A recurring theme in Adventist teaching is the idea that a believer’s salvation can be lost. A person can make a profession of faith in Jesus, persist in the Christian life for a time, but then “fall away” or “apostasize”. While this idea is by no means limited to Adventism, many within the Adventist church take it one step further by linking Sabbath observance or regular attendance of an Adventist church with true Christian perseverance. As the reasoning goes, if a person is initially baptized into the Adventist church but then ultimately chooses to leave, he has apostasized from “the truth” and will face eternal consequences for doing so. By examining the historic teachings of the church, one might rightly conclude that a person who never came into contact with Adventism would be better off than one who walked away from its teachings, since the first person would not be held accountable for knowledge he never possessed while the second would be judged by it.
But what does the Bible say about the believer’s security in Christ? Is the observance of a particular day of worship or membership in a particular denomination the deciding factor in salvation? Can Christians who have been born again and who have placed their faith in Jesus have full assurance that they will be found “not guilty” on the day of judgment? These are the issues we will explore in this series. Setting the stage for the forthcoming articles, we will look at how some historic Adventist teachings have significantly undermined the confidence of Christian believers, effectively obscuring or destroying the precious promises of Scripture.
In a society that consistently teaches “love of self” as a solution to almost every problem, is focusing on guilt before a Holy God counterproductive? Does acknowledging our guilt before God have any place in the Christian experience, when so often we are given the message that we must live victoriously, naming and claiming God’s promises so that we can lead abundant and fulfilled lives? Will admitting our guilt before God undermine our self esteem or our pursuit of an optimal Christian experience? Conversely, if grace is preached too freely, will this remove the motivation for Christians to live a holy life? Will grace without strings attached open up the door to lawlessness? When does gratitude for the finished work of Christ come into play? These questions have received widely different answers in the Christian world and are particularly divided along denominational lines. Dr. Michael Horton, professor of systematic theology and apologetics at Westminster Seminary California, tackles these important issues in a prologue to a broadcast of the White Horse Inn. His insights are profound and help us to understand our position of guilt before God, the grace He freely gives in Christ, and the life of gratitude Christians live in response.
Leading off the latest online edition of the Adventist Review is an article aimed squarely at young Adventists entitled, “The Sanctuary Truth”. Written by Jennifer Jill Schwirzer, described in the biography as a “wife, mother, author, songwriter, and musician”, the article opens a new apologetic effort to salvage this oft-maligned doctrine. In its original form, the sanctuary doctrine was the Adventist attempt to explain the events of 1844 and to describe the searching scrutiny under which professed Christ-followers would be subjected–if one unconfessed sin was found in the heavenly records, there would be no application of Christ’s blood to the sinner’s account. With the fallout of Glacier View in the early 1980s, the focus shifted to a more palatable sanctuary doctrine whereby God was placed under searching scrutiny and His character vindicated before the whole universe. The Adventist Review would now have us believe a third incarnation of the sanctuary doctrine. This new “sanctuary truth” allows God to have a relationship with sinful humans. Without a heavenly sanctuary, there would be no cleansing of sin and therefore God would not be able to draw close to sinners. Schwirzer writes, “A bride and groom can’t be truly intimate when there’s something between them. The sanctuary in heaven is where Jesus cleanses away the sin that separates Him from His bride.” Apparently the Christian church was separated from God for its first nineteen centuries because the sin problem had not yet been dealt with and the cross was a mere prelude to what would finally begin in 1844. Schwirzer does not stop there, but argues to reclaim the sanctuary doctrine for evangelistic use, describing an interaction with a prospective convert named Emily. The progressive Adventist blogger Ron Corson has written some thoughts about the article here, and they are well-worth reading.
This short audio clip is taken from a recent sermon presented by John Piper at the Southern Baptist Theological Seminary on March 27, 2007. No further introduction is necessary–just listen to it. Praise God for men like John Piper, who are able to use mere words to express such profound truths. Thank you Dr. Piper for reminding us that Jesus is more than icing on the cake.
Read more here and here. Listen to the whole sermon here.
Posted on 04/13/07 at 06:00 PM.
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In the most recent edition of the Adventist Review (electronic edition here - registration required), Managing Editor Stephen Chavez comments on Adventists’ unhealthy dependence upon Ellen White. Along the lines of the old saying, “When you have a hammer, everything begins to look like a nail,” Chavez laments the propensity for Adventists to pull out a quote from the prophet when a direct reference from Scripture would suffice. “While extra-biblical sources may provide the same answers, in the larger, Christian community, only the words of Scripture have ultimate authority. That’s why a recent trend in Adventist circles concerns me. It seems as though Adventists are quoting Ellen White more and more and citing the Bible less and less–in clear contradiction to the classic Protestant principle sola Scriptura, roughly translated ‘the Bible and the Bible only.’” This is quite a remarkable statement from the hallowed pages of the Adventist Review, pages on which great quantities of ink have been spilled over 150 years of publishing and republishing Ellen White’s prophetic insights. Read on for more observations and quotes from the editorial.
"Behold, I stand at the door and knock. If anyone hears my voice and opens the door, I will come in to him and eat with him, and he with me.” (Revelation 3:20 ESV)
A recurring theme in Adventist teaching is the idea that a believer’s salvation can be lost. A person can make a profession of faith in Jesus, persist in the Christian life for a time, but then “fall away” or “apostasize”. While this idea is by no means limited to Adventism, many within the Adventist church take it one step further by linking Sabbath observance or regular attendance of an Adventist church with true Christian perseverance. As the reasoning goes, if a person is initially baptized into the Adventist church but then ultimately chooses to leave, he has apostasized from “the truth” and will face eternal consequences for doing so. By examining the historic teachings of the church, one might rightly conclude that a person who never came into contact with Adventism would be better off than one who walked away from its teachings, since the first person would not be held accountable for knowledge he never possessed while the second would be judged by it.
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