ADVENTISM’S NEW VIEW

‘It’s Beyond Belief’ 3

JEFF PIPPENGER

Chapter 4 - The Scope of the Gospel

The everlasting gospel is not one or two isolated, overempha­sized truths. It is the sum total of all the truth. The gospel is the power of God, and the power of God is the truth, and the truth is the Word of God. All of these, (the gospel, the power of God, the truth, the Word of God) are what sanctifies the believer.

The gospel in the Old and New Testaments is not to be contem­plated from a narrow, single aspect, as one or two men may view it. How large, how broad, how extensive, is the gospel! Special Testimonies to Ministers, Series A, 115.

The gospel is the plan of salvation. Review and Herald, March 28, 1912.
In life and teaching, Jesus was the gospel. That I May Know Him, 97.
The word of truth, "It is written" is the gospel we are to preach. Testimonies, vol. 6,19.

"The gospel includes health reform in all its phases," Medical Ministry, 259, and dress reform, Testimonies, vol 6, 96. It also includes the teaching of "Christ's second coming is at hand." Christ's Object Lessons, 226-228.

So, as much is now in me is, I am ready to preach the gospel to you that are in Rome also. For I am not ashamed of the gospel of Christ: for it is the power of God unto salvation to every one that believeth; to the Jew first, and also to the Greek. Romans 1:15-16.

The gospel is called the power of God unto salvation because God alone can make the truth a power which sanctifies the soul. The Seventh day Adventist Bible Commentary, vol. 7, 940.

Once again, the purpose of the gospel is to reproduce the image of God in man. The gospel is the plan designed to accomplish that purpose, and it contains condition and terms. When man accepts these terms and conditions he enters into the twofold experience of justifi­cation and sanctification, bringing the very righteousness of God into the his life. That righteousness, which is by faith through grace, is demonstrated by the works or fruits that the man exhibits through the power of the indwelling Spirit.

By the power of the Holy Spirit the moral image of God is to be perfected in the character. We are to be wholly transformed into the likeness of Christ. Testimonies to Ministers, 506.

This plan of the gospel, which is designed to accomplish this righteous experience in the life of the believer, is found, not in a few isolated doctrines, but within all revealed truth. The purpose of this plan, to reproduce the image of God in man, is the underlying theme of the entire Scriptures. Both the plan and the purpose are the everlasting gospel. It was to set more prominently before God's people the plan and the purpose that God raised up AT. Jones and E.J. Waggoner. We will now briefly consider their message.  

Chapter 5 - Jones, Waggoner, and 1888

The Lord in His great mercy sent a most precious message to His people through Elders Waggoner and Jones. This messages was to bring more prominently before the world the uplifted Saviour, the sacrifice for the sins of the whole world. It presented justification through faith in the Surety; it invited the people to receive the righteousness of Christ, which is made manifest in obedience to all the commandments of God. Many had lost sight of Jesus. They needed to have their eyes directed to His divine person, His merits, and His changeless love for the human family. All power is given into His hands, that He may dispense rich gifts unto men, imparting the priceless gift of His own righteousness to the helpless human agent. This is the message that God commanded to be given to the world. It is the third angel's message, which is to be proclaimed with a loud voice, and attended with. the outpouring of His Spirit m a large measure. 1888 Materials, 1336-1337.

Let us break down this statement briefly,
1. It was to bring more prominently the uplifted Saviour before the world through the experience of victory over sin in the life of the believer.
2. The sacrifice that Heaven had made to recover the fallen race from sin was to be uplifted to the world. The sacrifice not only included Christ surren­dering the omnipresent aspect of His divinity in exchange for the form and nature of fallen men, but also the sacrifice of living among fallen men, and submitting to the death of the cross.
3. It was to present justification by faith which produces righteousness in the life of the believer.
4. It was to proclaim that through Christ's power the law could be kept by fallen humanity.
5. It was the third angel's message that, when accompanied by the outpouring of the latter rain, will swell into the loud-cry message.

The soul-saving message, the third angel's message, is the message to be given to the world. The commandments of God and the faith of Jesus are both important, immensely important, and must be given with equal force and power. The first part of the message has been dwelt upon mostly, the last part casually. The faith of Jesus is not comprehended. We must talk it, we must live it, we must pray it, and educate the people to bring this part of the message into their home life. "Let this mind be in you, which was also in Christ Jesus." (Philippians 2:5). Selected Messages, book 3,184.

A simple explanation of Jones and Waggoner's message is victory over sin. They presented a powerful picture of Christ's work for us, and in us. They presented the eternal power that Jesus makes available to all who will avail themselves of it. The Lord opened the Scriptures to these brethren, and they recognized the gospel through­out the entire Bible. It is a mistaken position that their presentations are no longer relevant. Their messages are still as powerful and profound as 100 years ago. But although they took these truths to new heights and depths of understanding, they presented a message consistent with the Bible and the Spirit of Prophecy.

I have had the question asked, What do you think of this light which these men [A.T. Jones and EJ. Waggoner] are presenting? Why, I have been presenting it to you for the last forty-five years—the matchless charms of Christ. This is what I have been trying to present before your minds. Manuscript Releases, vol. 1, 142.

They both went astray, and there came a time when their message no longer agreed with truth. But before that time their message was safe and important. Their writings are not to be understood as on the level of prophetic writings, but the prophet endorsed their message in such a mighty way that to ignore their contributions is tantamount to disregarding the Spirit of Prophecy.

Not Infallible

I believe without a doubt that God has given precious truth at the right time to Brother Jones and Brother Waggoner. Do I place them as infallible? Do I say that they will not make a statement or have an idea that cannot be questioned or that cannot be error? Do I say so? No, I do not say any such thing. Nor do I say that of any man in the world. But I do say God has sent light, and do be careful how you treat it. We want the truth as it is in Jesus. 1888 Materials, 565.

When considering the work of modern Israel and that of ancient Israel, we may compare the work of Ellen White with that of Moses; and of Jones, Waggoner, and their message as the modem antitype of Joshua and Caleb. Both the ancient and the modern messages were rejected. Both messages proclaimed God's power to deliver. Both rejections prolonged the time in the wilderness.

A Rejected Message

We may have to remain here in this world because of insubordination many more years, as did the children of Israel; but for Christ's sake, His people should not add sin to sin by charging God with the consequence of their own wrong course of action. Evangelism, 696.

God has given Brother Jones and Brother Waggoner a message for the people. You do not believe that God has upheld them, but He has given them precious light, and their message has fed the people of God. When you reject the message borne by these men, you reject Christ, the Giver of the message. 1888 Materials, 1353.

They knew not that God had sent these young men, Elders Jones and Waggoner, to bear a special message to them, which they treated with ridicule and contempt, not realizing that the heavenly intelligences were looking upon them and registering their words in the books of heaven. Ibid., 1043.

The following information is all from the 1888 Materials except where otherwise noted. It illuminates the significance of the message they brought.

A Special Work

Elders Jones and Waggoner were given a special work to do for these last days. 1395.

He has given these men [A. T. Jones and E. 1. Waggoner] a work to do, and a message to bear which is present truth for this time. They knew that wherever this message comes its fruits are good. A vigor and a vital energy are brought into the church, and where the message is accepted, there hope and courage and faith beam in the countenances of all those who open their eyes to see, their understanding to perceive and their hearts to receive the great treasure of truth. 228.

The Laodicean Message

The message given us by AT. Jones, and E.J. Waggoner is the message of God to the Laodicean church, and woe be unto anyone who professes to believe the truth and yet does not reflect to others the God-given rays. 1052.

The Investigative Judgment Message

If you had been walking in the light, you would have drunk of the cup full of the wine of truth that has been held to your lips; but no, you have but in a partial way been in harmony with the work that brethren Jones and Waggoner have under God been doing to bring up the church to understand their true state and come to the supper prepared for them. The richest blessings from heaven have been proffered, but as repre­sented in the parable, many have clung to their old citizen's dress, not accepting the dress prepared for them by the Lord Jesus Christ. 1137.

The Loud-Cry Message

An unwillingness to yield up preconceived opinions, and to accept this truth, lay at the foundation of a large share of the opposition manifested at Minneapolis against the Lord's message through Brethren Waggoner and Jones. By exciting that opposition, Satan succeeded in shutting away from our people, in a great measure, the special power of the Holy Spirit that God longed to impart to them. The enemy prevented them from obtaining that efficiency which might have been theirs in carrying the truth to the world, as the apostles proclaimed it after the day of Pentecost. The light that is to lighten the whole earth with its glory was resisted, and by the action of our own brethren has been in a great degree kept away from the world. 1575.

The Lord has raised up Brother Jones and Brother Waggoner to proclaim a message to the world to prepare a people to stand in the day of God. The world is suffering the need of additional light to come to them upon the Scriptures,--additional proclamation of the principles of purity, lowliness, faith, and the righteousness of Christ. This is the power of God unto salvation to every one that believeth. Many will be moved and humbled. After a time they will drink of the waters of life. Jesus proclaimed Himself the bread of life: "I am the living bread which came down from heaven: if any man eat of this bread, he shall live for ever: and the bread that I will give is my flesh, which I will give for the life of the world." John 6:51. 1814-1815.

We have presented here the credentials of the message and the work of Jones and Waggoner. We stand in support of the message they brought to this church while they maintained their walk with the Lord. The problem that has arisen at this present time is not the content of their message, but a misinterpretation of their message by those who claim to have the greatest insight into that message.

Because of this misconception as we address the book Beyond Belief, we need to recognize that the theories in the book have been strongly supported by the 1888 Message Study Committee. To address the problems within the book necessitates addressing the problems within the 1888 Message Study Committee. From here on in this article we will address these theological problems as the New View.

Chapter 6 - The New View

When one looks at a symmetrical spider web it is impossible to know just where the spider began to spin his web. . Likewise to address the New View it is impossible to know which incorrect premise developed first, and which was created to support the last, and so on, and so on. We will thus proceed to demonstrate the problems that we see in the New View from what appears to be the logical sequence of this theology, although we cannot be sure what premise of the New View came first.

Before we begin, let us state adamantly that we believe the motives of everyone involved with the propagation of this New View are pure, but we likewise believe their conclusions are wrong. With those facts in mind, let us begin with the two Adams.

The Two Adams

The New View takes the passage in Romans 5 and 1 Corinthians 15 that deal with Adam and Christ and develops a type-antitype illustration that sets the foundation for their understanding of justification. In support of their position they refer to the writings and the sermons of Jones and Waggoner, and even of W.W. Prescott. We find no fault with the Bible type-antitype of the two Adams, nor do we find a problem with Jones, Waggoner, or Prescott's view of the two Adams. We do see a fundamental flaw in the New View's analysis of this truth. The New View makes several correct type-and-antitype observations about the two Adams. They are as follows; Adam is the first Adam, Christ is the second Adam.

Adam brought sin, death, condemnation, to all, by one, was earthly.

Christ brought righteousness, life, justification, to all, by one, was spiritual.

Notice in this type-antitype illustration, that sometimes the antitype fulfills the type by an opposite, that is, sin-righteousness; death-life; condemnation-justification; earthly-spiritual. But sometimes antitypes fulfill the type with an agreement, that is, to all men--to all men; by one man--by one man. We are in agreement with this analysis to this point. We will now address where we disagree and begin to demonstrate where this disagreement leads.

The adherents of the New View teach correctly that no man has a choice to be or not to be part of the first Adam's family tree. We can all trace our lineage to Adam through no choice of our own. Therefore they conclude that all men are in the second Adam through no choice of their own. In a type-and-antitype illustration we must determine the correct fulfillment based upon evidence. There is no evidence demonstrating that just because we had no choice to be born into the first Adam, we therefore have no choice but to be in the second Adam. Sometimes the fulfillment agrees; sometimes it is the opposite. The New View believes that all men are in Christ, through no choice of their own. We believe this concept goes directly contrary to the Bible; to the Spirit of Prophecy; and to the teachings of Jones, Waggoner, and Prescott: We believe being in Christ, the second Adam, is something a man chooses; and when he chooses to be born again, he is a new creation in Christ Jesus. This birth is what Jesus was talking about to Nicodemus. Consider the following:

Jesus answered and said unto him, Verily, verily, I say unto thee, Except a man be born again, he cannot see the kingdom of God. John 3:3.

Jesus answered, Verily, verily, I say unto thee, Except a man be born of water and of the Spirit, he cannot enter the kingdom of God. John 3:5.

The New View at this point divides justification into two phases. The first its advocates call the legal or forensic, and the second the justification-by-faith experience. They build this idea of legally being in Christ by dealing with the corporate nature of Adam and of the second Adam, Christ. They illustrate that God views all men in Adam from a corporate point of view, and likewise He views all men in Christ from a corporate view. Before we deal with the next ramification of this position, which is their two phases of justification, let us address a classic example they use to describe this corporate nature of mankind. They refer to Genesis 25:23, which states:

And the Lord said unto her, Two nations are in thy womb, and two manner of people shall be separated from thy bowels; and the one people shall be stronger than the other people; and the elder shall serve the younger.

They use this text and others to demonstrate that God recognizes the entire descendants of a man by merely looking at the man. We agree, but what they do not do with this verse is very important, and it is a continual blindness throughout their evaluation of the biblical­corporate concept. It affects their theology all the way through. What they fail to acknowledge is that God saw two nations in Rebekah, but He did not see the descendants of Jacob in the family of Esau, nor did He see the descendants of Esau in the family of Jacob. Both these men represented different families. Likewise the story of the two Adams represents two families, and God has the ability to see who will be the descendants of the first or the second Adam. But in this type-antitype illustration we have no choice about being in the first Adam, but we must choose to be in the second.

The New View's argument on this point states that because the first Adam's sin touched all men, therefore the second Adam's righteousness touches all men. The second Adam does touch all men, but not with justification. Christ's life and death provide a probationary life for all men that they may choose to enter the family tree of the second Adam through the provisions of the gospel, or they may choose to stay in the family tree of the first Adam. Christ definitely touches all men with a period of probation so that they may choose to be born again as a child of God, and no longer remain as a child of Satan, but this probationary period is not justification. The Bible and the Spirit of Prophecy define this gift to all men that Christ provides as grace, not justification. It is here that the difference between the advocates of the New View and the advocates of biblical justification begin to part.  

Chapter 7- Two Phases of Justification

This belief that all men are in Christ opens the doors to other problems in the New View. One of them is that justification consists of two phases. The first phase is the legal or forensic justification that all receive, and the second phase is the experience of justification that is received at the new birth. There are of course passages in the Bible, the Spirit of Prophecy, and in the teachings of Jones and Waggoner that do speak to the legal act accomplished at Calvary; but the evidence demonstrates that the legal action is effective only when the sinner responds to the conditions connected with the gospel. Repentance is the only way the sinner can receive justification, and to believe that we are justified while still' in our sins challenges a multitude of passages in inspiration.

Keep thee far from a false matter; and the innocent and righteous slay not: for I will not justify the wicked. Exodus 23:7.

Actual, Unconditional Salvation

The New View believes that a primary part of "the most precious message" as brought by Jones and Waggoner was the revelation of this two-phased justification. It is certainly bewildering that while claiming that in essence this two-phased justification is the heart of what Jones and Waggoner presented, we have no sermons or articles by either gentleman, or by Ellen White, that specifically address and clarify this position. One would think that if it was the message that was to lighten the earth with its glory, we should see some specific presentations on this topic. Instead, what is brought forth from Jones, Waggoner, Ellen White, and Prescott simply does not sustain the idea when read in context.

The New View teaches that this first phase, legal, forensic justification actually and unconditionally saves every human being, while they are yet sinners. They believe that when the sinner realizes that Christ has already actually and unconditionally justified and saved him, it will so overwhelm the sinner with a realization of God's love, that it. will change his heart. In connection with this unconditional salvation they believe that when the sinner realizes that Christ already died the second death in his place, his heart will be so softened by that manifestation of God's agape love, that it is actually easier to be saved than lost.

We do not want to downplay the story of the cross and the love there revealed, but we think God uses that story to call or draw the sinner to Himself and then justifies him. We believe the calling of God is unconditional, but salvation and justification are conditional.

Calling, Drawing or Justifying?

The New View believes that in the life and death of Christ all men were actually and unconditionally saved, until they reject the Holy Spirit and are lost. They view all men as saved in Christ, whereas the Bible and the Spirit of Prophecy speak of the world as unsaved.

Shall we not as a people, by our business arrangements, by our attitude toward a world unsaved, bear a testimony even more clear and decisive than that borne by us twenty or thirty years ago? Testimonies, vol. 7, 54.

The message of the third angel of Revelation 14 is now to be proclaimed not only in lands far off, but in neglected places close by, where multitudes dwell unwarned and unsaved. God is calling his people at this time to a long-delayed work. Review and Herald, April 7, 1910.

Not only does God view the world as unsaved, but the third angel's message also views men as unsaved. The New View takes an opposite perspective to this, and teaches that all men are actually saved. They teach that because Christ was the second Adam, what He accomplished is actually an accomplished fact in the sense that all men are in the second Adam and therefore in Christ. The truth is that no unsaved person is in Christ, for the unsaved are out of Christ. Consider the following:

Two Phases of Justification

The neglect of home religion, the neglect to train your children, is most displeasing to God. If one of your children were in the river, battling with the waves and in imminent danger of drowning, what a stir there would be! What efforts would be made, what prayers offered, what enthusiasm manifested, to save the human life! But here are your children out of Christ, their souls unsaved. Perhaps they are even rude and uncourteous, a reproach to the Adventist name. They are perishing without hope and without God in the world, and you are careless and unconcerned. Testimonies, vol. 5, 423. (All emphasis supplied unless otherwise noted.)

The truth is that if you are saved, you are in Christ. Notice in the following quotation the connection between being saved and being justified:

It is God that circumcises the heart. The whole work is the Lord's from the beginning to the end. The perishing sinner may say: "I am a lost sinner; but Christ came to seek and to save that which was lost. He says, 'I came not to call the righteous, but sinners to repentance' (Mark 2: 17). I am a sinner, and He died upon Calvary's cross to save me. I need not remain a moment longer unsaved. He died and rose again for my justification, and He will save me now. I accept the forgiveness He has promised." Selected Messages, book 1,392.

If this two-phase justification were truth, Ellen White's position on justification would have to be thrown out. With her specific statements about the justification-by-faith experience and her lack of information on the so-called first-phase legal, forensic justification, her authority as a prophetess would certainly need to be challenged. She viewed people as unsaved, and out of Christ, until they came to Christ and accepted the provisions of the gospel. Consider the fol­lowing:

Many, many souls are unsaved. Fasten yourselves by faith to the Lord, and tell sinners that the Saviour is calling for them. Entreat them to tarry not; for He is calling, "Come; for all things are now ready." Review and Herald, July 26, 1898.

But this time has not yet come. Mercy's sweet voice is still to be heard. The Lord is now calling sinners to come to Him. The Seventh-day Adventist Bible Commentary, vol. 3, 1150.

Notice here that the souls that are being called are not saved. What the New View confuses as the first phase of justification, is really the calling of God. They take the attributes of the calling of God, and assign to them the new title of first-phase, legal, forensic justification in order to sustain their concept of the second Adam.

The calling or drawing of God are interchangeable concepts, and just as the so-called first-phase justification bases its message on what happened at Calvary, the calling or drawing is also the story of Calvary, for Jesus stated, "And I, in be lifted up from the earth, will draw all men unto me." John 12:32.

The repentance that God accepts is a repentance that needs not to be repented of —a repentance revealed by a radical change of mind and heart. The heart must be brought into subjection to Christ, and a repentance that brings about such a change can never originate with man. Only from Him who declared, "I, if I be lifted up from the earth, will draw all men unto Me," can such repentance proceed. As the sinner yields to the drawing power of Christ's love, sorrow for sin and a desire to turn from his evil ways fill his heart and, as he seeks help from God, strength from on high is given him. The Saviour says, "Let him take hold of My strength, that he may make peace with Me; and he shall make peace with Me." Signs of the Times, March 18, 1893.

When the New View turns the calling or drawing of God into a justification that includes all humanity, they of necessity make this justification unconditional. The reason is that they confuse justification with the calling and retain the attributes of the calling of God. Since calling and drawing are unconditional, the New View's first phase justification is likewise unconditional. Consistency demands to turn this first-phase justification and salvation into an unconditional salvation. But salvation has conditions. The calling of God does not. As you consider the next quotation for its content, ask yourself why at this point Mrs. White does not take time to address the first-phase legal justification if it were actually truth.

The question will come up, How is it? Is it by conditions that we receive salvation? Never by conditions do we come to Christ. And if we come to Christ, then what is the condition? The condition is that by living faith we lay hold wholly and entirely upon the merits of the blood of a crucified and risen Saviour. When we do that, then we work the works of righteousness. But when God is calling the sinner in our world, and inviting him, there is no condition there; he is drawn by the invitation of Christ and it is not, "Now you have got to respond in order to come to God." The sinner comes, and as he comes and views Christ elevated upon that cross of Calvary, which God impresses upon his mind, there is a love beyond anything that is imagined that he has taken hold of. And what then? As he beholds that love, why he says that he is a sinner. Well, then, what is sin? Why at once he has to come here to find out. There is no definition given in our world but that transgression is the transgression of the law; and therefore he finds out what sin is. And there is repentance toward God; and what then?--why, faith toward our Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ that can speak pardon to the transgressor. 1888 Materials, 537.

What is to bring the sinner to the knowledge of his sins unless he knows what sin is? The only definition of sin in the Word of God is given us in 1 John 3:4: "Sin is the transgression of the law." The sinner must be made to feel that he is a transgressor. Christ dying upon the cross of Calvary is drawing his attention. Why did Christ die? Because it was the only means for man to be saved. He became our substitute and surety. He took upon Himself our sins that He might impute His own righteousness to all who believe in Him. The love of Jesus Christ displayed for man in the sufferings He endured on the cross of Calvary is a mystery even to the angelic host of heaven. Amazing love of the Father to give His Son to die to ransom the sinner! Oh, what love, what inexpressible love! Ibid., 780.

Mrs. White is strangely silent on this so-called forensic justification, yet she is perfectly clear that the gospel is conditional, but the calling is not.

 You are to yield to the drawing power of Christ's love to-day, and come to Him as you are. As you come, He will continue to draw you, until every thought shall be brought into captivity to Jesus. When the enemy would keep you from your Saviour, accusing you of being a sinner, tell him that you are entitled to go to the Lord, since He has said, "I came not to call the righteous, but sinners to repentance." The accuser of the brethren told the repentant publican that he was a sinner; and he dared not so much as lift up his eyes to heaven, but smote upon his breast, and cried, "God, be merciful to me, a sinner," and he went down to his house justified. The coming of the sinner is not unwelcome to Christ. He says, "Come unto Me, all ye that labour and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest. Take my yoke upon you, and learn of Me; for I am meek and lowly in heart, and ye shall find rest unto your souls." The Messenger, January 18, 1893.

The New View argues here that the calling is the first-phase (forensic or legal) justification. But we are plainly told that calling and justification are different.

Calling and justification are not one and the same thing. Calling is the drawing of the sinner to Christ, and it is a work wrought by the Holy Spirit upon the heart, convicting of sin, and inviting to repentance. Selected Messages, book 1, 390.

When the sinner believes that Christ is his personal Saviour, then according to His unfailing promises, God pardons his sin and justifies him freely. The repentant soul realizes that his justification comes because Christ, as his Substitute and Surety, has died for him, is his atonement and righteousness. Faith and Works, 101.

If the New View is correct, then all who are called are justified and glorified, and the all, is all men. We reject this position. God offers His salvation to all men, but it is provisional. When God uses this type of universal language He is speaking of provisions for all, not the inclusion of all.