to have been witness to Christ during His earthly ministry. Second, they had to have been apostles—those who were believed to have been commissioned by Jesus Himself. And therefore, Peter, James, Jude, Matthew, Mark, Luke, John, and Paul were authorized to spread His teachings. This standard of rooting doctrine to Scripture that was authoritative and inspired is one that would be foundational for the Church in the years ahead.
However, the argument for the deity and divine nature of Jesus Christ had not reached its end with Nicaea. The Christological controversy raged between two of the most influential churchmen of the East—Cyril of Alexandria (376–444 A.D.) and Nestorius (386–450 A.D.), the patriarch of Constantinople. Dr. Gonzalez writes, “This debate primarily revolved around who Jesus was, was He fully God and fully man or not? Nestorius insisted Christ had two natures while Cyril branding this belief in two Christ’s said he had only one.”[xi]
Likewise, Dr. Hill writes, “The Western church stepped into the situation when, Leo Bishop of Rome (400–461), wrote a famous letter to Flavian known as the Tome in which he approved of the condemnation of Eutyches. Leo spoke of the two natures of Christ, one divine and one human. He taught that even after the Incarnation, Christ retains these two natures, but he remains a single person identical with the Second Person of the Trinity.”[xii]
This Christological controversy was settled at the Council of Chalcedon. In A.D. 451, Emperor Theodosius called this council into session, and the council approved of Bishop Leo’s teaching from the Tome and put forth the Chalcedon Creed, an expansion of the Nicene Creed. Jonathan Hill explains, “This creed agreed with Cyril that Christ was one person, identical with the pre-existent Son. Still, it also agreed with Leo that after the Incarnation, he possessed two distinct natures, one human and one divine.”[xiii] While we have only skimmed the surface of the work done to establish in the Church both the deity and divinity of Jesus Christ, the Son of God, this simply shows that these arguments are not new; the Christian Church has a long history of defending the truth of the identity and work of Jesus Christ.
The Canon
The Bible has a great deal to say about itself. In 2 Timothy 3:16, Paul says to young Timothy, “All Scripture is breathed out by God and profitable for teaching, for reproof, for correction, and for training in righteousness.” Paul’s point here is the Holy Spirit, through the testimony of Himself, recognized the Old Testament as authoritative. Later, the Church considered the whole of the New Testament completed and closed. The word translated as “breathed out” by Paul in 2 Timothy 3:16–17, means that Scripture owes its origin and content to the divine breath of the Holy Spirit and is found in many other passages.[xiv] The human authors were guided and directed by the Holy Spirit, so what they wrote is not only without error, but it’s impossible to err. Thus, the Scriptures are of supreme value for man, because they are all the Lord wanted the Word to be. The Scriptures alone constitute the “without error” and “without the possibility of error” rule of faith and practice for the people of God.
The word canon means to stand or rule. The Canon is the list of authoritative and inspired Scripture. In Protestant Christianity, the Canon is the body of Scripture that constitutes the thirty-nine books of the Old Testament and twenty-seven in the New Testament. Athanasius was the first to recognize what are now the twenty-seven letters in the New Testament. The first list, which has come down to us of the twenty-seven books, which embrace only those that appear in our New Testament, is in a letter written by Athanasius, Bishop of Alexandria in the year A.D. 367.
Dr. LaTourette comments, “It was not till after that date that uniform agreement on the list was found among all teachers in the Catholic Church by at least the end of the second century a body of writings embracing a majority of the present twenty-seven was being regarded in the Catholic Church as the New Testament and was being placed alongside the Jewish Scriptures.”[xv] In order for the councils of Nicaea and Chalcedon to be able to tackle the discussions of the Trinity and Christology, the Church had to come to a consensus regarding the contents of the canon and its closure. The councils knew then, and we know now, that their consensus on the matter did not close the canon; that was the work of the Holy Spirit. However, in order to protect and defend the authority and inerrancy of the Holy Scripture, it was acknowledged and solidified.
One of the men who caused the initiation of the Church’s efforts to acknowledge widely the authority and completion of the canon was Marcion of Sinope (85–160 A.D.). To Marcion, the Old Testament God was a God who chooses only a particular people because He’s vindictive and intent on punishing them. To Marcion, Jehovah is a “god” of arbitrary justice. Marcion put the Old Testament aside in favor of the New Testament. The parts Marcion didn’t like, he changed. The only Scriptures recognized by Marcion were the epistles of Paul and the Gospel of Luke. The Mormons and Jehovah’s Witnesses are guilty of Marcion’s error because they retranslate, add to, or remove from the Bible to suit their theology, rather than believing the Bible as a reliable, sufficient, authoritative, and trustworthy source of doctrine.
The Church’s Response Today
While it is outside the scope of this article to respond to the entirety of the reasons to accuse both the Mormon Church and the Jehovah’s Witnesses of heterodoxy, which is a deviation from accepted or orthodox stands or beliefs. In this article, we have examined two of the grave errors their religions have made regarding Jesus and His Word. We have also briefly viewed a few of the actions taken in church history to prevent these heresies from entering Christian doctrine. Now, in light of the clear and sufficient Word of God, what should our response be to these false sects claiming the name of Christianity? Let us further examine their beliefs next to Scripture.
When we consider, for example, the teachings of Mormonism, we learn how they believe that extra texts are needed alongside the Bible to provide clarity for their beliefs. As Protestant Christians, we reject such teachings because the Bible provides a warning to not to add to or take away from the words (or meaning) of Scripture—the now-canonized sixty-six books of the Bible (Revelation 22:18–19).
Furthermore, as stated by the Westminster Assembly in 1646, we believe the clarity of Scripture entails “those things which are necessary to be known, believed, and observed, for salvation, are so clearly propounded and opened in some place of Scripture or other, that not only the learned, but the unlearned, in a due use of the ordinary means, may attain unto a sufficient understanding of them.”[xvi] What these two cults (Mormonism and Jehovah’s Witnesses) claim as true, which is not found within the confines of the Holy Canon, prevents them from rightly understanding salvation, which is the heart of the matter. Biblically-rooted Christians reject the interpretation of the Jehovah’s Witnesses and Mormonism because they believe differently about what constitutes the Scriptures, and thus about the person and work of Christ, among a whole host of other issues or topics.
At the heart of both the Jehovah’s Witnesses and Mormonism are different views of the Bible and how one can be saved. In the case of Mormonism, the belief is “that it is by grace that we are saved, after all we can do.”[xvii] The Jehovah’s Witnesses believe similarly in that they state that “salvation is by faith and what you do.”[xviii] Mormonism and Jehovah’s Witnesses not only have the wrong view of the Bible, but—because they have the wrong view of the Bible—they also have the wrong view of Jesus. At the center of Scripture is the person and work of the Lord Jesus.
During the 4th century, Augustine was considered one of the Church’s greatest theologians; he and Pelagius fought a battle over God’s grace. Through Augustine, we have The Confessions of Saint Augustine, a truly remarkable piece of literature that testifies of the grace of God in Christ. The argument between Augustine and Pelagius was one Dr. Trueman rightly identifies as being of “sin, grace, predestination.”[xix] The central issue of the battle between these two men was the idea of freedom.
To Pelagius, Christianity was a religion of merit, and thus man was ultimately responsible for his actions. Augustine’s point was different because, to him, grace now makes the fallen will free again by instilling a love for righteousness.[xx] Therefore, without the proper belief and understanding of grace and the work of Jesus Christ as both truly God and truly man on our behalf, Mormonism and Jehovah’s Witnesses are left with a warped view of salvation which depends primarily on their own works, not faith alone by the grace of God. Warfield writes:
In proportion as the grace of saving God in Christ is obscured or passes into the background, in that proportion does Christianity slip from our grasp. Christianity is summed up in the phrase: “God was in Christ, reconciling the world with himself’” [2 Cor. 5:19]. Where this great confession is contradicted or neglected, there is no Christianity.[xxi]
Dr. Warfield is absolutely correct. His statements regarding orthodox confessions of Christianity help highlight with abundant clarity the main differences between biblical Christianity, Jehovah’s Witnesses, and Mormonism. Stating that salvation is by “all you can do”, in addition to Jesus’ salvific work, as Mormonism teaches, or stating that salvation is “by faith alone and all you can do”, as the Jehovah’s Witnesses insist, creates a different religion entirely than biblical Christianity. Biblical Christianity is a revealed religion whereby God, as 2 Corinthians 5:19 states, has revealed Himself in Christ alone.
In the incarnation, what we see is Jesus—fully God and fully man—came on a rescue mission under a death sentence to save sinners (Matthew 1:21). On the cross, Jesus said, “It is finished” (John 19:30). Now Jesus pleads the merits of His blood on behalf of sinners, and they are saved (Acts 16:31; Romans 5:1–5). Now ascended, Jesus serves as High Priest over His people, living to serve as their Advocate (1 John 2:1) and Intercessor (Hebrews 7:25). This is the holy and divine Jesus, God the Son, revealed in the inerrant, living Word of God.
Neither Jehovah’s Witnesses nor Mormons, who believe and practice their respective doctrines, are Christians. Mormons ran a recent ad claiming they are “Christian”, but if you ask a Mormon if they are a Christian or a Mormon, they will tell you they are Mormon. Jehovah’s Witnesses proclaim something similar. Mormons and Jehovah’s Witnesses hold neither to orthodox views of the Bible, nor the orthodox views of the person and work of the Lord Jesus. What does this mean to us? Our view of the Bible matters. The clarity of Scripture teaches us that the Bible matters because it shows us the truth about God, who has revealed Himself as the great “I AM” (Exodus 3:14). Seven times in the gospel of John, the apostle shows how true this is, by highlighting Jesus’ “I AM” statements (John 6:35, 41, 48, 51; 8:12; 10:7, 9, 11, 14; 11:25; 14:6; 15:1, 5.). The “I AM” God of Exodus 3:14 is now the incarnate Son of God and Son of Man.
Because they deny basic Christian doctrine and insist that salvation is not through faith alone in Christ alone, Mormons and Jehovah’s Witnesses are not Christians. Unfortunately, these two groups have the wrong view of the Bible, and thus the wrong view of God and the person and work of the Lord Jesus. Biblical Christianity grounds itself in the truth of all that Scripture teaches. Scripture is as clear as the morning sunrise, testifying of the glory of Christ’s incarnation, and His return at the sunset of redemptive history. The grace of God is not something we deserve, as Pelagius taught, nor is it something we can “do all we can to earn”, as Mormonism and Jehovah’s Witnesses teach. Instead, when the grace of God “is contradicted or neglected, there is no Christianity.”[xxii] Christ is all, and throughout the Bible—from the first words of Genesis 1 to the last words in Revelation 22—He is the centerpiece.
The whole purpose of Scripture is to teach and proclaim God’s whole counsel to His people. All of God’s words in Scripture were given by God Himself, and are therefore important and enough for believers. Wayne Grudem remarks:
God issues severe warnings to anyone who would take away even one word from what He has said to His people (Deut. 4:2; 12:32; Rev. 22:18–19) so we cannot add to God’s words or take from them, for all are part of His larger purpose in speaking to His people. Everything stated in Scripture is there because God intended it to be there; God does not say anything unintentionally![xxiii]
All of Scripture is reliable, sufficient, authoritative, and trustworthy, which means all Scripture ought to be studied, taught, proclaimed, and enjoyed by Christians so they can learn about God, His ways, and especially about His Son, Jesus Christ.
The errant teachings of both the Jehovah’s Witnesses and Mormonism have been clearly dealt with throughout church history. We do not need to reinvent the wheel when ministering to Jehovah’s Witnesses or Mormons. Instead, we need to be faithful to understand and communicate that the Scriptures are not unclear with regard to the person and work of Jesus Christ, but clear and binding.
Summary
Inerrancy is not only an issue facing the Christian Church; it is also one that is under attack from cults. Doctrine not only matters but it is also essential, and the doctrinal differences between Orthodox Christianity and those of Jehovah’s Witnesses and Mormonism are significant. Central to those differences, as it pertains to this article, is how we view the Bible as Protestant Christians. Protestant Christians believe the whole Bible—the sixty-sixty canonized books—are the reliable, sufficient, trustworthy, and authoritative Word of God. Jehovah’s Witnesses and Mormonism don’t teach this as truth, and thus they retranslate the Bible, making modifications to it.
As I previously stated, inerrancy is not always a test for salvation. However, heretical groups such as those previously mentioned have glaringly erroneous views of Jesus Christ and His work. Therefore, a contradictive belief that Scripture contains error is a fairly reliable identifier as to a lack of salvation. And without repentance and turning to the True Christ found in the Holy Word of God, Mormons and Jehovah’s Witnesses are lost in their sin and self-reliant “salvation”. We can stand on Scripture which cannot fail, both to defend it and show them the way.
References:
[i] “What Does the Eighth Article of Faith Mean When It Says, ‘We Believe the Bible to Be the Word of God as Far as It Is Translated Correctly’?” The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints, September 2015, accessed May 15, 2020, https://www.churchofjesuschrist.org/study/new-era/2015/09/to-the-point/what-does-the-eighth-article-of-faith-mean-when-it-says-we-believe-the-bible-to-be-the-word-of-god-as-far-as-it-is-translated-correctly?lang=eng.
[ii] “What Does the Eighth Article of Faith Mean,” September 2015.
[iii] “What Does the Eighth Article of Faith Mean,” September 2015.
[iv] Watchtower Online Library, “Why Appreciate God’s Organization,” Watchtower, July 1, 1973, p. 402, accessed December 28, 2021, https://wol.jw.org/en/wol/d/r1/lp-e/1973484.
[v] Watchtower Online Library, “Finding Freedom Within Jehovah’s Visible Organization,” Watchtower, October 1, 1967, p. 587, accessed January 15th, 2022, https://wol.jw.org/en/wol/d/r1/lp-e/1967722#h=13:0-14:0.
[vi] Watchtower Online Library, “The Desire for Peace and Security Worldwide,” Watchtower, 1986, p. 10, accessed December 28th, 2021, https://wol.jw.org/en/wol/d/r1/lp-e/1101986071.
[vii] Ironically, the present-day number of Jehovah’s Witnesses world-wide totals well over 17 million people, negating the idea that only those of their “true church” will be saved and go to heaven, as this number far exceeds 144,000. Obviously, this number (17 million plus) does not include members of this religion since the days of its conception, which undoubtedly puts the grand total much higher.
[viii] Ironically, the present-day number of Jehovah’s Witnesses world-wide totals well over 17 million people, negating the idea that only those of their “true church” will be saved and go to heaven, as this number far exceeds 144,000. Obviously, this number (17 million plus) does not include members of this religion since the days of its conception, which undoubtedly puts the grand total much higher.
[ix] Jonathan Hill, History of Christian Thought (Downers Grove, IL: InterVarsity Press, 2007), 66.
[x] Hill, History of Christian Thought, 68.
[xi] Justo L. Gonzalez, The Story of Christianity: The Early Church to the Dawn of the Reformation, vol. 1 (New York: HarperCollins, 1984), 61.
[xii] Hill, History of Christian Thought, 78.
[xiii] Jonathan Hill, The History of Christianity (Oxford: Lion Publishing, 2007), 98.
[xiv] See also, Ex 20:1; 2 Sam 23:2; Isa 8:20; Mal 4:4; Matt 1:22; Luke 24:44; John 1:23; 5:39; 10:34, 35; 14; 16:13; 19:36–37; 20:9; Acts 1:16; 7:38; 13:34; Rom 1:2; 3:2; 4:23.
[xv] Kenneth Scott Latourette, A History of Christianity, 4th ed. (Peabody, MA: Prince, 2000), 1:134.
[xvi] Westminster Assembly, “Chapter 1,” (Westminster Confession of Faith, 1646).
[xvii] Church of Latter-Day Saints, The Book of Mormon, 2 Neph. 25:23. Accessed January 15, 2022. https://www.churchofjesuschrist.org/study/scriptures/bofm/2-ne/25?lang=eng.
[xviii] Charles Taze Russell, Studies in the Scriptures, vol. 1 (Edison, NJ: Bible Students of New Brunswick, 1994), 150, 152.
[xix] Carl R. Trueman, Grace Alone Salvation as a Gift of God What the Reformers Taught and Why It Still Matters (Grand Rapids: Zondervan, 2017), 75.
[xx] Augustine, On the Spirit and the Letter, 52.
[xxi] Cited in Fred G. Zaspel, Warfield on the Christian Life Living Life in the Light of the Gospel (Wheaton, IL: Crossway, 2012), 52.
[xxii] Cited in Zaspel, Warfield on the Christian Life Living Life in the Light of the Gospel, 52.
[xxiii] Wayne Grudem, Systematic Theology, (Grand Rapids: Zondervan, 1994, 2000), 90.
