Some of my LDS friends believe that to enter Heaven, they must continually obey God’s commandments. Of course, they reason, we will never achieve perfection in this mortal life. However, by the time we die, we must be as sinless as possible and obedient to the law. Only then can we be acceptable to God.
Instead of seeing the law as a mirror for our imperfection, many of our LDS friends will see it as a somewhat achievable measure of worthiness. Their scriptures contain many commands to not only keep all of God’s commandments (Mosiah 2:41; 1 Nephi 22:31; 2 Nephi 31:16; D&C 14:7, 42:29; 98:14; 130:20–21; 138:4; Articles of Faith 1:3), but that salvation is dependent on continual obedience:
“Keep my commandments continually, and a crown of righteousness thou shalt receive. And except thou do this, where I am you cannot come.” (D&C 25:15)
However, the only way to accomplish such a monumental task is to drastically downplay the concept of sin and overstate our ability to follow God’s commandments (as Nephi did in 1 Nephi 3:7).
I asked an LDS friend how he was doing in his pursuit of sinless living. He said he sinned occasionally, but sometimes he could make it through the day (and maybe a few days at a time) without failing once.
After congratulating him, I revealed that I could not say the same. It was mid-afternoon, and I estimated that I had sinned hundreds of times that day alone. He was shocked that a pastor had failed that many times. I made it worse by explaining that I had probably violated at least half of the 10 commandments that day.
How Does God See My Sin?
We must see sin as our holy God does. Sin extends beyond our outward acts and involves our deceitful hearts (Jeremiah 17:9–10). Idolatry does not just mean bowing down to a wooden statue; it means prioritizing anything above God in my life (Colossians 3:5).
Murder does not just involve physically killing another person; it includes unwarranted anger toward others (Matthew 5:21–22). Adultery does not just require physical unfaithfulness to your spouse; it includes lustful looks or thoughts (Matthew 5:27–28).
Sin is a failure to obey any point of the law (1 John 3:4). It is falling short of God’s perfect standard of holiness (Romans 3:23). It is so pervasive in every individual’s nature that we are spiritually dead in our sins (Ephesians 2:1–3; Colossians 2:13). God is our standard (Matthew 5:48). Therefore, any action, word, thought, or intention that our holy God would not do is considered sin. With that in mind, we sin countless times daily.
John Bunyan wrote, “The best prayer I ever prayed had enough sin to damn the whole world!” Salvation cannot involve our good deeds outweighing our sin. Just one sin corrupts us completely. James clearly stated,
“For whoever keeps the whole law but fails in one point has become guilty of all of it.” (James 2:10)
Why Does Our View of Sin Matter?
Why is it essential to have a proper understanding of our complete sinfulness? Isn’t it depressing to think that we are terrible, awful people? In a sense, yes. The closer we draw to Christ and see God’s holiness, the worse we look in comparison. We are like Isaiah, standing before the throne of God saying,
“Woe is me, for I am ruined! Because I am a man of unclean lips.” (Isaiah 6:5)
When Jesus forgave a woman who was known for her blatantly sinful reputation, the lawfully-obedient and upstanding Pharisees listened with shock as Jesus taught,
“Therefore I tell you, her sins, which are many, are forgiven—for she loved much. But he who is forgiven little, loves little.” (Luke 7:47)
If obedience to the biblical law is our standard, the Pharisees, not this sinful woman, should have received eternal life.
If we rarely participate in sin, it is reasonable to assume that we can someday be sinless. Perhaps by sheer willpower, we can stand out from the crowd and be found acceptable. However, if sin is completely ingrained in our fallen nature, it can only be overcome by something much greater than ourselves. Only Jesus’ sacrifice on the cross has the authority to cancel the record of debt that sin has amassed.
“And you, who were dead in your trespasses and the uncircumcision of your flesh, God made alive together with him, having forgiven us all our trespasses, by canceling the record of debt that stood against us with its legal demands. This he set aside, nailing it to the cross.” (Colossians 2:13–14)
Hope for the Ungodly
While it is difficult for some of our LDS friends to understand that they are totally dead in their sins, we must also show them that they are not without hope. Seeing us in our hopeless state, Christ did something wonderfully gracious and loving.
In Romans 5:6-8, Paul explains that Jesus died for the weak and ungodly sinners of this world:
“For while we were still weak, at the right time Christ died for the ungodly. For one will scarcely die for a righteous person—though perhaps for a good person one would dare even to die—but God shows his love for us in that while we were still sinners, Christ died for us.”