Atonement Faith Works Obedience Grace and Endurance Lead to Eternal Salvation

8/2/2019 Atonement Faith Works Obedience Grace and Endurance Lead to Eternal Salvation

1/14

The Atonement

of Jesus ChristFaith in the Saviour Christian Works

Obedience to theFather and Christ

Continuing Faithfulness& Enduring to the End

Lead to Eternal SalvationBy Ronnie Bray

Mormonism 101


2/14

The Atonement of Jesus Christ, Our Faith in theSaviour, Good Works, Obedience to the Will of the

Father and the Commandments of Christ, Continuing

Faithfulness, and Enduring to the EndLead to Eternal Salvation

By Ronnie Bray

What did Saint Paul have in mind when he wrote:

" Why, my beloved, as you have always obeyed, not as inmy presence only, but now much more in my absence, work out your own salvation with fear and trembling. For it isGod which works in you both to will and to do of his good

pleasure.

Do all things without murmurings and disputing: That youmay be blameless and harmless, the sons of God, without rebuke, in the middle of a crooked and perverse nation,among whom you shine as lights in the world [Philippians2:12-14]

Are these mere empty words without meaning or force for Christian adoption and exercise? Paul says that what isworking in us is God. Therefore, if we do not do the worksthat God commands Christians to do it is because God isnot in us. And what are we to say to those that deny Godand his works and their place in the lives of the faithful thatare willingly obedient to God, whose commandments,


3/14

according to Jesus Christ, we must keep if we are to enter the kingdom of heaven?

Not every one that said to me, Lord, Lord, shall enter intothe kingdom of heaven; but he that does the will of my Father which is in heaven. Many will say to me in that day, Lord, Lord, have we not prophesied in your name?and in your name have cast out devils? and in your namedone many wonderful works? And then will I profess tothem, I never knew you: depart from me, you that work iniquity. (Matthew 7:21-23)

It is an old and well worn tirade that is trotted out time after time as if it were relevant that Mormons seek to earn their salvation by works, yet nothing could be further from thetruth.

Mormons are not simpletons, nor are they ignorant of what

Jesus and the apostles teach in the Books of the Holy Bible, but they do not fall prey to the minimalist heresy of choosing which passages of the Bible to accept as divinelyimposed on believers, at the expense of neglecting all other

passages making demands on their obedience to God as if they did not exist.

Mormons believe in the complete picture as expressed bygenerations of prophet and apostles that is set out in a coreof essential beliefs and practices that establish necessarydoctrines and rites and observances for those that would

please God and be made partakers of the salvation wrought by the atonement of Jesus Christ and dispensed by the


4/14

Grace of God to those that do the will of the Father inheaven.

To do less than this, to believe less than this, is to set atnought the things of God, and those that do so can not hopeto please God or be made partakers of the divine nature as

joint heirs with Christ of all that the Father has.

No one can please God without faith. Whoever goes toGod must believe that God exists and that he rewards thosewho seek him. (Hebrews 11:6)

Seeking God requires activity on our part, and that activityis rewarded by the gift of faith and knowledge that Godlives.

For he that cometh to God - In any way - as a worshipper.This is alike required in public worship, in the family, and

in secret devotion.

He that cometh to God - The man who professes that it ishis duty to worship God, must, if he act rationally, do it onthe conviction that there is such a Being infinite, eternal,unoriginated, and self-existent; the cause of all other being; on whom all being depends; and by whose energy,bounty, and providence, all other beings exist, live, and are

supplied with the means of continued existence and life. He must believe, also, that he rewards them that diligently seek him; that he is not indifferent about his own worship;that he requires adoration and religious service from men;and that he blesses, and especially protects and saves,


5/14

those who in simplicity and uprightness of heart seek and serve him. This requires faith, such a faith as is mentioned above; a faith by which we can please God; and now that

we have an abundant revelation, a faith according to that revelation; a faith in God through Christ the great sin-offering, without which a man can no more please him, or be accepted of him, than Cain was. (Clarke's Commentaryon the Bible)

This reward is not referred to our merits, but to the free promise.

[Abraham] staggered not at the promise of God throughunbelief; but was strong in faith, giving glory to God; And being fully persuaded that, what he had promised, he wasable also to perform. And therefore it was imputed to him

for righteousness. Now it was not written for his sakealone, that it was imputed to him; But for us also, to whom

it shall be imputed, if we believe on him that raised up Jesus our Lord from the dead; Who was delivered for our offences, and was raised again for our justification.(Romans 4:20-25)

Likewise, Latter-day Saints obey God because Godcommands, and whoso is not obedient to Gods guidanceneither worships him, or believes in his promises.

Know ye not, that to whom ye yield yourselves servants toobey, his servants ye are to whom ye obey; whether of sinunto death, or of obedience unto righteousness? (Romans6:16)


6/14

Latter-day Saints obey God in whatever God commands.The scriptures give no leave for uninspired man to

determine anything contrary to the revealed will of Godwhether in olden times or in modern days, unless Godhimself so directs.

It was not Peter that removed the herem on animalsadjudged non-kashrut under the Levitical Code of Purity: itwas God that revealed that the herem was removed,signalling also that the Gospel of Christ could be sharedwith the nations, whereas previously it had been almostexclusively presented to those of beit-yisrael.

Jesus Christ does not offer salvation to those that do notobey him.

"[Jesus Christ] being made perfect, became the author of

eternal salvation unto all them that obey him" (Heb. 5:9)

Salvation, then, comes by not only having faith in the LordJesus Christ, but by obeying Christ. To those that do obeyChrist, God grants the gift of the Holy Ghost.

And we are his witnesses of these things; and so is also the Holy Ghost, whom God hath given to them that obey him.(Acts 5:32)

The gathering together of several essential principles isgranted to the obedient.


7/14

Peter, an apostle of Jesus Christ, To Gods elect, strangersin the world, scattered throughout Pontus, Galatia,Cappadocia, Asia and Bithynia, who have been chosen

according to the foreknowledge of God the Father, throughthe sanctifying work of the Spirit, for obedience to JesusChrist and sprinkling by his blood: Grace and peace be

yours in abundance. (1 Peter 1:1-2)

The foreknowledge of God, our obedience to Jesus Christ,the blessing of what his atonement accomplishes inremitting our sins, and the Grace of God are bound together inseparably, but not to the exclusion of other necessarythings, as blessings to those that come to Christ and are

perfected in him.

Peter continues to impress on us the necessity of conforming our lives to the pattern of holiness established

by the God of Israel.

Wherefore gird up the loins of your mind, be sober, and hope to the end for the grace that is to be brought unto youat the revelation of Jesus Christ; As obedient children, not

fashioning yourselves according to the former lusts in your ignorance: But as he which hath called you is holy, so be

ye holy in all manner of conversation; Because it iswritten, Be ye holy; for I am holy. (1 Peter 1:13-16)

The need for Christians to keep themselves from sinning isemphasised often, and conformity to this rule established

beyond dispute. This is not the righteousness that oneChristian seeks, in his error seeking to be the master of


8/14

others to thereby impose on another Christian, but is therighteousness that the Christian imposes on himself as aworthy disciple of Christ.

Christians prove their worthiness of Christ by obeying him.

And he that taketh not his cross, and followeth after me, isnot worthy of me. (Matthew 10:38)

Worthiness means deserving, and it is evident from theScriptures that Christian disciples must make themselvesdeserving of Christ and his blessings and salvation by their conduct.

He that taketh not his cross - i.e. He who is not ready, after my example, to suffer death in the cause of my religion, isnot worthy of me [and] does not deserve to be called mydisciple. (Clarke's Commentary on the Bible)

Peter says that our obedience to the truth purifies our souls,meaning that by our obedience to Christ we are made

partakers of the fruits of his atonement and are therebyrendered sinless or pure.

Seeing ye have purified your souls in obeying the truththrough the Spirit unto unfeigned love of the brethren, seethat ye love one another with a pure heart fervently: (I Pet.1:22)

By these few verses, and there are many more to whichappeal is properly made, we see that there are several


9/14

factors that bring about the salvation of the sols of me, andwho can say that one is of greater importance than another when God has caused them all to be shown to us?

When Jesus was asked which was the greatestcommandment, he taught us that it was as found inDeuteronomy 6:5.

And thou shalt love the LORD thy God with all thine heart,and with all thy soul, and with all thy might.

He then proceeded to teach us that the second greatestcommandment was that in Leviticus 19:18.

Thou shalt not avenge, nor bear any grudge against thechildren of thy people, but thou shalt love thy neighbour asthyself: I am the LORD.

Moreover, the next thing he said was, There is none other commandment greater than these are. (Mark 12:31)

The intention of Jesus teaching us in this manner is tosuggest that those that love God with their whole beings,show also regard and have affection for their neighbourswith the same degree of affinity with which they esteemthemselves. Can we justifiably suppose that those that

profess with their lips to be Christians, but nonethelessneglect to obey the second Great Commandment areobeying the will of God according to Jesus? If we cannot,then what are we to make of them? What, if anything, dothey make of themselves?


10/14

We might be justified in supposing that they have formed anovel and distinct religion from Christianity that neither

honours or obeys the commandments that Jesus was particular to deliver to the saints, that emphasised the principle that obedience to his teachings was nothing morethan obedience to the will of God, and that obediencethereto was the essential link or key to their redemption,

because God has willed it so to be.

The novel form of the fullness of ancient Christianity Ihave termed minimalism, for obvious reasons.Minimalism has, in effect, lopped off a branch here and a

branch there of the original tree of Christianity thatoriginated with Jesus and his apostles, having determinedthat they were not essential to the core message of redemption through Jesus Christ.

Fanatical paring by minimalists has been so hard that littleof the richness of New Testament Christianity is left, andso the expression of their Christianity is become a trunk devoid of roots, branches and leaves, that is chillingly stark when compared to the splendour of the Church whoserecord is written on the pages of the New Testament.

In minimalism, Jesus Christ stands front and centre, butGod the Father has been subsumed into the Christologicalcaricature of the biblical Godhead so as to be almost non-existent.


11/14

In the Godhead expressed variously throughout the Bible,Father, Son, and Holy Ghost stand together, firm and welldefined as Creator, Redeemer, and Comforter, overlapping

in their separate functions to form a unity of the kind thatJesus prayed his disciples would reach in fellowship andcommunity, being separate persons coming together after the pattern of the Godhead being one in purpose, mission,and doctrine.

Neither pray I for these alone but for them also which shall believe on me through their word; That they all may beone; as thou, Father, art in me, and I in thee, that they alsomay be one in us: that the world may believe that thou hast

sent me. (John 17:21-22)

There is a mutual unity of the Father and the Son, who areone in power and purpose, and in understanding andaffection; which union, though it infinitely transcends any

kind of union among men, or that can be conceived of bymen, is here established by Jesus Christ the ideal of thesaints union one with another, and of their union with thedivine persons, which must be understood not as equalitywith the divinities, but as a similarity. There is no sourceof scepticism so fruitful as internecine quarrels andsectarian divisions.

Paul distinguishes three essential characteristics of Christian unity as one Lord, one faith, and one baptism.

I therefore, the prisoner of the Lord, beseech you that yewalk worthy of the vocation wherewith ye are called, With


12/14

all lowliness and meekness, with longsuffering, forbearing one another in love; Endeavouring to keep the unity of theSpirit in the bond of peace. There is one body, and one

Spirit, even as ye are called in one hope of your calling;One Lord, one faith, one baptism, One God and Father of all, who is above all, and through all, and in you all.(Ephesians 4:1-6)

Minimalism breaks of little parts of biblical theology anddeals with them as if they were the whole. Thedissatisfaction that separation and elevation of individual

points leads to need hardly be elucidated here, except to saythat it leads inexorably to an imbalance in the principles of revealed religion and thus obscures the fullness of thegospel of Jesus Christ.

Elevating the Grace of God at the expense of theAtonement of Jesus Christ, as if the sacrifice of the Lamb

of God was only incidental to Gods plan of salvation, is acase in point. Ignoring Christs insistence on obedience infavour of elevating faith as the means of salvation likewiseharms the equivalence that discrete principles of the gospelof Jesus Christ have in the Church of Jesus Christ asfundamental doctrines by which believers are brought towholeness through redemption, cleansing, purifying,forgiveness, and perfection, bundled as a whole andsuffused by the infinite love of God for his creatures, eachcharacteristic, individually and jointly, manifesting theGrace of God.


13/14

Distinctive principles of the gospel may be likened to the parts of the body that Paul used to teach an importantlesson to warring church members.

For the body is not one member, but many. If the foot shall say, Because I am not the hand, I am not of the body; is it therefore not of the body? And if the ear shall say,

Because I am not the eye, I am not of the body; is it therefore not of the body? If the whole body were an eye,where were the hearing? If the whole were hearing, wherewere the smelling? But now hath God set the membersevery one of them in the body, as it hath pleased him. And if they were all one member, where were the body? But now are they many members, yet but one body. And theeye cannot say unto the hand, I have no need of thee: nor again the head to the feet, I have no need of you. Nay,much more those members of the body, which seem to bemore feeble, are necessary: And those members of the

body, which we think to be less honourable, upon these webestow more abundant honour; and our uncomely partshave more abundant comeliness. For our comely partshave no need: but God hath tempered the body together,having given more abundant honour to that part whichlacked: That there should be no schism in the body; but that the members should have the same care one for another. And whether one member suffer, all the members

suffer with it; or one member be honoured, all the membersrejoice with it.

Now ye are the body of Christ, and members in particular. And God hath set some in the church, first apostles,


14/14

secondarily prophets, thirdly teachers, after that miracles,then gifts of healings, helps, governments, diversities of tongues. Are all apostles? Are all prophets? Are all

teachers? Are all workers of miracles? Have all the giftsof healing? Do all speak with tongues? Do all interpret? But covet earnestly the best gifts: and yet shew I unto you amore excellent way. (1 Corinthians 12:14-21)

This lesson is one that single doctrine minimalists musttake to heart if they are to recreate the beatific vision of thegospel of Jesus Christ and its many essential doctrinal partsas taught and believed by the first Christian Church, thetogetherness of which, and not the elevation of one pointover and at the expense of the others, illustrates the

beautiful simplicity of the gospel of Jesus Christ that alone provides for the salvation of our souls.

Copyright 2011 Ronnie BrayALL RIGHTS RESERVED

Documents

Atonement Faith Works Obedience Grace and Endurance Lead to Eternal Salvation