Posted on by Abe Austin

Commandments and Personal Revelation- Mosiah 4:29, Isaiah 42:21, Doctrine and Covenants 58:25-26

And finally, I cannot tell you all the things whereby ye may commit sin; for there are divers ways and means, even so many that I cannot number them.
…
The Lord is well pleased for his righteousness’ sake; he will magnify the law, and make it honourable.
…
They shall counsel between themselves and me. For behold, it is not meet that I should command in all things;

COMMENTARY

For there are divers ways and means, even so many that I cannot number them
It is not meet that I should command in all things
The simple truth is that there are too many permutations of possible actions for a written law to ever encapsulate the entirety of all forbidden behavior. Even the same action can be considered both right or wrong, depending on its context.
Those that seek loopholes in any law will always be able to find them, no matter how far the law bloats itself to try to and thwart their mischief.

They shall counsel between themselves and me
He will magnify the law, and make it honourable
If I am to have any hope of truly following the commandments I am going to need some sort of constant and living guidance. A pastor will never be available enough to guide me in every life situation, and two different pastors might even give me conflicting advice.
The only solution, then, is to have personal revelation. Or as these above scriptures describe it: to counsel with God and learn from Him how we should magnify the law in our individual circumstances. By communing with Him and receiving instruction perfectly fitted to our need in that moment, we are finally able to dispel any ambiguity and act with full confidence.

Posted on by Abe Austin

Commandments and Personal Revelation- Galatians 3:24-25, 3 Nephi 9:17, Matthew 5:27-28

Wherefore the law was our schoolmaster to bring us unto Christ, that we might be justified by faith.
But after that faith is come, we are no longer under a schoolmaster.
…
For behold, by me redemption cometh, and in me is the law of Moses fulfilled.
…
Ye have heard that it was said by them of old time, Thou shalt not commit adultery:
But I say unto you, That whosoever looketh on a woman to lust after her hath committed adultery with her already in his heart.

COMMENTARY

Wherefore the law was our schoolmaster to bring us unto Christ.
In me is the law of Moses fulfilled.
Thus far we have explored the motivation and purposes behind the commandments. The reasons why God gives them to us and the reason why it is in our best interest to follow them.
But the question still remains: just which commandments still apply? The two passages I have mentioned above make clear that there were certain components of the Law of Moses that served as moral training-wheels, strict observations meant to help a generation that did not yet have the benefit of Christ’s ministry and atonement.
In the time of Moses there had not yet been any sacrifice of the Lamb of God, and so they were required to make animal sacrifices in the interim. After Jesus Christ’s atonement the need for those sacrifices then ended.

But…whosoever looketh on a woman to lust after her hath committed adultery…already in his heart.
But clearly there are elements of the Law of Moses that were not done away with. Rather than dispel the ten commandments and its injunction that “thou shalt not commit adultery” Jesus actually reinforced and expanded that law. So clearly some elements of that law were not intermediary observations, they were universal truths.
Within Christianity alone there are heated debates as to where those lines should be drawn. Seventh Day Adventists maintain that Saturday is still the proper sabbath and other sects say it is Sunday. There then remains further uncertainty as to what the exact point of restriction is on that day. Jesus clearly showed that one need not worry about walking about and serving others, but what about long-distance travel? Exercising? Doing housework? Rough-housing with your kids?

It’s certainly a confusing dilemma. The Pharisees tried to remove any ambiguity by spelling out their rules to an exhaustive degree. Sometimes that might sound like a welcome relief, at least then we would know exactly what we can and cannot do, even if we don’t understand why. I think this is the reason that most of us subscribe to one particular church or another and then just accept the commandments that they give to us. But the fact is that these approaches will never take away all of the ambiguity either. We’ll look into why that is tomorrow.

Posted on by Abe Austin

Commandments and Personal Revelation- Proverbs 6:23, 19:16; Doctrine and Covenants 61: 13

For the commandment is a lamp; and the law is light; and reproofs of instruction are the way of life.
…
He that keepeth the commandment keepeth his own soul.
…
And now, behold, for your good I gave unto you a commandment concerning these things.

COMMENTARY

For your good I gave unto you a commandment
Yesterday we examined how the commandments are given to us by God because He loves us. The question that the worldly view raises is “why would He restrict us if He loves us?”
This view of commandments as restricting is a rather strange perspective, given that it is not at all the same one we hold for any other natural laws. Is the law of gravity restricting, or does it keep us safe from floating into empty space?
And imagine if tomorrow there were to be discovered a new law of physics, something as fundamental as the Newtonian principles. Would that news be received begrudgingly, seen as a limiting rule to tie us down? No, it would be the greatest cause of excitement! It would allow us to better understand our world, the natural order of things, and empower us to greater accomplishments.
When we launch our shuttles into space, we do not do so by defying the laws of physics, we do so by strictly adhering to them, utilizing them, and by so doing are empowered to propel man beyond the confines of this temporal world. It is the same with God’s commandments.

For the commandment is a lamp; and the law is light
We need to let go of the notion that things are bad because God told us not to do them. Rather God told us not to do them because they are bad. Some things are just fundamentally wrong.
All of us who have told lies know that with them comes a certain anxiety, a fear of being discovered in our deceit. Then, if we are discovered, there is inevitable hurt to the party that was lied to. Make no mistake, these feelings of anxiety, fear, and hurt are not punishments from God. These are simply the natural consequences of a fundamentally wrong action. These are the experiences God was lovingly providing commandments to try and protect us from.

He that keepeth the commandment keepeth his own soul.
The commandments are not a set of arbitrary rules. They are instruction on how to navigate a set of natural laws that are as fundamental to the universe as “an object at rest will remain at rest.”

  1. An object in motion will remain in motion…so get out of the way of a moving train!
  2. The soul includes a spirit, which like the body requires nourishment to thrive…so remember the sabbath day to keep it holy!

Keeping the commandments is really one of the most self-interested things you can do! Keep the commandments and you are keeping yourself.

Posted on by Abe Austin · 1 Comment

Commandments and Personal Revelation- Question

I know that the commandments can be a delicate topic in today’s world. Some feel that certain commandments don’t apply anymore and others despair at a world that has abandoned God’s way. We know that Jesus brought a close to laws regarding animal sacrifice, and the question arises whether that is validation for us declaring other laws as out-dated as well. Perhaps God has a more lenient view of society’s current trends than we give Him credit for… or maybe we are just trying to refashion Him into an idol that permits us to do all the things we want to.

Now I do not intend to use this blog to try and argue which commandments still apply and which do not. Rather I want to explore the question of how can a sincere disciple seek to know and follow God’s will in such a puzzling word? With so many competing voices how can we tune into His alone and know what He wants us to do?

That directly leads us to the issue of personal revelation. We pray to God and we want to hear Him speaking back to us, but recognizing revelation as such is a difficult process. How do we know that what we felt was really God’s message to us, and not just us projecting our personal desires onto Him? What if we feel we aren’t receiving any message at all?

The questions are many, hopefully we’ll be able to find some satisfying answers to them. We’ll begin by taking a closer look at the commandments and the purpose of God in giving them to us. In the meanwhile please feel free to share your own journeys in this regard. How have you dealt with confusion in knowing what God’s laws are? What do you do if you feel certain about one of His commandments, and then find someone who feels just as certain in the opposite direction? I’d love to hear about your experiences.

Posted on by Abe Austin

The Differences Between Knowing, Doing, and Becoming- Summary

I really enjoyed doing this study. It really felt like delving into the heart of the gospel, and coming to really understand God’s purposes for me. Not only that, but I also came to better understand my own obstacles to achieving those purposes. I don’t blame myself for having obstacles, the ones I have are common to all mankind: pride, a desire for control, a lack of faith. But now that I know what they are I know what to work on. Let’s take a look at some of the things we’ve observed.

having a testimony and Doing Good Works are Important

The last thing I would want anyone to assume from this study is that I am saying learning the gospel and keeping the commandments are somehow unnecessary. Conversion is the culmination of these two, and doesn’t happen without them. We need to increase our testimony and we need to do good deeds. We need to do these even when they don’t come naturally to us, and Jesus has called “blessed” those that do.
Matthew 16:17- And Jesus answered and said unto him, Blessed art thou, Simon Bar-jona: for flesh and blood hath not revealed it unto thee, but my Father which is in heaven.
Matthew 19:17- If thou wilt enter into life, keep the commandments.

We Increase Our testimony and Do Good So That We Might Be Changed

While still valuing our testimony and righteousness for their own sake, we can still ask for a conversion to be added to them. As I mentioned above, sometimes exercising faith and keeping the commandments may come unnaturally to us. That’s alright, but the hope is that one day we’ll be changed so that they become much more a part of us.
God wants children who do good because they love the good, not because they are afraid of being punished otherwise. As anyone who has tried to follow God’s plan can attest to, it is in the doing that the love enters the heart.
Ezekiel 11:19- And I will give them one heart, and I will put a new spirit within you; and I will take the stony heart out of their flesh, and will give them an heart of flesh.
Psalm 51:10- Create in me a clean heart, O God; and renew a right spirit within me.

the change that comes is a miracle

All of us want to feel that we are in control of our own growth. We want to be assigned specific homework that we know if we complete will garner us a specific grade. Peter was looking for this when he asked the Lord how many times exactly he had to forgive another.
The fact is for our hearts to be changed is outside of our power. It’s going to literally take an act of God for anyone to truly transform into someone else. That means handing our hearts over to God and trusting that He will work a miracle to change it for us.
Matthew 6:27- Which of you by taking thought can add one cubit unto his stature?
Jeremiah 24:7- And I will give them an heart to know me, that I am the Lord: and they shall be my people, and I will be their God: for they shall return unto me with their whole heart.

change follows A TRIAL

The Savior taught us that new wine cannot be put into old bottles. Often we try to ask God for that new of heart, while still trying to hold onto our old one. It’s understandable to be afraid and to want to stay where we feel familiar and safe…but we simply can’t have it both ways.
What holds us back is fear, and that fear is not of God. As he did to Jesus and Peter, Satan comes to us all and says “no, you are your old and sinful self, you cannot be anything different.” He casts doubt on God’s ability to change us, tries to convince us we will never be anything more than our basest selves.
I held myself back from God for a long while because I was afraid He would take from me all the parts I loved best. It took a lot of love and care from Him before I started to see that I could trust Him. Bit by bit He convinced me that He would be careful with my heart. I’m so very glad that He did.
Matthew 19:21-22- Jesus said unto him, If thou wilt be perfect, go and sell that thou hast, and give to the poor, and thou shalt have treasure in heaven: and come and follow me. But when the young man heard that saying, he went away sorrowful: for he had great possessions.
Luke 22:32- But I have prayed for thee, that thy faith fail not: and when thou art converted, strengthen thy brethren.

Posted on by Abe Austin

The Differences Between Knowing, Doing, and Becoming- Jeremiah 24:7, Ezekiel 11:19, Psalm 51:10


And I will give them an heart to know me, that I am the Lord: and they shall be my people, and I will be their God: for they shall return unto me with their whole heart.
…
And I will give them one heart, and I will put a new spirit within you; and I will take the stony heart out of their flesh, and will give them an heart of flesh:
…
Create in me a clean heart, O God; and renew a right spirit within me.

COMMENTARY

Thus far we’ve studied examples that illustrate how God wants us to become a good person, more than He wants us to merely know or do good things. As we recognize and accept that divine identity within us, goodness naturally flows from us without coercion.
But the idea that God wants us to become something presents a difficult quandary and it invites all manner of anxious questions. How exactly do I change myself into something new? What if I can’t make myself better? What if I haven’t figured out how to change my heart with the flip of a switch?
Well, I won’t leave you in suspense, you can’t and you won’t. You need to be changed at your core, and that frankly is not within your power.

And I will give them one heart, and I will put a new spirit within you
It is God who changes the heart and God alone. If ever we are to experience a real transformation it is purely by an act of grace from Him.
Certainly it is within our power to do good works which invite God to change us, but make no mistake that it is still God who does the actual changing. We get ourselves to the right place, then He does the miracle.

But that might bring up other anxious questions. What if God just doesn’t show up for me? What if I do my part and then He never makes that change in my heart?
It really goes against our grain to depend on someone else like that. Our human natures balk at the idea of giving up direct control to trust in someone else. We would much rather that God just give us a to-do list and send us on our way.
If I knew that I needed to utter so many hours of prayer, attend church for so many weeks, and read so many verse of scripture, then that would mean it was entirely up to me whether I made it into heaven or not. That is how I would prefer it.
But that is not how it works, is it? You simply cannot earn your way into heaven. God knows that this is uncomfortable for us, and frankly He designed it to be so. God requires us to be humble, to rely on faith, and to depend on Him. You’re right that if He didn’t show up for you it would be very bad, but He promises that He will.
As you submit to that you’ll probably feel something hard and heavy breaking and falling away from you in the process. That would be your pride.

Posted on by Abe Austin

The Differences Between Knowing, Doing, and Becoming- Matthew 4:6, 27:40, 3:17

And when the tempter came to him, he said…If thou be the Son of God, cast thyself down: for it is written, He shall give his angels charge concerning thee: and in their hands they shall bear thee up, lest at any time thou dash thy foot against a stone.
…
If thou be the Son of God, come down from the cross.
…
And lo a voice from heaven, saying, This is my beloved Son, in whom I am well pleased.

COMMENTARY

Previously we discussed that’s Peter test was to be challenged in his commitment to his identity. He called himself a disciple of Jesus, but when pressed by fear he then denied that. It is tragic, but also very relatable. For many of us our crisis of faith involves us similarly questioning who we really are.
Maybe we feel we don’t know as much as we should and maybe we feel we don’t do as much as we should, but where the guilt of these failings comes to their full agony is when they make us feel that maybe then we aren’t the person we should be. At one point or another we have all asked: Am I really a child of God?

And when the tempter came to him, he said…If thou be the Son of God, cast thyself down…
If thou be the Son of God, come down from the cross.
In these crises of identity it may be helpful to recall that Jesus was tempted in the exact same fashion. Very early in his ministry Satan came to tempt him, and Satan’s attack was immediately to cast doubt on Jesus’s identity. If thou be the Son of God.
But the accusations did not end after that initial temptation. In fact, in the Savior’s final moments on the cross the exact same doubt was cast by the people at his feet. If thou be the Son of God.
The similarity between these moments are astounding. In fact each calls for the same action: come down. It is the same demand made of each of us. Stop thinking you can be a worthy son or daughter of God, come down.

This is my beloved Son, in whom I am well pleased.
Fortunately there is another voice as well, and one that repudiates the tempter. God knows our identities are challenged, and He speaks to reaffirm our worthiness. This is my beloved Son. He establishes identity, being, and character.
I am convinced that of all the truths God wants me to have faith in, this is the one He wants most of all: You are my son. If I allow myself to be His son, then the knowing and the doing will just naturally flow from that.

Posted on by Abe Austin

The Differences Between Knowing, Doing, and Becoming- Question

I gave a sermon in church a little bit ago, and while I was studying for it I had my eyes opened to a message about how some people knowing what is good, and some people do what is good, but neither one of these alone is quite the same as being what is good.

And I know that what God intends for all of us is to be the good. He doesn’t want us to be limited to just knowing theory or only doing good things out of duty. He wants our very hearts to change, for us to become His children. That’s what His gospel is really geared towards.

I felt like I only scratched the surface of this topic when I was preparing for that sermon, and now I want to really dig in deeper. I’ll start tomorrow with the passage that first opened my mind up to this idea, though, that of the rich young ruler asking Jesus what he needed to inherit eternal life.

In the meanwhile, I’d love to hear whether you’ve noticed this same distinction in your study of the gospel. Any insights as to how one actually makes the transition from a knower or a doer to a becomer? What’s been your own experience in that process?

Posted on by Abe Austin

How Do We Pray for Others- Summary

I really was not sure what I would find when I decided to do a study on how to pray for others. Even when I selected John 17 for my research, I wasn’t sure what I would be able to glean for it. I have honestly been amazed at the wealth of messages that are in this short chapter, though, and the promise of “ask and ye shall receive” has been abundantly filled! In the Great Intercessory Prayer I feel that Jesus lays out a perfect template for how to petition for our brothers and sisters. Let’s do a review of what we learned.

Get Yourself Connected First

First and foremost you need to consider your own connection to God. You need to know His goodness before you can pray for it in others. If we try to pray for the love of God to come into other’s lives and we have not experienced that love ourselves, then we are just praying a “wish” instead of praying in “faith.”
19- And for their sakes I sanctify myself, that they also might be sanctified.
23- … that the world may know that thou hast sent me, and hast loved them, as thou hast loved me.

Secondly you need to be connected to those you pray for. Even if these are strangers you are praying for, you can have your heart drawn out in common humanity for your fellow brothers and sisters. Jesus knew those he prayed for clear through to their very souls. He knows their goodness, and he knows their failings. He truly was their shepherd.
8- For I have given unto them the words which thou gavest me; and they have received them, and have known surely that I came out from thee, and they have believed that thou didst send me.
12- While I was with them in the world, I kept them in thy name: those that thou gavest me I have kept, and none of them is lost, but the son of perdition;

Make this a partnership

We’re not meant to treat God like a genie and ask Him to do everything for us. Neither are we meant to treat God like a taskmaster and who demands us to do everything on our own. One of the messages that comes through clearest to me in Jesus’s prayer is the relationship he and God have as fellow workers in the same field.
8- For I have given unto them the words which thou gavest me; and they have received them.
22- And the glory which thou gavest me I have given them;

ask for the universals

If you’re unsure of what to specifically ask for those you pray for, pray for what you know. You know that everyone needs God’s love in their lives. You know that everyone needs to feel the reality of being God’s own child. You know that everyone is their best when they see themselves the way Christ sees them. You know everyone needs forgiveness and Grace. Jesus prays for universal goodness that all of us can echo in our own prayers.
15- I pray not that thou shouldest take them out of the world, but that thou shouldest keep them from the evil.
17- Sanctify them through thy truth: thy word is truth

Ask for unity

And recognize that your desires for others all come back to the need for you and those you pray for to come to a common ground: God’s common ground. If there is a rift between you, each of you coming to God will close that gap. If there is a hurt or a wound, God’s presence will heal that. If there is a desire to serve and love, God’s guidance will show your hands the work to do.
21 That they all may be one; as thou, Father, art in me, and I in thee, that they also may be one in us: that the world may believe that thou hast sent me.
23 I in them, and thou in me, that they may be made perfect in one; and that the world may know that thou hast sent me, and hast loved them, as thou hast loved me.
26 And I have declared unto them thy name, and will declare it: that the love wherewith thou hast loved me may be in them, and I in them.

Posted on by Abe Austin

How Do We Pray for Others- John 17:21-23, 26

That they all may be one; as thou, Father, art in me, and I in thee, that they also may be one in us: that the world may believe that thou hast sent me.
And the glory which thou gavest me I have given them; that they may be one, even as we are one:
I in them, and thou in me, that they may be made perfect in one; and that the world may know that thou hast sent me, and hast loved them, as thou hast loved me.
And I have declared unto them thy name, and will declare it: that the love wherewith thou hast loved me may be in them, and I in them.

COMMENTARY

That they all may be one…
…they also may be one in us
…that they may be one, even as we are one…
I in them, and thou in me…
Jesus’s intentions come across very clearly here, don’t they? He finishes his prayer with an intense focus on perfect unity. He really wants these disciples to be one with him and the Father. That’s what his gospel and his sacrifice are really all about. Jesus died so that we could be one.
And I think if we examine our sincerest prayers we’ll find that unity is all we’re really asking for as well.

“Help me to alleviate their pain…”
“Bless them to feel thy love…”
“Show me how to forgive them…”
“Give me the words to speak to them…”

Each of these are prayers to take down walls of separation, to bring in empathy, understanding, and a shift of perspective. It isn’t just unity between each other, either, that wouldn’t be enough. It has to be a unity with God, a three-way meeting of the minds between us and Him. If ever we obtain real peace, it will only be by all parties converging on Him.