Thursday, April 16, 2015

Atonement Study, Part 1

Z and I decided for our scripture study as a couple that we would study the Atonement for a while. This is a topic I've wanted to become more familiar with, so I'm excited for the new direction. I don't know if I'll post all of my thoughts here as we study, but these ones were particularly poignant and I thought they were worth sharing.

Tonight we read from Mosiah, chapter 3, in the Book of Mormon. Z pointed out some ideas right in the text that I hadn't noticed before. Namely, the broader role of knowledge/ignorance in culpability and a new interpretation of "the natural man."

King Benjamin sets up this contrast between a child and a man, and how the Atonement covers their respective sins. It is summed in verses 18-19:
 18 For behold [Christ, the Lord Omnipotent] judgeth, and his judgment is just; and the infant perisheth not that dieth in his infancy; but men drink damnation to their own souls except they humble themselves and become as little children, and believe that salvation was, and is, and is to come, in and through the atoning blood of Christ, the Lord Omnipotent.
 19 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, 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 his father.
The key difference between the child and the man seems to be their knowledge, which inevitably comes through maturity and experience. Children sin in ignorance because they are immature and lack understanding; they may do things that are wrong, e.g. steal from a sibling, but don't understand the full implications of right and wrong well enough to make a conscious, reasoned, deliberate choice (or "rebel", as we will later discuss).
16 And even if it were possible that little children could sin they could not be saved; but I say unto you they are blessed; for behold, as in Adam, or by nature, they fall, even so the blood of Christ atoneth for their sins.  
In verse 11, Benjamin includes "the ignorant heathen" into this group.
11 For behold, and also his blood atoneth for the sins of those who have fallen by the transgression of Adam, who have died not knowing the will of God concerning them, or who have ignorantly sinned.
Before, I had read those verses and thought that sins committed in ignorance were reserved just for young children and for those who never heard the name of Christ in their lives. But when we base accountability on knowledge and understanding, it becomes much more inclusive. There have been times even as an adult where I have made mistakes because I didn't know all the rules. The common factor between the "little children" and "those...who have died not knowing the will of God concerning them" is that they all "have ignorantly sinned." And those sins - the mistakes we make before we know any better - are a part of normal, mortal life (due to "the transgression of Adam") and are covered by the Atonement of Jesus Christ. He is perfectly just and perfectly merciful, and the sins we commit in ignorance will not be held against us.

Now that we've discussed the child in Benjamin's dichotomy, let's examine the man.

The growing or full-grown man is mature, experienced, and knowledgeable. As we go through life, we learn more about the world and can make true, deliberate, conscious choices. This knowledge and conscious decision-making make us more accountable for the choices we make, for better or for worse. Thus, the man "drink[s] damnation to [his] own [soul]" when he sins. 
 12 But wo, wo unto him who knoweth that he rebelleth against God! For salvation cometh to none such except it be through repentance and faith on the Lord Jesus Christ.
Because he has knowledge of right and wrong, his sins are now deliberate rebellion. The only way to rectify this rebellious state is through the Atonement of Christ, which changes our natures so that we can have both the blessings of knowledge/experience and the blessings of a Christ-like heart.

The principle I see is that we are accountable for our sins to the extent that we are aware of them. If we are aware that we are sinning, we're in trouble; if we didn't understand how we sinned, Christ has taken the burden of that sin on himself already. This probably shouldn't be a newsflash to me, but the discussion I had with Z broadened my perspective. I can stop feeling guilty about my ignorant sins, no matter how old I was at the time, because Christ is both fair and merciful.

The other revelation for me was getting a new look at the phrase, "the natural man." For as long as I can remember, I've interpreted that "man" as "mankind," when in context it is perhaps more referencing the child/man contrast. Thus, it's not that mankind is inherently "an enemy to God," but rather, the natural inclinations that come with maturity, knowledge, and experience take us away from God. Let's reexamine verse 19:
19 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, 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 his father.
This verse specifically equates the natural child with the traits "submissive, meek, humble, patient, [and] full of love." If we understand the child and the man to be opposites, based on the lack or presence of knowledge, this means that the natural man is rebellious, unteachable, proud, impatient, and full of hatred. These traits lead one to enmity with God. Only through yielding to the Holy Spirit and using the Atonement of Christ can we both increase in knowledge and experience and also increase in Christ-like attributes. At the end of the day, the Atonement of Jesus Christ - his loving sacrifice on our behalf - is the only way we can have it all, and grow both in understanding and in holiness.
 17 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.