Many christians have justified condemning members of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints on the basis that “they do not believe in grace.” Their justification for such a statement against the LDS church is typically formulated from a scripture in the Book of Mormon which reads:
“...it is by grace that we are saved, after all we can do.” -2 Nephi 25:23
The interpretation of this scripture by other christian denominations thus concludes that mormons think that they can earn their way to heaven. In response to such a frequent and sometimes vehemont judgment, lets first take a closer look at the context of that scripture. What the whole scripture actually says is:
“For we labor diligently to write, to persuade our children, and also our brethren, to believe in Christ, and to be reconciled to God; for we know that it is by grace that we are saved, after all we can do.” -2 Nephi 25:23
What is this prophet Nephi actually talking about? Missionary work. His words are not about self-salvation but a reaffirmation of the following scripture from the Bible:
“For whosoever will save his life shall lose it; but whosoever shall lose his life for my sake and the gospel’s, the same shall save it.” -Mark 8:35
What both Mark and Nephi agree on is the following principle: if you dedicate your life into God’s service, you will make it to heaven. That isn’t a selfish statement because 1) you are not serving yourself but God, 2) you cannot fool God and get into heaven by acting right with lurking selfish personal agendas, and 3) what better thing can one do on Earth than serve God in the attempt to help bring His children to salvation? If a life of such selfless devotion doesn’t qualify you to make it to heaven, nothing will.
The LDS church believes in grace so much that the prophet Nephi himself has also said the following:
“Wherefore, my beloved brethren, reconcile yourselves to the will of God, and not to the will of the devil and the flesh; and remember, after ye are reconciled unto God, that it is only in and through the grace of God that ye are saved.” -2 Nephi 10:24
If this church was a you-can-make-it-to-heaven-without-Jesus’-grace institution, why would Nephi have said that? Sounds like Nephi, and consequently the restored church of Jesus Christ believe that Christ is the only way to salvation -which is 100% accurate. Suddenly, it makes perfect sense that the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints is named so -because members of the LDS church believe completely in the atoning grace of Jesus Christ. Here is what an LDS religion professor has to say on the matter:
“Jesus doesn’t make up the difference. Jesus makes all the difference. Grace isn’t about filling gaps, it is about filling us.” -Brad Wilcox
The gospel topic guide on lds.org (the LDS church’s official website) clarifies our conviction about grace with the following statement:
“Grace is the help or strength given through the Atonement of the Lord Jesus Christ. Through the grace of God, everyone who has lived will be resurrected—our spirits will be reunited with our bodies, never again to be separated. Through His grace, the Lord also enables those who live His gospel to repent and be forgiven.”
In a nutshell, grace is Christ paying the whole debt of ours sins so all may live again, resurrect, and return to heaven if they want to. The question is; How can one discern whether or not a person wants to accept that grace and return to heaven? And if they do want to accept grace, how do they do it? These questions can be answered with a little more innumeration into the gospel of Jesus Christ.
The strong point in our belief along with Christ’s essential sacrifical atonement for us, is that we must do more than profess acceptance of God’s grace. We must demonstrate our acceptance of it. Are we all sinners? -yes. Can we avoid ever sinning? Not entirely, but it is eternally pivotal that we try to. This does not mean “save yourself” but rather “change yourself” by letting Christ’s grace influence you in all you do and say. The following example generates a wonderful parallel between this principle taught by Christ and...of all things...piano practice.
“Christ’s arrangement with us (referring to the atonement and how we accept His grace) is similar to a mom providing music lessons for her child. Mom pays the piano teacher. Because Mom pays the debt in full, she can turn to her child and ask for something. What is it? Practice! Does the child’s practice pay the piano teacher? No. Does the child’s practice repay Mom for paying the piano teacher? No. Practicing is how the child shows appreciation for Mom’s incredible gift. It is how he takes advantage of the amazing opportunity Mom is giving him to live his life at a higher level. Mom’s joy is found not in getting repaid but in seeing her gift used—seeing her child improve. And so she continues to call for practice, practice, practice.”
“In the same way, because Jesus has paid justice, He can now turn to us and say, “Follow me” (Matthew 4:19), “Keep my commandments” (John 14:15).” -Brad Wilcox
Suddenly, it makes sense that Christ would atone for all of our sins, but also give us commandments -a moral code of self discipline. He wants to change us -make us heaven quality bit by bit. We will never be perfect, but if we try our hardest to be so, “it is enough”(Mark 14:41).
Now, this is the point when many Protestants will tighten up and declare that we are talking about self-salvation again. Well, that is incorrect and let me explain the difference with another scriptural example:
When Christ approached the disciples at Galilee, he said “Follow me, and I will make you fishers of men” (Mathew 4:19). What if the disciples had said “Yeah Lord, we believe” and kept on fishing instead of forsaking their work and following Him? Would that have been true faith? Would that have been a change of heart? Would that show ANY importance felt for God’s work of salvation or the atonement? Nope. Like the disciples, God expects our answer to his offering of grace to be action, not a word. This action to accept grace is not about self-salvation. Rather, grace-influenced action is about self-cooperation with almight God and his perfect plan of redemption.
Many Christians do not believe or at least follow this doctrine. They limit themselves to the belief that one can merely proclaim acceptance of God’s grace and baptize so as to merit guarenteed salvation. To paraphrase Dr. Wilcox, too many born-again Christians are stuck on the quiery “Have you been saved by grace?” when they really should also be asking “Have you been changed by grace?” No major life transformation here. No consideration of the ten commandments here. Nope, their doctrine of Christ is that of an appeased conscience without any change. “He did it all. I’m grateful and I am saved!” is as far as they delve into that doctrine -and hey, that sounds like an exciting and easy theology. It is also grossly inaccurate. Consider James’ condemnation of such a rational:
God expects us to let grace pull us towards action -both the actions of serving others (living a good Christian life) and those of personal change (adopting good Christian values). You cannot steal, lie, be unchaste, disregard the sabbath, do drugs, or anything else and expect salvation from saying “Lord I believe” for an hour each week in church. This is what Jesus himself has to say on the matter:
“Not every one that saith unto me, Lord, Lord, shall enter into the kingdom of heaven; but he that doeth the will of my Father which is in heaven.” -Mathew 7:21
Backing up this scripture is one from the Book of Mormon that depicts how the wicked rationalize iniquity. It is theologically identical to those who profess Jesus, but then continue committing whatever favorite sins they have:
“And there shall also be many which shall say: Eat, drink, and be merry; nevertheless, fear God—he will justify in committing a little sin; yea, lie a little, take the advantage of one because of his words, dig a pit for thy neighbor; there is no harm in this; and do all these things, for tomorrow we die; and if it so be that we are guilty, God will beat us with a few stripes, and at last we shall be saved in the kingdom of God.” -2 Nephi 28: 8
There is no difference between those who deny God’s existance and those who readily admit it as a means of not worrying about their actions because they believe in a no-fault theology. For how much the holy scriptures condemn sin and sinners, such a shallow rationalization is truely appauling and untrue. No good Christian would shamelessly sin while knowing how painfully their loving Savior suffered for it. Indeed has not Isaiah been quoted to have said:
“He is despised and rejected of men; a man of sorrows, and acquainted with grief: and we hid as it were our faces from him; he was despised, and we esteemed him not.”
“Surely he hath borne our griefs, and carried our sorrows: yet we did esteem him stricken, smitten of God, and afflicted.”
“But he was wounded for our transgressions, he was bruised for our iniquities: the chastisement of our peace was upon him; and with his stripes we are healed.” -Isaiah 53: 3-5, Mosiah 14:3-5
For this reason, the Lord tells us:
“If ye love me, keep my commandments.” -John 14:15
If we truely love Him and appreciate His sacrifice for us, we will try our hardest not to sin and to serve Him -not for the purpose of self-salvation, but because we cannot help but change after trying to fathom the infinite nature of His love and sacrifice for us. Real joy in the grace of God comes with many tears and sorrows for our personal wrongdoings as we consider the bittersweet exchange the Lord is offering us. Thus begins the difficult process of repentance wherein we align our will with the Father’s and cleanse our lives through the Savior’s grace. While I am not going into depth about repentance today, let me quote a scripture for those who are faced with the daunting task of changing their lives through the Lord’s grace:
And when living the high expectations of God’s commandments and moral guidelines becomes challenging, please remember this last quote from Dr. Wilcox:
“If we see His requirements as being way too much to ask, maybe it is because we do not yet see through Christ’s eyes. We have not yet comprehended what He is trying to make of us.” -Brad Wilcox
(To read the whole speech go to: http://speeches.byu.edu/?act=viewitem&id=1966)
Accepting grace after all we can do is not about giving up all responsibility for one’s actions, it is about cooperation with the Savior and His perfect guidance for us. Consider the following:
“And it came to pass that I, Nephi, said unto my father: I will go and do the things which the Lord hath commanded, for I know that the Lord giveth no commandments unto the children of men, save he shall prepare a way for them that they may accomplish the thing which he commandeth them.” -1 Nephi 3:7
If you earnestly want to be forever with your family in heaven, please do accept Christ’s atoning grace. Please do so by forsaking your nets of sin, and follow him (see Mark 1: 16-18). You will know that you have experience the purification of the Lord’s grace when you feel as the prophet Moroni felt:
“Wherefore, my beloved brethren, pray unto the Father with all the energy of heart, that ye may be filled with this love, which he hath bestowed upon all who are true followers of his Son, Jesus Christ; that ye may become the sons of God; that when he shall appear we shall be like him, for we shall see him as he is; that we may have this hope; that we may be purified even as he is pure.” -Moroni 7:48
See also the following sermon on grace:
Well said Lisa... great references!
ReplyDeleteThis is super amazing. I'll refer to it next time I have someone who is troubled over this topic. Thanks for sharing!
ReplyDelete-Stephanie Morse