 |
|
▪
Home ▪ Links ▪ LDS Stuff ▪ Iconic Alphabet ▪ The Legend of Zelda |
LDS Stuff » Judge or Advocate Jesus Christ has many roles, and therefore many titles. If you look up "Jesus Christ" in the Topical Guide, you will find many of His titles listed: Creator, Firstborn, King, Lamb of God, Lord, Mediator, Messenger of the Covenant, Messiah, Redeemer, Savior, Second Comforter, Son of Man. There are two titles, however, that seem contradictory at first glance: Judge and Advocate. The final judgment is one of the most common events spoken of in scripture. Yet some passages speak of Jesus Christ being our judge in that final court case, while others speak of Him being our advocate, or defense lawyer.
Why these two different roles? In the metaphorical courtroom, where are we supposed to imagine the Savior, on the bench hearing evidence or at our elbow giving counsel? There are several possible answers. One possibility is that these passages may simply be different metaphors, some in which the Savior is the judge and others in which He is the lawyer. After all, the scriptures don't always use metaphors consistently. In one passage, Paul says the breastplate represents "righteousness" (Eph. 6:14), and in another he says the breastplate represents "faith and love" (1 Thes. 5:8). Another possibility is that the this mixing of roles has to do with the oneness of the Godhead, or what Joseph F. Smith called "divine investiture of authority."1 In other words, since the Savior and the Father are one, their roles are interchangeable and we can expect passages about them to be a little confounding at times. I want to suggest a third possibility, which is not incompatible with the first two. I suggest that these two roles of the Savior can best be understood by thinking of the Judgment as involving two trials, each according to a different law, or set of commandments. Alma calls them "the first commandments" and "second commandments" (Alma 12:31, 37). The first law can be called "obedience" and the second law, "sacrifice."
The First Law: Obedience Obedience is the first law of heaven. . . . In fact without obedience there could be no union or order, and chaos and confusion would prevail. (Joseph F. Smith, JD 16:247-248 (1873)This makes sense: the first law is "obey the law"; the first rule is "follow the rules." As Elder McConkie says, when we subject ourselves to God's commands, we progress. The purpose of His commandments is to raise us to His state of eternal life and joy. Joseph Smith explained this purpose when he said, In obedience there is joy and peace unspotted, unalloyed. . . . [God] never has—He never will—institute an ordinance or give a commandment to His people that is not calculated in its nature to promote that happiness which He has designed, and which will not end in the greatest amount of good and glory to those who become the recipients of his law and ordinances." (TPJS 256-57)Since the greatest amount of good and glory is only possible through obedience, it follows that any disobedience results in a loss of happiness, good, and glory. "When we obtain any blessing from God, it is by obedience to that law upon which it is predicated" (D&C 130:21). Therefore, disobeying any law means losing the blessing of joy attached to it. I like to think of it this way: Heavenly Father is the happiest person in existence. He has learned the laws that govern joy and happiness. He wants us to experience that "unspotted, unalloyed" joy and so he gives us instructions on how to be happy. Those instructions are called "commandments." Anyone who followed all the instructions for happiness with perfect precision would be perfectly happy. Any time we fall short of following the "happiness instructions," we fall short of that perfect happiness and glory that He enjoys. And who has fallen short of following the commandments? "All have sinned, and come short of the glory of God" (Rom. 3:23). Each of us has individually "transgressed the first commandments" (Alma 12:31). If we were to be judged on the basis of the first law of heaven, we would be found completely unable to enter into eternal life because of our imperfect obedience.
The Second Law: Sacrifice Many passages contrast the laws of justice and mercy (Alma 34, 42). The law of justice applies the natural consequences of our choices, ensuring cause and effect. Simply stated, "Justice demands that a penalty be paid for every violation of the Lord's laws" (MD 406). However, justice does not specify who pays the penalty. "The law of justice, then, always requires a payment," but it does not require that the payment necessarily come from the offender. (DHLudlow) The law of mercy, simply stated, is that one person may pay the price of disobedience for another person. This act is called redeeming. There are a few stipulations, however, on who can redeem. "By eternal law, mercy cannot be extended save there be one who is both willing and able to assume our debt and pay the price and arrange the terms for our redemption." (Boyd K. Packer, "The Mediator," Ensign, May 1977, 54) The Savior, of course, is the only person who has fit those requirements. This second law, by which one person can stand in for another, can be thought of by several names: substitution, representaion, intercession. Perhaps the best term is the law of sacrifice, the law by which one thing is given up for another.
Two Trials In the final judgment, this is kind of what happens to us. The original judge is Heavenly Father, whose right it is to judge us by the law of obedience. We would fail if we were only held to that standard. But the Savior has stepped in as our Advocate before the Father. He offers to fulfill the requirements that allow for a second standard. The Father accepts, and "hath given him authority to execute judgment also, because he is the Son of man" (John 5:27). Because the law of obedience has now been placated by the Savior's atonement, "the Father judgeth no man, but hath committed all judgment unto the Son" (John 5:22). Thus, in the trial of obedience, the Father is the Judge and Jesus Christ is our "Advocate with the Father," or lawyer. He judges us on how perfectly we have obeyed the "first commandments." In the subsequent trial of sacrifice, Jesus Christ is "ordained of God to be the Judge" (Acts 10:42). He judges us on whether we have repented every time we sinned. Hence, to the question, "Is the Judge going to be the Father or the Son?" the answer is, "God shall judge the secrets of men by Jesus Christ," or, "God and Christ are the judge of all" (Rom. 2:16; D&C 76:68). This second chance to be judged again should not be taken lightly. Alma counseled us, "He gave commandments unto men, they having first transgressed the first commandments. . . . We provoke not the Lord our God to pull down his wrath upon us in these his second commandments which he has given unto us." (Alma 12:31, 37)
Notes Copyright © 2005 by Nathan Richardson. All rights reserved. First posted 26 Apr 2005. | |||||||
|
Comments and Feedback I eagerly welcome comments and feedback (nathan000000@yahoo.com). | ||||||||