We are Fallen
Saturday October 18, 2008
James Ferrell, author of "The Peacegiver" and "The Holy Secret," recently spoke at a regional single adult activity I attended. One of the scriptures he read was James 2:10:
We need his forgiveness and to receive it we need to repent and forgive others:
How has the atonement of Christ touched your life? What else can we do to humble ourselves and accept Christ into our lives?
*except little children who are saved by the Atonement of Jesus Christ.
"For whosoever shall keep the whole law, and yet offend in one point, he is guilty of all."I don't remember exactly what Brother Ferrell said but he explained that even if we do many good things in our lives, yet still "offend in one" thing- commit one sin- we are guilty of all. It only takes one sin to keep us spiritually dead. In other words we are all guilty of sin* and those sins (even if we only committed one during our entire life) will keep us unclean and unable to dwell with God:
"Wherefore, if ye have sought to do wickedly in the days of your probation, then ye are found unclean before the judgment-seat of God; and no unclean thing can dwell with God; wherefore, ye must be cast off forever" (1 Nephi 10:21).Since then I've pondered this concept and even though I've known that we're all sinners and all need to be saved I've come to understand this concept a little more fully. In one sense it doesn't matter "how much good" I do because I still sin and am fallen. We are ALL equal in this. We are all fallen, all in a state of sin, and all in need of a Savior. We all need the Atonement of Jesus Christ, to be redeemed from our sins.
We need his forgiveness and to receive it we need to repent and forgive others:
"For if ye forgive men their trespasses, your heavenly Father will also forgive you: But if ye forgive not men their trespasses, neither will your Father forgive your trespasses" (Matt 6:14-15).Without Jesus Christ I am nothing. All I have, all I am, and all that is good is from God. It is only by and through his grace that I can be saved. All I have to do is accept his sacrifice and obey his commandments. Our agency to accept or reject Christ is a gift from God and even life's necessary trials and weaknesses are made possible because of our Father's plan and Christ's atonement.
How has the atonement of Christ touched your life? What else can we do to humble ourselves and accept Christ into our lives?
*except little children who are saved by the Atonement of Jesus Christ.
“Without Jesus Christ I am nothing. All I have, all I am, and all that is good is from God. It is only by and through his grace that I can be saved. All I have to do is accept his sacrifice and obey his commandments.”
Yup, that’s it in a nutshell!
It is by grace we are saved after all we can do…
but we are still obligated to try to put our faith into action by obeying the commandments and being of service, etc. the old “faith without works is dead” argument.
Without the Atonement, without Christ, all my own efforts would futile. Thank God daily for the miracle of forgiveness and for grace.
Accepting the Atonement of Christ has totally changed the way I look at life.
You have beautifully stated how vital an understanding of the meaning of the Atonement is, Rachel.
When we concentrate on trying to earn our way back into God’s presence by our own efforts, we not only totally miss the mark, but we deny the very power which Christ offers us to change our nature to become like Him.
Reading and pondering the words of sacrament hymns has helped me to more deeply understand and appreciate the nature of our Savior’s Atonement, and to feel an ever increasing gratitude for His sacrifice and love for each one of us.
Contemplating Christ’s gift of grace and forgiveness not only inspires me to try harder to obey His commandments and serve my fellowmen, but it also helps me to experience inner peace and joy, even in the midst of the sorrows and trials of my life.
makes me wonder whay you really believe
why inthe world would you use Christmas lyrics about Christ, and replace them with horrible evil — the devil
i would never want my child or anyone to have those words in their heads especially when it should be about our Saviour not the devil–
aboslutely horrible