One of the ways
the faithful follower of Christ is saved from sin comes many times throughout
that individual’s life. Faithful
followers of Christ recognize they aren’t perfect and devote their lives to
overcoming their weaknesses and sins in order to become more like Him. Many times throughout their lives, they will
witness the miraculous healing power of Jesus Christ as it grants them the
strength to overcome their weaknesses.
I can speak
personally of this healing power because I’ve seen it in my life. One instance that comes to mind is a weakness
of mine that I struggled with for years.
During these years of struggle, I found myself constantly infuriated
with myself because I would give in to the enticements of this weakness and
fail to measure up to the standards a disciple of Christ should carry. I would find myself on my knees often, asking
for forgiveness for my mistakes and pleading for the strength to eliminate this
weakness from my life.
Suddenly, without
any warning or preamble, I found there came a day when my desire to give in to
this weakness was simply gone. The
weakness itself wasn’t gone. I still
have it and am still trying to fully eliminate it from my life. But I no longer carried the desire to act
upon that weakness. I fought for years
without making any progress, and finally a day came when there was a
significant step closer to complete freedom from that weakness. That step came through the power of Jesus
Christ as He granted me the strength to be free.
There are many
ways freedom from our sins and weaknesses come through the strength of Jesus
Christ. In this case it came suddenly
after years of fighting the weakness with no apparent progress. In some cases an individual learns something
is wrong and just suddenly gives it up, without any apparent struggle. In most cases, it seems, people fight their
way out of the problem one step at a time, gradually gaining more and more
freedom. In all cases that freedom from
sin is only possible through the Savior Jesus Christ.
Another form of
freedom from sin is freedom from the consequences of sin. Usually in life we still suffer the
consequences of the sins in which we choose to indulge. If you choose to indulge in smoking, you will
likely suffer the consequence of lung cancer.
If you choose to participate in physical intimacy outside the sacred
bonds of marriage, you may have to suffer the consequence of having a child
outside of wedlock. If you lie, cheat, steal,
or indulge in pornography, you will have to endure lack of trust from those
around you. These consequences carry
over even after you have repented, though some with far less duration than
others.
There are times
when God may remove the consequences from sin in this life without requiring
the repentant sinner to suffer through those consequences. Only He knows when He will do so, and only He
knows why. His purposes are just, and if
He chooses to do so, it is for a just purpose.
This seldom seems to be the case, however. It seems we are usually required to suffer
through the consequences of sin in this life.
But the more dire
consequences of sin that come after judgment are a different matter. These are the consequences that Jesus
promised would not fall on the repentant soul.
In The Doctrine and Covenants of The Church of Jesus Christ of
Latter-day Saints, which contains the prophecies of God given through His
prophets called in modern days, we get a glimpse into the severity of the
consequences that come after judgment. Turning
to chapter 19, verses 15-18, we read:
15. Therefore I command you to
repent—repent, lest I smite you by the rod of my mouth, and by my wrath, and by
my anger, and your sufferings be sore—how sore you know not, how exquisite you
know not, yea, how hard to bear you know not.
16. For behold, I, God, have suffered these
things for all, that they might not suffer if they would repent;
17. But if they would not repent they must suffer
even as I;
18. Which suffering cause myself, even God, the
greatest of all, to tremble because of pain, and bleed at every pore, and to
suffer both body and spirit—and would that I might not drink the bitter cup...
This teaches us
that, if we choose not to repent for our sins, we must face the same
consequences of sin that Jesus faced in the Garden of Gethsemane. These consequences caused Him to tremble and
bleed at every pore, suffering pain so great that only Jesus could endure because
of the combination of divine and mortal qualities only He possessed. Yet any who choose not to partake of the
Atonement of Jesus Christ will suffer this same and pain for their own sins
when their judgment is meted out.
This may seem
unfair, but in fact it is completely fair.
Think about it. Jesus suffered
for your sins and offers you the opportunity to repent, return to the path of
righteousness, and have your sins covered through His atonement. But if you reject this offer because of your
own foolish pride, laziness, or self-indulgent nature, you must pay the price
yourself. You chose to so suffer because
other things were more important to you and you weren’t willing to make
sacrifices for redemption. So isn’t it
fair that you should pay the price yourself?
It is. Only those who repent,
sacrificing the wickedness of this world in order to follow in the righteous
footsteps of Jesus Christ, have claim to the Atonement of Jesus Christ.
Another
consequence of sin that we are saved from through obedience to the laws of God is
separation from God. This is the salvation from spiritual death that becomes the third type of salvation we can receive because of
the Atonement of Jesus Christ. As I stated earlier, I will
cover this salvation next week.
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