A Faith Beyond: The Gospel's Least-Understood Principle: Part 12

Heavenly Hearsay

​Do you know what word Jesus never used during His mortal ministry (at least as recorded in the Gospels)?

"Covenant."

Feel free to check my math (I suppose Jesus came close when He used the word "testament" at the Last Supper; they have the same connotation.)

This is pretty shocking, isn't it, considering the heyday covenants are having in Church nowadays (see, Russell M. Nelson, "The Everlasting Covenant," October 2022).

On the other hand, guess what word Jesus used 41 times in the Gospels?

"Faith."

The point: Jesus preached a gospel of faith and repentance and baptism of water and fire; not a theology of covenants, conditions, and commandments.

Covenants Galore

Speaking of covenants, if you haven't read Clark Burt's latest on the subject, I highly recommend doing so; it lays out the problem better than anything else I've come across (see, "Repentance: The Lord Covenanteth With None Save it be With Them That Repent," Given By the Finger of God, March 13, 2024).

Now, don't get me wrong: I love covenants.  The Lord covenanted with Abraham and his posterity ― and He continues to covenant with those who love Him, "who will have him to be their God" (1 Nephi 17:40).

But there's a difference between the collective covenants offered to the Lord's people, and the personal covenants we receive directly from the Lord Himself.

Make no mistake, I am not talking about the covenants we attach to the temple ― not the plug-and-play covenants surrounding (1) priesthood, (2) posterity, and (3) promised lands, which I've written about before (perhaps someday we'll return to the covenants associated with Israel, which some call the Sinai covenant, because it figures prominently in the Lord's plan).

But today I'm talking to about something else: getting our own blessing from God.  How?  How do we wrestle with the Lord like Jacob, who "touched the hollow of his thigh" and whose faith declared, "I will not let thee go, except thou bless me" (Genesis 32:25-26)?

Can we secure God's blessing and obtain a covenant with God one-on-one, like Jacob?  Like Noah?  Like Enoch?  Like Melchizedek?  The type of covenant that is symbolized by the conferral of a new name?

   And he said, Thy name
   shall be called no more Jacob,
   but Israel: for as a prince
   hast thou power with God
   and with men, 
   and hast prevailed.

(Genesis 32:28)

The answer is yes, through faith, we can.  It would be sad if we went through life thinking we merely inherited the hand-me-down promises of old.  I declare in all soberness that God speaks and offers a covenant directly to His children, personally, as a Father blessing His own child.

This fact does not diminish Abraham's covenant at all, but rather honors Abraham's example, as we approach the Lord and obtain His word personally, as Abraham did, receiving a blessing upon our own heads like Lehi, by God's own voice.

   And it was delivered unto men
   by the calling of his own voice,
   according to his own will,
   unto as many as believed
   on his name.

(JST Genesis 14:30)

What did we think our faith was for?  Why did Jesus spend so much time talking about faith and about His Father?

   And every one
   that hearkeneth
   to the voice of the Spirit
   cometh unto God,
   even the Father.
   And the Father
   [who?]
   teacheth him
   of the covenant.

(D&C 84:47-48)

Now that is the sort of covenant I get excited about.

"The Night Cometh"

To understand the time-sensitive nature of mortality (because, after all, don't we have all eternity?), we need to examine Jesus's words carefully:

   I must work the works
   of him that sent me,
   while it is day:
   the night cometh
   when no man can work.

(John 9:4) 
 
There's a lot to unpack in this verse.  First and foremost, I find it interesting that Jesus did not exempt Himself from this statement.  Let that sink in.

The Lord's use of "night" is clearly a metaphor; but a metaphor for what?

There are a couple important things to remember about the "night":

   1.  Night is inevitable.  It "cometh" whether we want it to or not, whether we've been good or not.  It's coming!  Period.  There’s no avoiding it.

   2.  Knowing "night" is coming, we would be wise to prepare for it.  Isn't that what the "wise" virgins did?  They prepared with lamps and oil.

   3.  Morning is also inevitable.  Yes, that's right, let's not forget that night doesn't last forever.  The light shall break forth.  Night invariably yields to Day.

   4.  I want to be clear: Satan does not rule the night; God does.  Let's not associate "day" with good things and "night" with bad things.  It doesn't work like that.  Both are good (or bad, depending).

   5.  Nighttime is an essential part of God's Plan.  For isn't nighttime a season of growth and rest?  A time when teenagers sleep soundly in their beds, allowing their bones to grow; and for spirits to be refreshed before the next Day-cycle?

   6.  So we mustn't fear the night.  And we won't, if we are prepared.

How can we be ready for the coming night?

"When No Man Can Work"

   7.  The primary, defining characteristic of night is this: it is a time "when no man can work" (John 9:4).  But what sort of "work" is the Savior referring to?

   8.  This principle was reinforced in the Lord's parable of the virgins.  Remember the reason the foolish virgins couldn't rush off and buy oil at the market?  Simply because it was night, and the stores were closed.

   9.  Every farmer knows there is a particular season for sowing seeds in his fields.  Let's call that season "Day."  During the daytime, we sow and we water and we weed and ― if we're lucky ― we harvest.

   10.  People don't labor in the fields and prune trees during the nighttime (except the enemy, of course) (Matt. 13:25).  In fact, this is the tell-tale sign of the enemy: the fact he labors during the night, while "men slept."

   11.  Perhaps one of the adversary's greatest faults is the fact he does not respect the times and seasons (Daniel 7:25).  So we see a curious aspect of "evil": to labor at "night" ― by which I mean, to seek to secure fruit out-of-season, beyond the "times" ordained of God.

   12.  "Day," then, refers to the appointed season or time that is given by the Father for us to labor, or to obtain a blessing from Him (in other words, to enter into and receive His covenant).  For we cannot enter into His rest until we have received His Day-blessing:

   Well done, good and faithful
   servant; thou hast
   been faithful
   over a few things,
   I will make thee ruler over
   many things:
   enter thou
   into the joy
   of thy lord.

(Matt. 25:21)

To avoid confusion, I am NOT talking about having our calling and election made sure (2 Peter 1:10).  Good heavens, I just wrote about the Baptism of Fire; I need some time before jumping back into the deep end.

We're discussing something else entirely: the work of faith.  By faith we "obtain a good report," even if we have not received the promises (Hebrews 11:39).

In any event, there is nothing so tiresome as a bunch of fellows waving their "privileges" and specialness in the air, trusting in their spiritual badges, thinking it confers some sort of authority upon them.  Many are called. . . .

​Jesus never bragged about His spiritual endowments; He simply let His works speak for themselves.

   I speak not of myself:
   but the Father
   that dwelleth in me,
   he doeth the works.

   Believe me that I am
   in the Father,
   and the Father in me:
   or else believe me
   for the very works' sake.

(John 14:10-11)

A lot of folks make grandiose claims and believe they are Mighty and Strong; but listen, how many of them are raising the dead and restoring sight to the blind; how many of them are turning rivers from their course?
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So give me faith any-day-of-the-week over the vanity of one's calling and election.  The evidence of faith will be found in the works we do ― whether they be the works of our Father.

And among all of God's works, the ones I am specifically watching for are those that bear the fruit of repentance.

What "Day" Are We Currently In?

Would it surprise you to know that not all days are the same?  Some days it rains, others have sunshine, and some days we curl up with a good book and rest.

So the question naturally arises, what Day is it?  During this mortality, what are we supposed to be doing?  What seeds need planting; and what fruit deserves preserving?

For the answer, let's turn to Amulek:

   I beseech of you
   that ye do not procrastinate
   the DAY of your repentance
   until the end;
   for after this DAY of life,
   which is given us to prepare
   for eternity, behold,
   if we do not improve our time
   while in this life,
   then cometh the NIGHT
   of darkness wherein
   there can be no labor
   performed.

(Alma 34:33)

This Day is simply one of preparation; it is divinely ordained to be a Day of Repentance.

This resolves a mystery, I think: it explains why the Lord employs servants in the vineyard when He could easily do all the work Himself (and far better than we ever could).  But there's one thing the Master cannot do Himself: repent for us.

That's the "labor" the Lord expects from us during this Day.  So while we can knock ourselves out with a thousand other concerns, let me reassure you: we're not here to solve the universe's problems or the world's problems.  That's God's work.  Our work is simply that of repentance.

In other words, this is the Season for us to prepare for the coming Night, and the only way to do so is to repent.

Why Repentance?

"Tim," someone says, "I thought this Series was about faith!  Why are you talking about covenants and repentance now?"  Well, I hate to break it to you, but I am going to add one more cannon ball into the mix.

Pop Quiz:  The glue that tied all of Jesus's teachings together was:

   a.  Tithing
   b.  The Word of Wisdom
   c.  Covenants
   d.  The Kingdom of God
   e.  Honeycomb and fish

If you answered (D), give yourself a pat on the back.  Without question, the thing that Jesus preached more than any other was the doctrine of the Kingdom:

   From that time
   Jesus began to preach,
   and to say, Repent:
   [why?] 
   for the kingdom of heaven
   is at hand.

(Matt. 4:17)

Why did Christ emphasize the Kingdom so much?  (And why don't we?)  How do faith and repentance and covenants relate to the Kingdom?

Jesus spent His ministry describing a Kingdom without borders, a non-geographic realm defined by faith.  This realm transcends time and space and matter. 

How do we enter the Kingdom?  Well, that was sort of the whole point of Christ's ministry.  Through faith and repentance.  The only way to get into the Kingdom is to be born into it.

   I say unto thee,
   Except a man be born
   of water and of the Spirit,
   he cannot enter
   into the kingdom of God.

(John 3:5)

The more I've pondered the Savior's message in the New Testament, the more convinced I become that it was all with an eye toward getting us INTO HIS KINGDOM.

This appears to be the "work" that needs to be accomplished before Nightfall, when the doors close (and the doors cannot be reopened until Dawn).

So one way to view Christ's ministry and gospel is Him being our Shepherd, leading us into the Kingdom of God.  After all, Jesus is the Door (the Gate) to the Kingdom as well as its King.

Once we're in the Kingdom (once we're citizens of it) we're able to receive covenants and promises pertaining to future estates.

The kingdom of God is a light upon a hill; not because we can see it, but because by it, we can see everything else.  (I’m paraphrasing something, but I can’t remember what).

The Straight and Narrow Path

Jesus's parables describe how the Kingdom operates, so it's not a mystery.  The Gospels are an instruction manual for how the Shepherd cares for His sheep.

And God's Kingdom looks nothing like the gentile kingdoms we're so familiar with.  Nothing drives me wild more than the fact that we're always trying to reshape God's Kingdom in the image of Babylon's worldly kingdoms.

God has no interest in ruling the world; He's interested in saving it.  That is why the chief characteristic of the Kingdom of God is faith.  

   He that believeth on me,
   believeth not on me,
   but on him that sent me
   [the Father].
   I am come a light
   into the world,
   that whosoever believeth
   on me should not
   abide in darkness.

(John 12:44, 46)

Why is Faith the foundation of God's Kingdom?  Faith leads directly to (drum roll) repentance (that shouldn't surprise anyone who has heard of the 4th Article of Faith).  As Amulek taught, faith's fruit is always going to be repentance:

   Begin to exercise your faith
   unto repentance,
   that ye begin to call
   upon his holy name,
   that he would have mercy
   upon you.

(Alma 34:17)

Repentance means "to turn" to God, and isn't that what faith is for?  It's a packaged deal.

And what is the fruit of repentance?  It's baptism (Moroni 7:25).  And the fruit of baptism?  The visitation of the Holy Ghost, which "filleth with hope and perfect love, which love endureth" (Moroni 7:26).

All this to say, if we exercise faith and embark upon the straight and narrow path that leads to the Tree of Life, we'll discover that faith and charity are the two bookends between which all of the other principles of the gospel are sandwiched.

   After ye have done
   all these things
   if ye turn away the needy,
   and the naked, and visit not
   the sick and afflicted,
   and impart of your substance,
   if ye have, to those
   who stand in need―
​   I say unto you. . .
   your prayer is vain,
   and availeth you nothing,
   and ye are as hypocrites
   who do deny the faith.

(Alma 34:28)

That is, incidentally, the same thing that John the Baptist taught (and the same thing that Jesus taught, for that matter).  So we can confidently summarize the most basic doctrine of the Kingdom: have faith in God and care for one another.  The rest is just gravy.

   For without faith
   it is impossible
   to please God.

(Hebrews 11:6)

I would add to that sentiment, saying, without faith it is impossible to please God no matter what else we've thrown into our spiritual and religious observances ― including the kitchen sink; including all the covenants and temples and meetings and ordinances and whatever else we throw in.

A Kingdom Unexpected

​Once we are in the Kingdom, we discover it is not what we expected.  After the dazzling Las Vegas lights of the devil's kingdom, the Kingdom of God by comparison lacks a certain je ne sais quois.

We discover that the Kingdom of God isn't as cushy as we expected.  Quite the opposite.  It lacks the perks of Babylon.  I mean, nobody expected a babe born in a humble manger (in the backwater of Bethlehem no less, far away from Rome's bustling metropolis) to be humanity's hope ― which is a perfect metaphor for the Kingdom.

Instead of being treated like royalty, the princes in the Kingdom of God act more like stable boys or shepherd girls, shoveling manure and removing burrs from wool, cleaning foot-rot from the hooves of dirty animals and sleeping on stony ground.

Did I mention it's an unpaid position?

Jesus contrasted the Kingdom of God with the kingdoms of this world in His parable of the wise man and foolish man.

The parable describes two very different kinds of faith (Matt. 7:24-27).  But remember, both men had faith!  Don't forget that part.

They produced fruit in the sense they both built homes for their families.  I think it should be noted that the foolish man's home looked just like the wise man's; in the parable nothing distinguishes the houses.  Just their foundations.

For two thousand years we've seen the kind of ground churches in Christendom have chosen to build their houses upon.  Ignore the sand for a moment; if we just focus on the finery, on the gold and silver, sacraments and proper attire ― then it's easy to ignore the foundations (or lack thereof), when the earth is still and the winds are calm.

In the parable the Savior used the word "house."  There is rich symbolism in that word.  "House" can refer to our family clan; it can refer to our hearth; it can also refer to our bodies.

The point of the parable was to not build on a sandy spot; the foolish man's house could not stand.  What is the "sand" the Lord is warning us about?

The parable only makes sense when we place it in context; if we look at the preceding passage that comes immediately before the parable, it will be quite eye-opening:

​   Many will say to me
   in that day, Lord, Lord,
   have we not prophesied
   in thy name? and in thy name
   have cast out devils?
   and in thy name done many
   wonderful works?

   And then will I profess
   unto them, I never knew you:
   depart from me,
   ye that work iniquity.

(Matt. 7:22-23)

The "sandy" foundation, then, appears to be all the "wonderful works" we've done.  Huh.  That's odd, isn't it?  Did you notice how many times the wicked servant invoked his Lord's name?  So we see the servant's faith stemmed primarily from the belief that he had authority to work in Christ's name.

Nothing describes the kingdoms of this world better than (1) unrighteous dominion and (2) the love of money.

Ask yourself: In whose kingdom are we?  The easiest way to tell is to follow the money, which I call Mammon's Law.

I'll conclude with Hugh Nibley's words, which he spoke at the height of the Vietnam War and at the tail end of the cultural revolution of the 1960s:

"The worst sinners, according to Jesus, are not the harlots and publicans, but the religious leaders with their insistence of proper dress and grooming, their careful observance of all the rules, their precious concern for status symbols, their strict legality, their pious patriotism.

"The haircut becomes the test of virtue in a world where Satan deceives and rules by appearances."

(Hugh Nibley, Joseph Smith Lecture Series, 1972-73, "What is Zion?")

When our faith is swayed by appearances, that is an indication we stand upon sand.

For God's "royal army" acts neither royal nor as an army. 

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