A free gift (Response to LDS follower)

I asked a Mormon whether Jesus' shed blood and resurrection completely saves us.  His response was, "It is a free gift. But as in all gifts, it has to be accepted. It cannot be forced on us. We accept the gift by obeying his commandments."

Here is my reply:

Thanks for your words and understanding where you are at. Isn't this a fascinating conversation we are having. To think, we are each seeking to know God with all of our being and yet, at a foundational level, there is not unity in understanding and belief. Interesting and scary at the same time. I mean, I only expect you to be attached to your beliefs because you believe them and yet I would hope you see the same in me.

I believe a gift is a gift with no strings attached. You stated "we accept the gift by obeying his commandments." When I give my child a gift, all they do is reach out their hand and grab it.

Acts 16:31 - Believe on the Lord Jesus Christ and thou shalt be saved.

If I'm ticketed for going 55mph in a 20mph school zone. And thrown before the judge with a $20,000 fine I can't afford. If a man from the back of the court room comes forward and says, "I'll pay his fine." When I hold out my hand to take the money, my hand does not make or earn the money, nor improve the money, nor do I deserve the money. It's a gift. I receive it.

Have you ever seen someone receive a gift and they say, "I can't accept that." The value of the gift is so great that the individual receiving it feels unworthy to receive such a valuable gift. The giver usually states, "But, I want you to have it."

Faith is chosen by God to be the receiver of salvation. It does not pretend to help it.

Luke 7:50 - Thy faith hath saved thee; go in peace.

Romans 10:9 - That if thou shalt confess with thy mouth the Lord Jesus, and shalt believe in thine heart that God hath raised him from the dead, thou shalt be saved.

Obviously, using the court room example, a person who receives this sort of gift should want to do something for the giver. He should want to get to know him. To learn from him. To be with him. And if the giver asks him to do something, he would do it. But, if the receiver does nothing, is the gift taken back?

If I give my son Derek a present and afterwards my son consistently disobeys me, do I go back and say, “I’m taking my gift back. You don’t deserve it. You didn't fulfill your end of the contract." I don't think so. There is no deal. The love I have for my child is unconditional. Sure I desire him to be obedient. Sure, I want him to follow the rules because as he does it will make him a better person and his life will be more fulfilling, his paths will be straight as obedience has natural consequences of good outcomes. But if Derek doesn’t obey me, my love for him and acceptance of him does not change. I'm still his father. I still love him. Why would I think Heavenly Father is different?

Now, let me say something. Your belief is consistent with the way of the world. Think about it. Living in the world we have been trained with a way of thinking and being and doing that is consistent to "Believe + Do = Good results." Think about McDonald's ad campaign several years ago. "You deserve a break today." The thinking is that you have had a hard day or you have achieved a lot today and now, you deserve a break.

Take a child going to school. It's his first day in a class. The teacher says, "This class is simple. Do all the work. Do it well. You will get an "A."
"Work hard and you will graduate."

And then people get a job. If a person does a bad job, what happens? Do they get a raise? No. They get fired. They lose their job. Bad performance equals bad results. You get a paycheck because you agree to do what has been set out for you do. You work hard and follow the rules and you get a paycheck.

You said, "If we don't repent and obey his will, his atonement will not be save-able for us." So, the gift is no longer a gift. I don't agree.