Question: Donny, My question for you is this: I do know much about your doctrines, yet, I long to hear a Latter Day Saint say "It is by grace I have been saved", nothing else. I know faith without works is dead, but I just want to know if YOU believe it is only God's grace, through Jesus, a gift from God, that we have been redeemed. Not anything we can do can save us from our sin, only the atoning work of Christ. And if we choose to accept this gift and repent of our sin, we are saved. Would you agree?
Response: I believe that it is by grace we are saved, and it is the greatest gift of all. Unfortunately, I cannot stop there, because there is too much to know regarding this great gift of His.
The concluding part of my belief on grace is that it truly is by grace we are saved, but it is after all that we can do. I know that you didn’t want to hear that, but scripturally, I am comfortable with that tenet, particularly when I read James 2:14-20. What should we think about this directive from James, the brother of Christ, if the Bible is the word of God through his apostles and prophets? Is this an important perspective, or is it not? Adding to the above, I would ask how you feel about James 2:24, which says, "Ye see then, how that, by works, a man is justified, and not by faith only."
Another scripture relative to this perspective is found in Matt. 7:21-23. "21 Not every one that saith unto me, Lord, Lord, shall enter into the kingdom of heaven; but he that doeth the will of my Father which is in heaven. 22 Many will say to me in that day, Lord, Lord, have we not prophesied in thy name? and in thy name have cast out devils? and in thy name done many wonderful works? 23 And then will I profess unto them, I never knew you: depart from me, ye that work iniquity."
Notice Christ’s emphasis on the necessity to do certain things. It is not enough that we believe. It is not enough that we say we accept our Savior. Our belief and acceptance is amplified and clarified by that which we do. If that were not true, a person could simply accept Jesus Christ as his Lord and Savior, and then spend the rest of his life doing terrible, evil, and sinful acts, such as murder, robbery, rape, and all sorts of terrible things. As long as he claims to believe in Christ, and to accept Him as his Savior, he is saved in the kingdom of God. That’s inconsistent with what the Savior taught.
So, we must spend our lives taking upon ourselves the name of Christ, treating all men and women the way we would want to be treated if the roles were reversed. We must do every single thing we can do to bless the lives of others, following the admonition of the Savior to take upon ourselves the burdens of others, such as He described in Matt. 25:34-40. The very telling concluding verse 46 makes it clear that doing one thing or another makes all the difference.
Should we believe then, that we can save ourselves? No. As much as we do in keeping His commandments and following His directives, it still isn’t enough, and it absolutely is by grace that we are saved….after all that we can do.
