"Knowing this, that the law is not made for a righteous man, but for the lawless and disobedient, for the ungodly and for sinners, for unholy and profane, for murderers of fathers and murderers of mothers, for manslayers,
For whoremongers, for them that defile themselves with mankind, for menstealers, for liars, for perjured persons, and if there be any other thing that is contrary to sound doctrine."
1 Timothy 1:9-10
This is interesting to me. I think that sometimes we are tempted to treat the church as a club for the righteous, and try to play the "I'm more righteous than you" game... comparing who watches TV on Sunday or who displays a Book of Mormon more prominently on the shelf. Who has more children, or who bakes their own bread. The fact of the matter, though, is that God's laws weren't made so that we could measure who is more righteous... they are for sinners. And all of us, no matter how much bread we bake or how much we listen to the Mormon Tabernacle Choir, are sinners. And we aren't sinners for silly inane things like buying bread at the store or listening to some non-Mormon performer on the radio. We're sinners for serious things, like those listed above. The law was made for us, so that we could repent and still achieve salvation. Salvation is deadly serious, and God is here for us to turn to when we find that we are starving for lack of spiritual nourishment. Today, let's take advantage of the law, which is here to help us to return to God. Let's repent, and commit ourselves to righteousness.
For whoremongers, for them that defile themselves with mankind, for menstealers, for liars, for perjured persons, and if there be any other thing that is contrary to sound doctrine."
1 Timothy 1:9-10
This is interesting to me. I think that sometimes we are tempted to treat the church as a club for the righteous, and try to play the "I'm more righteous than you" game... comparing who watches TV on Sunday or who displays a Book of Mormon more prominently on the shelf. Who has more children, or who bakes their own bread. The fact of the matter, though, is that God's laws weren't made so that we could measure who is more righteous... they are for sinners. And all of us, no matter how much bread we bake or how much we listen to the Mormon Tabernacle Choir, are sinners. And we aren't sinners for silly inane things like buying bread at the store or listening to some non-Mormon performer on the radio. We're sinners for serious things, like those listed above. The law was made for us, so that we could repent and still achieve salvation. Salvation is deadly serious, and God is here for us to turn to when we find that we are starving for lack of spiritual nourishment. Today, let's take advantage of the law, which is here to help us to return to God. Let's repent, and commit ourselves to righteousness.
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