"Therefore by the deeds of the law there shall no flesh be justified in his sight: for by the law is the knowledge of sin." Romans 3:20
"For when we were in the flesh, the motions of sins, which were by the law, did work in our members to bring forth fruit unto death." Romans 7:5
"For by grace are ye saved through faith; and that not of yourselves: it is the gift of God:
Not of works, lest any man should boast." Ephesians 2:8-9
What do all of these quotes have in common? Perhaps the overlooked is that they are taken out of context. However, they also seem to point to grace as the only source of our salvation. Many who fight against the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints for our belief in the power of righteous acts (because apparently encouraging our members to be charitable is satanic) use these scriptures as ammunition. So, is grace what saves us?
YES!
I cannot save myself. You cannot save yourselves. I can't save you, nor can you save me or anyone else-spiritually speaking. I refuse to disagree with the scripture in Romans 3:23, "For all have sinned, and come short of the glory of God." I sin on a regular basis, and don't do nearly enough service to justify my case that I am approaching perfection. And, because of this, Jesus Christ atoned-suffered-for all our misdeeds. He felt our pain. He understood our struggles. His good intentions slowly transformed into perfect empathy, and pure power. And, with his power he gives grace to us. And, through is grace, we are saved. Without his grace, we are not. It is only by accepting Jesus Christ as our redeemer and savior that we can be perfect. I truly "stand all amazed at the love Jesus offers me. Confused at the grace that so fully he proffers me." It's amazing, but I'm happy it's there.
There's one more thing the first listed scriptures have in common. They're all misunderstood and misquoted. In his epistle to the Romans, Paul tried to help them see the higher law. He wanted them to see that we are not saved by killing and burning animals, but by grace. Our works in the law that he was referring to were sacrifices and rituals contained in the Law of Moses. And now, rather than scorch the flesh of livestock, we are asked to become humble and seek God's grace. So, are we saved by our works?
NO!!!
As it says in Ephesians, if we were saved by our works, people would be keeping track of their proverbial gold stars and gloating about how elite they are. This can't be in Christ's church, so the power of the individual was removed, and our path to salvation was provided and standardized between any given person. Further, "Therefore we conclude that a man is justified by faith without the deeds of the law (of Moses)." (Romans 3:28) God requires faith. No one can deny me that assertion. To accept Christ, you inevitably have faith in his grace and in his saving power. Now, is just saying you believe in Christ enough to justify having faith?
NO!
This is where the need for works comes in. The savior, Jesus Christ, said in his famous Sermon on the Mount, "Ye are the light of the world...Let your light so shine before men, that they may see your good works, and glorify your Father which is in heaven" (Matt 5:14,16). If we have faith in Jesus Christ, why wouldn't we be seeking everyday to become more like him? Why wouldn't we be studying his life and striving to do our best to live as he does? Why wouldn't we seek to harbor that same love and charity that he did during his earthly ministry, and the same long-suffering and patience that he has for us now?
"Even so faith, if it hath not works, is dead, being alone.
Yea, a man may say, Thou hast faith, and I have works: shew me they faith without thy works, and I will shew thee my faith by my works." (James 2:17-18)
THIS is what the "Mormon" church teaches. We do not believe in our power to save ourselves, because we have none. We believe in our capacity to change and our divine inheritance to eventually become perfect as God is. To summarize, and to show how The Book of Mormon complements The Bible, I again cite from 2 Nephi, "...it is by grace that we are saved, after all we can do."
I believe in Jesus Christ. I know that I will be saved through his grace. His love comforts me in my struggles; and he never leaves me to fend for myself. I have faith in his power to support me and to improve my life. Because I have faith, I will try everyday to do good things because I know that's what he expects of me. I will work harder everyday to be better because I want to be as much like Him as I can. I will fully rely on grace, but will not settle for mediocrity-for that is not my purpose.
Nor is it yours.
Sunday, October 26, 2014
Sunday, October 12, 2014
Our Quest for Perfection
"Be ye, therefore, perfect." Matthew 5:48
What a challenge. No...what a commandment! In English, we have sayings that include, but are not limited to, "I'm only human," or more potent and contradictory, "Nobody's perfect." Contentment is the enemy to progression.
The topic of perfection employs the 3 major questions of the soul so many people ask themselves, Christian, Muslim, agnostic, or athiest: where did we come from, why are we here, and where are we going after we die? To many, any one of these to all of them are a mystery, and some convince themselves that the answers aren't important. Some get frustrated in their search for an answer that they give up and claim there was nothing, today has no purpose, and the "end" is just that.
As members of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, we know where we came from. Before our respective births, we resided with God and Jesus Christ in a spiritual state-lacking a body-and learned many things pertaining to living on earth. Skipping our purpose on earth, I remind you that I have commented many times on our destination after our bodies fail. This end potential gives us a purpose in life. In order to reach, in simple terms, the best place, in order to live forever with God and our families, we have to be perfect today. We need to be perfect tomorrow. We were supposed to be perfect yesterday. But how can we be perfect when we settle and justify the things we do because of our "human nature." We are all sons and daughters of God, to be human is not our nature.
There is nothing wrong with seeking perfection. Too often in school, I see classmates get discouraged and give up. They say, "Well, all I need is a B," or they find it humorous when they fail a class or test. Why would you do something without the intent to succeed or at least give it your best. If mediocrity is your best, then so be it, but that doesn't mean content has to settle in.
Now, this can lead to two very negative attitudes. We all know a perfectionist. Anything less than 100% on a test sends them spiraling into depression. We know that person that has to have the best toys. At the other end of the spectrum, there are those that harbor the existential belief, "It doesn't really matter in the end." I believe both of these to be not only wrong, but unhealthy. The former because you will never find happiness; you will only find insufficiency in yourself. The latter is inappropriate because you negate your potential to grow. You deny the power of Christ's atonement through which you can be perfect.
If you're still breathing, there's something you could be working on. There's something new to learn. Seek for correction. Seek for perfection. Rejoice in the little victories, and learn from the worst defeats. We are not alone on our journey to perfection. Christ was perfect, and he can help you become so, also. And, as is put so beautifully in 2 Nephi 25:23 "...And we know it is by grace that we are saved, after all we can do." Christ's atonement will help us. It will expunge our faults. It will erase our stains. But it will not make us a better person. It gives us the power, but we will not pray and wake up the next morning as a changed person.
After our diligence, after laboring, after all we can do, together with the power of Christ's atonement, we will change, and someday be perfect.
What a challenge. No...what a commandment! In English, we have sayings that include, but are not limited to, "I'm only human," or more potent and contradictory, "Nobody's perfect." Contentment is the enemy to progression.
The topic of perfection employs the 3 major questions of the soul so many people ask themselves, Christian, Muslim, agnostic, or athiest: where did we come from, why are we here, and where are we going after we die? To many, any one of these to all of them are a mystery, and some convince themselves that the answers aren't important. Some get frustrated in their search for an answer that they give up and claim there was nothing, today has no purpose, and the "end" is just that.
As members of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, we know where we came from. Before our respective births, we resided with God and Jesus Christ in a spiritual state-lacking a body-and learned many things pertaining to living on earth. Skipping our purpose on earth, I remind you that I have commented many times on our destination after our bodies fail. This end potential gives us a purpose in life. In order to reach, in simple terms, the best place, in order to live forever with God and our families, we have to be perfect today. We need to be perfect tomorrow. We were supposed to be perfect yesterday. But how can we be perfect when we settle and justify the things we do because of our "human nature." We are all sons and daughters of God, to be human is not our nature.
There is nothing wrong with seeking perfection. Too often in school, I see classmates get discouraged and give up. They say, "Well, all I need is a B," or they find it humorous when they fail a class or test. Why would you do something without the intent to succeed or at least give it your best. If mediocrity is your best, then so be it, but that doesn't mean content has to settle in.
Now, this can lead to two very negative attitudes. We all know a perfectionist. Anything less than 100% on a test sends them spiraling into depression. We know that person that has to have the best toys. At the other end of the spectrum, there are those that harbor the existential belief, "It doesn't really matter in the end." I believe both of these to be not only wrong, but unhealthy. The former because you will never find happiness; you will only find insufficiency in yourself. The latter is inappropriate because you negate your potential to grow. You deny the power of Christ's atonement through which you can be perfect.
If you're still breathing, there's something you could be working on. There's something new to learn. Seek for correction. Seek for perfection. Rejoice in the little victories, and learn from the worst defeats. We are not alone on our journey to perfection. Christ was perfect, and he can help you become so, also. And, as is put so beautifully in 2 Nephi 25:23 "...And we know it is by grace that we are saved, after all we can do." Christ's atonement will help us. It will expunge our faults. It will erase our stains. But it will not make us a better person. It gives us the power, but we will not pray and wake up the next morning as a changed person.
After our diligence, after laboring, after all we can do, together with the power of Christ's atonement, we will change, and someday be perfect.
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