Day 166 Saved In Sins or From Sins?

In Matthew 5:13, Jesus tells his followers that they are the salt of the earth, and in the same sentence offers a warning that savorless salt is good for nothing. Join me in an attempt to be savory salt as I share each day one verse of scripture and one small thought. Perhaps this small daily emphasis can lead to greater savor in your life and ultimately you and I can be savory salt.

Hello, my friends and family, wherever you're listening from, thank you for joining me and know that I'm cheering for your every success! Welcome to day 166 on our 365 day journey through the Book of Mormon together. Today you're going to be reading Alma chapter 11, verses 24 to 46.

You're going to finish that chapter and get kind of the tail end of Amulek's teachings here. This is a great set of verses to be aware of. The way that those that are highly educated in the use of persuasive language can mix and mingle and change things up just enough that it changes the meaning of entirely what's being said.

And that's what we're going to look at inside of our verse today as we look at this conversation between Zeezrom and Amulek. Today's verse is Alma chapter 11, verse 37, although I do want to mention that Amulek starts this incredible teaching that's going to continue with Alma tomorrow and the next couple of days, between physical death and spiritual death. And so if you haven't really dived into where that is scripturally, here's a couple of great places to see the difference in physical death and spiritual death.

Amulek, focusing on the physical death here on the tail end of this chapter. But our verse today is verse 37. This is what it says.

This is Amulek speaking about the role that Christ plays. And I say unto you again that he cannot save them in their sins, for I cannot deny his word, and he hath said that no unclean thing can inherit the kingdom of heaven. Therefore how can ye be saved except ye inherit the kingdom of heaven?

Therefore ye cannot be saved in your sins. Now the interesting catch here that Zeezrom's trying to play along with is the word 'in'. When we follow some of the footnotes and some of the references here in the scriptures that are focusing on this specific interaction between the two of them, it's the concept of being saved in your sins versus the concept of being saved from your sins.

One of them implies that you are simply sinful and expecting salvation, while the other one, salvation, implies that you have turned away and sought the repentance process from those sins in order to accomplish salvation or to receive salvation through the atonement of our Savior Jesus Christ. Listen and hear the tiny differences in that, and yet the huge doctrinal shift that would be if it was saved in their sins. That's the way that Satan uses others to twist and to formulate messed up doctrines.

And it's so small, it's as small as it can possibly get, right? I guess you could have the letter 'I' for a smaller word, but 'in their sins' is such a small difference than 'from their sins'. And yet doctrinally and foundationally it means all the difference because it means that for you and for me we not.

Monumental difference in the way it applies in our lives. Something to think about and something to consider when it comes to listening to the doctrines that are being taught today. That's all for today, my friends.

Remember that by small and simple things are great things brought to pass. Keep it small, keep it simple, and always seek to be savory salt. I'll be here tomorrow and I hope you are too. We'll see you next week.