Youssry,
I read the passage relating to footnote #3 in the article. It is from Acts of the Apostles chapter 52. On the page following this quote, Mrs. White writes,
âBefore the believer is held out the wonderful possibility of being like Christ, obedient to all the principles of the law. But of himself man is utterly unable to reach this condition. The holiness that Godâs word declares he must have before he can be saved is the result of the working of divine grace as he bows in submission to the discipline and restraining influences of the Spirit of truth.â
I donât know how one is to understand this other than she is stating that one must attain a degree of holiness or sanctification before one is saved. Is this Scriptural?
Please consider:
-the publican who realized he was a sinner, beat his chest and asked for mercy. Jesus said, âI tell you, this man went to his house justified (a legal term meaning freed from the claims of the law, i.e., saved) rather than the other;â (the Pharisee who thought he was holy.)
-the woman who washed Jesusâ feet and to whom Jesus said, âYour faith has saved you; go in peace.â
-the thief on the cross who was told by Jesus, 'Truly I say to you today, you shall be with Me in paradise.'
When did these people undergo the process of sanctification (the required discipline and restraint as Mrs. White calls it) before they were saved? Clearly, they didnât.
Itâs interesting that the article refers to the Old Testament sacrifices as a key to understanding the plan of salvation. The three primary feasts of OT Israel also give us insight in this regard. The physical feasts of Passover, Pentecost and Tabernacles have spiritual application to each Christian. In the journey of the children of Israel out of Egypt to the Promised land, the first step was placing the blood of a lamb on the doorpost so the angel of death would âpass overâ. For us, belief in what the shed blood of Christ, our Passover lamb, has accomplished for us is what saves us. This justification by faith is the first step of our journey as well.
It is only later, at Mt. Sinai when the law is given, that the Israelites are called to begin the sanctification process to holy living by submission and obedience to Godâs law. (and whatâs wonderful for us is the New Covenantâs unconditional promise of God that He will place the law in our hearts). This process will culminate in our glorification which is foreshadowed by the fall feast of Tabernacles.
The point is that according to the types given to us in the OT, salvation comes before sanctification, not after.
How can one draw any conclusion other than Mrs. White is wrong about this?
WRT the idea of attaining perfection now: yes, God sees us as perfect (Christâs perfect righteousness is imputed to us or reckoned to our account) but I believe we will not actually become perfect until our glorification.
The article relates that Peter says that God will judge all of us according to our deeds (1Peter 1:17). (Hence we go back to the confusion about faith vs. works.) That is true but can you conceive of the idea that in this âinvestigative judgmentâ (as Adventists call it) of our deeds our salvation is not the issue? We are saved by the grace and mercy of God which we receive through faith. (The books of Romans & Galatians state this many times and this was Lutherâs great discovery.) The IJ is concerned with what degree of sanctification we have attained in this life through our âfiery ordealâ as Peter calls it (1Peter 4:12). What then is the purpose of the IJ?
Paul spoke of an âupward callâ of God he was straining to attain (Phil 3:12-14) and Peter says to âmake your calling and election sureâ (2Peter 1:10).
Do we not have an election to choose someone to serve in some capacity?
In the IJ, I believe God will examine our lives, i.e., our works, to choose (or elect and thus reward) those who are further along on the road to holiness with positions of authority (and thus service) in the coming kingdom.
Is not your âcallingâ your profession? The NT identifies three such callings in the coming kingdom. Some will be judges (Matt 19:28; 1Cor 6:2,3), some govât. administrators (Luke 19:15-19, Rev 20:4) and some priests (Rev 5:10; 20:6). Jesus is our Judge, Lord and High Priest but I believe others will be chosen to be given the honour of assisting Him in these roles.
I think this is the purpose of the coming judgment based on how we have lived our lives. Our salvation, based entirely on Godâs love and mercy and claimed solely by faith is not the issue in this judgment. Can you see how this view helps eliminate the confusion about faith and works?
Gideon,
I appreciate that you have a different definition for justification. My belief is that it is always associated with salvation (not just forgiveness of past sins upon conversion).
I think mine is the more traditional Protestant position but not that of very many in Adventism. This is in line with my understanding:
Adventism is more anthropocentric in that there is a belief that works (sanctification) of each person are integral to their salvation. I now see our redemption as much more Godâs and Christâs doing than ours. See 1Cor 1:30. (The only reason I believe the New Covenant cannot fail is because it is an unconditional promise of God (so we canât screw it up)).
I would like to share what I have found over the last few years but I find it almost impossible because so many of my older, significant concepts have changed. Part of that was brought about by study of more literal translations of the Bible and learning some words in their original languages (and hence their original meanings). These things have certainly changed my understanding.
I now believe that Godâs plan of salvation for us will be manifested in several ages (Heb 1:2) and stages. As Paul says in Eph 2:7, there are âages to comeâ and we are not to follow the wisdom or rulers of this age but âGodâs wisdomâ, which God âpredestined before the ages to our glory;â (1Cor 2:6-7). I am not a Calvinist but I can now reconcile the verses that support Calvinism to my theology (which I could not do as an Adventist) which agrees with 2Tim 3:16.
I now see that salvation and the sanctification required for entry into the kingdom are two different things. When I realized that I should separate salvation issues from kingdom parables, things got clearer for me. Certainly we are called to become more like Christ. I just no longer believe that my salvation depends on my works, or me reaching a certain level of holiness. To me, this is what 1Cor 3:10-15 is saying.
I donât see Heb 12:24 as being about salvation but rather entry into the kingdom. I tried to relate something of what I believe about the coming kingdom in part of my comment above.