The Enabling Power

In this post I am going to be talking about Romans chapters 1-8. So when I just reference a chapter and verse you know what book we are in.
After reading these chapters I was trying to decide what I wanted to focus on from them. After some thinking and studying I realized that grace and the Atonement (Christ's sacrifice) was a big part of the entire eight chapters. Because of His sacrifice we can literally do anything that we set our minds to. I have said this a million times, but if it is important to you it is important to Him. That is how much He loves us.
Chapter 5 starts out strong with talking about how through faith we can be at peace with God. Can you imagine being at peace with God? Or what that would even mean? Many who believe that there is a judgment after this life tend to fear how they will measure up. Are they going to Heaven? Will they be cast down to Hell unwillingly? In the gospel according to Madi, being at peace with God means that you can stand before Him at the judgment day and be confident that you are going to be able to live with Him again in heaven. In this verse we are taught that if we are faithful to Christ we can do that. How relieving would that be? The verse continues on to say that this is possible because of what Jesus Christ did for us.
As I kept reading the verses just kept getting better. In verse two it goes on to say that through our faith in Jesus Christ we have access to His grace.
Grace can mean a few different things when talked about in conjunction with the Atonement, or Christ's suffering. In a talk that was given by David A Bednar, he mentioned that grace is the enabling power. So if we reword that verse it says, "By whom also we have access by faith into this [enabling power] wherein we stand, and rejoice in hope of the glory of God." Christ literally enables us to become anything we want to be. He gives us strength, He helps our weaknesses, He guides us to the path that will get us where we need to go and SO many more things. And all it takes is believing that Christ will help us.
The interesting thing is that faith is an action word. Yes we need to feel it, but when we have faith in Christ we follow Him and do as He has commanded us. That isn't always easy, but He knows our hearts. I love that we don't need to sit around and mope about what we have done wrong. We can ask for forgiveness from Christ, and anybody that our mistake may have hurt, and then move forward. Christ promised us that if we forgive others He will forgive us. We can trust that promise because of our faith in Him. When we apply the Atonement and repent we can move on from our mistakes. We can be at peace with God again, and grow closer to Him. That is one of the biggest blessings of the sacrifice of our brother.
There is so much that the Atonement can do for us. When we use our faith the Savior will show us just how powerful His sacrifice was. Show Him your gratitude for what He did by turning to Him.

One last thing before I finish up. In chapter 8:16 it says, "the spirit itself beareth witness with our spirit, that we are the children of God."  We are God's literal children and He wants us back home. So does our older brother Jesus Christ. Use the faith that you have and let them show you the way home.
Skeeter