Insisting that God meet you on your terms
Is the surest way never to meet Him at all
Terms for Meeting God
The Need for Law- Jeremiah 31:33, 3 Nephi 11:31-33
But this shall be the covenant that I will make with the house of Israel; After those days, saith the Lord, I will put my law in their inward parts, and write it in their hearts; and will be their God, and they shall be my people.
Behold, verily, verily, I say unto you, I will declare unto you my doctrine.
And this is my doctrine, and it is the doctrine which the Father hath given unto me; and I bear record of the Father, and the Father beareth record of me, and the Holy Ghost beareth record of the Father and me; and I bear record that the Father commandeth all men, everywhere, to repent and believe in me.
And whoso believeth in me, and is baptized, the same shall be saved; and they are they who shall inherit the kingdom of God.
COMMENTARY
But this shall be the covenant that I will make, I will put my law in their inward parts, and write it in their hearts; and will be their God, and they shall be my people
As we mentioned yesterday, Jesus became the mediator between us and divine law, having purchased the right to save all of us according to his own terms. And even before being born in the flesh and performing his saving atonement, he spoke through the Old Testament prophet Jeremiah of this coming covenant.
In that pronouncement he made clear what his mission statement for this new covenant would be: to put the law into our hearts, to be our God, and to cultivate us into being his people. The purpose of Jesus’s gospel, therefore, is to bring us in harmony with heaven. Through his tutelage we are meant to learn to love the law, to desire to follow its precepts, and to willingly choose God for our God.
And this is my doctrine, and I bear record that the Father commandeth all men, everywhere, to repent and believe in me.
And whoso believeth in me, and is baptized, the same shall be saved; and they are they who shall inherit the kingdom of God.
To repent, to put away the old, and to be born again as a new creature. These are the stipulations of the new law given by Jesus. Unlike divine law, perfection is not required, but that does not mean that effort is not required. He forgives us for not completely following every commandment of divine law…but he forgives us so that we may then try again. And when we fail again we are must to try once more. Over and over.
Thus the mandate of divine law is perfection, but the mandate of Christ’s law is not perfection. It is to try and try again. So long as we sincerely are trying, so long as we are truly repenting and recommitting, then that is it, we have already satisfied our part of Christ’s law. Thus the mandate of divine law is to already be heavenly, but the mandate of Christ’s law is to work on becoming heavenly. So long as we are sincerely becoming better, then that is it, we have already satisfied our part of Christ’s law.
The Need for Law- 1 Timothy 2:5, Ephesians 2:13-15
For there is one God, and one mediator between God and men, the man Christ Jesus;
But now in Christ Jesus ye who sometimes were far off are made nigh by the blood of Christ.
For he is our peace, who hath made both one, and hath broken down the middle wall of partition between us;
Having abolished in his flesh the enmity, even the law of commandments contained in ordinances; for to make in himself of twain one new man, so making peace;
COMMENTARY
For there is one God, and one mediator between God and men, the man Christ Jesus
We have considered how Jesus Christ came between humanity and the damning consequences of our laws to offer a mediation. Having fulfilled all of the requirements of mortal and divine law, one can only assume that Jesus was free to make the terms of his new law be whatever he wished.
If it had been his intention to still surrender us to the torment of damnation, who could deny that he had the right? Or if it had been his intention to liberally grant salvation to everyone regardless of their behavior, again who could deny that he had the right? Or if his intention had been anywhere in between, who could question it?
Obviously not all of these possibilities can be true, but the point is that Jesus was free to set his own terms, and whatever terms he chose, they would become our new immutable law if we chose it. Whatever he thinks it is that we need to do to achieve salvation, that is what we need to do.
He hath made both one, and hath broken down the middle wall of partition between us
For to make in himself of twain one new man
So what is it that Jesus wants to do? Does he want to save us all? Well yes, of course, but that is not all. As we see in these verses from Ephesians, Jesus wants to bridge the gap between us and God. He wants to break the wall between frailty and perfection, and teach us flawed souls the way to be pure. He wants to make new men and women out of us, so that we do not only live in heaven, but belong in heaven.
And as we review the terms that Christ did ultimately choose for his law, we will see that they were selected specifically for their effect of changing sinful people into something holy.
The Captive Heart- John 5:2-9
Now there is at Jerusalem by the sheep market a pool, which is called in the Hebrew tongue Bethesda, having five porches.
In these lay a great multitude of impotent folk, of blind, halt, withered, waiting for the moving of the water.
For an angel went down at a certain season into the pool, and troubled the water: whosoever then first after the troubling of the water stepped in was made whole of whatsoever disease he had.
And a certain man was there, which had an infirmity thirty and eight years.
When Jesus saw him lie, and knew that he had been now a long time in that case, he saith unto him, Wilt thou be made whole?
The impotent man answered him, Sir, I have no man, when the water is troubled, to put me into the pool: but while I am coming, another steppeth down before me.
Jesus saith unto him, Rise, take up thy bed, and walk.
And immediately the man was made whole, and took up his bed, and walked: and on the same day was the sabbath.
COMMENTARY
Sir, I have no man, when the water is troubled, to put me into the pool
Previously I examined our reluctance to admit when we are wounded or broken. But then, even when we are willing to admit as much, we still might struggle to know what to do with that fact. Once we know that we have a problem we tend to look for solutions, but if the correct solution is not immediately evident, we usually end up chasing fruitless remedies, or trying to medicate the pain with addiction and disconnection.
Such was the man at the pool of Bethesda, forever waiting for a healing that he was incapable of receiving. It was the place to go, the thing to do, the world’s solution for his problem. But it just wasn’t going to work for him.
When Jesus saw him lie, he saith unto him, Wilt thou be made whole?
The man could not find his healing, because he could not meet the terms under which it was doled out. He was physically incapable of finding success. I have felt the same when I have said to myself I need to be healed by God, but I have to earn it first by becoming perfect. This is a physical impossibility, and if I insist on this path, I will only ensure that I am never healed.
Jesus comes with another offer, comes with terms that each of us can meet. It is simple: “wilt thou be made whole?” The simplicity of the way often makes us skeptical. True healing and change cannot come so freely we think. And normally, no, true healing isn’t and can’t be so free in our fallen world. That is why we call it a miracle.
Spiritual Wanderings 