Saturday, March 22, 2014

Live as Saints Should Live

In Romans, 13:11 it says, "...now it is high time to awake out of sleep: for now is our salvation nearer than when we believed."
What must we continue doing to work out our salvation?
We must repent, keep the commandment and endure to the end. (Ezekiel 3:20, D&C 14:7)
In Romans 12-13, Paul gives counsel that leads us to salvation. The counsel that he gives includes:
    12:1- keep your self morally clean and give service
    12:2- follow the will of God and not the world
    12:9- love with a sincere heart, only do that which is good
    12:13- give to those in need, be hospitable
    12:16- be humble
    12:21- choose the right, avoid sin
    13:1- be obedient
    13:3- have love and respect for those over you
    13:8- love one another
    13:9- thou shalt not commit adultery, shalt not kill, shalt not steal, shalt not bear false witness, shalt not covet. Thou shalt love they neighbor as thyself.
Romans 14:1-13, 15:1-3
   In these verses, Paul gives some cautions about judging.....
We shouldn't judge because we all have a master to stand or fall to. He will be the judge of us. We shouldn't judge our brother because we will all stand before Christ at the judgement seat.
People may have different opinions and practices, but it is most important to remember that we should love and serve one another. We are given strengths to help others with weaknesses. We are all children of God.
  Some additional insight comes from D&C 38:25-27. It reads, "25 And again I say unto you, let every man esteem his brother as himself. 26 For what man among you having twelve sons, and is no respecter of them, and they serve him obediently, and he saith unto one: Be thou clothed in robes and sit thou here; and to the other: Be thou clothed in rags and sit thou there-- and looketh upon his sons and saith I am just? 27 Behold this I have given unto you a parable, and it is even as I am. I say unto you, be one; and if ye are not one ye are not mine.
  We need to love one another. We are all children of God. We should be unified in love. God loves us all and he wants to bless all of us. If we love and serve one another we will be blessed and God will have mercy on us.
Paul refers to the members of the church in his day as "Saints". This we must be as we seek to gain salvation. Saints do those things which Paul taught (humility, loving your neighbor, obedience, keeping the commandments). I hope we can all strive to follow Paul so that we may receive the mercy of God when we come before the judgment seat.

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