One thing I've been learning about this week is the "natural man being an enemy to God." In the Book of Mormon, Mosiah 3:19 reads, "For the natural man is an enemy to God, and has been from the fall of Adam, and will be, forever and ever, unless he yields to the enticings of the Holy Spirit, and putteth off the natural man and becometh a saint through atonement of Christ the Lord, and becometh as a child, submissive, meek, humble, patient, full of love, willing to submit to all things which the Lord seeth fit to inflict upon him, even as a child doth submit to his father." So what does the natural man mean exactly? Does that mean that God doesn't like men that try to live all naturally off of the land? I thought that when I was younger. :-) The natural man can be any thought, feeling, or action that is not in accordance to Heavenly Father.
Examples of the natural man-
I have several things about me that are against the nature of God. We all do. One of them that I used to have is that I was quick to judge others. Is this something that our Father in Heaven wants us to do? No. He wants us to uplift, build up and love one another.
How about a person that is a great person, but let's the every whim and desire to be satisfied. Whether it's eating too much, being too lazy, drinking alcohol and doing drugs, satisfying lustful desires with someone other than your spouse, someone that is full of pride, someone that is all about earthly possesions, or one that is rude and crude in speech and manner. There are many more, but there was just a few.
How do we overcome the natural man in us?
Robert L. Millet said," One does not put off the natural man by living longer. Nor does one change his nature simply by attending meetings. The transformation is accomplished only as one chooses to be changed through the mediation of Jesus Christ and the power of the Holy Ghost, by means of gospel ordinances. In the language of President Benson, "The world would mold men by changing their environment. Christ changes men, who then change their environment. The world would shape human behavior, but Christ can change human nature." The world can't make us better people, we can only accomplish overcoming anything through our Savior Jesus Christ. He continues saying,
"We recognize that putting off the natural man is possible only through the grace and atonement of Christ. That is why the scriptures refer to the process as being born again. Having had our sins remitted, we die to the things of unrighteousness and are born of God to a new and higher spiritual life. We begin to enjoy what Paul called the "fruit of the Spirit," namely "love, joy, peace, long-suffering, gentleness, goodness, faith, meekness, temperance." (See Gal. 5:22–25.) We are humble and submissive; eager to know and carry out the will of the Savior, eager to have our own wishes swallowed up in the will of a Higher Being."
Why do we want to overcome the natural man?
President Ezra Taft Benson has observed that "just as a man does not really desire food until he is hungry, so he does not desire the salvation of Christ until he knows why he needs Christ." No one really understands why they need Christ in their life until they really come to realize His lasting impact on our eternity! Once we realize and know what this life is all about and what our Savior has done for us, we will have a desire to repent and come closer to our Savior. We have this innate desire to stop doing things that are contrary to Him. Because we love Him so much and appreciate beyond anything all the He has done, and continues to do for us. I am thankful to know how I can come closer to our Father in Heaven and our Savior. I love how I can become better each day and slowly overcome all of my weaknesses. The more I'm able to overcome through the atonement of the Savior, the happier, more peaceful, and more strength I have during the ups and downs of life.
No comments:
Post a Comment