ADVENTISM’S NEW VIEW

‘It’s Beyond Belief’

JEFF PIPPENGER

Preface

In the late 70s and early 80s Desmond Ford jarred some Seventh-day Adventists awake with teachings new to Adventism, teachings which he claimed were the true gospel. We now refer to his teachings as the New Theology, but they were actually old theology in a new dress. The apostle John met this heresy in his era as evidenced in the messages Christ gave John for the churches in Ephesus and Pergamos. See Revelation 2:5, 15.

Christ speaks of the church over which Satan presides [Pergamos] as the synagogue of Satan. Its members are the children of disobedience. They are those who choose to sin, who labor to make void the holy law of God. It is Satan's work to mingle evil with good, thus removing the distinction between good and evil. Christ would have the church that labors to separate the evil from the good, whose members will not willingly tolerate wrongdoing, but will expel it from the heart and life. The Seventh-day Adventist Bible Commentary, vol. 7, 958.

Our prophet Ellen White also met this counterfeit gospel in her day:

The doctrine is now largely taught that the gospel of Christ has made the law of God of no effect; that by 'believing' we are released from the necessity of being doers of the Word. But this is the doctrine of the Nicolaitans, which Christ so unsparingly condemned. Ibid., 957.

Is it [our sin] the sin of the Nicolaitans, turning the grace of God into lasciviousness? Ibid.

At Glacier View, in the early 80s, the church was forced to deal with Ford's counterfeit gospel and he was defrocked. But now we have reached the 90s and an even greater theological crisis has appeared. Every wind of doctrine seems to be blowing within Adventism.

Now the Spirit speaketh expressly, that in the latter times some shall depart from the faith, giving heed to seducing spirits, and doctrines of devils; speaking lies in hypocrisy; having their conscience seared with a hot iron. 1 Timothy 4:1-2.

Today we have the futurists who are attempting to reapply the prophecies of Daniel and the Revelation, discounting the Spirit-of- Prophecy statement that new light will not contradict old light. We also find in many places the same teachings for which Ford was defrocked being preached in the pulpits, and very few objections are made. When the straight testimony is given in response, it is considered critical, and some have been censored and even disfellowshiped for promoting it.

Jack Sequeira, who promotes these Nicolaitan concepts, is now sponsored by some leaders to teach what is purportedly the 1888 message of righteousness by faith. In reality his is a new version of the 'New Theology’. Desmond Ford was easy to identify. At Pacific Union College he openly renounced his belief in the investigative judgment. There was an immediate response from some laymen, pastors and leaders. The outcome of that episode is now history.

Jack Sequeira is much more subtle. Proclaiming what he calls, "the essence of the 1888 message," he insidiously contradicts it with carefully chosen words and phrases. His book Beyond Belief is just one of a series of dangerous books that have recently come from our denominational presses. The following chapters will clearly identify and deal with some of the erroneous and dangerous teachings contained in this book.

Justification and sanctification are one doctrine; you cannot separate the two. When one is justified he is sanctified. This experience produces righteousness, which is good works. Sanctification is the work of the Holy Spirit holding the willing supplicant in the relationship of justification. See Selected Messages, book 1, 397, 366; Testimonies, vol. 2, 355, 505.

The law of God can be kept perfectly by man in the same way Jesus kept it, by the Holy Spirit's power, when we are willing to be made willing to merge our will with God's in a continuous relationship of obedience to the truth. See The Faith I Live By, 114.

At the cross, God provided probationary grace, giving the human family an opportunity for a second probation. But the human family as a whole was not justified by Christ's sacrifice. To justify is a judicial act; however, it must also reflect the heart condition of the repentant sinner. Repentance will be manifested by obedience to all of God's known will. Such obedience is made possible when we unite our will with God's will. Doing His will results in our being clothed with the garment of Christ's righteousness.

By His perfect obedience He has made it possible for every human being to obey God's commandments. When we submit ourselves to Christ, the heart is united with His heart, the will is merged in His will, the mind becomes one with His mind, the thoughts are brought into captivity to Him; we live His life. This is what it means to be clothed with the garment of His righteousness. Christ's Object Lessons, 312.

In the new birth the heart is brought into harmony with God, as it is brought into accord with His law. When this mighty change has taken place in the sinner, he has passed from death unto life, from sin unto holiness, from transgression and rebellion to obedience and loyalty.

Erroneous theories of sanctification springing from neglect or rejection of the divine law, have a prominent place in the religious movements of the day. These theories are both false in doctrine and dangerous in practical results; and the fact that they are so generally finding favor, renders it doubly essential that all have a clear understanding of what the Scriptures teach upon this point.

True sanctification is a Bible doctrine. The apostle Paul, in his letter to the Thessalonian church, declares: "This is the will of God, even your sanctification." 1 Thessalonians 4:3. And he prays: "The very God of peace sanctify you wholly." 1 Thessalonians 5:23. The Bible clearly teaches what sanctification is and how it is to be attained. The Saviour prayed for His disciples: "Sanctify them through thy truth: thy word is truth." John 17:17. And Paul teaches that believers are to be "sanctified by the Holy Ghost." Romans 15:16. What is the work of the Holy Spirit? Jesus told His disciples: "When he, the Spirit of truth, is come, he will guide you into all truth." John 16:13. And the psalmist says: "Thy law is the truth." By the Word and the Spirit of God are opened to men the great principles of righteousness embodied in His law. And since the law of God is "holy, and just, and good," a transcript of 'the divine perfection, it follows that a character formed by obedience to that law will be holy. Christ is a perfect example of such a character. He says: "I have kept my Father's commandments." "I do always those things that please him." John 15:10; 8:29. The followers of Christ are to become like Him by the grace of God to form characters in harmony with the principles of His holy law. This is Bible sanctification. This work can be accomplished only through faith in Christ, by the power of the indwelling Spirit of God. The Great Controversy, 468-469.

The Editors

Introduction

By Ron Spear

In the creation of this world God created man in His own image. See The Story of Redemption, 20-41. He endowed man with the freedom of choice, otherwise they would have been robots. Had man been created as a robot, sin could never have entered, for sin results from a decision. The angels could have prevented Eve from eating the forbidden fruit, but God's love demanded the freedom of choice. To display His love required giving Adam and Eve the freedom not only to obey, but also disobey.

Disobedience to God's law brought rebellion and war to the heavenly courts, and God was forced to defend His law, His character, and His truth. God's truth had to be displayed against Satan's errors. Righteousness confronted unrighteousness. Satan's error brought rebellion, division, and war. So it has been since the great controversy began, and so it has been for 6000 years on Planet Earth. The righteous law of God has been in existence from eternity. It is this law that identifies sin. See 1 John 3:4; Romans 5: 13; The Great Controversy, 493; Testimonies, vol. 8, 312; God's Amazing Grace, 40.

When Adam and Eve broke the law they became sinners with the condemnation of death. Instantly Jesus stepped between the sinner and the penalty of the broken law. The Creator became the Re-creator, the Redeemer of the fallen race. A probationary period was granted to the fallen race, that every man might choose to accept the provisions of the gospel. Freedom of choice is still a central issue in the controversy, and man must choose between eternal life or eternal death. To secure this probationary period Christ takes fallen mans place that we may have a choice to be treated as He deserves.

Christ was treated as we deserve, that we might be treated as He deserves. He was condemned for our sins, in which He had no share, that we might be justified by His righteousness, in which we had no share. He suffered the death which was ours, that we might receive the life which was His. "With His stripes we are healed." The Desire of Ages, 25.

To believe and teach that God justified the whole human race at Calvary without their consent stands opposed to the very principle of the freedom of choice. If Adam and Eve were justified immediately after the Fall without their consent, then would their children have been sinners? And did they need to be kept from the tree of life?

God allowed this 6000 years of the great controversy because the freedom of choice is essential in demonstrating the character of God. The character of God does not annul His justice and He clearly teaches that the penalty of sin is death. The penalty for transgression of the law of God is as immutable as His protection of the freedom of choice.

Because the Creator is the only one who can redeem sinners, Christ Jesus offers to take the penalty that rightly belonged to our first parents. Not only does He bear the penalty, He also came all the way down to the sinner's level after 4000 years of sin had decimated the human race. See The Desire of Ages, 49, 112, 117. He submitted to become an embryo in the womb of Mary, to suffer poverty, to know hunger and thirst, to be persecuted, to be tempted in all points, and to die the death of a criminal at the hands of the church He loved. What love, what matchless love!

For God so loved the world, that he gave his only begotten Son, that whosoever believeth in him should not perish, but have everlasting life. John 3:16.

Christ came to the world to counteract Satan's falsehood that God had made a law which men could not keep. Taking humanity upon Himself, He came to this earth, and by a life of obedience showed that God has not made a law that man cannot keep. He showed that it is possible for man perfectly to obey the law. Those who accept Christ as their Saviour, becoming partakers of His divine nature, are enabled to follow His example, living in obedience to every precept of the law. Through the merits of Christ, man is to show by his obedience that he could be trusted in heaven, that he would not rebel. That I May Know Him, 114.

By His perfect obedience to His righteous law He has set us an example of perfect law keeping. In setting this example He used no power that is not available for man to use. See The Desire of Ages, 664. If we choose to receive the provisions of the gospel we have access to the same power Christ used for obedience, but if we choose not to accept the provisions offered, we receive the penalty for our sins. By accepting the provisions of the gospel we receive the Holy Spirit, and sanctification begins at the very moment that we are justified.

By constantly choosing to retain the indwelling Holy Spirit we are held in the experience of justification and sanctification. By the power of the indwelling Holy Sprit the repentant sinner continues to develop the character of Christ, from grace to grace, and from glory to glory.

Our character is the only thing any of us will take to the next world.

The Lord has a great work to be done, and He will bequeath the most in the future life to those who do the most faithful, willing service in the present life. The Lord chooses His own agents, and each day, under different circumstances, He gives them a trial in His plan of operation. In each true-hearted endeavor to work out His plan, He chooses His agents not because they are perfect but because, through a connection with Him, they may gain perfection.

God will accept only those who are determined to aim high. He places every human agent under obligation to do his best. Moral perfection is required of all. Never should we lower the standard of righteousness in order to accommodate inherited or cultivated tendencies to wrong-doing. We need to understand that imperfection of character is sin. All righteous attributes of character dwell in God as a perfect, harmonious whole, and every one who receives Christ as a personal Saviour is privileged to possess these attributes. . . .

Of every Christian the Lord requires growth in efficiency and capability in every line. Christ has paid us our wages, even His own blood and suffering, to secure our willing service. He came to our world to give us an example of how we should work, and what spirit we should bring into our labor. He desires us to study how we can best advance His work and glorify His name in the world, crowning with honor, with the greatest love and devotion, the Father who "so loved the world, that He gave His only begotten Son, that whosoever believeth in Him should not perish, but have everlasting life." John 3: 16.

But Christ has given us no assurance that to attain perfection of character is an easy matter. A noble, all-round character is not inherited. It does not come to us by accident. A noble character is earned by individual effort through the merits and grace of Christ. God gives the talents, the powers of the mind; we form the character. It is formed by hard, stem battles with self. Conflict after conflict must be waged against hereditary tendencies. We shall have to criticize ourselves closely, and allow not one unfavorable trait to remain uncorrected.

Let no one say, I cannot remedy my defects of character. If you come to this decision, you will certainly fail of obtaining everlasting life. The impossibility lies in your own will. If you will not, then you can not overcome. The real difficulty arises from the corruption of an unsanctified heart, and an unwillingness to submit to the control of God.

Remember that you will never reach a higher standard than you yourself set. Then set your mark high, and step by step, even though it be by painful effort, by self-denial and sacrifice, ascend the whole length of the ladder of progress. Let nothing hinder you. . . .

A character formed according to the divine likeness is the only treasure that we can take from this world to the next. . . .

The heavenly intelligences will work with the human agent who seeks with determined faith that perfection of character which will reach out to perfection in action. To everyone engaged in this work Christ says, I am at your right hand to help you.

As the will of man co-operates with the will of God, it becomes omnipotent. Whatever is to be done at His command may be accomplished in His strength. All His biddings are enablings. Christ's Object Lessons, 330-333.

Yes, justification and sanctification are obtained by faith, and are the third angel's message in verity. See Evangelism, 190, 196. The experience of justification and sanctification in the lives of His church will make a demonstration to the world of what God can do through fallen human beings when they choose to obey.

To say that God justified (made righteous) the whole world at Calvary is to contradict His very words,

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.

CONTINUE- 2

RETURN

ADVENTISM’S NEW VIEW

‘It’s Beyond Belief’

JEFF PIPPENGER

Table of Contents

Appendix

Preface

Introduction