Tuesday, March 4, 2008

Part 3 The Atonement of Christ and it's Effect in our life

“ We believe that through the Atonement1 of Christ, all mankind may be saved, by obedience to the laws and ordinances of the
gospel."

The Atonement of Jesus Christ is one of the most wonderful gifts Christ has given us. Jesus Christ paid the price for us. Two major obstacles were standing in our way to become like our Heavenly Father and to return to him as result of the fall and of our own sins.
A) Obstacles of physical death and spiritual death
The first obstacle is the obstacle is death. The bodies that we have are imperfect; for a purpose. Imperfect, because we are subject to the laws of this world which he has created. As a result of this imperfection, we experience sicknesses, pain and sorrow... These imperfections play a great part in our progression. These imperfections also help us to appreciate the good things of this world: “For it must needs be, that there is an opposition in all things [...] And if ye shall say there is no law, ye shall also say there is no sin. If ye shall say there is no sin, ye shall also say there is no righteousness. And if there be no righteousness there be no happiness. And if there be no righteousness nor happiness there be no punishment nor misery. And if these things are not there is no God. And if there is no God we are not, neither the earth; for there could have been no creation of things, neither to act nor to be acted upon, wherefore all things must have vanished away[…]. And to bring about his eternal purposes in the end of man [...] it must needs be that there was an opposition...2

In addition to being imperfect, our bodies are mortal. The body of our Father in heaven is perfect and immortal. So, every one of us will die to end this mortal life. It is a process that each of us will experience. Death is a result of the fall; “But now is Christ risen from the dead, and become the firstfruits of them that slept. For since by man came death, by man came also the resurrection of the dead. For as in Adam all die, even so in Christ shall all be made alive.3” It is part of the plan of our Father, which is in heaven, that we are able to become like him. From the teachings of the prophets in the book of Mormon, we learn the same truth: “ For as death hath passed upon all men, to fulfill the merciful plan of the great Creator, there must need be a power of resurrection, and the resurrection must needs come unto man by reason of the Fall [...] Wherefore, it must needs be an infinite atonement-save it should be an infinite atonement this corruption could not put on incorruption[...] And if so, this flesh must have laid down to rot and to crumble to its mother earth, to rise no more.4
Once we die, which is physical death5, a separation occurs between the physical body and the spirit. As we see in our civilization, the body is buried or cremated depending on personal reasons and opinions. On the other hand, the spirit continues to live as our spirits live now and goes to a place prepared by our Father in Heaven. This place is called the Spirit World. Many Christians call this place “spirit paradise”.

Jesus Christ, crucified and buried in the tomb, went as a spirit, to preach unto the Spirits in Spirit prison. “For Christ also hath once suffered for sins, the just for the unjust, that he might bring us to God, being put to death in the flesh but quickened by the Spirit: By which also he went and preached unto the spirits in prison.6” “For for this cause was the gospel preached also to them that are dead, that they might be judged according to men in the flesh, but live according to God in spirit.7
During these three days, He taught those who had not received a knowledge of Jesus Christ and His gospel. At death, a judgment takes place separating those who have been baptized and faithful, being in a spirit paradise, and those who have not received the gospel.
What wonderful proof of the love that our Heavenly Father has for us! He gives a chance for everyone to know the gospel that they may decide for themselves to follow or reject it; that they may be judged justly.

We cannot overcome the obstacle of death by ourselves. Jesus Christ overcame this obstacle for us. On the third day after his death, his followers gathered to the tomb “The first day of the week cometh Mary Magdalene early, when it was yet dark, unto the sepulchre, and seeth the stone taken away from the sepulchre. Then she runneth, and cometh to Simon Peter, and to the other disciple, whom Jesus loved, and saith unto them, They have taken away the Lord out of the sepulchre, and we know not were they have laid him. Peter therefore went forth, and that other disciple, and came to the sepulchre. So they ran both together, and the other disciple did outrun Peter, and came first to the sepulchre. And he stooping down, and looking in, saw the linen clothes lying; yet went he not in. Then cometh Simon Peter following him, and went into the sepulchre, and seeth the linen clothes lie. And the napkin, that was about his head, not lying with the linen clothes, but wrapped together in a place by itself. Then went in also that other disciple, which came first to the sepulchre, and he saw and believed. For as yet they knew not the scripture, that he must rise again from the dead.7
What a wonderful experience. The teaching by Jesus Christ about the resurrection, to His Apostles, was finally being understood by them. His body was not there. Jesus Christ, the Son of God was resurrected!
His physical death had been overcome and now, His spirit had been reunited with his body. He received a glorified, immortal body. As Mary went to touch him, when he appeared to her, he said, “ Touch me not; for I am not yet ascended to my Father...9
The prophets on the American continent knew about this plan for us. They knew about Jesus Christ as recorded in the Book of Mormon “And he shall be called Jesus Christ, the Son of God, the Father of heaven and earth, the creator of all things from the beginning; and his mother shall be called Mary10” King Benjamin, a great prophet, prophesied this a hundred and twenty four years before the birth of the Lord. They knew as Jesus Christ explained; that He was and still is the only way to return to the presence of God, the Father; For Jesus said “I am the way, the truth, and the life: no man cometh unto the Father, but by me11”. “And moreover, I say unto you, that there shall be no other name given nor any other way nor means whereby salvation can come unto the children of men, only in and through the name of Christ, the Lord Omnipotent.12"

Another great personage in the Book of Mormon, a missionary at the time and about eighty-two years before Christ, taught the people in America about the resurrection. “Now, there is a death which is called a temporal death; and the death of Christ shall loose the bands of this temporal death. The spirit and the body shall be reunited again in its perfect form; both limb and joint shall be restored to its proper frame, even as we now are at this time; and we shall be brought to stand before God, knowing even as we know now, and have a bright recollection of all our guilt. Now, this restoration shall come to all, both old and young, both bond and free, both male and female, both the wicked and the righteous; and even there shall not so much as a hair of their heads be lost; but every thing shall be restored to its proper frame, as it is now, or in the body, and shall be brought and be arraigned before the bar of Christ the Son, and God the Father, and the Holy Spirit...13” Jesus overcame this obstacle of physical death for us. This gift of the resurrection is given to every Man.14
Every person born on the face of the earth receives the right to partake of the gift of resurrection and will stand before God to answer for this life. Thus, we can see that the Lord is merciful and full of love toward us.

The second obstacle keeping us from returning to our Father in Heaven is our own sins. This obstacle is called the spiritual death15. Because we fall short and because of our acts against the will of God, we withdraw ourselves from his presence “ But your iniquities have separated between you and our God, and your sins have hid his face from you, that he will not hear.16
Sin is something that we all do. None can say that he is free from sin because we are not perfect. “If we say that we have no sin, we deceive ourselves, and the truth is not in us17”, said John in his epistle. Our imperfection, our natural man that is carnal and devilish, is being tempted by the devil. Thus all mankind is lost unless God redeems his people. We must realize that one part of the challenge we have is to overcome this natural man by yielding to the enticing of the spirit. King Benjamin, a prophet in the western hemisphere enlightened his people with this truth: “For the natural man is an enemy to God, and has been from the fall of Adam, and will be, forever and ever, unless he yields to the enticings of the Holy Spirit, and putteth of the natural man and becometh as a child, submissive, meek, humble, patient, full of love, willing to submit to all things which the Lord seeth fit to inflict upon him, even as a child doth submit to the Father18.” To give us a chance to grow spiritually and become more like him, we learn to choose between good and evil, between obeying God or disobeying him. There is no middle way.

Sin makes us unhappy. Sometimes it might bring a false sense of satisfaction to some of us; the time comes up rapidly when remorse covers the soul of the sinner. We feel sorrow for those sins. More than bringing unhappiness and consequences in this life, it brings consequences in the life to come. Jesus Christ prepared a way for us that cleanse from our sins; “But if we walk in the light, as he is in the light, we have fellowship one with another, and the blood of Jesus Christ his Son cleaneth us from all sins.19
In the garden of Gethsemane, Christ personally paid the price for every one of us. Thus said Amulek in the Book of Mormon “And now, behold, I will testify unto you of myself that these things are true. Behold, I say unto you, that I do know that Christ shall come among the children of men, to take upon him the transgressions of his people, and that he shall atone for the sins of the world; for the Lord God hath spoken it. For it is expedient that an Atonement should be made; for according to the great plan of the Eternal God there must be an atonement made, or else all mankind must unavoidably perish; yea, all are hardened; yea, all are fallen and are lost, and must perish except it be through the atonement which is expedient should be made.20
Without the Atonement, the supreme sacrifice of our Lord, we could not return to the presence of God, because of this state that we are in.
B) Importance of Christ’s Atonement to overcome physical as well as spiritual death
A story, that was presented to me while I attended an Institute of religion class, may illustrate the importance of Christ and His important role as mediator in the plan of God so that we may return to him.
A man wanted to buy a house. It had always been his desire but he did not have the money to afford it. He knew that if he could borrow some money, he could work hard and make enough money to pay back the loan. A lot of us who have a house may recognize this kind of situation. So, he went to see a banker to whom he asked to lend him enough money to buy the house. The banker accepted with one condition. The contract was that in a year, he would get his money back. If not, he will take all the possession of the man and send him to prison. The young men accepted the contract knowing that he could work hard and make enough money to pay the debt.
As the days pass by, the young man started to work really hard, until friends came around and tempted him with worldly pleasures in the city. The young man decided that he would have enough time to pay the debt, so he followed them. Little by little, it went from an hour to an entire day till it became a habit, to the point that he was spending a lot more time spending money than earning it.
The day eventually came. He was asked to pay the debt by the banker. The young man realized that he didn't have enough to pay the debt of the contract. There is a law of Justice that demands that the money should be given back to the banker. In this case, the young man, not having the money, will lose everything he has, and will go in prison.
The young man asked for mercy because to him, it did not seem just that he had to go in prison.
Those two men are debating between two great laws, the law of Justice and the law of Mercy. None of them can be satisfied. One was asking for Justice, the other begging for Mercy.
A third person came into the home. With much love, he turned to the banker and gave him the amount of money necessary to leave the young man alone. In this way, the law of Justice was satisfied. The banker had the money he was looking for. The third person turned back to the young man and expressed that he loved him and he would pay for him because he is full of Mercy, and in return, the young man will have to serve him until the debt his over.

In a similar way, we are all like this young man. We have been given a life to better ourselves and prepare to go back to our Heavenly Father. The worldly pleasures stand in our way to accomplish this goal. In this life, we commit sin by disobeying the law our Eternal Father has lovingly given us. Because of our sins, a law of Justice existing since the foundation of the world, demands that we must be accountable for those sins and suffer the consequences of them; which is being cast out of the presence of God. Jesus Christ, the great Mediator, came into the world and took upon him the sins of the world that all may be saved in him. In this way, we are in debt to him. No one else could have paid the price. Through Christ, we are made free from the effects of a broken law, but only through repenting, meaning forsaking the sin and not doing it again, Man is cleansed through the Atonement. He asks us to follow him, as the perfect example that will allow us to come back in the presence of God. “Though he were a Son, yet learned he obedience by the things which he suffered. And being made perfect, he became the author of eternal salvation unto all them that obey him.21
Through the Atonement of Christ, bonds of death are broken and Man will be resurrected. The repentant will not have to suffer for their sins.
Because of Jesus Christ's Atonement, we are not responsible for Adam's transgression. He removed the bonds of death. We are all indebted to Jesus Christ, the only one who could make it possible for us to return to God. In Adam we die, In Christ, we are resurrected! 22
And since man had fallen he could not merit anything of himself; but the sufferings and death of Christ atone for their sins, through faith and repentance, and so forth; and that he breaketh the bands of death, that the grave shall have no victory, and that the sting of death should be swallowed up in the hopes of glory23.

Faith and repentance are two of the steps that Christ asked us to follow to make this atonement effective in our lives; He had set up the requirements: “Verily, verily, I say unto thee, Except a man be born of water and of the Spirit, he cannot enter into the kingdom of God.24
And he commandeth all men that they must repent, and be baptized in his name, having perfect faith in the Holy One of Israel, or they cannot be saved in the kingdom of God. And if they will not repent and believe in his name, and be baptized in his name, and endure to the end, they must be damned, for the Lord God, the Holy One of Israel, has spoken it.25” Again he said while he visited the people in America and established his church among them: “And no unclean thing can enter into his kingdom; therefore nothing enter into his rest save it be those who have washed their garments in my blood, because of their faith, and the repentance of all their sins, and their faithfulness unto the end. Now this is the commandment: Repent, all ye ends of the earth, and come unto me and be baptized in my name, that ye may be sanctified by the reception of the Holy Ghost, that ye may stand spotless before me at the last day.26
These are basics steps, which are called the first principles and ordinances of the gospel of Jesus Christ. We will discuss those in more details, in the next part.

References Part 3
1. Atonement meaning “deliverance from the penalty of a broken law though an act, which cleans, disannuls, redeems, forgives, pardons, and reconciles. Atonement also means at-one with God through the sacrifice of Christ.
2. See 2 Nephi 2: 11, 13, 15
3. 1 Corinthians 15: 20-22
4. See 2 Nephi 9: 6-7
5. Physical Death: Through the fall of Adam, man became subject to death. The fall made it possible for God’s spirit Children, us, to obtain a body and earthly experiences.
6. 1 Peter 3: 18-19
7. 1 Peter 4: 6
8. John 20: 1-9
9. John 20: 17
10. Mosiah 3: 8
11. John 14:6
12. Mosiah 3:17
13. See Alma 11: 42-44
14. See 1 Corinthians 15: 20-22
15. Spiritual Death: Man, while in mortality, transgresses the laws. A law of justice, given in heaven, demands a price paid for a broken law. The price is a separation from God.
16. Isaiah 59: 2
17. 1 John 1: 8
18. Mosiah 3: 19
19. 1 John 1: 7
20. Alma 34: 8-9
21. Hebrews 5: 8-9
22. See 1 Corinthians 15: 21-22
23. Alma 22: 14
24. John 3: 5
25. 2 Nephi 9: 23-24
26. 3 Nephi 27: 19-20

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