Paul unequivocally stated that we are saved by grace
alone. He even explicitly excluded
works from the equation. His
epistles in the New Testament of the KJV are clear and virtually undisputable
in this matter. He should have
written the American Constitution.
As a Mormon missionary, I had been taught my whole life
that we, as children of God, have to follow commandments to qualify for
exaltation. The principle of
acting in accordance with God’s will to earn his blessings, salvation, and
exaltation was second nature to me.
Prior to serving a mission, however, I was warned that I would encounter
people who believe differently in this particular, namely that God’s or Jesus’
grace exclusively saves us rather than any supplemental action on our part.
Through the years teachers from seminary, institute,
Sunday school, and the MTC lightly prepared me and my comrades for a variety of
fronts we would have to man when defending Mormon ways. One of these fronts was the grace vs.
works argument, but the instruction was insufficient. You see, they had not prepared us for the fact that Paul did say in canonized scripture that
the works argument is invalid.
Trying to diffuse Paul’s persuasions through syntax is ineffective since
he was so clear and since orthodox Latter-day Saints believe in the
infallibility of an apostle.
There is only one interpretation of his sayings: what he said. Baptists and other mainstream Christians know this and
follow “the word of God” through scripture. Can you blame them?
Therefore, the only way to diffuse Paul’s argument is: he was wrong. But then you also unwittingly introduce the concept of the
fallibility of the Bible – to mainstream Christians, the fallibility of all scripture. This is dangerous unorthodoxy to them
and they will almost always reject the notion.
-- (Quentin Tarantino throwback)
To be honest, this is an important topic, one that is
relevant to all Christian doctrines, discussions, and practices. This topic forms the basis for entire
segments of a Christian denomination, arches and load-bearing beams of an
entire religious masterpiece.
Cornerstones and foundational bricks and J-bolts are warranted from which
side the grace vs. works argument upon which a Christian sect is founded.
So we must get to the answer. And that’s all there is to it. For the devout, we have to know how to apply the life of
Jesus Christ to our personal lives – his teachings, his example, and ultimately his
atonement form the flame of hope in our hearts of the hereafter. The Christian bank accounts of eternity
– laying up treasures in heaven – are made in the name of Jesus. This topic affects lives and destinies
for one-third of the world. Are
you awake yet?
-- (Where were we?)
In the mission field, anti-Mormon attacks are
commonplace. Some of the lighter
and more jovial inquiries, “Don’t Mormons have horns?” and some of the more
serious: “Where are the gold
plates, anyway?” In the end, a
Mormon missionary becomes acquainted with, pretty much, the globe of Mormon
thought. It pops the bubble of
Utah Mormonism. Such was the same
for me – the first half of my mission, that is.
This first half was spent in southern Wisconsin: from Sun Prairie and Beaver Dam to Lake
Mills and then to Greendale. Then,
after an incident involving my companion and me sneaking into our mission
president’s office to prematurely discover our new transfer destinations and
companions – and getting caught – I was banished to the UP. We joke about that, but honestly I see
God’s hand in the move. Thus
started the second half of my mission.
The UP is short for the upper peninsula of Michigan, the
northern quadrant of our mission.
There the people were different.
The general population was unusually kind. People who weren’t interested in the LDS Church would often
invite us in for dinner. We
developed more community connections in that area than I had ever experienced
due to Michiganders’ general hospitality.
Another unique aspect of that area was the high number
of anti-Mormon Baptists. It was
there, due to the frank members of the Church, the extraordinarily inquisitive
“investigators,” and some out-of-the-ordinary personal and companionship
studies that I later attributed to my disaffection from the Church.
Some knowledge there that I developed and focused,
though, I was never able to let go, even through this period. Knowledge, that is, based on the grace
vs. works argument, namely that Jesus issued requirements for his
salvation. Even though I question
fundamental aspects of Mormonism today, I still believe we have to do things –
have to become – in order to be awarded a place in heaven.
Due to a course of interesting events, my companion and I ended up in the middle of nowhere at a college full of people our age. This was highly unusual due to the fact that Iron Mountain and Kingsford, Michigan, particularly the Iron Mountain Branch of the Church in the Green Bay Stake, was full of folks on the edge of mortality. To give you an idea, there’s a VA hospital there.
Dunbar, Wisconsin, about 25 miles south of there, is
literally the clankiest clank town anyone has ever seen. You drive for 30 seconds and you’ve
gone through it. Several miles
outside of Dunbar is a big college (for the area), containing thousands of
young adults learning to be Baptist ministers. This college is called Northlands International University.
We were shocked to drive down this road, Book of Mormon
referral in hand, remote farmhouses on the right and, suddenly, campus housing
and swing sets on the left.
Eventually we made our way into the campus, wiped the sweat off our
foreheads as we passed signage that said, “Northlands International University,
a Baptist Bible college,” passed the security checkpoint containing two hardly
threatening, pretty broads – as Mormon missionaries – and, amidst hundreds of
peaking eyeballs, used our acquired people skills to track down an individual
who had requested a Book of Mormon from mormon.org.
This began a series of meetings in the commons
area. Each meeting grew a person
bigger, the key players inviting backup due to our strong arguments and
tenacious attitudes. After all,
this was their home turf; they couldn’t afford to be beaten. Especially when there’s nothing to do
except have sex (gasp!) and drive to Kingsford on the weekends to see a movie.
What started as what seemed like a genuine interest on
our investigator’s part progressively evolved into a “You guys are wrong, you
need to renounce Mormonism” kind of thing, “Your conversion was based on
‘feelings,’” and “This Joseph Smith guy, kind of a shady character – you really
expect us to believe he was a prophet?”
Of course that’s in my vernacular, but you get the idea.
Highlighted among the doctrinal arm wrestles in which we
engaged was the grace vs. works argument.
At some points we brought a member or two of our own, an old geezer here
or an old geezer there, and they were talking circles around them and us, making us look like dumb
asses, not even knowing how to portray our doctrine.
The Baptist students were going off legitimate Pauline
verses – Bible verses – while we were pretty much going off gospel themes and
theoretical premises from Latter-day Saint scripture and doctrine, as we had
been taught. Sure we did offer a
biblical verse here or there but, to put it plainly, we were getting schooled
because of their superior Bible knowledge.
But, I knew they were wrong, and I set out to prove them
so. At a local member’s house in
Kingsford, we asked if we could borrow their copy of Strong’s Concordance of
the Bible. Using this century-old
tool, my companion and I were able to compile a great list of Bible verses
supporting our argument that works are required to supplement grace should we
be saved in the kingdom of God.
Surprisingly, the strongest of these verses come from Jesus himself.
Essentially, my four-pronged point was:
1. A
concession that Paul does, in fact, discount works and exclusively exalts grace
for salvation.
2. The fact
that Jesus consistently taught about doing things to gain his salvation.
3. The
unfortunate but clear reality that the Bible contradicts itself in this matter.
4. Finally,
who are you going to believe: the
apostle Paul or the Savior Jesus?
This did not sit well with my Baptist friends,
especially the point that the Bible contradicts itself. They tried to focus on that and explain
how the Bible is holy scripture – God’s word – and is infallible. This was an annoying side skirt from
our main point, but one that is important to address because it affects the
Mormons and the Baptists and whoever uses the Bible as their canon.
During companionship studies, my companion Cayce
Stephenson and I compiled a list of scriptures with the help of Strong’s
Concordance of the Bible and LDS study helps found in the quad to support our
works-supplemented salvation requirement.
The basic list is:
Biblical References Showing Necessity of
Good Works
|
||
Sym
|
Reference
|
Summary
|
△R2
|
Psalm
28:3-5
|
Give
them according to their deeds.
|
3CRO
|
Revelation
2:19-23
|
Unto
every one of you according to your works.
|
3R
|
Psalm
62:12
|
Renderest
to every man according to his work.
|
4R
|
Romans
2:5-13
|
The
doers of the law shall be justified.
|
4R
|
Ecclesiastes
12:13-14
|
Fear
God and keep his commandments.
|
2R
|
Jeremiah
17:10
|
Give
every man according to his ways.
|
2R
|
Jeremiah
32:19
|
According
to the fruit of his doings.
|
1
|
Micah
6:8
|
Do
justly, love mercy, walk humbly with God.
|
RO3
|
Matthew
5:16
|
Let
your light shine, see your good works.
|
R2O
|
Matthew
7:12
|
Do
unto others as you would have them do to you.
|
R3O
|
Matthew
7:15-20
|
By
their fruits ye shall know them.
|
C4RO
|
Matthew
7:21
|
He
that doeth the will of my Father will enter.
|
4O
|
Matthew
7:24-27
|
Heareth,
doeth, buildeth on the rock.
|
RC3
|
1
Corinthians 3:8-9
|
We
are labourers together with God.
|
O5R
|
Matthew
25:31-46
|
Parable
of the sheep and the goats.
|
△R4O
|
Matthew
25:1-13
|
Parable
of the ten virgins.
|
R4O
|
Matthew
25:14-30
|
Parable
of the talents.
|
R4O
|
John
3:1-5
|
Except
a man be born of water and of the Spirit (Mark 16:16).
|
O4RC
|
John
3:20-21
|
He
that doeth truth cometh to the light.
|
4O
|
John
8:37-42
|
Ye
do the deeds of your father.
|
△2RO
|
John
8:1-11
|
Go
and sin no more.
|
△1
|
John
9:4
|
I
must work the works of him that sent me.
|
4
|
Acts
10:35
|
He
that feareth him and worketh righteousness.
|
3
|
2
Corinthians 5:10
|
Receive
according to things done in body.
|
Sym
|
Legend
Explanation
|
|
△
|
There
is an argument that could be used against this reference.
|
|
C
|
The
context could be used to deconstruct this reference.
|
|
#
|
Represents
the strength of the reference, 1-5.
|
|
O
|
Indicates
there are other verses in the context that could be used to support the
point.
|
|
R
|
Strengthened when used in conjunction with another
principle, such as judgment or commandments.
|
|
Additional references we found after we made this chart
are 1 John 2:1-5, Deuteronomy 11 (a salvation disqualifier based on works),
Matthew 10:32-33 (another disqualifier), Titus 1:16, and Hebrews 5:9.
As you can see, we found a large amount of verses from
authoritative Christian scripture that supports the argument for works in
addition to grace. These
references are found throughout the Old Testament, New Testament, and
especially from the words of Jesus himself who, in my view, overrides the
contradicting statements by his apostle Paul. Mormons usually only use the verses from James that promote
works, which is a good argument, but is questionably adequate ammunition
against the bold statements from Paul.
Jesus is always the safest bet since it’s his gospel we’re talking
about.
The strongest evidence supporting the idea that
supplemental work is required with the grace of Jesus Christ for a place in
heaven is found in the parables of Jesus himself in Matthew 25. In relation to this debate, consider
the Parable of the Sheep and the Goats, as told by the Savior:
Matthew 25
31. When
the Son of man shall come in his glory, and all the holy angels with him, then
shall he sit upon the throne of his glory.
32. And
before him shall be gathered all nations: and he shall separate them one from
another, as a shepherd divideth his sheep from the goats:
33. And he
shall set the sheep on his right hand, but the goats on the left.
34. Then
shall the King say unto them on his right hand, Come, ye blessed of my Father,
inherit the kingdom prepared for you from the foundation of the world:
35. For I
was an hungered, and ye gave me meat: I was thirsty, and ye gave me drink: I
was a stranger, and ye took me in.
36. Naked,
and ye clothed me: I was sick, and ye visited me: I was in prison, and ye came
unto me.
37. Then
shall the righteous answer him, saying, Lord, when saw we thee an hungred, and
fed thee? or thirsty, and gave thee drink?
38. When
saw we thee a stranger, and took thee in? or naked, and clothed thee?
39. Or when
saw we thee sick, or in prison, and came unto thee?
40. And the
King shall answer and say unto them, Verily I say unto you, Inasmuch as ye have
done it unto one of the least of these my brethren, ye have done it unto me.
41. Then
shall he say also unto them on the left hand, Depart from me, ye cursed, into
everlasting fire, prepared for the devil and his angels:
42. For I
was an hungred, and ye gave me no meat: I was thirsty, and ye gave me no drink:
43. I was a
stranger, and ye took me not in: naked, and ye clothed me not: sick, and in
prison, and ye visited me not.
44. Then
shall they also answer him, saying, Lord, when saw we thee an hungred, or
athirst, or a stranger, or naked, or sick, or in prison, and did not minister
unto thee?
45. Then
shall he answer them, saying, Verily I say unto you, Inasmuch as ye did it not
to one of the least of these, ye did it not to me.
46. And
these shall go away into everlasting punishment: but the righteous into life
eternal.
As you can see, Jesus clearly requires charity toward
the underprivileged for his salvation, a form of work.
Consider Ecclesiastes 12:13-14:
13. Let us
hear the conclusion of the whole matter: Fear God, and keep his commandments:
for this is the whole duty of man.
14. For God
shall bring every work into judgment, with every secret thing, whether it be
good, or whether it be evil.
This Old Testament verse is clear from what Baptists and
other Christians view as authenticated, Holy Scripture. Are we to discount the syntax of this
verse and say it doesn’t mean what it appears to mean? Are we to think that when the Bible
determines the “whole duty of man,” that it doesn’t really carry any weight
along the eternal spectrum since the grace of Jesus will save us whether we
performed this duty or not? Are we
to say that when “God shall bring every work into judgment,” that this judgment
will have no teeth and no eternal consequence in terms of salvation?
Consider Acts 10:35:
35. But in
every nation he that feareth him, and worketh righteousness, is accepted with
him.
This verse is referring to being accepted by God. Are we to imagine that the phrase “accepted
by God” does not imply being saved by God?
Consider the Parable of the Talents, as told be the
Savior himself, in which he proclaims that one must do things with the talents
he is given in order to “enter thou into the joy of thy lord” and that “thou
hast been faithful over a few things, I will make thee ruler over many
things.” And those who did nothing
with the talents given them by the Lord, or who hid them, are forsaken by the
Lord, labeled an unprofitable servant, and cast into outer darkness.
Take the time to read more into the biblical verses that
proclaim works as a necessary supplement to the grace of Jesus Christ for his
salvation. Indeed, Jesus issued
requirements for his salvation.
Paul was simply teaching false doctrine and those who cling to Paul’s
teachings but ignore the Lord’s own admonitions on the subject are being
misled.
--
The Mormon Examiner
Title:
Jesus Issued Requirements for his Salvation
Author:
Austin Skousen with research assistance from Cayce Stephenson
Section:
Talmage Analytical Library
Originally Published: September 15th, 2014
Last Updated: September 15th, 2014
Source:
mormonexaminer.blogspot.com
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