"And men are instructed sufficiently that they know good from evil. And the law is given unto men. And by the law no flesh is justified; or, by the law men are cut off. Yea, by the temporal law they were cut off; and also, by the spiritual law they perish from that which is good, and become miserable forever.
Wherefore, redemption cometh in and through the Holy Messiah; for he is full of grace and truth."
2 Nephi 2:5-6
This is a good reminder of our need for Christ. The idea that "no flesh is justified" is an interesting one. It's kind of hard to understand the temporal law vs. spiritual law thing that is going on here, but I think the basic idea is that we can't meet the standards of God's law, either physically or spiritually, so if we were only dealing with the law, we would all be prisoners... trapped by our own actions and desires, unable to progress or live up to our potential to reach heaven and return to God. And eternal mediocrity, presumably, makes us miserable. :)
Luckily, Christ steps in between us and the Law, which none of us could obey perfectly, and he pays the penalty of the law for us. He pays the fine, does the time, restores what was lost. And he gives us a chance to change and grow and learn to overcome our frequent mistakes instead of having even one mean that we flunk out for eternity.
Today, let's remember that we do know Good from Evil. And since we do... let's make better choices, and use that opportunity that Christ has given us to move closer to God's law and to our ideal selves.
Wherefore, redemption cometh in and through the Holy Messiah; for he is full of grace and truth."
2 Nephi 2:5-6
This is a good reminder of our need for Christ. The idea that "no flesh is justified" is an interesting one. It's kind of hard to understand the temporal law vs. spiritual law thing that is going on here, but I think the basic idea is that we can't meet the standards of God's law, either physically or spiritually, so if we were only dealing with the law, we would all be prisoners... trapped by our own actions and desires, unable to progress or live up to our potential to reach heaven and return to God. And eternal mediocrity, presumably, makes us miserable. :)
Luckily, Christ steps in between us and the Law, which none of us could obey perfectly, and he pays the penalty of the law for us. He pays the fine, does the time, restores what was lost. And he gives us a chance to change and grow and learn to overcome our frequent mistakes instead of having even one mean that we flunk out for eternity.
Today, let's remember that we do know Good from Evil. And since we do... let's make better choices, and use that opportunity that Christ has given us to move closer to God's law and to our ideal selves.
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