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Francis Harper Message - March 1, 2019
Dealing With Our Sins
Sin has been a universal problem since the days of Adam and Eve. “And I the Lord God, commanded the man, saying, of every tree of the garden thou mayest freely eat; But of the tree of the knowledge of good and evil, thou shalt not eat of it; Nevertheless, thou mayest choose for thyself . . .” (Genesis 2:19-21 IV). My wife has asked, “Why didn’t God create us as righteous persons who would not need to struggle to be righteous?” He did not want seven billion robots!
Sin is the greatest problem we have as individuals’ as families, in our church, our nation, and throughout the world. We need to recognize we have this problem. Many do not. They have accepted the “I’m ok, you’re ok, philosophy.” John, the beloved apostle, defined sin: “Sin is the
transgression of the law” (1 John 3:4).
God has given us laws and commandments to help us govern our lives. These laws and commandments have been put in writing and are recorded in the Scriptures. But sadly, we must admit, the vast majority of people in the world do not read the word of God, and of those who do
read it, only a very few abide by the Lord’s prescription for our lives. So, instead of living in a world of peace and tranquility, we live in a world filled with much chaos and hopeless futility.
“For all have sinned and come short of the glory of God” (Romans 3:23).
We will be held accountable for our sinful ways. John wrote: “And I saw the dead, small and great, stand before God; and the books [Scriptures] were opened; and another book was opened, which is the book of life; and the dead were judged out of those things which were written in the books, according to their works” (Revelation 20:12). We will “be judged according to the deeds which have been done in the mortal body” (Alma 3:31).
Our works alone will not save us! As Paul wrote: “For by grace are ye saved through faith; and that not of yourselves; but it is a gift of God; not of works, lest any man should boast” (Ephesians 2:8-9). Many stop reading here, and say all we need to do is believe. This is a Satanic lie. In the very next verse, Paul writes: “For we are his workmanship, created in Christ Jesus unto good works, which God hath before
ordained that we should walk in them” (Ephesians 2:10).
Nephi agrees with Paul and says it more succinctly: “For we know that it is by grace that we are saved, after all we can do” (2 Nephi 11:44). In other words, God helps those who help themselves. Only by the grace of God and the blood of the Lamb is there hope for glory.
We all need a Savior and we have one! His name is Jesus.
The angel announced: “I bring you good tidings of great joy, which shall be to all people. For unto you is born this day . . . a Savior, who is Christ the Lord” (Luke 2:10-11).
Seven to eight centuries before the birth of Jesus, Isaiah had prophesied of the coming of the Savior and wrote: “He was wounded for our transgressions; he was bruised for our iniquities . . . with his stripes we are healed . . .” (Isaiah 53:5, 8). Who can doubt that the death of Jesus on the cross fulfilled this prophecy and “by his stripes we can be healed” of all of our iniquities and sins? “For as in Adam all die, even so in Christ, shall all be made alive” (1 Corinthians 15:22).
We must repent and be baptized for the remission of our sins. “Then Peter said unto them, Repent, and be baptized every one of you in the name of Jesus Christ for the remission of sins, and ye shall receive the gift of the Holy Ghost” (Acts 2:38). “Yea, repent and be baptized
everyone of you, for the remission of your sins; yea, even by water, then cometh the baptism of fire and the Holy Ghost” (Doctrine and Covenants 32:2g).
Although our sins are remitted by our repentance and baptism, quite often like the washed sow; we return to wallowing in the mire! (2 Peter 2:22). We need to retain a remission of our sins. The sins we commit after our baptism can be forgiven when we partake of the Lord’s
Supper, if we come to the table in the spirit of repentance, with broken and contrite hearts. “Yea, and often as my people repent, will I forgive their trespasses against me” (Mosiah 11:139).
“Humble yourselves even in the depths of humility, calling upon the name of the Lord daily, and standing steadfastly in the faith . . . And if ye do this ye shall always rejoice, and be filled with the love of God, and always retain a remission of your sins” (Mosiah 2:21-22).
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Dear Ones,
A mother, a member of our congregation, had been praying for her fifteen year old son.
She prayed that he would be given a testimony of light and truth. She asked the Heavenly Father to “bless him and send someone into his life to help him.”
Her son was employed at a local grocery store that summer. One morning while he was working alone in the stock room, a man came in whom he did not recognize. He noticed the style of the man’s clothing was of an earlier time.
The stranger was carrying a piece of moldy cheese he used to illustrate the truth he came to teach. He said, “If we quickly remove the mold from this cheese, it will not be lost. But if the mold is allowed to continue to grow, the mold will eventually completely destroy the cheese.
The mold is like the sin in our lives; if it is quickly removed, the ill effects will be minimal. But if it is allowed to remain and grow, in time, our lives will be totally lost.” Then the man disappeared as quickly as he had come.
As the stranger left, a fellow worker came in, and the boy asked, “Did you meet a man as you came in here? The answer was, no, I didn’t see anyone.” The aisles of the store were quickly searched and even the parking lot, but the unusual visitor was no where in sight. Was he a man
or an angel? Whoever he was, there is little doubt, he was a messenger sent from God as an answer to a mother’s prayer.
This testimony was shared on Sunday morning, October 7, 2007, as we met to observe the Sacrament of the Lord’s Supper at the Woodbine Restoration Branch. Two days later I read these words which appeared in the magazine, Israel My Glory: “Evil [sin] is a progressive malady. If tolerated, it will eventually consume the entities [person, church, community, nation, world] that allow it to feed off them.” We must never forget: “For I, the Lord cannot look upon sin with the least degree of allowance; nevertheless, he that repents and does the commandments
of the Lord shall be forgiven . . .” (Doctrine and Covenants 1:5 f-g).
My Love to All, Francis
PS: Brother Pushkal Gadel’s surgery has been delayed until March 7 due to complications with his lungs and kidneys. Please pray for him.
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