ADVENTISM’S NEW VIEW

‘It’s Beyond Belief’

JEFF PIPPENGER

Chapter 8 - Universal Language

The New View argues strongly that the passages in the Bible, the Spirit of Prophecy, and the writings of Jones and Wag­goner presenting the universal aspect of God's calling dem­onstrate that all men are actually justified and saved until they reject that salvation. Consider the following example:

Therefore as by the offence of one judgment came upon all men to condemnation; even so by the righteousness of one the free gift came upon all men unto justification of life. Romans 5:18.

And we know that all things work together for good to them that love God, to them that are called according to his purpose. For whom he did foreknow, he also did predestinate to be conformed to the image of his Son, that he might be the firstborn among many brethren. More­over whom he did predestinate, them he also called: and whom he called, them he also justified; and whom he justified, them he also glorified. Romans 8:28-30.

The New View states that Romans 5: 18 proves that all men are justified. Then Romans 8:28-30 would necessarily show that those who are justified, glorified, and called are those that have been predestinated. How then do we understand the many following passages?

Your obedience to God's commandments will prove that you are predestinated to a glorious inheritance. You are elected to be laborers together with God, to work in harmony with Christ, to wear His yoke, to lift His burden, and to follow in His footsteps. You have been provided with means whereby you may ascertain what to do to make your calling and election sure. Search the Scriptures, and you will find that not a son or daughter of Adam is elected to be saved in disobedience to God's commandments. Review and Herald, October 28, 1897.

Wonderful possibilities are provided for every one who has faith in Christ. No walls are built to keep any living soul from salvation. The predestination, or election, of which God speaks, includes all who will accept Christ as a personal Saviour, who will return to their loyalty, to perfect obedience to all God's commandments. This is the effectual salvation of a peculiar people, chosen by God from among men. All who are willing to be saved by Christ are the elect of God. It is the obedient who are predestinated from the foundation of the world. "To as many as received him, to them he gave power to become the sons of God, even to as many as believed on him." Gospel Herald, June 11, 1902. 

Chapter 9 - The "In Christ" Motif

As we finish the overview of the New View we need to address briefly the "in Christ" motif. One of the centerpieces of the New View's teaching is this motif of being in Christ. This phrase comes from the Bible, and was a powerful theme used by Jones, Waggoner, and Prescott during the post-1888 time period. During the 1895 General Conference session Jones and Prescott preached a series of sermons developing this motif in a powerful way. Many propagators of the New View point to this series to support their position regarding the two Adams. A close study of the materials does not support the all-important basic premise of the New View, however; that basic premise being that everyone is in Christ, or in the second Adam. Let us now look at some extracts from this series of sermons given in 1895 by Jones and Prescott.

Prescott and the "In Christ" Motif

At this point we contend that the whole New View theology stands or falls on the premise of whether we are in Christ, the second Adam, by virtue of our birth into humanity, as opposed to being born again into Christ. It is primarily this theme we will look at as we dissect three sermons from W. W. Prescott. These three sermons have been put into a pamphlet by members of the 1888 Message Study Committee, and may be obtained through them. We propose a few questions to illustrate the quotations:

What does it mean that Jesus is the second Head of the family?

"And this second man, the Lord from heaven, sustains the same relation to his family that Adam sustained to his family. That is, He became the second father of the family." Page 3. "Now what does it mean to us that Jesus Christ became the second head of this human family? It means this: Just as, when Adam was created, all the members of the human family were created in him, so also when the second Man was created' according to God in righteousness and true holiness,' all the members of that family were created in Him. It means that, as God saw in Adam all the members of the human family, so He saw in Christ, the second Father of the family, all the members of the divine-human family." Page 6.

Please note here that Prescott calls Adam the father of the human family, and Christ the Father of the divine-human family. When God sees all men in Christ, He sees all men that are members of the divine-human family.

How does one identify a member of the divine-human family?

"Mark 3: 31 'There came then his brethren and his mother (Now these were those that were actually related to Him by the ties of the natural flesh), and, standing without, sent unto him, calling him. And the multitude sat about him, and they said unto him, Behold, thy mother and thy brethren without seek for thee. And he answered them, saying, Who is my mother, or my brethren? And he looked round about on them which sat about him, and said, Behold my mother and my brethren! For whosoever shall do the will of God, the same is my brother, and my sister, and mother.' That is, whoever is born into the family of God is as closely related to Jesus Christ, and that by flesh and blood, as is a mother to her own son." Pages 9-10.

To do the will of God brings one into the divine-human family.

What is the only question to be settled?

"And do you not see that the only question to be settled is, Are we in Him? That is all. Are we in Him? If so, just as soon as we come into the family, we avail ourselves of all the rights and privileges of the family." Page 18.

We must come into the divine-human family to be in Christ. We are not simply in Christ by virtue of being a member of the human family.

How are we born into the divine-human family?

"Because when we are born into the divine-human family, and become really in Him, by our choice. . . . Everything comes to us just as soon as we are born into the family, just as soon as we become sons of God." Pages 18-19.

We must choose to be born into this divine-human family.

What is Christian experience?

"Shall I remain in Him? Shall I continue to choose Him, and be in Him? That is Christian experience. . . . It is now a good time to say that this union by which we are in Him is of that nature that it is impossible except as He is also in us. And so reveal His Son ‘in me' ." Page 19.

Christian experience is choosing to stay in Christ, and it is impossible to be in Him if He is not in us. Note here that Prescott teaches clearly that it is impossible to be in Christ, without Him being in us.

Can we leave the divine-human family?

"Just as soon as one is in Him, he is safe from the pursuer just as long as he stays in Him. If he gets outside of Him, it is at his own risk. He is likely then to pay the penalty, but if he abides in Him, he is safe. 'There is no condemnation'." Page 24.

Does one receive the benefits of justification before he yields to Christ's drawing?

"Because of that, every human being receives a tendency or feels a drawing toward righteousness; and if he does not resist, he will be drawn to righteousness, but he will receive for himself no consideration because of that drawing to righteousness unless he, himself, yields to that tendency. He will be drawn to Christ, he will be in Christ, and then he will personally receive the benefits of justification of life which came upon all men, just as in the other case when he yields to the tendency to sin he receives the condemnation personally which came upon all men in Adam." Page 27.

Justification comes only when we yield, and we do not receive the benefits of justification until we yield. If Prescott, Jones, and Waggoner actually taught and believed in a two-phase justification, why does Prescott not take this opportunity to clarify which justification he is dealing with here? He is specifically stating that this particular justification is the one that benefits all men.

What is necessary for human beings to lay hold of justification?

"But while he has done all this for every human being, yet it avails only for those who personally apprehend it by their own faith, who lay hold of the justification provided. . . .Then the provision which has been made freely for all avails for him as an individual and when, by faith, he has made a personal application to his own case of the justification which comes from God through the blood of Christ, then as a consequence, as the inevitable result, Christ's works appear in him." Pages 28-29.

The provision of justification is laid hold of by faith.

When are we born into the divine-human family?

"The moment he is born into the family of God and believes in Jesus Christ. . . . In Him was life. There is the secret of it all. In Him was life. Apart from Him there is no life. When we are in Him by birth into the family, then we receive life." Page 32.

We are born into the divine-human family when we believe in Jesus Christ. Before this time we are in the human family, which is represented by the first Adam, and is an unsaved condition.

W. W. Prescott presented these sermons at the same time and place that AT. Jones was presenting his 26 sermons on the third angel's message. Jones even refers to Prescott's presentations within his own sermons. Evidently they saw no discrepancy between their presentations. Prescott presented a total of six sermons at these meetings, but these three are the ones put together in the little book titled In Christ, The Divine-Human Family. There is no reason to think that his presentations upholds the New View. He made a point to teach that we are in the divine-human family of which the second Adam, Jesus Christ, is the Head, only as we choose to respond to the provisions necessary to receive justification. Before we turn to Jones, let us consider a sermon by Prescott presented at Armandale Camp Meeting in Victoria, Australia, on October 31, 1895. It was published in The Bible Echo, January 6, 1896. What makes this sermon of interest is not that Prescott is once again addressing the "in Christ motif," but the glorious approvals it received from Ellen White. Let us consider some of those first.

I have just been listening to a discourse given by Professor Prescott. It was a most powerful appeal to the people. . . . The presence of the Lord is in our meetings day by day. The Lord has visited Prescott in a special manner and given him a special message for the people. . . . the truth flows forth from him in rich currents.

The Lord has sent Prescott; he is no empty vessel, but full of heavenly treasure. He has presented troths in clear and simple style, rich, in nourishment.

Prescott's mind has been fruitful in the troth; may God guide us into all truth. Review and Herald, January 7, 1896.

With that endorsement let us consider Prescott's "in Christ" motif.

"Furthermore: every one of us was represented in Jesus Christ when the Word was made flesh and dwelt among us. We were all there in Jesus Christ. We were all represented in Adam after the flesh; and when Christ came as the second Adam, He stepped into the place of the second Adam, and thus we are all represented in Him. He invites us to step into that spiritual family. He has formed this new family, of which He is the Head. He is the new man. In Him we have union with the divine and the human. In the new family every one of us is represented. 'And as I may so say, Levi also, who receiveth tithes, paid tithes in Abraham. For he was yet in the loins of his father, when Melchisedec met him.' When Melchisedec went out to meet Abraham returning from the spoil, Abraham paid him a tenth of all. Levi was still in the loins of his father Abraham; but inasmuch as he was a descendant of Abraham, what Abraham did, the Scripture says that Levi did in Abraham. Levi descended from Abraham according to the flesh. He had not been born when Abraham paid tithe; but in that Abraham paid tithe, he paid tithe also. It is exactly so in this spiritual family. What Christ did as Head of this human family, we did in Him. He was our representative; He became flesh; He became we. He did not become simply a man, but He became flesh, and everyone that should be born into His family was represented in Jesus Christ when He lived here in the flesh. You see, then, that all that Christ did, every one who connects himself with this family is given credit for as doing it in Christ. Christ was not a representative outside him, disconnected from him; but as Levi paid tithe in Abraham, everyone who should afterwards be born into this spiritual family, did what Christ did." Quoted in The Word Made Flesh, by Ralph Larson, 95-96.

Prescott recognized that Christ represented all those who would be born into Christ's spiritual family. When advocates of the New View read this statement, they say Prescott is teaching that all men are legally in Christ. They do not seethe passages that state, "Every­one that should be born into His family was represented in Jesus Christ. " That is the qualifying understanding of Prescott here and throughout his presentations. When Prescott speaks of "all men" being represented in Christ he believed the "all" were those who are born into that very family. Now let us consider A.T. Jones.  

Chapter 10 - A. T. Jones and the "In Christ" Motif

The first nine sermons of the 26 Jones presented in the 1895 General Conference session pertained to coming out of Babylon. In sermon number ten Jones opens up the theme prevailing through his next 16 sermons. His theme is the "in Christ" motif as related to the first and the second Adam. In sermon number ten he opens the study by asking how we can truly be separated from Babylon, and he then answers, "God has made complete provision for this. That provision is already for our acceptance." Page 175. The context for his following presentation is set as a provision that God has made for people to come out of Babylon.

Sermon 11 presents the concept that Adam and Eve surrendered the mind of Christ for the mind of Satan when they fell. He teaches that the mind of Satan is enmity against God, and that Satan's mind and the enmity were passed upon all men. He also says that the gospel promises to destroy this enmity, and then he states, "We know that this enmity--this mind of self and Satan--separated man from God; but God opened a way for man to return. The Lord gave man a chance to choose which world we will have. And this is the whole subject of our study. . . . It was to give man a chance to choose which world, that the Lord said to Satan, 'I will put enmity' between thee and the seed of the woman. And therefore the only, and everlasting question is which world? Which world? Which world shall a man choose? And when God, in His wondrous mercy, has opened the way, and given us the power to choose a better world than this, why should there be any kind of hesitation?" Page 55.

In sermon 12 he takes up the theme that Christ destroyed the enmity against the law of God when he was incarnated. He took our fallen flesh and destroyed that enmity. He then touches how we to may have this enmity destroyed in us. He states, "If there be those in the audience to whom this seems obscure, and who would say, 'I can not see that;' . . . . I would say to such, you will never get it in that way. . . . It is in Him that it is done; not outside of Him. In Him only can it be known, not outside of Him at all. Surrender to Him, yield to Him, sink self with Him, then it will all be plain enough." Page 217, and then on page 218 he states, "No; we are to go to Him for it; there is where it is; and when we go to Him, we are to enter into Him by faith and the Spirit of God, and there remain and ever 'be found in Him.' Philippians 3:9." Now before we proceed farther into this "in Christ" motif let us recognize that sermon 10 speaks of provisions; 11 speaks of our exercising choice; 12 teaches we enter into Him by faith, yielding, and surrendering. The New View teaches we are in Him through no choice of our own. Selah.

In 13 Jones focuses on Christ taking our human nature, and that when He took human nature-He took our individual human nature-and it is because of this fact He was tempted in all points, and therefore He can give us individually the victory against temptation. He closes with this thought, "This is not to say that we have no more fighting to do. But it is to say, and to say emphatically and joyfully, that in Christ we fight the fight of victory. Out of Christ, we fight, but it is all a defeat. In Him our victory is complete. But, Oh, do not forget the expression: It is in Him." Page 235. At this point you can at least draw one observation. Jones recognized that one could be out of Christ. The New View teaches we are all "in Christ."

In sermon 14 Jones begins to discuss the two Adams in more depth. He speaks about the tendencies to sin that Jesus defeated, and that in Christ we also defeat. Notice what he states about the victory over the flesh, and the provision for that victory. "This is the victory that belongs to the believer in Jesus. It is true that, although a man may have all this in Jesus, he cannot profit by it without himself being a believer in Jesus. Take the man who does not believe in Jesus at all tonight. Has not Christ made all the provision for him that He has for Elijah, who is in heaven tonight? And if this man wants to have Christ for his Saviour, if he wants provision made for all his sins, or to save him from them? No; that is all done; He made all that provision for every man when He was in the flesh, and every man who believes in Him receives it without there being any need of any part of it being done over again." Page 268. On the next page he states: "The first Adam's righteousness would have meant all to us, and the second Adam's righteousness means all to as many as believe." Further on the same page he states: "In Jesus Christ there is furnished in completeness all that man needs or ever can have in righteousness; and all there is for any man to do is to choose Christ, and then it is his." Jones not only taught here, but he also purposely emphasizes that victory comes from being "in Christ" but it is provisional, and only embraced by believers. He teaches that what was done for all men, was a provision that we must choose. To be in Christ, the second Adam, one must choose; believe; and accept the provision. He draws a specific and important parallel when he teaches that Adam's righteousness would have meant everything to all of us, whereas Christ's righteousness means all to "as many as believe."

At this point we suggest that when the New View teaches that the message of AT. Jones was that all men are legally "in Christ" by virtue of being born into humanity, before being born of the Spirit; they are absolutely wresting out of context not only the words of Jones, but also his very themes. To try to avoid this conclusion by stating that at this point Jones was not specifically addressing the first-phase, legal, forensic justification only raises the question as to why he would not at this very point address that very subject if he believed in it. We will now list various lines found in the last 12 sermons and just note the page number.

"And all that the Son asks of any man, in order to accomplish this in him, is that the man will let the Lord have him as the Lord Jesus did." Page 303. We must surrender, to be in Him.

"The battle is fought in the realm of thoughts. . . . And by that means He has brought that divine mind to every man on earth. Therefore, every man for the choosing and by the choosing, can have that divine mind that conquers sin in the flesh. . . . So there is our victory; in Him is our victory; and it is all in having that mind which was in Him." Pages 328-329. We must choose to be in Him.

"And He brings it into my human nature yet, to your human nature at our choice, by the Spirit of God bringing to us His divine presence, and emptying us of ourselves, and causing God to appear instead of self." Page 331. "Christ emptied Himself, in order that God might be manifest in the flesh, in sinful flesh; and when He comes to us, upon our choice, bringing to us that divine mind of His. . . . Therefore when, by our choice, that divine mind comes to us, the result is certain that ourselves will be emptied as that divine mind dwells in us." Page 350. "I say it over. I say it is just as much our place, our privilege, and our right, to claim in Christ, in Him only, and as we believe in Him--and to thank God for freedom from the service of sin, as it is to breathe the breath that we breathe as we get up in the morning. How can I ever have the blessing and the benefit there is in the thing if I do not take the thing? If! am always hesitating, and afraid that I am not free from the service of sin. . . . But in Him, when God has wrought for us indeed freedom from the service of sin, we have the right to thank God for it: and as certainly as we claim it, and thank Him for it, we shall enjoy it. 'He that is dead is freed from sin' (margin. 'is justified from sin'). And it is in Him; and we have it in Him by faith." Page 352. We are in Him by faith, and by choice. "Is Jesus alive? Yes. Thank the Lord! Who died? Jesus died, and we are dead in Him. And He is alive; and we who believe in Him are alive with Him." Page 353. "That is where God has put us in Christ. So then, as we, along with Him, in the heavenly existence. . . . are made to sit in Christ Jesus, shall we sit there in Him? . . . Is it not plain, then, that Jesus Christ has brought heaven and earth to him who believes?" Page 364. "That purpose from eternity is purposed in Jesus Christ, that purpose embraces us. When we yield to Christ, sinking ourselves in Him, we become part of that eternal purpose." Page 366. We must yield, to be in Him.

"Read on therefore. 'Whom He did foreknow, He also did predestinate, . . . them He also called: and whom He called (those in 'whom that call meets its purpose, and in whom the call is effective. He calls every soul, that is true on His part; but the call does not meet its purpose; only those who respond and meet the purpose of that call, in whom the call takes hold), them also He justified: and whom He justified (mark, not those who justify themselves, those whom He justified), them He also glorified." Page 367. The 'all' that are justified are only those who respond to the provisions.

"Those who thus accept Christ are looked upon by God not as they are in Adam, but as they are in Jesus Christ, as the sons and daughters of God. He looks at us as we are in Christ; for in Him He has perfected His plan concerning us." Page 368. We must accept Christ to be in Him.

"We were strangers to the family. We had no connection with the family at all. But the Lord called" and we came; and now He has adopted us into the family." Pages 396-397. Only those who come are adopted.

"God has been calling from this world unto Himself. . . . God has been calling people from the ranks of Satan. . . . God was calling and receiving those who would turn to Him from the power of Satan." Pages 447-448. "But nothing but faith in Jesus Christ can make a man righteous; and nothing but that can keep him righteous." Page 473. Only faith makes one righteous, (justified).

"And if we are not in Jesus Christ, we are not in the third angel's message. In Jesus Christ the enmity is abolished. . . . until that enmity is abolished by a living faith in Jesus Christ, that surrenders the will to Him, to receive that living, divine image of which we heard in Brother Prescott's lesson tonight." Page 474. We must surrender the will to be in Christ Jesus.

"Nothing, nothing, nothing but faith in Jesus Christ, and Him alone nothing but that saves the soul, and nothing but that keeps the soul saved." Page 475. "But these formalists, not having the salvation of Jesus Christ in themselves by living faith, not being in Him. . . ." Page 493. Not everyone is "in Him" nor does everyone have salvation, whereas the New View tells us that Jones presented the message that all are unconditionally saved until they reject that salvation.

"He wants us therefore to be so imbued with the life of Jesus Christ itself, and the life of Christ Himself, that the living life of Jesus Christ and the principles of the truth of God shall shine and work in the life, in order that the life of Christ shall still be manifest in human flesh. That is where God has brought us in Him. And we are brought to this place in Him by being by faith ourselves crucified with Him, and dead with Him, and buried with Him." Page 494.

There is certainly much that we did not address in these sermons, but it should be clear that AT. Jones did not believe that to be "in Christ" was a legal forensic justification that proclaimed an uncon­ditional salvation to all men. Jones' "in Christ" motif taught that the second Adam provided a way for man-by faith-to claim all the victories that Christ accomplished in His life, through the power of the indwelling Holy Spirit. It was impossible in Jones or Prescott's presentations to be "in Christ" without Christ being in you. This view is also the teaching of E.J. Waggoner, which we will take up next. 

Chapter 11 - E. J. Waggoner and the New View

As we address whether Waggoner's message sustains the New View we will simply consider some of the basic premises of the New View and see what he says. Does Waggoner believe in the two-phase justification theory? The advocates of the New View state that he does. They refer to statements that he made, 'that in their mind confirm this view. Let us consider one that they quote often in their material.

"There is no exception here. As the condemnation came upon all, so the justification comes upon all . . . . the free gift comes upon all." E.J. Waggoner, Signs a/the Times, March 12, 1896.

This quotation is generally left right there. But what is Waggoner trying to convey in his total presentation? Let us add the second paragraph below this statement and see whether Waggoner really believes that all men are justified. Notice the subtitle in bold type with which he begins this paragraph. He must be concluding his thought on this topic here, not in the previous quotation. Consider.

"Why Not All? The text says that 'by obedience of One shall many be made righteous.' Someone may ask, 'Why are not all made righteous by the obedience of One?' The reason is that they do not wish to be. If men were counted righteous simply because One was righteous eighteen hundred years ago, then all would have to be righteous by the same obedience. There would be no justice in counting righteousness to one and not all, if it were in that way. But we have seen that it is not so." Ibid.

Waggoner obviously recognized the need of the sinner to choose this righteous, justified experience. That is why he states, "But we have seen that it is not so." Waggoner is not vague in his understanding of justification. He goes to great lengths to teach that justification is receiving the life of Christ, and it is also receiving Christ's righteousness. To make Waggoner appear to teach that man can be justified without receiving the life of Christ is to eliminate a large percentage of his articles and sermons, for this was one of his main themes, if not his main theme altogether. Consider the following: .

"Then the free gift is the righteousness of Christ. How do we get the righteousness of Christ? We cannot separate the righteousness of Christ from Christ Himself. Therefore for men to get the righteousness of Christ, they must have the life of Christ. So the free gift comes upon all men who are justified by the life of Christ. Justification is life. It is the life of Christ. 'For as by one man's disobedience many were made sinners, even so by the obedience of one many shall be made righteous.' These are simple and positive statements. No good can come to a man by questioning them. He only reaps barrenness to his soul. Let us accept them and believe them. 'The free gift came upon all men to justification of life.' Are all men going to be justified? All men might if they would; but says Christ: 'Ye would not come to Me that ye might have life.' All are dead in trespasses and sins. The grace of God that brings salvation has appeared unto all men. It comes right within the reach of all men, and those who do not get it are those that do not want it." Bible Studies on the Book of Romans, page 32.

He is teaching here that all are not justified. If the "most precious message" that Jones and Waggoner brought was the New View's two-phase justification, why did not Jones and Waggoner directly address this thought when they dealt specifically with justification? If this two-phase justification is the message that is to lighten the world with its glory, why did they not specifically address both aspects of this justification when they were addressing justification? "The call is to all. All do not come, all do not take the advice of Peter, and make their calling and election sure; but that is not the fault of God's provision. Now we are 'called' and 'elected.' Sometimes we get wonderfully afraid of that word, 'elected.' Is there any reason to be afraid of that term? No; for every individual can be a candidate, and every candidate can be elected. Here is something that everybody can have, and the fact that one is elected, does not debar everyone else from being elected. In 2 Timothy 1:9 we read, 'Who hath saved us, and called us with a holy calling, not according to our works, but according to His own purpose and grace, which was given us in Christ Jesus before the world began.' Mark you, His own purpose is a purpose of grace, and the free gift of grace comes upon all unto justification of life. Now note what the election is: 'Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, who hath blessed us with all spiritual blessings in heavenly places in Christ: According as He hath chosen us in Him before the foundation of the world, that we should be holy and without blame before Him in love. Having predestinated us unto the adoption of children by Jesus Christ to Himself, according to the good pleasure of His will. To the praise and the glory of grace, wherein He hath made us accepted in the beloved. '

'He hath blessed us in all spiritual blessings!' In what?' In Christ; therefore just the moment you give up self and take Christ instead, you have everything that Christ has to give. . . . Everything that is necessary for life and godliness is given unto us. In whom? In Christ . . . . and everyone is called to the fellowship of Christ, if he will accept it." Ibid., pages 69-70.

Once again he limits the called to those who accept the calling, not just everyone. Also he addresses what he understands as being "in Christ." And just as do Jones and Prescott, Ellen White, and the Bible, he states that to be "in Christ" you must give up self and take Christ. You can not be "in Christ" without Christ being in you.

"Now God foreknew us in Christ, and in Him in the beginning we were predestined to just such a place in earth in its state of purity as God wants us to have. I am so thankful that we may have Christ if we will, and if we will believe Him and trust Him, we know that we are predestined to a place in His kingdom." Ibid., page 73.

"Those that are justified will be saved, and those that are not justified will be lost, and the only way we can be justified is by the life of Christ. Therefore we preach justification through Christ's life in Him, and death out of Him." Ibid., page 104.

We have looked at what Waggoner taught in regard to God calling all men, and have noted that he taught that it was only those who respond to the call who receive the free gift. He also taught in the previous quotation that to be "in Christ" is to be justified and saved, and to be out of Christ is to be lost. Does not the New View teach we are all "in Christ"? He taught that we are born into a probationary life and in order to be "in Christ," we must come to Him. Consider the following:

"This probationary life is given for the purpose of giving us a chance to acknowledge Him as Father and to become sons indeed. But unless we come back to Him we shall die as slaves of sin." Glad Tidings, page 90.

How can one take his teachings and say that he taught that we are in Christ unconditionally when he draws such a distinction between the saved and the lost? How?

"This is the same bondage in which all unconverted persons find themselves. . . . 'Everyone who commits sin is a slave to sin.' John 8:34. 'He who commits sin is of the devil.' 1 John 3:8. . . . If a man is not a Christian, he is a heathen; there is no middle ground. If a Christian apostatizes, he becomes a heathen." Ibid., 93. "There is only 'one faith' (verse 5), the faith of Jesus, as there is only one Lord; and those who have not that faith must necessarily be out of Christ." Ibid., 37. .

How do we assign to Waggoner this two-phase justification when confronted with his clear definition of what justification is? How? He states there "is no middle ground." The New View creates a spiritualistic middle ground where even the open sinner is actually saved, without receiving the life of Christ.

"The meaning of the word 'justified' is 'made righteous.' The Latin word for righteousness is justitia. To be just is to be righteous. Then we add the termination fy, from the Latin word, meaning 'to make,' and we have the exact equivalent of the simple term, 'make righteous'." Ibid., 40.

Let us close our brief consideration of Waggoner with another classic passage that the New View uses to try to show that Waggoner teaches unconditional salvation.

"All this deliverance is 'according to the will of our God and Father.' The will of God is our sanctification. 1 Thessalonians 4:3. He wills that all men should be saved and come to a knowledge of the truth. 1 Timothy 2:4. And He 'accomplishes all things according to the counsel of His will.' Ephesians 1:11, 'Do you mean to teach universal salvation?' someone may ask. We mean to teach just what the Word of God teaches that 'the grace of God hath appeared, bringing salvation for every man', and has given it to him; but the majority spurn it and throw it away. The judgment will reveal the fact that full salvation was given to every man and that the lost have deliberately thrown away their birthright possession." Ibid., 13-14.

To understand that Waggoner is here saying that every man is saved would contradict several of the previous quotations and many others of his that we have not cited. In the second sentence of the quotation under consideration he says, "that all men should be saved" not that all men are saved. What Waggoner consistently teaches is that grace brings a promise, and that the promise is a reality when accepted by faith.

As we close our consideration of Jones, Prescott, and Waggoner in relation to the New View we must ask some serious questions. The advocates of the New View are quick to imply that if people do not assent to their understanding, they may very well be on the verge of rejecting the same message that was rejected in 1888. This consideration is certainly most sobering.

No one would deny that the experience of justification by faith in the heart of God's people is what has been holding back the latter rain. Certainly, Satan is still actively involved in preventing the final work to move forward. But there are other sobering considerations. Satan succeeded in resisting the "most precious message" a hundred years ago by creating a situation where the true message was rejected by the leadership. Would it be beyond his cunning to attempt to repress the message now by corrupting that "most precious message" within the very group who profess to be proclaiming and upholding' that message? The theological perspective contained in this New View is allegedly based on the Bible and the Spirit of Prophecy in connection with the messages of Jones and Waggoner. We must reject the basic conclusions developed by the advocates of the New View as patently incorrect. But at the same time we must insist that in doing so we are not rejecting the message brought by Jones and Waggoner.

At this point we have addressed what seems to be the root of the misunderstandings within the New View, and as we begin to address the book Beyond Belief we will examine some of the fruit developed from this root.

View Before we do so, however, let us address another position within the New View that relates to the consistency in reflecting the true 1888 message. If the advocates of the New View believe that they are presenting the message of Jones and Waggoner, should they not be consistent with Jones and Waggoner's themes? We have already demonstrated what we believe to be many glaring inconsistencies, but we will here raise one more issue.

CONTINUE- 5

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