Posted on by Abe Austin

Faith vs Works- What About Those that Can’t?

The Paradox)

We’ve already spent a good while discussing salvation, and whether it comes by faith or works. In the last post, I encouraged us to accept each of the different messages in scripture, even if they initially seem contradictory to us. I said we should accept that Jesus meant it when he declared that belief and baptism were necessary to be saved and also believe it when Paul said that salvation is purely by grace through faith. By accepting both positions, we allow space for God to explain how this works. So long as we reject one side for the other, we shut ourselves off from the revelation of how God bridges the gap between.

So let us accept the primacy of both faith and works and be comfortable in the paradox that we find there. Jesus said that baptism was one of the steps necessary for salvation, and so we accept it, but he also said that “God sent not his Son into the world to condemn the world; but that the world through him might be saved.” Such a plan of universal salvation sounds wonderful, but how can that work when the majority of God’s children, billions and billions of souls, have lived and died without ever knowing the name of Jesus, and never having the opportunity to be baptized in his name? Did Jesus come to save the world, or to create conditions that would exclude it?

We do not want to dismiss Jesus’s command to be baptized, but neither do we want to dismiss his claim of universal reclamation. Is it possible that God has ordinances that are necessary for salvation, and that those who died without those ordinances could still be saved?

The Solution)

There is in my LDS theology, and apparently in the practices of the early Christians, a practice of performing the ordinances of salvation for the dead, including baptism. Not as a way of forcing those that have gone before into Christian faith, but with the understanding that the individual soul may freely accept or reject the ordinance according to the alignment of their heart.

I know that suggesting this solution might be controversial outside of the LDS faith, but the practice is explicitly spoken approvingly of by Paul:

Else what shall they do which are baptized for the dead, if the dead rise not at all? why are they then baptized for the dead?
-1 Corinthians 15:29

Problems Resolved)

This theology of proxy ordinances resolves the issue that we raised just prior, explaining how baptism can be required for salvation but also how those who died without access to it can still be part of Christ’s universal invitation to salvation, but that is not all. This theology also answers the very debate that we began this study with: faith vs works.

By accepting the practice of baptisms for the dead, we can see why Paul speaks so emphatically about the sufficiency of faith alone. We can now understand that if a person conforms their heart and will to the Almighty, then that is what is absolutely essential in this life, because then they can accept the ordinances of salvation in the next one. If a man spends his life cultivating a believing and submissive spirit but dies without knowing Jesus or without being able to perform all the necessary ordinances, it is alright. He got his heart right, and Christ and his church will take care of the rest.

Some works and ordinances are still required for salvation, but those that accept Jesus in true faith can rest comfortable in the knowledge that whether they die tomorrow or in eighty years, God has made a way for all those necessary works to all be accomplished. We have no more argument of faith vs works, we see the false dichotomy for what it is, and we are able to fully embrace the primacy of both.

Now I realize that not all of my readers may be able or willing to accept this doctrine of baptisms for the dead. If that is you, no worries. I would still urge you to keep a mind open to finding some way in which the scriptures can all be satisfied, both the ones that suggest that faith is the key to salvation, and also the ones that say certain ordinances are necessary also. Do not accept arguments that ask you to reject half of the scriptures on the matter, or which require you to twist their interpretation in unnatural ways. Let your beliefs follow the natural interpretation of God’s word, and not the other way around.

Anyway, this is where I will conclude the study. I hope, if nothing else, it has opened up some new questions and new considerations for you. May God lead you to reject the false dichotomy of faith vs works, and to embrace both as beautiful and essential parts in His plan for mankind.

Posted on by Abe Austin

A Loving Relationship with Christ- Unconditional Love

Awe-inspiring Love)

I mentioned in my last post that those who excuse sinful behavior by saying Jesus loves us, and always will, do have some truth to their claims, but also some falsehood. Let us first consider what is true.

It is, in fact, true, that Jesus loves us virtually unconditionally. There is the special case of the Sons of Perdition and denying the Holy Ghost, but I believe the vast majority of us do not even qualify for these categories. Pretty much all of us have never done anything that puts outside the reach of Jesus. Though we may have been unquestionably selfish, may have hurt other people and ourselves, may have given ourselves to all manner of lusts, yet the love of Jesus remains firm, and he offers grace to us all.

This is an incredible promise. Indeed, it is so incredible, that I think it is hard to really take it seriously. Such unconditional, patient, persistent love is so strange and unfamiliar when compared to our usual earthly relationships. I know that for myself, I truly had no real grasp on this sort of love for most of my life. I had to see echoes of it in some very special people to really comprehend it at all.

This truth of the gospel cannot be understated, and insofar as a disciple of Jesus truly has a conviction of this, they are in the right. But now let us consider where one can take this truth and go astray.

Half of a Bridge)

Yes, Jesus’s love for us is unconditional, and he offers salvation to us all, but that doesn’t mean we are guaranteed to end up on the right hand of God. Jesus’s love and mercy is an essential component of salvation, but it is not the only essential component. It is only half of the bridge between us and God, useless without the other half.

Jesus, himself, made this very clear with his own words: “Not every one that saith unto me, Lord, Lord, shall enter into the kingdom of heaven; but he that doeth the will of my Father which is in heaven,” (Matthew 7:21).

Those who say “Lord, Lord,” but are denied the kingdom of heaven will surely be people who were loved by Jesus, who had their sins paid for by Jesus, who had the offer of salvation extended to them by Jesus…but none of that is the same as actually being saved.

In the following posts, we will explore more of what is required of us to connect our half of the bridge to Christ’s, but I hope it is already clear that while Christ’s love for us is unconditional, our place by his side is not. Jesus has freely given all of us a path, but we still have to walk it!

Posted on by Abe Austin

The Impasse of Release and Guilt: Part Three

In my last two posts I have described two parts of a paradox in addiction recovery. Part one was that we have the greatest success when we do not ruminate on our failures, but simply let them go. Part two was that the addict who breaks beautiful things and hurts loved ones feels it is too flippant to just let those things go. It seems necessary that the addict should be devastated about his failure for some time.

Thus, the addict finds himself caught between the surrender of guilt that would give him the best chance of recovery, and the sense of justice that demands he pays for what he has done. Thankfully, there is a third element that comes to bridge this terrible gulf, to provide a ladder from the darkness to the light.

The Need for a Savior)

At the core of the addict saying that it is right and appropriate to feel devastated for his failures is a recognition that he has broken a moral crime, and so justice ought to be carried out on him. But once we recognize that this is a matter of paying the price for a moral crime, Jesus Christ steps into the picture. The whole point of Jesus Christ is that he, himself, paid the price for these crimes so that we wouldn’t have to.

If I responded to my most shameful acts with nothing more than a “yeah, that happened, but moving on…” then yes, that would be too flippant. But there’s nothing flippant about saying “My best friend died for what I did, so that I could go free.” If anything, that adds even greater gravity and weight to the situation, while also justifying me in letting go of my shame and moving on.

Yes, it is appropriate to be devastated about the seriously wrong things that we do, but Christ offers to feel that devastation for us. When we take him up on that offer, and surrender the weight to him, then it is entirely appropriate for us to get right back in the saddle and try again.

I think this is why having a Higher Power, and more specifically a Savior, is essential to recovery, because when I don’t account for the fact that someone paid for the price for me, I get stuck at an impasse between parts one and two. I need this final part to bridge the gap and bring it all home. It allows me to live as if I had never done anything wrong, while also not minimizing the very real wrong that I really did do. Bringing Christ into the recovery allows us to exchange our worst for his best, and thus the captive may go free.