Thoughts on Grace

I have been reading the New Testament this year and have become very interested in the message that is in Paul’s letter to the Romans. I have read it many times in the King James Version (KJV) and find it challenging to understand. But, there are other translations that are much more approachable. For example, the New Revised Standard Version (NRSV) or the New International Version (NIV) are true to the word choices of the original Greek text. The New Living Translation (NLT) is based upon accurate rendering of phrases, rather than word-by-word translation. Reading these has been very helpful to understand the KJV. Finally, there is a version called, “Grace Is Not God's Backup Plan: An Urgent Paraphrase of Paul's Letter to the Romans” by an LDS scholar named Adam Miller, that is a paraphrase of the sequence of ideas in Romans. With these and other related scriptures as a guide, I have been thinking about the core ideas in Romans, i.e., the law, sin, grace and spirit.

Our mortal story begins in a pre-mortal setting where God presented a plan and two people volunteered to implement the plan. One offered to return everyone to God, at the cost of our agency, and was rejected. The other, Jesus Christ, offered to sacrifice Himself in order for us to be able to have a mortal experience with its attendant risks. He would redeem all who would accept redemption. Thus, first came God, then Christ, then creation and mortality (See Abraham 3:25-28, Moses 4:1-2, and 2 Nephi 2:4).

God has given us commandments and instructed us sufficient to know good from evil (2 Nephi 2:5). The commandments can be thought of as rules of thumb for how a good person should live. It is human nature, though, to break commandments. Sometimes we break commandments due to a lack of understanding because, while we know good from evil, we may not understand all of the commandments. Other times, we ignore them out of desires for physical experiences or for other reasons. In any case, no matter how good the law or commandments from God might be, we break them and experience sin (2 Nephi 2:5, Romans 3:20,23).

I think that in the pre-mortal world we understood that sin would, inevitably, be part of our mortal experience. The reason we were willing to enter into mortality was because of the chance to obtain a body and to learn by our own experience, knowing that Jesus Christ would bring us back home to God. Sin is inevitable. The real challenge for us is not sin but, rather, to learn from sin. When we sin we “taste the bitter” in order to learn to prize the good (see Moses 6:55).

Paul anticipated a likely reaction to these ideas. He realized that some people would think that they can sin as much as they want, as long as they eventually repent. Paul says, “Shall we continue in sin, that grace may abound? God forbid (Romans 6:1-2).” If we choose to continue in sin, because we like the bitter taste, then we choose to serve the adversary. If, on the other hand, we choose to turn to Jesus Christ then He will change our nature so that sin has no power over us. Thus, the law or commandment gives occasion for sin and sin may cause us to turn to Christ. We become the servant of who we choose to obey (see Romans 6:16-18). Thus, sin does not define us. Rather, our reaction to sin and who we choose to obey is what really matters.

Baptism symbolizes our burial with Christ into death followed by being raised up by God into new life. We can live now in likeness to Christ’s resurrection in new life, free from sin (see Romans 6:4-7). In another translation of Romans 6:7 it says, “For when we died with Christ we were set free from the power of sin.” Thus, through the death of the person of sin as symbolized in baptism a new person that is alive in Christ can rise and be free from the power of sin.

To live after the desires of the flesh is to embrace the bitterness of sin. To choose to live by the Spirit is to choose to follow Christ into this new life (Romans 8:5-6). Ultimately, it is this Spirit that raised Christ from the dead and that will quicken our bodies in the resurrection (Romans 8:11). And, it can be our guide in life right now. We can begin now to live a life that is quickened by the Spirit as if we are already risen in Christ. “For as many as are led by the Spirit of God, they are the sons (and daughters) of God (Romans 8:14).”

Jesus Christ has overcome mortal death by the resurrection and has overcome spiritual death by the power of the atonement. We are thus free to choose whether to live in the death of sin or in the life of the Spirit. We cannot do it on our own. No matter how hard we try, on our own we are subject to sin and death. It is by the grace of God that we are freed from sin and death and can live a life that is alive in Christ not only now, but in the eternities (2 Nephi 10:23-25 and “The Gift of Grace” by Deiter Uchtodorf, April 2015).

The sacrament is a wonderful blessing that allows us to declare our willingness to obey the commandments every week. Notice in the prayer on the bread that we say that we are willing to take upon us the name of the son, that we are willing to obey his commandments, and that we are willing to always remember Him. The promised blessing is His Spirit to be with us. Each week, despite our willingness to obey, we find ourselves breaking commandments. But, this is not condemning us. Rather, it is giving us the opportunity, through grace, to feel His Spirit as we repent and renew our willingness. In the prayer on the water we say that we do remember Him. We remember Him when we learn from breaking the commandments and turn to Him to be alive in His Spirit. Thus, when we remember Him, we do have His Spirit to be with us (D&C 20:77,79). By this process, Jesus Christ teaches us and makes us more like Him. And, as we become alive in His Spirit, we are less prone to sin until we are completely set free from the power of sin.

The most important thing I have learned through studying these topics is that the grace of God came first. God loved us and invited us to participate in a plan that allows us to become more like God. Jesus Christ was an integral part of the plan from the very beginning. He was sent by God to create the earth, give commandments, be born into mortality, overcome temporal and spiritual death and to raise us up to return to God and to be able to stay with God.  The atonement was not an afterthought to heal a plan that failed when Adam and Eve fell. Rather, grace was first, last, and always the plan. Jesus Christ really is the first and the last, the beginning and the end of the plan. Thus, sin is already forgiven and overcome. We just need to accept it and live a new life in the Spirit of Christ right now. In this there is peace and joy.

Walk in the Spirit, not in the Lust of the Flesh

I was reading Galatians today for our Sunday School lesson. I was struck by the additional insight provided by this letter from Paul. This thought picks up from an earlier post called What Motivates Our Works?

Paul has a very simple statement of what is expected of us once we have learned of Jesus Christ and begun to exercise faith in Him. In Galatians 5, he says:

  13 For, brethren, ye have been called unto liberty; only use not liberty for an occasion to the flesh, but by love serve one another. ...
  16 This I say then, Walk in the Spirit, and ye shall not fulfil the lust of the flesh.

He does not let us believe that anything goes once we feel of Jesus grace. Rather, he suggests that the liberty gained through Jesus' atonement should build within us a desire to love and serve each other. Knowing that our sins are forgiven is not an invitation to the lusts of the flesh. He goes on to compare these two paths. Continuing in Galatians 5:

  19 Now the works of the flesh are manifest, which are these; Adultery, fornication, uncleanness, lasciviousness,
  20 Idolatry, witchcraft, hatred, variance, emulations, wrath, strife, seditions, heresies,
  21 Envyings, murders, drunkenness, revellings, and such like: of the which I tell you before, as I have also told you in time past, that they which do such things shall not inherit the kingdom of God.

Paul is very clear that those who engage in the works of the flesh, as described in these verses, will not inherit the kingdom of God. God's willingness to forgive sin does not allow us to continue in the works of the flesh. The true impact of God's love and forgiveness is seen in a person who is transformed by the love of God through the workings of the Spirit. Paul describes the traits of such a person in the latter verses of Galatians 5:

  22 But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, longsuffering, gentleness, goodness, faith,
  23 Meekness, temperance: against such there is no law.
  24 And they that are Christ’s have crucified the flesh with the affections and lusts.
  25 If we live in the Spirit, let us also walk in the Spirit.

The punch line is delivered in Galatians 6:

  7 Be not deceived; God is not mocked: for whatsoever a man soweth, that shall he also reap.
  8 For he that soweth to his flesh shall of the flesh reap corruption; but he that soweth to the Spirit shall of the Spirit reap life everlasting.

We are saved by Grace. Our works are evidence of how we have been transformed by Jesus' love for us. If our works are after the lusts of the flesh then our works will condemn us.

What Motivates Our Works?

I have talked with several friends about the ideas presented in my previous posts called "Saved by Grace?" and "The Letter Killeth, but the Spirit Giveth Life." The core idea in these earlier posts is that there is no amount of obedience to commandments or self-improvement that will overcome the fall on our own merits. Try as we might, our own works are not sufficient to bring us back into God's presence. Thus, we must be saved by grace. The conversation with friends on these topics always leads to the question of how works fit in to this view. After all, we know we must repent, be baptized, obey commandments, etc. And, in Alma 12 it says:

  12 And Amulek hath spoken plainly concerning death, and being raised from this mortality to a state of immortality, and being brought before the bar of God, to be judged according to our works.
  13 Then if our hearts have been hardened, yea, if we have hardened our hearts against the word, insomuch that it has not been found in us, then will our state be awful, for then we shall be condemned.
  14 For our words will condemn us, yea, all our works will condemn us; we shall not be found spotless; and our thoughts will also condemn us; and in this awful state we shall not dare to look up to our God; and we would fain be glad if we could command the rocks and the mountains to fall upon us to hide us from his presence.

Verse 14 shows how very important our words and our works really are. So, we face a seeming dilemma, i.e., our works are not sufficient to save us, yet they can condemn us. The dilemma is solved, though, when we realize that it is possible for the very same action to be either productive or condemning. Consider, for example, Jesus' condemnation of the scribes and the Pharisees in Matthew 23:

  23 Woe unto you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites! for ye pay tithe of mint and anise and cummin, and have omitted the weightier matters of the law, judgment, mercy, and faith: these ought ye to have done, and not to leave the other undone.

Or, similarly, in John 5 Jesus says to the leaders of the Jews, "Search the scriptures; for in them ye think ye have eternal life: and they are they which testify of me." He is pointing out that in their careful adherence to the law of Moses the Jews missed the very Messiah the law pointed to. Thus, as Jesus went on to say in John 5, obedience to the law of Moses was condemning.

  45 Do not think that I will accuse you to the Father: there is one that accuseth you, even Moses, in whom ye trust.
  46 For had ye believed Moses, ye would have believed me: for he wrote of me.

It seems that the mere act of obedience to commandments is not sufficient to know God or to return to His presence. Yet, obedience to the law of Moses allowed Simeon and Anna to recognize the baby Jesus as their Messiah and led Nephi to proclaim Jesus as the Christ. Isn't it interesting that acts of obedience can be either condemning or saving? Our works will condemn us if we have not internalized the real meaning of the works.

Jesus lived in mortality and laid down His life to overcome the fall and physical death. It is only by His merits that we are brought back into the presence of God. Initially, as we repent and call upon God, we are spiritually brought back into His presence by the power of the Holy Ghost. As we learn of God's love for us we are transformed into more Christ-like people and we want to do as He asks. John taught us about the relationship between works and God's love in 1 John 2:

  4 He that saith, I know him, and keepeth not his commandments, is a liar, and the truth is not in him.
  5 But whoso keepeth his word, in him verily is the love of God perfected: hereby know we that we are in him.

In other words, if we do not keep his commandments it is clear that we do not know God. In addition, when we keep His word, we are transformed and perfected. Jesus' teaching in John 14 gives us a key to understanding the real meaning of works (obedience to commandments). Jesus said,

  21 He that hath my commandments, and keepeth them, he it is that loveth me: and he that loveth me shall be loved of my Father, and I will love him, and will manifest myself to him.

Let me try to summarize what I think I am learning from this. Consider a person who begins to be aware, through the Spirit, of God's love and willingness to save us from the fall. If that person:

1. does not keep God's commandments then he does not know God.
2. keeps God's commandments believing that he can save himself by obedience, he is condemned.
3. keeps God's commandments as evidence of love and appreciation for God, he is saved.

Jesus Christ is the ultimate example of proper obedience. He said, in Moses 4: 2, "Father, thy will be done, and the glory be thine forever." Our works should be evidence of our love and appreciation for God. With this perspective we can rely on Jesus' promise that He will forgive our sins. We can make and keep sacred covenants. The very effort to live those covenants, when motivated by our love and appreciation for God is transformative. It makes us more like God. Rather than condemning ourselves for every little thing where we think we fall short, we can find joy in always improving in our love of God.

Our works do not cause our salvation, rather, they are evidence that Jesus is our Savior.

The Letter Killeth, but the Spirit Giveth Life

I was reading this morning and 2 Corinthians 3: 3-6 was referenced. These are wonderful verses that relate very nicely to my recent post about grace. Here are the verses:

  3 Forasmuch as ye are manifestly declared to be the epistle of Christ ministered by us, written not with ink, but with the Spirit of the living God; not in tables of stone, but in fleshy tables of the heart.
  4 And such trust have we through Christ to God-ward:
  5 Not that we are sufficient of ourselves to think any thing as of ourselves; but our sufficiency is of God;
  6 Who also hath made us able ministers of the new testament; not of the letter, but of the spirit: for the letter killeth, but the spirit giveth life.

Verse 3 includes a reference to Jeremiah 31: 33-34 about which I have previously written. Paul is referring to these verses:

  33 But this shall be the covenant that I will make with the house of Israel; After those days, saith the Lord, I will put my law in their inward parts, and write it in their hearts; and will be their God, and they shall be my people.
  34 And they shall teach no more every man his neighbour, and every man his brother, saying, Know the Lord: for they shall all know me, from the least of them unto the greatest of them, saith the Lord: for I will forgive their iniquity, and I will remember their sin no more.

Jeremiah prophesied that the day would come when our iniquity would be forgiven and the Lord would remember our sin no more.  Paul explains that the fulfillment of this prophecy is in Jesus Christ. In particular, it is through Christ that we can have trust in God with regards to this wonderful promise. It is important, though, to understand how this works. Verse 5 of 2 Corinthians 3 is critical to our understanding.

Notice the use of the word "sufficient" in verse 5. While there are many things that are necessary for us to do, there is nothing we can do that is sufficient, of ourselves, to merit forgiveness of sins. No matter how many times we are nice to others, hold family night, pray, read scriptures, repent, etc., we do not merit forgiveness of our sins. We are not sufficient of ourselves. Rather, as Paul asserts in verse 5, the sufficiency is of God. In particular, Jesus Christ is the sufficient reason that our sins can be forgiven and that God will remember them no more.

Verse 6 goes on to explain that the letter killeth, but the spirit giveth life. Consider this. If I were to make a list of everything that I think I should do, it would be paralyzingly long. We have been counseled to read scriptures daily, pray morning, noon and night (individually and as a family), attend church meetings, attend the temple regularly, do genealogy work, participate in name extraction, serve in the community, have family home evening every week, etc. If we think that our actions, if they are good enough, are sufficient for our sins to be forgiven, then this list will be the death of us. Every one of us will, at some point, miss a day of scripture study, attend the temple less frequently than we otherwise might, miss a week of family home evening, or miss some other periodic observance. Then, because we didn't meet the letter of the law, we would be condemned. Fortunately, the letter is not the sufficient cause of our sins being forgiven. It is the spirit that gives life. And, it is the spirit that is promised to all who repent and are baptized in Jesus' name.

The things we do are manifestations of our desires for God. Prayer is communication from us to God. The scriptures are the voice of God to us. The temple is where we commune with God and receive individual instruction through the spirit. Consider scripture study as a specific example. If we think that reading 3 pages a day (or 15 minutes or 2 chapters) is sufficient to earn forgiveness we will fail. There will be a day when we miss our quota, and then we would be lost. If we, instead, understand that Jesus Christ is the sufficient reason for our forgiveness when we repent and are baptized, then we read the scriptures to hear the voice of God. Then, we will miss the sound of that voice on days when we miss reading the scriptures. We will recognize that we feel better when we have God's voice in our lives and we will repent and our scripture study will grow, just as the quality of conversation grows when a friendship deepens. God loves us. He sent his only begotten Son to atone for our sins. Jesus is the sufficient reason that our sins will be forgiven. We try to do better because he first loved us and we want to abide in that love.

Saved by Grace?

Grace or works? It is an oft-repeated debate. I believe, however, that it is a false dichotomy.

Let me preface the scriptures I will mention with an analogy. When I was born into this life my parents created my body and nurtured me through a part of growing up that I simply could not have done on my own.  There is nothing that I could have done to create my own body. Thankfully, my parents did that for me. Once born, there is no way that I could have nourished and cared for my new-born body.  Once again, my parents did that for me. There came a point, though, when my choices became quite relevant to the person I have become. I had to work hard to get through school, to convince my wonderful wife to marry me, and to make a life together. Still, none of what I have done or experienced in life would have happened without my parents doing what I could not do for myself.

There is a well-known scripture in 2 Nephi 25:

  23 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.

I have often heard this scripture interpreted to mean that there is much that we must do. Certainly, ordinances are necessary. For example, Jesus often taught of the necessity of baptism. Sometimes, though, I think we add to the list of necessary works an amazing array of expectations. We feel that we should read the scriptures every day, pray morning noon and night, attend the temple with great regularity, write in a journal every day, home teach or visiting teach every month, serve well in a calling, make meals for those in need, keep a perfect home, do genealogy, be a member missionary, provide well for the family's needs, etc., etc., etc. Then, if we do all that well, and become almost perfect, Jesus will make up the difference with His grace. It is a view that implies that grace can only fill the little gap between all the good works a person has done and perfection. It is as if Jesus' grace is the spackle that fills in the little gap between near perfect works and salvation. This view will leave us depressed and feeling like failures.

Where is the flaw in this line of reasoning? It can be found in the teaching of Aaron to Lamoni's father and in Lamoni's testimony. Aaron said, in Alma 22:

  14 And since man had fallen he could not merit anything of himself; but the sufferings and death of Christ atone for their sins, through faith and repentance, and so forth; and that he breaketh the bands of death, that the grave shall have no victory, and that the sting of death should be swallowed up in the hopes of glory;   

Like my earlier analogy where I could not create and nurture my own body as a child, we are in a world that has fallen. There is nothing we can do to save ourselves from Adam's fall. We need Christ to give us life again with our Father in Heaven. We must be born again through Christ's atonement.

So, what is it that we must do? Remember, Nephi said that we are saved by grace, after all we can do. What is it that we can do? Lamoni provides the answer to this question. In Alma 24, Lamoni says:

  11 And now behold, my brethren, since it has been all that we could do, (as we were the most lost of all mankind) to repent of all our sins ...

Lamoni's answer is that all he could do was to repent of his sins. That is it! We are saved by grace, after all we can do, which is to repent of our sins. This takes nothing away from the need for baptism, the gift of the Holy Ghost, or any of the other ordinances that we participate in. This takes nothing away from the need to become better, more Christlike people. But, it is important to realize that there is nothing that we do that will save ourselves. All those good things we demand of ourselves will not earn us a place in heaven. It is Jesus' atonement that returns us to our Father in Heaven, not our own merits. We should not do the things we do with any thought that it earns us a place in Heaven.  Jesus Christ is the only one who merits God's presence. It is His grace that brings us back into God's presence.

The law of the Gospel of Jesus Christ, or of the Church of Jesus Christ, can only condemn us. None of us can do everything perfectly. There will be many times when we do not accomplish everything on the list of good daily, weekly or monthly activities. Paul drives home this point as he teaches about the effect of God's law in Romans 3:

 20 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.

Despite every desire to live the law of the gospel of Jesus Christ, as well as the advice of our church leaders, we will come up short and feel the sting of sin or disappointment. Paul goes on in Romans 3 to give us hope:

  23 For all have sinned, and come short of the glory of God;
  24 Being justified freely by his grace through the redemption that is in Christ Jesus:

If we look to our works to know our standing before God we will always know that we have come up short. If we look to Christ with the eye of faith then we will hope for redemption and a reunion with our Father in Heaven. What a joyful message!

This may seem too easy. We repent and Jesus' grace does the rest. Paul faced this same question and addresses this concern in Romans 6:

  15 What then? shall we sin, because we are not under the law, but under grace? God forbid.
  16 Know ye not, that to whom ye yield yourselves servants to obey, his servants ye are to whom ye obey; whether of sin unto death, or of obedience unto righteousness?
  17 But God be thanked, that ye were the servants of sin, but ye have obeyed from the heart that form of doctrine which was delivered you.
  18 Being then made free from sin, ye became the servants of righteousness.

Our works do not merit our salvation. Yet, our works are evidence of who we tend to obey. We are free from sin as long as we repent and continue to move towards God. We will slip, we will fall, we will sin. But, if we repent each time then Jesus' grace is sufficient for us to return to the presence of our Father in Heaven.

Back to my analogy. Once I was born and raised by my parents, what I become is an outcome of my decisions to take advantage of opportunities to learn and to grow. Likewise, Jesus Christ has given us opportunities to learn and to grow. These include the opportunity to be baptized, to receive the Holy Ghost, to enter the Temple and to be instructed further in how to return to our Father in Heaven. Doing these things does not cause us to merit returning to God's presence. Rather, these ordinances prepare us to live better here on earth as well as in God's presence. Participation in ordinances and becoming better people is an expression of love and gratitude for Jesus Christ and His atonement. Our works do not save us. That is Jesus' job. Our works reflect the love and influence of Jesus' grace and His love for us. We become more loving people as He transforms us.

We are fallen beings who cannot do anything on our own to merit God's presence. When we do all that we can do, which is to repent, the grace of Jesus Christ is the only reason we can return to God's presence. Jesus does not just fill a small gap for nearly perfect people. He graciously fills an infinite void that we cannot fill for ourselves. Don't take the burden of salvation on yourself. No amount of obedience will earn your place in God's kingdom. You will find, though, that your good works will grow as you come to know Jesus Christ. His love for us is real and He will make us whole.

Grace or works? I choose grace. I can only hope that my works will reflect my gratitude for Jesus' grace.