Faith unto Repentance - Alma 34:14-17

...This is the whole meaning of the law, every whit pointing to that great and last sacrifice; and that great and last sacrifice will be the Son of God, yea, infinite and eternal. And thus he shall bring salvation to all those who shall believe on his name; this being the intent of this last sacrifice, to bring about the bowels of mercy, which overpowereth justice, and bringeth about means unto men that they may have faith unto repentance.
And thus mercy can satisfy the demands of justice, and encircles them in the arms of safety, while he that exercises no faith unto repentance is exposed to the whole law of the demands of justice; therefore only unto him that has faith unto repentance is brought about the great and eternal plan of redemption. Therefore may God grant unto you, my brethren, that ye may begin to exercise your faith unto repentance, that ye begin to call upon his holy name, that he would have mercy upon you;

Alma points out the intent for which the Jews kept the law of Moses - it was to point them to Christ. Paul tells us the same:

But before faith came, we were kept under the law, shut up unto the faith which should afterwards be revealed. Wherefore the law was our schoolmaster to bring us unto Christ, that we might be justified by faith. But after that faith is come, we are no longer under a schoolmaster. For ye are all the children of God by faith in Christ Jesus. (Galatians 3:23-26)

I have discussed this concept at length in a previous post. Suffice it to say, the intent of the law, and I might generalize - the entire Old Testament - is anticipation of the coming of the Messiah, the Lord Jesus Christ.

Thus the performance of sacrifices and the minutia of performances and ordinances has given way to the Law of the Lord. Our sacrifice is not to be a lamb or heifer, but ourselves in the form of a broken heart and a contrite spirit.

And behold, I have given you the law and the commandments of my Father, that ye shall believe in me, and that ye shall repent of your sins, and come unto me with a broken heart and a contrite spirit. Behold, ye have the commandments before you, and the law is fulfilled. (3 Nephi 12:19)

The law was fulfilled, meaning that the demands of Justice were met by our Savior, so it is now up to us to humble ourselves and repent, with an offering of a broken heart and contrite spirit - a humble deference to His grace. It occurs to me that our sacrifice is not so different as them of old, since in making their offering, they were giving up their means of survival - sustenance and other material possessions in the form of a sacrifice. It still required faith on their part that in spite of their offering, they would not lack nor suffer any privation. In other words, it took faith.

On our part the law is greater, since there are not so strict rules about what and when to sacrifice. In fact, we're told to be willing to sacrifice anything and everything. To the ancient, their sacrifice meant a trust in the Lord to keep them going in spite of their giving up things vital to their survival, and to bless them generally. To us, sacrifices of all kinds are required, up to and including everything we possess, our own will, and our life if necessary. It is a fact that many a Christian died a martyr in deference to His will.

It is this type of humility and sacrifice that He requires, and it is this type of humility and sacrifice that can only be achieved through faith. The ancients did it in anticipation of Him, we do it in remembrance of Him. Thus true repentance comes when we truly strive for perfection and complete submission through faith and real intent, relying wholly upon the merits of him who is mighty to save.

Without His sacrifice, any faith or sacrifice on our part would be in vain since there would be no grace available requisite for our assistance. Thus our faith must be centered in Jesus Christ or it will not work for our improvement nor salvation. Of this I testify - that it is only in and through the name of Jesus Christ that we can be saved, if we have faith.