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CONNECTING GRACE WITH THE POWER OF THE ATONEMENT

[Talk by John E. Enslen to the Tuskegee Branch on August 26, 2012.]

I pray that I may speak the truth and that the Spirit will confirm the truthfulness of that which I speak. (note chiasmus)

I have titled my remarks “Connecting Grace with the Power of the Atonement.” Thus, I wish to speak, at least in part, about the subject of “grace.” Now that’s a very tricky word. It means a lot of different things to a lot of different people. Like all gospel related subjects, “grace” is best understood when viewed through the lens of the Atonement of Jesus Christ, arguably the most important event in all of our eternal existence.

So let’s start with the Atonement. What is the Atonement? “Atonement” is the word that refers to the sacrificial acts of Jesus Christ which allow us to overcome the consequences of sin. The consequences of sin are (1) physical death as a result of Adam’s transgression—the separation of our spirit from our physical body, and (2) spiritual death—our separation, whether in the body or out of the body, from the presence of our Heavenly Father because of our own personal sins. So the Atonement which allows us to overcome the consequences of sin has two aspects.

Fortunately, the Atonement unconditionally redeems all of mankind from the physical death that came to us by way of the fall of Adam. That unconditional redemption comes in the form of the universal resurrection of all mankind, both the just and the unjust.

In addition to the resurrection, the Atonement conditionally redeems each of us individually from the effects of our own personal sins which make us unclean and which disqualify us from living in the presence of God. We can become clean again because Christ has satisfied the demands of justice. He has suffered for our sins in our stead so long as we meet the conditions that are set for taking advantage of our Redeemer’s substitute suffering.

With regard to the payment of that ransom of substitute suffering, Jesus Christ, as the Only Begotten Son of God and the only sinless person to live on this earth, was the only being qualified and capable of making an Atonement for mankind. By his selection and foreordination in the Grand Council before the world was formed, by his divine Sonship as the only begotten of the Father, by his sinless life, by his incomparable suffering which caused him to bleed from every pore in the garden of Gethsemane, and by his voluntary shedding of his innocent blood and cruel death on the cross of Calvary, he made a perfect Atonement for all mankind.

But what does the Atonement have to do with the spiritual death or separation from God to which each of us is subject as a result of our individual sins? Answer: The Atonement provides the opportunity to be cleansed from our individual sins so that we can qualify to live in the presence of God. This opportunity to be cleansed from our sins is made available to us exclusively through the Atonement of Jesus Christ and in no other way. This opportunity to become clean and remain clean is free to every individual who comes to earth. This opportunity to receive the singular cleansing benefits of the Atonement is without price to every man and woman. This opportunity to be forgiven and cleansed of our sins is not the result of anything that any of us have done other than becoming mortal. This opportunity to receive the blessings associated with the Atonement is a matter of grace. Grace provides the free opportunity.

But the ultimate status of being cleansed from our sins is not free. We must act in order to avail ourselves of this free opportunity. Our state of spiritual cleanliness, present and future, is conditioned upon our making the types of choices in life that take advantage of the free opportunity provided by the Atonement.

How can you and I take advantage of or access the blessing of spiritual cleanliness that is freely available through the Atonement as a matter of grace? We do it through exercising our agency wisely, in other words making correct choices which brings about correct conduct.

All of us here are to be congratulated for previously making the correct choices that resulted in our receiving an important blessing provided by the Atonement. We chose in our pre-mortal existence to follow the Father’s plan of happiness, and because we made that choice to come to earth, take on mortality, and be tested in accordance with that plan and then die, we will meet the condition for receiving a resurrected body. We are a part of the 2/3rds of the hosts of heaven that took advantage of the opportunity that the Atonement provides for obtaining a glorified resurrected body.

But what about taking advantage of that part of the Atonement which provides us with the opportunity to be cleansed from our individual sins? We can access that part of the Atonement by making choices to live within the continuous process of repentance, thereby incrementally moving on a steady and consistent basis from a lower level of righteousness to a higher level of righteousness. We can repent and become clean through the redeeming power of the Atonement of Jesus Christ. It is our correct understanding of the Atonement of Jesus Christ that empowers us to live with an ever-increasing degree of righteousness.

When we are most concerned with studying a historical narrative of the Savior’s mortal life and ministry, the Bible is far superior to the Book of Mormon. When we are most concerned about studying the nature, purpose, and effect of Christ’s atoning sacrifice, the Book of Mormon is far superior to the Bible. The word Atonement appears in the New Testament only one time. The word Atonement appears in the Book of Mormon 24 times.

Let’s consider one of those 24 verses in the Book of Mormon that contain the word Atonement: “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 off the natural man and becometh a saint through the Atonement of Christ the Lord.” (Mosiah 3:19)

From this scripture we learn that living the gospel of Jesus Christ is not simply about avoiding bad conduct—in other words, putting off the natural man. Living the gospel of Jesus Christ is also about doing and becoming good—in other words, becoming a saintly person. The Atonement provides the means and power for doing both.

May I share with you a quote from Elder David A. Bednar of the Quorum of the Twelve Apostles with respect to these principles? In speaking of this double power of the Atonement, to redeem us from our natural selves and to empower us to take on a more divine nature, he said:

“[T]hese two dimensions of the Atonement, [to redeem us from our natural selves by putting off the natural man, and to empower us to become saintly] are connected and complementary; they both need to be operational during all phases of the journey of life. And it is eternally important for all of us to recognize that both of these essential elements of the journey of mortality—both putting off the natural man and becoming a saint, both [negatively] overcoming bad and [positively] becoming good—are accomplished through the power of the Atonement. Individual will power, personal determination and motivation, effective planning and goal setting are necessary but ultimately insufficient for us to triumphantly complete this mortal journey. Truly, we must come to rely upon ‘the merits, and mercy, and grace of the Holy Messiah.’” (2 Ne. 2:8)

Thus we see that the main idea behind the word “grace” is help or strength that is of divine origin. It is the Atonement that brings “grace” into play in our lives. For instance, the resurrection will come to each of us as a matter of grace because of Christ’s resurrection coupled with our choices and conduct in our pre-mortal existence.

Grace is also essential to our becoming cleansed from our individual sins. As stated in our Bible Dictionary: “It is…through the grace of the Lord that individuals, through faith in the Atonement of Jesus Christ and repentance of their sins, receive strength and assistance to do good works that they otherwise would not be able to maintain if left to their own means. This grace is the enabling power that allows men and women to lay hold on eternal life and exaltation after they have expended their best efforts.”

Elder Bednar says that “we can learn much about this vital aspect of the Atonement if we will insert ‘enabling and strengthening power’ each time we find the word ‘grace’ in the scriptures.” He adds: “Grace is the divine assistance or heavenly help each of us desperately needs to qualify for the celestial kingdom. Thus, the enabling power of the Atonement strengthens us to do and be good and to serve beyond our own individual desire and natural capacity.”

Grace and works are not at odds with one another. Any debate which is couched in the terms of “grace versus works” is a falsely premised debate at its inception. In legal parlance, “grace versus works” is an illegal argumentative question—a question which assumes a fact that has never been placed in evidence. The wrongfully assumed fact is that grace and works are mutually exclusive.

Grace and works are not mutually exclusive. To the contrary, grace and works are mutually reinforcing. As we act out the teachings of the gospel of Jesus Christ in our daily lives, we grow from grace-to-grace. As we grow from grace-to-grace, we act out more of the gospel of Jesus Christ in our daily lives. Living a life of good works is not evidence that we place less reliance on the grace of God. To the contrary, the living of a life of good works is evidence that we are placing more reliance upon the grace of God.

Salvation by grace alone, by which I mean the mere verbal expression of a belief in God’s saving grace without any consideration of a person’s lifestyle, conduct, or behavior, is a doctrine that cannot be found in the scriptures, ancient or modern. It is a doctrine which grossly over estimates God’s mercy and underestimates God’s justice and the importance of our personal responsibility. The doctrine of cheap grace stifles the living of a truly Christian life.

There is indeed a relationship between grace and salvation. The nature of the relationship between grace and salvation has been revealed in our day. This relationship is succinctly set forth in the Book of Mormon in these simple words: “[F]or we know that it is by grace that we are saved, after all we can do.” (2 Nephi 25:23) That means all that we can do in the way of repenting, and repentance cannot be disconnected from our conduct. The core of repentance is changing our conduct from bad to good, and from good to better, and eventually from better to best.

God’s divine grace, which consists of his merciful acts of substitutional Atonement, extends a free opportunity for salvation to all mankind. Christ’s love for us is unconditional, and His Atonement is an unconditional gift of opportunity, but the opportunity for cleansing presented by the Atonement must be seized. That is where our choice of lifestyle comes directly into play.

The term “good works” has been given a bad reputation by some religionists. Good works is nothing more or less than keeping the commandments of God, which implies doing so with the proper motives—love of God and love of one’s fellow beings. Good works is not doing some beneficent act for show or recognition or doing some beneficent act begrudgingly. To the contrary, those are actually evil works. (See Moroni 7:6)

Grace cannot be separated from our behavior. The scriptures, including the Ten Commandments, impose upon us a standard of conduct. The scriptures teach that what we do in our lives is most important. Our “works” is the thing that will matter most in our day of judgment, for we will be judged “according to our works.” (Rev. 20:13; Alma 12:12)

The clearest evidence of our love for the Savior and our appreciation for His sacrificial Atonement is not found in what we say we believe. It is found in the manner in which we live our lives. “If ye love me, keep my commandments.” (John 14:15) “Why call ye me Lord, Lord, and do not the things which I say.” (Luke 6:46) In the final analysis, the manner in which a person lives his or her life is the only meaningful measure of what he or she truly believes.

Our love for the Savior grows when we understand and appreciate his atoning sacrifice for us. When our love for him increases, our resolve to keep his commandments intensifies, and we are given strength beyond our natural capacities. As we learn to take advantage of the enabling power of the Atonement in our personal lives, we will pray for the strength to change our own circumstances as opposed to praying that our circumstances will be changed for us. We will pray to improve our choices as opposed to being relieved of the consequences of our choices. As we learn to take advantage of the enabling power of the Atonement in our personal lives, we become self-determining agents to act instead of objects to be acted upon. Through the enabling power of the Atonement we can receive strength to bear our burdens with ease (Mosiah 24:14-15); strength to burst the bands of captivity and enslavement (1 Ne. 7:17); strength to be delivered (Alma 14: 26-28); strength to suffer with patience (Alma 31:31); strength to endure afflictions that they may be swallowed up in the joy of Christ (Alma 31:33;38).

Preceding the Savior’s entry into the Garden of Gethsamane where he would commence unimaginable personal suffering for our sins, he made this comforting statement in the presence of his 11 faithful apostles. “In the world ye shall have tribulation: but be of good cheer; I have overcome the world.” (John 16:33)

Christ has already overcome the world for us. We can tap into his power. That enabling power comes through the Atonement. The Atonement is real; the Atonement was necessary; the Atonement applies to each of us; the Atonement continues to apply to us after we have been baptized.

“[M]ay God grant, in his great fullness, that [we] might be brought unto repentance and good works, that [we] might be restored unto grace for grace, according to [our] works.” (Hel. 12:24) In the name of Jesus Christ, Amen.

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