Over and over again,
detractors of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints have portrayed
the doctrine of salvation as taught by the Church as “impossible.” Church have been portrayed as a group that
believe that they can “work their way into heaven.” I have been a member of the church my entire
life, and I can completely understand why people may look at the Church’s
doctrine and feel this way. Catch-phrase
words such as “salvation” and “grace” mean so many different things to
different Christian sects and denominations that it is often difficult to
understand what is meant when we use these terms. Even within the church members these terms can often be convoluted.
In addition, we have the problem of
seemingly conflicting doctrines in the New Testament such as the words of Paul versus Peter or James. Paul seems to be focused almost solely on the grace and mercy of
Christ and being saved by faith and hope while Peter and James often focus on works.
I would suggest that the doctrines taught by
all three of these apostles are not conflicting or contradictory when
understood in their completeness. What I
mean when I say this is that we often take three or four scriptures and say,
“that’s the gospel.” If that’s the case,
then why did God give us all of the scripture that we have? Understanding the teachings in completeness
includes using the scriptures in their completeness, not just using a few and
preaching our own version of what the “truth” is.
I would like to use the Old
Testament as the foundation for my discussion on the doctrines of salvation,
grace and mercy. To be more specific, I
will draw on the stories of Joseph in Egypt and of the Israelite Exodus to
understand a basic doctrinal overview of how Latter-Day Saints understand
salvation through Christ. I will insert
scriptures from other LDS canon at various points as well as doctrinal
commentary from Latter-Day prophets and apostles who have spoken on the
issue. As the doctrinal question
requires some understanding of the Latter-Day Saint view of the afterlife I
will use some scriptural commentary at the beginning to address this issue as
well.
Please
understand that I am in no way speaking in an official manner for the church, I
am simply giving my personal thoughts and understanding using Latter-Day Saint
resources. In other words, take what I
have to say with a grain of salt, recognize that I am an imperfect human, and
recognize that my abilities and talents may not be sufficient for such an
undertaking as this. With that being
said, allow me to begin by trying to paint a picture of the LDS view of “heaven.”
We
will begin with the apostle Paul in his letters to the saints in Corinth. In 1 Corinthians 15, Paul is giving a sermon
on the resurrection. We can learn much
about the resurrection through the example of Jesus. When He was crucified, they laid his body in
a tomb (Matthew 27:50-66). The spirit
and the body together are the “soul of man” (DC 88:13). While Jesus’ body was buried in the tomb, His
spirit was still alive, and according to Peter, made a visit to the spirit
world (1 Peter 3:18-29; 4:6). Three days
after the burial, Jesus’ spirit returned to His now glorified and immortal body
of flesh and bone (Luke 24:39), never to die again. As a result of Jesus’ resurrection, that same
blessing will come to all of God’s children who come here to earth and receive
a mortal tabernacle, as Paul teaches in 1Corinthians 15:21-22:
“For
since by man came death, by man came also the resurrection of the dead. For as in Adam all die, even so in Christ
shall all be made alive.”
The
fact that all men (and women) will be literally bodily resurrected just as the
Savior was is confirmed in the Book of Mormon (2 Nephi 9:11-13, Alma 11:42-43),
the Doctrine and Covenants (DC 88:15-32), the Pearl of Great Price (Moses 7:62)
as well as in the Old Testament (Job 19:25-26; Job 14; Ezekiel 37:1-10), to cite
just a few examples.
Paul
continues his discourse in 1 Corinthians 15 and discusses separate bodies that
come forth in the resurrection (verses 40-42):
“There
are also celestial bodies, and bodies terrestrial: but the glory of the celestial
is one, and the glory of the terrestrial is another. There is one glory of the sun, and another
glory of the moon, and another glory of the stars: for one star differeth from
another star in glory. So also is the
resurrection of the dead. It is sown in corruption; it is raised in
incorruption.”
Additional
references include John 14:2, 2 Corinthians 12:1-4 and Matthew 13:43 among
others. Apparently there is a
distinction between the bodies that come forth in the resurrection, differing
as the sun, the moon and the stars.
While Joseph Smith was translating John 5, he had questions about the
resurrection of the dead as he read the following verses (25-29):
“Verily,
verily, I say unto you, The hour is coming, and now is, when the dead shall hear
the voice of the Son of God: and they that hear shall live. For as the Father hath life in himself; so
hath he given to the Son to have life in himself; And hath given him authority to execute judgment
also, because he is the Son of man. Marvel
not at this: for the hour is coming, in the which all that are in the graves
shall hear his voice, And shall come forth; they that have done good, unto the resurrection
of life; and they that have done devil, unto the resurrection of damnation.”
The
passage is further
demonstration of resurrection for both righteous and wicked persons. The passage led Joseph to further inquiry,
following which he received an expansion or expounding upon the aforementioned
passages (see DC 76). In this
revelation, the Lord taught Joseph that there are three degrees of
glory in heaven, with differing requirements for each degree. In this revelation, we are informed that all
of God’s children excepting those who commit the unpardonable sin (see Matthew
12:31-32) will be saved by the grace of Christ.
The exact wording is as follows (emphasis added):
“And
this is the gospel, the glad tidings, which the voice out of the heavens bore
record unto us— That he came into the
world, even Jesus, to be crucified for the world, and to bear the sins of the
world, and to sanctify the world, and to cleanse it from all unrighteousness;
That through him all might be saved whom the Father had put into his
power and made by him; Who glorifies
the Father, and saves all the works of
his hands, except those sons of perdition who deny the Son after the Father
has revealed him. Wherefore, he saves all except them…”
In
other words, except for those who would be willing to crucify Christ afresh, or
know who Christ is and willingly reject any of His saving grace, all of God’s
children will be saved by the grace of Jesus Christ. This is the same doctrine taught by the
Savior in Matthew 12 as well as the author of Hebrews in chapter 6, verses
1-6. This truly is glad tidings!
Understanding
the requirements of the various degrees of heaven is where the story of Joseph
in Egypt and the story of the Exodus of the children of Israel from Egypt comes
in. Let’s begin with Joseph.
First,
we must understand that the primary intent of all scripture is to bring people
to Christ and to teach people about Him (Moses 6:63; 2 Nephi 11:4). Many of the prophets of the Old Testament
typified or foreshadowed Christ and His redemptive work. Joseph is no exception. Look at the similarities:
Joseph
was the beloved son, as was Jesus (Genesis 37:3 and Matthew 3:17)
His
own people rejected him (Genesis 37:4 and John 1:11)
He
was willing to do whatever his father asked of him (Genesis 37:13 and Abraham
3:27)
He
was sold for the price of a slave (Genesis 37:25-28 and Matthew
20:19)
He
was 30 years old when he began his saving mission (Genesis 41:46 and Luke 3:23)
He
gives grace, mercy and help without price (Genesis 42:35 and 2 Nephi 9:50)
He
is forgiving (Genesis 45:1-15 and countless references in the New Testament)
The
list could go on, but I believe this should be sufficient to establish that we
can use Joseph as a type, or symbol of Jesus Christ. The redemption of Christ is shown clearly in
the story between Joseph and his brothers.
Joseph
is of course betrayed by his brothers, just as we all betray Jesus through sin
(Romans 3:23). What happens afterwards
is instructive about how salvation works, and the varying degrees
of reward that are possible through the grace of Christ.
Joseph’s
brothers (and their families) are left in the land of Canaan, with no possibility
of survival without intervention during the famine that has taken over the
land. In other words, they are
completely helpless and need the help of another to do something that they
simply cannot do on their own (Genesis 41:53-57; Genesis 42:1-2). Their father instructs them to go to Egypt to
purchase corn in order to survive. They
come with money, anticipating that they will have to purchase their means for
survival from the leader of Egypt, who just so happens to be their long-lost
brother.
The
first thing that happens when Joseph’s brothers arrive is revealing. Joseph’s
brothers immediately bow themselves down before him, even though they do not
completely understand who he is. All
that they know is that they are powerless to save themselves from their own
plight and that they are admitting that they need what Joseph offers in order
to survive. This admission, or
confession allows them to be saved.
Ultimately Joseph gives them corn (life) and also gives them their money
back. In other words, the act of
confession allows Joseph to save them.
He saves them from a punishment and then ALSO gives them “provision for
the way”, or additional blessings that they do not deserve.
This
is salvation through Christ. Every knee
will bow and every tongue will confess (see Isaiah 45:22-23; Phillipians
2:9-11; Romans 14:11; DC 88:104; DC 76:110).
The grace of Christ is sufficient to save all who will confess His name,
which as was mentioned before, is all except the sons of perdition (see also
Hebrews 10:38-39 and John 17:12).
We
are further instructed concerning this doctrine in the Book of Mormon. Lehi is teaching his son Jacob and says the
following (2 Nephi 2:2-4, emphasis added):
“Nevertheless,
Jacob, my firstborn in the wilderness, thou knowest the greatness of God; and
he shall consecrate thine afflictions for thy gain. Wherefore, thy soul shall be blessed, and
thou shalt dwell safely with thy brother, Nephi; and thy days shall be spent in
the service of thy God. Wherefore, I know that
thou art redeemed, because of the righteousness of thy Redeemer; for thou
hast beheld that in the fulness of time he cometh to bring salvation unto men. And thou hast beheld in thy youth his glory;
wherefore, thou art blessed even as they unto whom he shall minister in the
flesh; for the Spirit is the same, yesterday, today, and forever. And the way
is prepared from the fall of man, and salvation
is free.”
Note
that Lehi does not say that anything that Jacob has done gives him redemption, he
explicitly states that Jacob is redeemed because of the righteousness of his
Redeemer! Also note the phrase that
salvation is free, indicating that Jacob cannot purchase this salvation with
obedience, good works, ordinances, covenants, etc. That salvation is a gift of the grace of
God. To relate this to the story, it was
Joseph’s righteousness, abilities and merits that were doing the saving, not
anything that Joseph’s brothers had done.
Joseph gave them what was necessary for life without any cost. Assent of Joseph’s power was all that was
necessary. As Jacob explains in 2 Nephi
10:24 (emphasis added):
“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
(remember that the reconciliation took place when Joseph’s brothers admitted or
confessed to Joseph’s power to save), that it
is only in and through the grace of God that ye are saved.”
The
prophet Moroni teaches the same concept in Ether 12:27 (emphasis added):
“…If
men come unto me I will show unto them their weakness. I give unto men weakness that they may be
humble; and my grace is sufficient for
all men that humble themselves before me…”
The
doctrine that Christ’s grace is sufficient for EVERYONE is further taught in
the Doctrine and Covenants and the Pearl of Great Price:
“…my
grace is sufficient for you, and you shall be lifted up at the last day.” (DC
17:8)
“…thou
hast made me, and given unto me a right to thy throne, and not of myself, but
through thine own grace.” (Moses 7:59)
Salvation
through the grace of Jesus Christ is made very clear in 2 Nephi 25. Here are a few excerpts to demonstrate:
“All
those who shall believe on his (Christ’s) name shall be saved in the kingdom of
God” (verse 13; remember the kingdom of God consists of three different glories
as mentioned earlier)
“There
is save one Messiah spoken of by the prophets…his name shall be Jesus Christ,
the Son of God.” (verses 18-19)
“There
is none other name given under heaven save it be this Jesus Christ, of which I
have spoken, whereby man can be saved.” (verse 20)
“It
is by grace that we are saved” (verse 23)
“We
are made alive in Christ because of our faith; yet we keep the law because of
the commandments” (verse 25)
“And
we talk of Christ, we rejoice in Christ, we preach of Christ, we prophesy of
Christ, and we write according to our prophecies, that our children may know to
what source they may look for a remission of their sins.” (verse 26)
Jesus
Christ is the source of grace and salvation, and no matter what you or I do, it
is impossible for us to “earn” our way into heaven through good works.
Elder Dale G. Renlund discussed this in his April 2019 Conference talk where he stated that, "you do not earn a blessing—that notion is false—but you do have to qualify for it. Our salvation comes only through the merits and grace of Jesus Christ. The immensity of His atoning sacrifice means that the woodpile is infinite; our puny actions approach zero in comparison. But they are not zero, and they are not insignificant; in the dark, a match that is lit can be seen for miles. In fact, it can be seen in heaven because small acts of faith are required to ignite God’s promises."
Elder Dieter F. Uchtdorf taught this in the
April 2015 General Conference:
“We
cannot earn our way into heaven; the demands of justice stand as a barrier,
which we are powerless to overcome on our own…Do we understand our indebtedness
to Heavenly Father and plead with all our souls for the grace of God?
When
we kneel to pray, is it to replay the greatest hits of our own righteousness,
or is it to confess our faults, plead for God’s mercy, and shed tears of
gratitude for the amazing plan of redemption?25
Salvation
cannot be bought with the currency of obedience; it is purchased by the blood
of the Son of God.26 Thinking that we can trade our good works for salvation is
like buying a plane ticket and then supposing we own the airline. Or thinking
that after paying rent for our home, we now hold title to the entire planet
earth.
If
grace is a gift of God, why then is obedience to God’s commandments so
important? Why bother with God’s commandments—or repentance, for that matter?
Why not just admit we’re sinful and let God save us?
Or,
to put the question in Paul’s words, “Shall we continue in sin, that grace may
abound?” Paul’s answer is simple and clear: “God forbid.”
Brothers
and sisters, we obey the commandments of God—out of love for Him!
…our
obedience to God’s commandments comes as a natural outgrowth of our endless
love and gratitude for the goodness of God.”
This
commentary from President Uchtdorf leads us back to the story of Joseph and his
brothers. Joseph did not stop after he
“saved” them. He wanted more for them. He then asked them to do some things, some
things that would test their gratitude, their faith, their obedience, and their
love. No matter their response to these
tests, it was, is and always will be what he provided that saved them. None of their faithful obedience to his
requests saved them; it was always what HE provided.
The
Sanctifying Power of the Grace of Christ
To
Sanctify something means to make it pure or holy. God’s instruction has always been to His
people, “Be ye holy; for I am holy.” (See Exodus 19:5-6, 22:31, Leviticus 19:2,
1 Peter 1:16 among others). What Joseph
does next with his brothers teaches us much about what God will do with us to
help us become more holy. He accuses
them of being spies and they of course respond that they are not. In order to test their honesty, integrity and
love, Joseph asks them to bring their younger brother back to him. After putting them all in prison for a few
days to think about things, he keeps Simeon while the other brothers are
instructed to go back to get Benjamin and bring him back. He gives them all their money back and also
the food necessary for survival. They
have been “saved”, so why does Joseph test them in this way? Why does God test and try us after we have
accepted Jesus Christ as our Redeemer?
Elder
Orson F. Whitney wrote: “No pain that we suffer, no trial that we experience is
wasted. It ministers to our education, to the development of such qualities as
patience, faith, fortitude and humility. All that we suffer and all that we
endure, especially when we endure it patiently, builds up our characters,
purifies our hearts, expands our souls, and makes us more tender and
charitable, more worthy to be called the children of God, … and it is through
sorrow and suffering, toil and tribulation, that we gain the education that we
come here to acquire” (quoted in Improvement Era, Mar. 1966, 211).
In
other words, God’s goal is not just to save us, but to also sanctify us. “Now
therefore, if will obey my voice indeed, and keep my covenant, then ye shall be
a peculiar treasure unto me above all people: for all the earth is mine. And ye shall be unto me a kingdom of priests,
and an holy nation. These are the words
which thou shalt speak unto the children of Israel” (Exodus 19:5-6). What God is doing is giving us experiences
whereby we can develop godly attributes of patience, love, obedience, faith,
humility, diligence, etc. This is
precisely what these experiences do for Joseph’s brothers.
Reuben
is the first to show a change of heart.
After the brothers make a request of their father Jacob to take Benjamin
back to Egypt to save Simeon, Jacob refuses and Reuben responds faithfully by
saying that he will give up his two sons if he doesn’t faithfully fulfill the
task and bring Benjamin back to Jacob (Genesis 42:35-38). Jacob still refuses, but eventually changes
his mind later as the famine continues to get worse and they are again under
necessity of traveling to Egypt to purchase food.
The
fact that they had to go back to Joseph again for the sustaining of life is
also educational. When Jesus told the
woman at the well in Samaria about the living water, He taught, “Whosoever
drinketh of this water (the well water) shall thirst again: But whosoever drinketh of the water that I
shall give him shall never thirst; but the water that I shall give him shall be
in him a well of water springing up into everlasting life.” (John 4:13-14) This was not intended to mean that one drink
was all she would ever need, it was intended to teach that the connection to
HIS well of water would provide sustenance forever. We cannot lose our connection to Christ, or
we lose the source of strength and sustaining power (see John 15).
The
necessity of Joseph’s brothers coming back to him shows the necessity for all
of us to continually come unto Christ and seek His help and power in order to
survive and progress spiritually in a world starved for the word of God (Amos
8:11-12). It is important to note here,
that when any people (or any nation of people) came to the Pharaoh (for our
purposes signifying God) and asked for anything, he referred them to Joseph,
inferring that any and all blessings would come through him (see Genesis
41:53-57). Joseph representing,
typifying or symbolizing Christ is further inferred through his age (30, see
Genesis 41:46, and note that this is a similar age to when Christ performed his
saving mission), that Joseph’s coat of many colors (indicating his power,
privilege, etc.) was torn from him before his saving mission (similar to how
Christ condescended from His divine throne to save us), and that the Pharaoh
refers to Joseph as being one who is wisest of all, and that only he (Pharaoh)
will be greater than Joseph (see John 14:28, Abraham 3:19). See what happens in the life of Judah when he
allows himself to be influenced by the mercy and grace of Joseph.
Judah’s
example in particular shows the power of the change that comes over one when
he/she recognizes with gratitude the mercy and grace that has been extended to
them. Judah was the brother who
originally came up with the idea to sell Joseph for the price of a slave
(incidentally Judas has a similar name who betrayed and sold Jesus for the
price of a slave). In addition, Judah
had betrayed his religion and his God
through marrying outside of the covenant, worshipping at heathen,
idolatrous temples, and committing serious sexual sin (see Genesis 38). However, once he has experienced being
“saved”, and been humbled through his difficult circumstances, Judah becomes
Christ-like in his own character in Genesis 44:14-34 when he offers himself in
place of Benjamin.
What
a change! The example of Judah is a
powerful example of what can happen to any who open themselves to the influence
of the Savior. As Elder Dale Renlund
said, “God cares a lot more about who we are and who we are becoming than about
who we once were…Even if we’ve been a conscious, deliberate sinner or have
repeatedly faced failure and disappointment, the moment we decide to try again,
the Atonement of Christ can help us…because of the Atonement of Christ and our
repentance, we can look at our past deeds and say, ’Twas I; but ’tis not I.’ No
matter how wicked, we can say, ‘That’s who I was. But that past wicked self is
no longer who I am.’” (April 2015 Conference).
Judah truly had this experience! It
becomes very apparent that the goal of everything that the Savior does is to
mold our characters to be like His to the point that we become like Him and
give all that we have.
When
Jacob’s family has been through all of these experiences, we find the beautiful
experience of forgiveness and ultimate salvation that is found in Genesis 45
and 50. Joseph makes “himself known unto
his brethren” in chapter 45, explaining to them that he is the brother that
they betrayed, but that he doesn’t want them to be angry or unforgiving of
themselves, because he knows that he was sent by God to “preserve you a
posterity in the earth, and to save your lives by a great deliverance” (verse
7). He further explains that it was not
them that sent him, “but God” (verse 8).
Then comes the reward offered to them, not of their merits, but because
of his mercy and grace. He goes to the Pharaoh
who is pleased that the family of Jacob has completed this journey, and the
Pharaoh informs them that they will have “the good of the land of Egypt…ye
shall eat the fat of the land” (verse 18).
He then tells them to leave all of their worldly possessions behind, and
bring their families to receive their inheritance in Egypt, a great instruction
on the Savior’s purpose to save not only us as individuals, but to also save
our posterity with us, and inherit the blessings of God together.
There
are a couple of very salient points that need to be addressed before moving out
of this story. One of them occurs in
chapter 50, and is related to the overall discussion of salvation. Jacob passes away and all of Joseph’s brothers
realize again their indebtedness to Joseph, that they have betrayed him, and
that in his position of power he has every right and ability to “requite (them)
all the evil (they) did unto him” (verse 15).
Joseph immediately assures them of his complete forgiveness and of their
saved state, and then comforts them by saying that he will “nourish (them), and
(their) little ones. And he comforted
them, and spake kindly unto them” (verse 21).
This
is typifying what John speaks of in Revelation 21 at the last day:
1 And I saw a anew bheaven and
a new cearth: for the
first heaven and the first dearth were
passed away; and there was no more sea.
2 And I John saw the holy city, anew bJerusalem,
coming down from God out of heaven, prepared as a cbrideadorned
for her husband.
3 And I heard a great voice out of
heaven saying, Behold, the tabernacle of God is with men, and
he will adwell with
them, and they shall be his people, and bGod himself
shall be with them, and be their God.
4 And God shall wipe away all tears
from their eyes; and there shall be no more adeath, neither bsorrow, nor
crying, neither shall there be any more cpain: for the
former things are passed away.
5 And he that sat upon the throne
said, Behold, I make all things anew. And he
said unto me, bWrite: for
these cwordsare true
and faithful.
6 And he said unto me, It is done. aI am bAlpha and Omega,
the beginning and the end. I will give unto him that is athirst of the fountain
of the cwater of life freely.
Those
who faithfully endure in a persistent pursuit of Christ, continually relying on
His complete forgiveness and His abundant mercy, and His all sufficient grace
will eventually come to inherit the earth and receive all that God has (see
also Rev. 3:20-21, 2 Nephi 31:19-20).
One of the most essential things to remember is that it is not our
faithful persistence that saves us, but rather the blood of Christ. We are incapable of saving ourselves,
cleansing ourselves. We are unclean and in
need of the Redemption of Christ.
Although faithful persistence is required of us in order to receive
those blessings, it is not our efforts that “earn” the gift. The gift of eternal life and of all that the
Father has are just that…gifts! These
gifts are given through the love and mercy and grace of Jesus Christ.
Joseph’s
brothers did not deserve what was given to them, nor did they earn it. What they earned and deserved was to be
punished for their betrayal. They earned
a lasting loss. Without what Joseph
provided they were lost, with themselves being dead, their families being dead,
and being completely cut off from what was necessary for life. However, because of the merits of Joseph and
his mercy and grace, they were given unimaginable gifts! They were given peace with their families and
provision to take care of them forever. What
was required of them was to faithfully persist in coming to Joseph, and of
using the opportunities he gave them for growth to BECOME something better,
something that is like Joseph himself!
The example of Judah shows us that he had become more pure through these
experiences and that he truly had become more like Joseph, in being willing to
give his own life to save others.
Although
their doing is required, their doing really is only a result of what was given
to them by Joseph. Their ability to do
anything was quite literally dependent upon what Joseph provided. Their becoming was a result of the sustenance
and experience that he gave them. It is
like that with us. Our doing is
required, but our doing doesn’t earn anything.
Everything we do is really dependent upon our reliance upon God and His
Son. We can do nothing of
ourselves. He is our everything!
So
doing is certainly required of us. As
Paul said, “What shall we say then? Shall we continue in sin, that grace may
abound? God forbid” (Romans 6:1-2). We have betrayed our brother (see Colossians
1:15-16 & Romans 8:29 to show that
Christ is the Firstborn of all of us).
We have earned a loss. We can
merit nothing of ourselves. We deserve
to suffer for our betrayal. However, not
only does Jesus save us from death by His grace, but He gives us every
opportunity through tests, trials and experiences to become more pure, to
become like Him, and to receive all that the Father has. We may choose to stop with simply being saved
from death and refuse to take His proffered hand of grace to help us become
more than we could on our own, but the fact remains that He does offer that
grace, not only to save us, but to purify us and help us become like Him. I pray that I (and all of us) can accept the
divine gift of grace, and allow it to work in us and change us, so that we can
fully receive the Gift of Christ given to us by God, for truly Jesus is The
Gift, and God our Father is the Giver! (see Ether 12:6-11, DC 88:33)
We
are in a position of eternal indebtedness to Christ. As the Book of Mormon prophet King Benjamin
explains (Mosiah 2):
20 I say unto you, my brethren, that
if you should render all the athanks and bpraise which
your whole soul has power to possess, to that God who has created you, and has
kept and cpreserved you,
and has caused that ye should drejoice,
and has granted that ye should live in peace one with another—
21 I say unto you that if ye should aserve him
who has created you from the beginning, and is bpreserving you
from day to day, by lending you cbreath,
that ye may live and move and do according to your own dwill, and
even supporting you from one moment to another—I say, if ye should serve him
with all your ewhole souls
yet ye would be funprofitable servants.
No
matter what we do, we cannot save ourselves, but if we want all that God and
Christ are offering, then we must be willing to accept not only their saving
grace, but their enabling, uplifting and changing grace. We must accept the trials and struggles given
to us with patience and understanding, continually relying upon the merits of
Him who is mighty to save.
A second Old Testament example can also be instructive. The children of Israel (us) are in bondage to the Egyptians (Satan/sin/the world). Moses comes to deliver them. Many different things are tried in an effort to deliver the people. Plagues and promises are issued but nothing delivers them. Finally, upon the death of the firstborn they are released from bondage. Did the Israelites do anything to earn or deserve this gift? Absolutely not! This gift was given freely without any expectation of repayment. It was a great act of mercy. God's grace was demonstrated in that the Israelites also left with great wealth.
The next portions of the story are essential to understand. Suppose that the Israelites would never have left Egypt? Would they have maintained their freedom? The next portion of the story would indicate otherwise! The Israelites left and came to the shores of the Red Sea. They were guided by the presence of the Lord as a cloud and a fire. When they come to these shores, they find themselves in an apparent trap. The Egyptians have determined not to let them go and are behind them and they see only a sea in front of them. Moses (who is the great type or symbol of Christ in this story) divides the Red Sea and the Israelites go through on dry ground with a pillar of fire preventing the Egyptians from following them. After they are through the pillar of fire allows the Egyptians to come through and they are killed as the waters come back down over them.
The waters and the pillar of fire are symbolic of baptism of water and of the spirit. Did the baptism itself save them? Or was it God's power? Would they have been able to stay out of bondage if they had not experienced the baptism (see 1 Corinthians 10:1-4)? No! Their faith-filled actions were required and qualified them for God's saving grace. Our faith in Jesus Christ leads us to take actions that qualify us for His saving grace. Our actions do not earn the grace, nor do they earn the blessings of salvation. Our actions simply place us in a position where we are qualified to be saved. God will force no man or woman to heaven, so this "qualifying" on our part is our acceptance of His divine gifts.
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