Alma II now goes across the country “bearing down in pure
testimony against” his people in an effort to reclaim them from their pride and
wickedness (see Alma 4:19-20).
Alma II’s Sermon to the Church in Zarahemla: The Two Paths
READ Alma 5:6
What does it mean to
“sufficiently retain in remembrance”?
Sufficiently = enough; to a degree that answers the purpose.
Retain = to hold or keep possession; not to lose or part with or
dismiss.
Remembrance = retaining or having in mind an idea which was
present before or had been previously received from an object when present and
reoccurs to the mind afterwards without the presence of the object; different
from recollection (power of recalling ideas which do not spontaneously recur to
the mind) and reminiscence (implies that an idea occurs to the mind
spontaneously or without much mental exertion).
Definition of the phrase: Keeping possession of an idea that you
have previously received (in this case, from God), enough to “answer the
purpose” or fulfill the objective, which in this case is the rescue from
temporal and spiritual bondage by Jesus Christ – so the “purpose” is to always
remember Christ and His merits and mercy towards us unworthy creatures (see
Mosiah 4:11).
READ Alma 5:7-13
What happens when your heart is
changed?
You are awakened from a “deep sleep” unto God.
You go from being in darkness to being illuminated.
You go from being encircled about by the bands of death and hell
and facing “everlasting” (Godly) destruction to being loosed – implication of a
“deep sleep” and “illumination” is that you don’t know your peril.
Your soul is expanded – you see your peril but you are also
sanctified - changed and made more like Christ – filled with more godly light
and knowledge – you “see” what you were “asleep” to previously – you see things
as they truly are to a greater degree.
You are saved and “sing” a song of redeeming love in gratitude for
what you don’t deserve and could never do for yourself.
What was the cause of their
awakening?
The word of God taught them by those who had experienced these
things themselves and had received God’s word from His own mouth (really
Abinadi but then Alma I).
The Word of God – Christ Himself!
He who gave Abinadi the words to speak and changed Alma’s heart.
Which caused faith in God to spring up – faith as a principle of
action and power – which leads to a mighty change of heart.
READ Alma 5:14-16, 19
Who is Alma speaking to?
The baptized members of the Church in Zarahemla.
What is implied by Alma’s question
“have ye spiritually been born of God”?
That it’s possible to be baptized by water without receiving the
baptism of fire and the Holy Ghost or “birth of the Spirit” or mighty change of
heart.
You can be a baptized member of God’s true church without
receiving the Gift of the Holy Ghost.
How could people be baptized
without spiritually being born of God?
They have not lived the terms of the covenant.
They have not offered their whole soul, their wills, their broken
heart and contrite spirit, all their sins, etc.…
Why might someone have not
experienced the baptism of fire?
Not humble enough – no broken heart and contrite spirit (see 3
Nephi 9:20; 3 Nephi 12:2; Mosiah 3:19).
Have not truly given away all their sins (see Alma 22:15-18; Acts
1:5).
Too attached to false notions or unbelief.
Set up stakes beyond which they will not go – either in their
beliefs or in their actions.
Persist in sin (see Alma 7:14-15).
What does it mean to receive
Christ’s image in your countenances?
It means to begin to actually be like Him (see 1 John 3:2; 3 Nephi
12-14).
Christ and the Father have become so similar that to see one is to
see the other (see John 14:9; John 17:21-23; LoF 7:15-16); receiving Christ’s
image in your countenance is a beginning of this path to oneness with God.
But it is through the Gift of the Holy Ghost and its mighty change
of heart that the oneness happens because we are “receiving” His image from
someone else, not “earning” the right to say we are like Him due to our own
righteousness.
Note: in Hebrew the word “face” (pannim) or “countenance” is
plural so it refers to the “faces” that a single individual has; as well as the
fact that “pannim” often stands for the person as a whole (see Deuteronomy
28:50; Job 29:24; Proverbs 7:13; Jeremiah 5:3).
What does it mean to experience a
mighty change to your heart?
Your spirit is sanctified – it is quickened or infused with more
light; its frequency is raised.
This leads to you having no more disposition to do evil but with
your whole soul want to do good continually (see Mosiah 5:2).
What must happen for someone to
have the faith to look forward to the resurrection and judgment - to imagine
that they hear God calling them “blessed” and calling them into His presence?
They must be told by God Himself that the actual course of life
which they are pursuing is according to the will of God (see LoF 6:2-12).
Otherwise they cannot have sufficient faith but will grow weary in
their minds and faint – or in other words, enough doubt will be present in
their minds that they will not have faith sufficient to rend the veil and
ascend to God (see LoF 6:4).
Are the questions that Alma asks
in these verses different questions or are they different ways of asking the
same question?
Verse 14 are different ways of asking the same question since what
happens to the individual who is “spiritually” born of God is that they
experience the mighty change of heart and begin to receive His image in their
countenance or in other words, they are filled with the Holy Spirit and have it
as a constant companion and are becoming “one” with the Lord as He is with the
Father; their spirit is becoming holy.
Exercising faith in the redemption of Him who created you is a
prerequisite for being born of God but it is also strengthened by it.
Looking forward with an eye of faith to the resurrection and the
judgment - implying you are expecting to receive a favorable outcome as He
calls you “blessed” – can only come if the Lord has made your calling and
election sure in the presence of the Father (see D&C 88:75) after you have
made the acceptable sacrifice, otherwise your faith in that outcome will still
be in doubt (see LoF 6:10-12).
So the first set of questions are about entering the Gate or birth
of the Spirit, and the second set is about receiving one’s calling and election
toward the end of the journey.
If everyone sins, what does it
take for our works to be the “works of righteousness”?
You must be “perfect in Christ” and judged against His merits, not
yours – as you will fall short on your own (see Moroni 10:32-33; 2 Nephi 2:8; 2
Nephi 31:19; Alma 24:10; Helaman 14:13).
If the Lord forgives us of our sins, the rest of our works – as
few as they may be – are “works of righteousness”.
READ Alma 5:21-22
How does washing garments in
Christ’s blood clean them from the stain of blood (and filthiness)?
In the living body, blood brings the body’s cells life-sustaining
oxygen and food; at the same time, it cleanses the body by transporting metabolic
waste products away from those same cells.
By the blood of Christ, we are sanctified (see Moses 6:59-60) and
it is because of Christ’s sacrifice that we are quickened and changed by the
Holy Spirit which comes from God and is in and through all things and gives
life to all things and is what makes us like Christ when we receive a fullness
of it; we are cleansed by His blood from all that mortality can stain us with
and purified again to be able to dwell in God’s presence and be filled with the
same glory and light He is filled with – with which darkness cannot abide in
the same person (see 1 Nephi 12:10; Alma 13:11-13; 3 Nephi 27:19-20; JST
Revelation 1:6; Moses 6:59-62; D&C 88:67-68).
The Jews had a tradition that the altar of the Temple could not be
profaned but if any unclean person came into contact with it, the altar did not
become unclean (which is what they believed about everything else – that the
item or person could be contaminated) but instead the person coming into
contact with the altar became clean (see 1 Kings 2:28-34; Matthew 23:35);
Christ personified this when He touched the unclean and they became clean.
READ Alma 5:26-27
Who is Alma talking to and what
is he really asking?
Audience: those who have received the birth of the Spirit and entered
in through the Gate to the “Path” back to Christ.
What: have you stayed in covenant – or did you recant on your
commitment and take your whole soul, will or broken heart and contrite spirit
back off the altar of sacrifice to follow your own way?
Did you follow up your baptism of fire with progression in your
understanding (knowledge – because “knowledge saves a man”), behavior (“be ye
therefore perfect, even as I am perfect”) and intelligence (which is “light and
truth”).
What is “redeeming” love?
Love which provides a sacrifice for sin.
Love which provides a way back to heaven itself.
Why does Alma say “blameless” and
not “sinless”?
Keeping yourself blameless means that you are abiding in the
covenant in good faith – with your whole soul.
Keeping yourself sinless is not possible in the flesh for the
great majority.
Blameless doesn’t mean sinless but it does imply that while
someone has sinned, they are not to blame – someone else is guilty or to blame
for their sins.
How does one lose the desire to sing
the song of redeeming love?
Removing ourselves from Christ by reading/believing the
commentaries of scholars or the speeches of men instead of God’s words in the
scriptures which He has prepared for us.
Removing ourselves from God by praying rote prayers (not with real
intent) or not praying at all.
Removing ourselves from Christ and God by following our own
pleasant way.
We can lose the song of redeeming love while being actively and
earnestly involved in religion instead of connecting with Christ because
salvation doesn’t come through a mortal hierarchy and it is not possible to
institutionalize enlightenment – all that you get is a symbol or echo of the
enlightenment which at best points the way and at worst is seen as an end in
and of itself; one must seek after the Lord Himself, individually, and find
enlightenment for ourselves – one stands at the veil and knocks alone…
How does one who has experienced
a change of heart, “feel so now”?
Take up your cross and follow Christ by living a consecrated life
of sacrifice as you follow His path in obedience.
Feasting in the scriptures while being enlightened by the Holy
Spirit.
Crying unto Him in mighty prayer.
Offering Him our love and our whole souls by doing His sacrificial
works - like feeding the hungry, visiting the widow, teaching the truth with
the tongues of angels, loving the unlovable, forgiving the wicked, and
interceding on behalf of those who hate and persecute us.
If we love Christ, we WILL keep His commandments – if we don’t
love Him, we won’t – it’s that simple (see John 14:15); this life is hallowed
through sacrifice – it is the inward, spiritual journey that rewards the seeker
with God’s presence, not the outward ordinances or behavioral performance
devoid of the inner desire and actual spiritual sanctification.
READ Alma 5:28-32
Why are we unprepared to meet God
if we are not stripped of pride?
We are not one with Him because we are not filled with His love,
which is unconditional for others and is manifested through His willingness to
sacrifice all things to save those He loves, albeit they are completely
undeserving and “unprofitable” and may reject His gift of a sacrifice.
As a result, we will not be filled with light and will not be able
to abide His glory – which means we are “unprepared” to be in His presence and
will not want to stay (see Alma 36:13-15).
How does envy prevent us from
being in the presence of God?
When we envy others’ possessions or situations we are focusing on
the temporal world instead of the spiritual world.
We are focusing on our own needs instead of the needs of others
which is the opposite of God’s view.
We might be resenting God for not blessing us the way He has
blessed others – implied is that we believe God is a respecter of persons and
loves some more than others for no good reason (because all have sinned and
fallen so short of His glory, so it can’t be righteousness or merit which He
respects).
READ Alma 5:33-39
Is it significant that the Lord
doesn’t command but offers an invitation; why does He do that?
He honors our agency above all things – we are here to be proven
and it is all up to us.
His way is about persuasion, long-suffering, gentleness, meekness,
love unfeigned, kindness not compulsion and control, if even for our “own good”
(see D&C 121:34-42).
What metaphors does Alma use to
describe the way Christ ministers to us?
As God the Father: of every Tree you may freely eat (including the
Tree of Life while in the Garden of Eden).
As the Host of the Great Feast: come eat and drink freely.
As the Master Gardener: bring forth works or “fruit” of
righteousness that you are not cut down and burned as dead wood.
As the Good Shepherd: who seeks His lost sheep despite the danger
to himself, calling after them by name so that they might make themselves known
unto Him in the darkness and be rescued by him.
READ Alma 5:40-41
During his sermon in Zarahemla,
Alma points out two Paths or Ways that people may follow in this life – one to
eternal lives and one to the “deaths” (see D&C 132:21-25) – and behind
these paths are two opposite forces; Alma asks a series of questions and makes
a series of statements to illustrate this theme - what are some examples from
his sermon?
Some are illuminated by the light
of God’s word; while others dwell in the midst of darkness (v7).
Some are loosed from the
bands of death and chains of hell; while others are encircled about by them (v9, 7).
Some look forward with an eye of faith to eternal life; while others think they can lie to God and themselves (v15-17).
Some will be invited into
the Kingdom of God; while others will be filled with guilt and remorse and
will not feel comfortable in that
Kingdom (v16, 18).
Some will have done works
of righteousness upon the face of the earth; while others will have set at defiance the commandments of God
(v16, 18).
Some will have the image of
God engraven upon their countenances; while others will have become subjects of the devil (v19-20).
Some will look to God with a pure
heart and clean hands; while
others will remain in their filthiness
(v19, 22).
Some will have their garments
washed white and purified; while others’ garments will be stained with blood (v21-22).
Some shall sit down in the
Kingdom of God with the Fathers; while others will be cast out (v24-25).
Some will experience a change of heart; while others will be workers of iniquity (v26,32).
Some will feel to sing
the song of redeeming love; while others will have cause to wail and mourn (v26, 36).
Some have been sufficiently humble;
while others have been filled with pride
(v27-28).
Some have walked, keeping themselves blameless before God; while others will have testimony brought
against them that they are guilty of
all manner of wickedness (v27, 23).
Some will prepare quickly
to meet God; while others will not be
prepared in time (v28, 31).
Some will receive the Lord’s invitation to repent; while some will not
repent (v33-34, 37).
Some will partake of the
fruit of the tree of life; while others will not bring forth good fruit (v34, 36).
Some will meekly come and partake
of the bread and waters of life freely; while others are puffed up, focused
on the vain material things of the world
they “earned” (v34, 37).
Some will bring forth works
of righteousness; while others are workers
of iniquity or doeth not the works of righteousness (v35-37).
Some will hearken to the call
of the Good Shepherd when they are lost; others will profess to know the Ways of righteousness but will go astray (v37-38).
Some will know the voice
of the Shepherd and the name by which He will call you; while others will not listen (v37-38).
Some are sheep of the Good
Shepherd; while others are sheep of
the devil’s flock (v38-39).
Some will receive the invitation to come unto Christ and be received by Him in the flesh; while others will not come unto Him (v33-35, 37-38).
Is it true that “whatsoever is
good cometh from God” even if someone is not a baptized member of the Church or
if that “good” is not affiliated with the Church?
That’s what the scripture says…so yes – the Holy Spirit is in and
through all things and if a person aligns their life with it, more light will
cleave unto them, regardless of the covenants they’ve made (see D&C 88:40;
3 Nephi 9:20; Helaman 5).
The voice of the Good Shepherd will lead the person to baptism
– to the covenants He would have them
take upon themselves to enable them to make their Way back to Him, if hearkened
to.
READ Alma 5:42
What are the wages of sin and
what does this mean?
Wages are the rewards for one’s labor according to a contract.
The wages of sin are death (see Romans 6:23).
This means that those who sin have “earned” death; it is what they
deserve – it is just that they receive it.
Implied is that the wages of righteousness or perfection or living
completely aligned with eternal law, is life.
Why don’t the scriptures speak of
the “wages of righteousness”?
All sin and have gone astray (see Romans 3:23; Romans 5:12) except
for Christ – the “wages of righteousness” would only apply to Him and the
scriptures were written for us.
The wages of righteousness are everlasting life in this world and
in any other; it is to never taste death.
This is why it was unjust for Christ to die, and why He was able
to overcome death, because death had no claim on Him but He submitted to it
anyway; this is how He was able to claim the victory over death and reverse it
for all of us – He submitted to something unlawful and the universe took
notice; whatever He asked in return (our resurrection) was then granted.
READ Alma 5:61-62
Alma “commands” the Church
members to observe the words which he has spoken to them but “invites” those
who are not Church members to come and be baptized – how does this square with
the way the Lord deals with His people in verses 33-39?
It doesn’t – it’s a great example of a man (Alma II), in his
concern and anxiety for his friends and fellowmen, borrowing from position
power and “commanding” people to do what he says or be driven out of the flock
as ravenous wolves are chased away (v59-60; see also Alma 29:1-4).
There is a great lesson here about the fallibility of leaders and
how easy it is to fall into control, dominion and compulsion (see D&C
121:34-42).
It is also a great proof of the historicity and truth of the Book
of Mormon – these are direct quotes from a real man, warts and all – not
cunningly devised fables (2 Peter 1:16).
Does Alma continue to struggle with this? Yes.
Does he repent and is he forgiven?
Yes! (see Alma 29:1-4; Alma 45:18-19).
What can we make of Alma’s
implication that God commanded him to speak these words and that his command is
just echoing God’s?
God did command Alma to speak to the people, and gave him the very
language to say.
But there is a difference between God commanding Alma to speak
specific words to a people, and God commanding Church members to repent through
Alma, as opposed to inviting them to repent; the words Alma had been given to say
are very plain: “repent or you cannot inherit the Kingdom of Heaven” (v51-52)
but the Lord stops short of compulsion and control – they have their choice.
And when Christ actually commands us to repent, He is really
pleading with us saying “if you do not repent, all of the suffering I had to
endure, you will have to endure so please repent or you will suffer even as I,
as it is required or commanded by justice” (see D&C 19:15-20).
READ Alma 6:1-4
Did Alma have the same level of
success as King Benjamin?
No – where King Benjamin’s people had a mass birth or rebirth of
the Spirit, some of Alma’s people were excommunicated for refusing to repent.
Perhaps it was because Alma’s people were in greater need of
repentance to begin with and did not open their hearts to the Spirit the way
Benjamin’s did (but see WoM 1:12-18).
Or perhaps some of it was due to Alma’s own words which he added
to what he was commanded to speak by God (see Alma 5:44-62), which invited the
spirit of contention into the hearts of some of the people and they rebelled,
feeling controlled – who knows?
Alma’s Sermon to the Church in Gideon: The Atonement of Christ
The Church in Gideon have already humbled themselves before God
and repented (v3) but were not suffering from the same level of unbelief –
believing in things that are not true – and materialistic idol worship as the
people of Zarahemla (v6). As a result,
the Lord has a slightly different message for those in Gideon…
READ Alma 7:7-9
What is the Lord’s message to the
Church in Gideon?
“Repent and prepare as the Lord is coming to Earth soon to live a
mortal life.”
READ Alma 7:10
Who is the father of the son that
Mary delivered?
He is the Son of God the Father (Ahman).
He is not the son of the Holy Ghost.
Although the conception will happen through the power of the Holy
Ghost or Holy Spirit which is in and through all things and gives life to all
things and flows from God the Father, such that Mary was still a virgin after
the birth of this child (see D&C 88:11-13).
READ Alma 7:11-13
What does succor mean?
To run to and support; to help or relieve when in difficulty, want
or distress; to assist and deliver from suffering (Webster’s 1828 Dictionary).
To relieve the suffering of others.
To provide counsel, inspiration, encouragement.
How do we receive the benefit of
Christ’s succor?
We must accept His grace (a saving blessing freely given that we
do not deserve) and follow Him by repenting, attempting to follow His example
by being obedient to His commandments so that we can be filled with light (Holy
Spirit), and accept counsel and succor from Him – otherwise His gift of grace
is meaningless (see D&C 88:33).
Why did Christ have to suffer
pains, afflictions and temptations of every kind?
That He might learn through His experience how to succor or
relieve the suffering of His people.
To help us to leave the hurts behind – to love those who inflicted
them, regardless of their repentance or not.
He willingly but unjustly (having lived a perfect life in line
with Eternal Law and meriting the “wages of righteousness” or eternal life
rather than the “wages of sin” or death) suffered the sins and afflictions of
His people through the atonement to gain the experience which enables Him to
succor us.
What is the nature of the
suffering of His people?
Being brought into the presence of a just and holy being,
unprepared - as an imperfect being (see Mormon 9:3-5; Alma 36:12-16).
How did Christ learn how to
relieve this suffering or in other words, succor them?
By being convicted of all sin and suffering all affliction and
sickness in front of God the Father (see Isaiah 63:3; 2 Corinthians 5:21;
Mormon 9:3-5; D&C 19:11-20; Luke 22:43-44; John 16:32 in order).
And then working His way back to reconciliation or oneness with
that just and holy being by overcoming all imperfection and “becoming therefore
perfect, even as the Father is perfect” (see Matthew 5:48 and 3 Nephi 12:48).
Is God’s work and glory finished?
No – His work and glory is our immortality and eternal life, which
is still to be accomplished – it is dependent upon how we react to the ministry
of our Lord.
Is Christ’s atonement finished?
His “preparations” are finished (see also D&C 19:18-19).
The ministry of His atonement is a work He continues to do for
those who will receive His redemption by cooperating with Him in overcoming
their temptations and weaknesses.
His atonement continues as He succors us according to our
infirmities and sins.
How does Christ succor us?
He teaches us how to blot out our transgressions before the
presence of God – to reconcile again with a just and holy Father, as He did.
This ministry is accomplished through personal revelation to us –
giving us the strength (grace) and revealing the counsel needed to overcome the
challenges we must go through (i.e. how to keep the commandments or align our
behavior with His so that we can become precisely like Him), thus filling us
with more light and intelligence.
Revelation also helps us to deal with the failures,
disappointments, illnesses and ultimately the death which each of our lives
will endure (see Jacob 4:8) – He is a comforter in things that cannot be
overcome but must be suffered and endured (John 14:18).
What must we do to receive His
succor or Atonement?
We must come unto Him (see Ether 12:27).
We must ask and be willing to listen as He will not impose upon us
what we are not willing to receive (see Matthew 7:7; 3 Nephi 14:7; D&C
88:63).
We must be obedient to what He tells us (see 2 Nephi 32:6).
The Atonement is not some distant redemption from sin but is
happening now, if you will come unto Christ and receive it. He is trying to succor you now to relieve
your suffering through His grace, commandments, and revelations to you to help
you stand before the Father without wishing to become extinct – He says, “come
unto me and I will give you rest” (see Matthew 11:28-30) and “how oft will I
gather you… if ye will repent and return unto me” (see 3 Nephi 10:6). If you will not obey Him by coming unto Him,
you cannot receive the Atonement He offers.
He would like to redeem you from the fall now (see Ether 3:13) and not
at some future date (see D&C 88:28-34).
The Garden of Gethsemane was only Christ’s “preparations” – the
Atonement continues today, if you will receive the Lord and His gift to you.
READ Alma 7:14-16
Why is Alma telling the Church
members in Gideon to be baptized?
He is telling them to be rebaptized or baptized again.
They are not rebaptized “into the Church” but rebaptized that they
may be washed from their sins through the birth of the Spirit.
They are also rebaptized that they might have faith on the Lord.
They are being rebaptized to show the Lord their willingness to
forsake sin and covenant with Him “this day”.
They are “in the path which leads to the kingdom of God” already
(v19) – but a rebaptism is still appropriate, as per Alma’s admonition to them.
Note: the early Saints in the Restoration practiced rebaptism for
the same reasons – to show Christ their renewed willingness to covenant with
Him.
READ Alma 7:19-20
What does the metaphor of the
“straight” vs. “crooked” paths teach us?
The straight path is the shortest distance between two points or
the most expedient way while crooked paths wander inefficiently.
The straight path goes directly through difficult terrain and
obstacles while the crooked path goes around them.
On the straight path you can see what is in front of you and what
is behind you while on the crooked path your vision is obscured and you can
only see what is proximate to your current location.
The straight path does not deviate to lesser destinations or
“wrong ways” or change its destination from what was stated at the beginning
while the crooked path does those things by definition.
READ Alma 7:21-22
What is the Holy Order of God and
is it different from the order of the Church (in Alma 8:1)?
Yes, it is different from the order of the Church.
The Holy Order of God is the High Priesthood which allows you to
have power over the physical elements of the earth, seal things on earth and in
heaven, and stand in the presence of God (see D&C 84:19-24, 33-42; JST
Genesis 14:25-36).
Putting the mortal Church in order is an administrative task of
clarifying true doctrine, baptizing those who wished for it, and removing those
who refused to repent.
If the people in Gideon were
“established” in the “paths of righteousness,” why did they have to be awakened
to a sense of their duty to God?
They have been offered the Fullness of the Gospel or in other
words the Holy Order of God or High Priesthood which has the power to seal and
stand in the presence of God, with the duty to find their way back to Christ
while in the flesh to be forgiven or made perfect in Him – to be washed clean
of all filthiness in His blood – so that they might be “holy temples” where the
Spirit of the Lord might dwell, unrestrained or in a fullness as it dwells in
Christ and the Father.
Implied is that being “established in the paths of righteousness”
does NOT mean they are truly awakened to the path God would have them travel;
they are true to what they know but they do not know enough to be saved yet –
they do not yet know He who it is eternal life to know – they have not come
unto Him. That is the path they must
awaken and arise to walk.
Our duty or obligation to God for all He has done for us is to
love Him and do His will (which love we show Him by keeping His commandments).
It is not something we “owe” in the sense that there is a
transaction going on but more in the sense that since He has already suffered
all that a God can suffer for us, in our gratitude the least we can do is to
accept His gift by coming unto Him via repentance and covenant, and loving Him
by keeping His commandments to us.
READ Alma 7:23-25
How does one “abide in the
covenant”?
Be humble and submissive to the Lord in all things.
Become full of charity (patience, long-suffering, temperate) –
become like Christ.
Be diligent in keeping the commandments.
Exercise faith in Christ and hope in His promises.
Show gratitude – worship Him.
Does faith, hope and charity
guarantee good works?
Yes.
Having faith, hope and charity implies that you have exercised
faith to rend the veil and have received a hope or promise from Christ of your
eternal life, which “hope” from Christ you continue to have faith in. Having attained to this hope, you are filled
with the pure love of Christ or charity which is given to all His true
followers as they become more like Him by loving Him and emulating Him by
keeping His commandments, which includes ministering to the afflicted,
interceding on behalf of the wicked, and relieving the suffering of others; all
of which equals “good works.”
But your good works will still not save you and they are not the
focus of such a person; good works “flow” naturally from such a person because
their heart has been changed in that they have no more disposition to do evil
but to do good continually - they are filled with the Spirit of God, which
entices them to do “good works” naturally.
