I do not just say that the Bible is a book of the highest standards of moral. It is what the book says and the book itself can prove it. There are so many books regarding moral that now exist in the world. But the Bible is above them all. And it can be proven by the teachings of the Bible.
We do not refute that there are other books that teach morality and there are other religious books regarded as sacred by those people who believe in them who teach also morality. But why do I say that the Bible is a book of the highest form of morality there is that exists on earth? First of all, the Bible is a book wherein the words of God are written. Of course not all the words in the Bible are the words of God, but there are specific words of God in the Bible, and those are very much discernable because the Bible says so. Whenever there is a quotation coming from God, you will be familiarized with the introductions of all the Bible writers before they write the sacred words of God: “And God said,” “Thus God said,” “God said,” “The Lord spake unto,” etc. So if we read closely, the Bible is a book that contains pronouncements from God Himself. This is proven by the Apostle Paul in Hebrews 1:1-2,which reads –
“God, who at sundry times and in divers manners spake in time past unto the fathers by the prophets, Hath in these last days spoken unto us by his Son, whom he hath appointed heir of all things, by whom also he made the worlds;”
The verses clearly state that God has spoken unto the fathers in diverse manners and times and places and has spoken unto us in these last days by sending His Son the Lord Jesus Christ. The Lord Jesus Christ, during His ministry on earth, said in the book of John 12:49 –
“For I have not spoken of myself; but the Father which sent me, he gave me a commandment, what I should say, and what I should speak.”
So, the pronouncements of the Lord Jesus Christ are words of God. Now, how do we discern, how do we know that the word came from God? There is a very distinct quality of the word of God in the Bible. In the book of Proverbs 8:8-9 we read –
“All the words of my mouth are in righteousness; there is nothing froward or perverse in them. They are all plain to him that understandeth, and right to them that find knowledge.”
So there is nothing perverse, there is nothing wrong, no contradiction whatsoever with the words coming from the mouth of God. Another distinct quality of the word of God was preached by the Apostle Paul in I Thessalonians 2:3-4
“For our exhortation was not of deceit, nor of uncleanness, nor in guile: But as we were allowed of God to be put in trust with the gospel, even so we speak; not as pleasing men, but God, which trieth our hearts.”
We must, at this juncture, notice what the Apostle Paul said, that as they were trusted by God to speak they speak. And what they speak is not of uncleanness, deceit or guile. Meaning, the words of the Lord are without deceit, without uncleanness or guile. They are simple, straightforward truth containing no contradictions whatsoever. Another quality of the word of God is in the book of Hebrews 4:12 –
“For the word of God is quick, and powerful, and sharper than any two-edged sword, piercing even to the dividing asunder of soul and spirit, and of the joints and marrow, and is a discerner of the thoughts and intents of the heart.”
On verse 13 it says –
“Neither is there any creature that is not manifest in his sight: but all things are naked and opened unto the eyes of him with whom we have to do.”
Meaning, the word of God in the Bible is quick or alive; it is powerful, it is sharper than any two-edged sword, and it pierces to the hearts and thoughts. It knows the thoughts and hearts of men. And no human secret cannot be made manifest by the power of the word of God. By these qualities we will know if what we are reading in the Bible, or in any other book that was written on this earth, are the true words of God or not. The word of God works. In the book of I Thessalonians 2:13, the Apostle Paul said –
“For this cause also thank we God without ceasing, because, when ye received the word of God which ye heard of us, ye received it not as the word of men, but as it is in truth, the word of God, which effectually worketh also in you that believe.”
It is clear in the verse that the word of God is not just like the word of man, but as it is in truth, the word of God, which effectually works unto you that believe. So the power of the word of God is manifest unto the believers. It works among the believers. It does things to those that believe. And what the word of God can do is manifest among the believers. And what does it do? In the book of James 1:21 –
“Wherefore lay apart all filthiness and superfluity of naughtiness, and receive with meekness the engrafted word, which is able to save your souls.”
The word of God is powerful to blot out all filthiness and superfluity of naughtiness in a man. It renews a creature. The word of God has a power to renew; it regenerates and it is proven among those who believe. Let us read in the book of I Peter 1:23 –
“Being born again, not of corruptible seed, but of incorruptible, by the word of God, which liveth and abideth forever.”
The word of God is able to make a man a new being. It is an agent by which a man can be born again. It is likened in the Bible to a seed which is not corruptible. Nobody can corrupt it. Nothing can corrupt the word of God. After knowing all these things, let us analyze from the written word of God in the Bible the morality that is being taught by God’s words. In the Bible it says, in Matthew 19:5-6 –
“And said, For this cause shall a man leave father and mother, and shall cleave to his wife: and they twain shall be one flesh? Wherefore they are no more twain, but one flesh. What therefore God hath joined together, let not man put asunder.”
I want you to please notice the word twain, or two. A man shall cleave to his wife, not wives [twain, only one partner]. And this is the highest standard of morality among married people. Let us read. Hebrews 13:4 says –
“Marriage is honorable in all, and the bed undefiled: but whoremongers and adulterers God will judge.”
So marriage is confined to only two contracting parties: the man and the woman, or the husband and the wife. There is no such thing in the Bible as marriage to more than one. It is not allowed. But there are religious books that say that you can get more than one wife. It’s directly contradicting the pure words of God in the Bible. And the very good example is the Book of Mormons. In their Doctrine and Covenants they have this to say:
According to Joseph Smith, which I will call a false prophet, this is a revelation that he received from God. I know that Joseph Smith has his god and his god is not the God of the Bible. I do not even want to call this group The Church of Jesus Christ of the Latter-day Saints. With the standards of morality in the Bible the Mormons cannot be considered saints. Pardon me for saying these words.
Saints in the Bible are those who obey the rules of sainthood. And one of those rules is to have only one wife. Having two wives will not make marriage honorable and the bed undefiled as Hebrew 13:4 says. Marrying more than one woman defiles the bed. Let us read in the book of Romans 7:2-3, it says –
“For the woman which hath an husband is bound by the law to her husband so long as he liveth; but if the husband be dead, she is loosed from the law of her husband. So then if, while her husband liveth, she be married to another man, she shall be called an adulteress: but if her husband be dead, she is free from that law; so that she is no adulteress, though she be married to another man.”
So it is clear in the verse that if a woman, or in the case of the man also, marries another while the husband or the wife is living, the woman will be called an adulteress, likewise the man. It is clear in the book of Matthew 19:9 –
“And I say unto you, Whosoever shall put away his wife, except it be for fornication, and shall marry another, committeth adultery: and whoso marrieth her which is put away doth commit adultery.”
Marrying another when one of the parties is still living will fall into adultery. Of course there may be millions who believe in the Book of Mormons and nobody can question the integrity of these people. There are judges, there are lawyers and there are statesmen who belong to this group of people who believe that plurality of marriage, as taught in the Book of Mormons, is a true revelation from God. But it is not. It contradicts the word of God in the Bible. In the Bible, especially for bishops, or those that preach the gospel of Christ, only one wife is allowed. I Timothy 3:2 says –
“A bishop then must be blameless, the husband of one wife, vigilant, sober, of good behavior, given to hospitality, apt to teach;”
So if you get two wives then you are not blameless. Just like what happened to Joseph Smith and Brigham Young, the first two leaders of the Mormon Church that exists now in so many parts of the world. Brigham Young had 25 wives; 48 for Joseph Smith. They did not even abide by the revelation that they claim to have received from God. The revelation alleges that you can have only ten wives. But because of their greed for women and their lust, Joseph Smith had 48 and Brigham Young 25. Why do I say that the standard of morality in the Bible is far more excellent than any other book of religion, especially if we are going to compare it with the Book of Mormons? First, you have to know my intention. I’m not trying to destroy anybody’s reputation. But I have read that there was an apostle of the Mormon Church who claimed that their Book of Mormons is more correct and excellent than the Bible. This is what they have to say:
Although it was said before my time, before I was born, I’m concerned about this for my fellowmen. Why? This is a blasphemous statement because it places the words of Joseph Smith far more superior than the word of God, and that is blasphemy. God tells us the highest standard of morality in the life of a married person – to have only one wife. Joseph Smith tells us that it can be ten, especially if they are virgins. But Joseph Smith himself did not follow such revelation. He accumulated 48 wives and most of them were not virgins. They were wives of his co-ministers in their church. Imagine, is there morality in there? Let us ask a former Mormon member. What is the first problem they encounter when they abide by the wrong teachings of the Book of Mormons? Number one is jealousy.
We are informed by the Bible and it was mentioned earlier that the word of God is a discerner of truth. It pierces to the thoughts and to the heart of a man. What is jealousy according to the Bible? The Bible defines jealousy as wisdom from demons. It is satanic. Let us read in the book of Proverbs 6:34 –
“For jealousy is the rage of a man: therefore he will not spare in the day of vengeance.”
Jealousy is a form of anger or rage that will spare not when it finds time for vengeance. History bears evidences and proofs of this powerful word of God. There are those who kill their husband or their wife because of jealousy. No Mormon member will say that they do not feel this human emotion, jealousy. And this is something that Mormons cannot hide. It was a confession from a former member of the Mormons. If you are under one roof and there are ten wives, you are wives of only one man, you will see the unfairness and the inequitableness of the treatment because no man can treat ten wives equitably and exactly fair. Jacob or Israel had only four wives but his love is more on Rachel than the other three. And there was jealousy also among the children of Israel. It’s the reason why Joseph the Dreamer was sold or maltreated by his eleven brothers, because of jealousy. Jealousy in polygamy is very rampant not only among the wives but also among the children. If you are one of the ten wives of your husband and each of you has five children then you will be a family of more than fifty. How can jealousy be prevented among those fifty coming from different wombs? So polygamy and the plurality of marriage give way for satan because jealousy came from satan. James 3:16, 15 (Revised Standard Version) says–
“For where jealousy and selfish ambition exist, there will be disorder and every vile practice.
This wisdom is not such as comes down from above, but is earthly, unspiritual, devilish.”
If you must believe, it is better to believe in James the brother of our Lord Jesus Christ than to believe in the false prophets of the Mormons. Jealousy is devilish. It’s satanic and it is the product of the plurality of marriage or polygamy. Proving once again that what God have said is the utmost truth about human passions and human emotions. And if you have only one wife and living by the standards of God’s word, a loving husband to your wife, and a wife that subjects herself to her husband, Ephesians 5:23-28 :
“For the husband is the head of the wife, even as Christ is the head of the church: and he is the savior of the body. Therefore as the church is subject unto Christ, so let the wives be to their own husbands in every thing. Husbands, love your wives, even as Christ also loved the church, and gave himself for it; That he might sanctify and cleanse it with the washing of water by the word, That he might present it to himself a glorious church, not having spot, or wrinkle, or any such thing; but that it should be holy and without blemish. So ought men to love their wives as their own bodies. He that loveth his wife loveth himself.”
Then the family ties and values are intact and there is no place like home if the home is where the word of God and its morality dwells. Coming home to a home with women competing to be a desirable wife for only one man and with children competing to be heirs of the riches of only one man is just like coming home to hell. You may comment and suggest and add to what has been laid in this article.
May God bless you.