Are you aware that you are being taught Roman Catholic doctrine? That’s what’s happening if you study your Sabbath School Lessons. The following quiz may help clarify the issues.
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QUIZ # 1
“HOW TO GET JUSTIFIED”
Match one of the following sources to each statement quoted: A. Martin Luther; B. Sabbath School Lessons; C. Ellen White; D. The Catholic Council of Trent; E. The Bible.
_____”…if they [men] were not born again in Christ, they would never be justified.”
_____”Faith is the only condition upon which justification can be obtained….”
_____”Justification is salvation by the new birth experience.”
_____”… all that believe are justified ….”
_____”God accounts and acknowledges him as righteous without any works who apprehends His Son by faith alone.”
The answers are found below
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Three of the quotations above say that justification is obtained by faith alone. Two of them state that the new birth is needed first in order to get justified. Either you get justified by faith alone or you get it by faith plus something else. Both answers cannot be correct. The Roman Catholic Church teaches that justification is obtained by faith plus renewal. The Bible teaches it is obtained by faith alone. What is the position of the Lessons quarterly?
AN OPEN LETTER
An Open Letter to Robert Folkenberg,
President, General Conference of SDA
Kansas City, MO July 11, l990
Dear Brother Folkenberg:
I have some serious concerns about the content of the April, May, June Sabbath School Lessons. In my opinion, it contains very serious error. One Sabbath a member of my Sabbath School class asked if I had noticed the Catholic theology in lesson #4.
At that time I knew very little about the Catholic doctrine of justification and sanctification. I determined to engage in a self-directed crash course on Catholic theology by going to two different sources. One was the most complete catechism that a local Catholic book store had on hand and the other was a Catholic priest with whom I was already acquainted.
The results of the endeavor were astounding, bewildering and alarming. I found many passages in the catechism that were nearly identical to those in the Sabbath School Lessons. Any knowledgeable Catholic would be quite comfortable with the theology presented in lessons 4 and 5 of the quarterly.
At the first opportunity I made an appointment with my friend the priest. When I told him and a young colleague present my purpose for being there they were somewhat surprised but quite eager to continue the discussion. I told them I wanted to read some statements on the subject of justification and sanctification and as Catholic theologians, were they or were they not in agreement. I then read several statements from the teacher’s edition of the adult Sabbath School Lessons (p 47, 58-63). They were in full agreement with every one of them. Then the older of the two made a most remarkable, but hopefully not prophetic, statement. He cited the material I had just read as evidence that the ecumenical movement was indeed succeeding. He then gave me a small booklet that presented the progress being made by Catholics and various Protestant churches to resolve their theological differences.
May God have mercy on us if my friend the priest was correct in his assessment of the material in the Sabbath School Lessons. If indeed, the Catholic belief concerning justification is indistinguishable from that of Seventh-day Adventists, we have a very serious problem. Some have suggested that just because Catholics believe something does not necessarily make it error. This is quite true. However, we must not forget that the Protestant Reformation was launched because the Church had terribly perverted the truth concerning justification. If, as we are told by Ellen White, justification by faith is the third angels’ message in verity, it is doubtful that the Catholic church is also preaching the third angels’ message.
When we remember that men like Huss, Jerome and thousands of others were martyred because they refused to compromise on these same issues, how can we stand idly by and allow serious error to go unchallenged?
Bob McHenry
Belton, MO, USA
COMPARISONS
by Richard Marin
In this issue of Thinking Aloud we tackle the subject of justification. Were this matter of secondary importance we might remain silent about the erroneous views being taught. But the question of how a person is saved is of first importance. The answer given in the Sabbath School Lessons quarterly of April, May, June, 1990, is contrary to the doctrine of Paul, Martin Luther and Ellen G. White. What is taught is the doctrine of the Roman Catholic Church. The seriousness of the situation demands a clear objection.
There are two questions that we will consider as we look at what the quarterly is saying. The first is: How is justification obtained? The second is: What does the term “justification” mean?
This second question is the focus of quiz # 2.
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QUIZ # 2
“WHAT DOES JUSTIFICATION MEAN?”
Match one of the sources listed to each statement quoted: A. Ellen White; B. The Catholic Council of Trent; C. Sabbath School Lessons; D. The Bible; E. John Calvin.
_____”…justification is both God’s legal declaration of acquittal and a transforming experience.”
_____”…justification is a real and profound transformation of man…”
_____”…to him that…believeth on Him that justifieth the ungodly, his faith is counted for righteousness.”
_____”…to be justified means something different from being made new creatures.”
_____”The great work that is wrought for the sinner who is spotted and stained by evil is the work of justification. By Him who speaketh truth he is declared righteous.”
The answers appear on page 3.
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The first two quotations above define justification as more than God’s declaration. They include the idea of “transformation” in the meaning of the term “justification”. The last three limit it to being declared righteous. The Bible teaches that the term “justification” means to declare righteous never to transform the heart. Catholicism teaches that the term “justification” means not only to declare righteous but also to transform the heart. Where does the quarterly stand?
WHAT THE QUARTERLY TEACHES
We agree wholeheartedly with the quarterly, when on page 16 it says:
“The ultimate test of a teacher is not the sincerity with which his teaching is advanced or the concern for the well-being of others that is expressed. The final test is conformity to the Word of God.” — Adult Sabbath School Lessons–“Christ The Only Way” April, May, June, l990.
Likewise, we agree with the quarterly’s statement that,
“When disagreements arise in the Church, God leads His people through these disagreements to an understanding of the truth.” —Ibid. p.20
We disagree with the quarterly’s statement that:
“Justification is salvation by the new birth experience.” —Ibid. p.29 (See also p. 88.)
Here the quarterly clearly teaches that justification is not obtained by faith alone but by faith plus experience.
Observe also the quarterly’s definition of justification:
“…justification is both God’s legal declaration of acquittal and a transforming experience for the believer….”–Ibid. p.29
This is not an obscure statement in the Quarterly, but rather a repeated bold declaration. Besides similar statements on pages 28, 29, and 33; note this one on page 36:
“No one begins the Christian life until he is justified — until he receives the Holy Spirit. The gift of the Holy Spirit is a vital part of justification.” — p. 36
Thus the quarterly teaches error on two fronts: (1) that it takes faith plus transformation to get justified, and (2) that justification means both God’s declaring righteous and God’s making righteous.
________
Answers to Quiz # 1: D, C, B, E, A.
WHAT THE BIBLE TEACHES:
First, the Bible clearly teaches that justification is obtained by faith alone apart from any transforming experience.
“Believe on the Lord Jesus Christ, and thou shalt be saved…” Acts 16:31.
“…all that believe are justified….” Acts 13:39.
“Knowing that a man is not justified by the works of the law, but by the faith of Jesus Christ, even we have believed in Jesus Christ, that we might be justified by the faith of Christ, and not by the works of the law: for by the works of the law shall no flesh be justified.” Gal 2:16.
“By His [Christ’s] experience My righteous Servant justifies many.” Isa. 53:11 An American Translation by W. F. Beck
These verses show that whatever is beyond faith is condemned as a way of getting justification. The Bible opposes the teaching that justification comes by faith plus anything.
Second, the Bible teaches that the term “justification” only means to declare righteous. It never means to make righteous or to transform the heart. The fourth chapter of Romans goes over this concept. Here Paul shows that “to justify” means to be counted holy by God in heaven. He uses the terms “reckoned” (V 4, 10, 19); “counted” (V 5); “imputeth” (V 6); “forgiven” (V 7); “covered” (V 7); “impute” (V 8); “imputed” (V 11, 22, 23, 24). These words teach that justification is God’s work of declaration not His work of transformation.
Paul shows that God called Abraham a father before he became a father. This shows that God calls “those things which be not as though they were” (Rom. 4:17). God calls red, white and then sets about to make it white.
The Bible does not deny that God works to make people righteous, but it does not call that “justification”. The indwelling presence of the Holy Spirit is shown to be the fruit of justification and not a part of it.
________
Answers to Quiz # 2: C, B, D, E, A.
WHAT ROMAN CATHOLICISM TEACHES
Catholicism takes a stand on both our questions. In answer to the first it says that the new birth experience is a requirement for obtaining justification:
“…if they [men] were not born again in Christ, they would never be justified, since in that new birth there is bestowed upon them, through the merit of His passion, the grace by which they are made just.” —The Council of Trent Canon 3.
“Sinful man cannot, of himself, be pleasing to God. For that, he must receive a gift from God which transforms him interiorly, cleanses him and sanctifies him by adorning him with qualities that render him pleasing to his Creator.” —The Theology of Grace by Jean Daujat p. 14.
Observe carefully the following Catholic statements in answer to our second question:
“…justification…is not only a remission of sins but also the sanctification and renewal of the inward man through the voluntary reception of the grace and gifts whereby an unjust man becomes just and from being an enemy becomes a friend….” — The Council of Trent Canon 3.
“The justification of which St Paul here [Romans 3 & 4] speaks is the infusion of sanctifying grace which alone renders a person supernaturally pleasing in the sight of God.” — Editors footnote, Douay version of the Bible.
“What is the reality of the justification accorded by God when man cooperates in faith? Is it merely like a statement of God declaring the sinner just? Or is it a divine act by which the sinner is internally transformed and becomes a new reality before God? Catholic thought has always been that the justice bestowed on man is a gratuitous gift (Gal 3:6ff), and a true justice which actually transforms man into a person pleasing to God.”
“Catholic doctrine on these questions, formulated in opposition to Lutheranism, was presented in full at the Council of Trent, … justification is a real and profound transformation of man, a genuine gift of sanctification to him. It can in no way be reduced to something purely external.” — The Life of Grace by P. Gregory Stevens, O.S.B. pp. 58,59.
The Roman Catholic Church clearly teaches that justification does not come by faith alone but by faith plus the new birth experience. In addition to this she teaches that justification means not only to declare righteous but also to make righteous.
WHAT MARTIN LUTHER TEACHES
Martin Luther began his writing career as a Catholic monk and only gradually weeded out of his thoughts and vocabulary ideas and expressions that he learned from Rome (see Luther’s “Preface to the Complete Edition of Luther’s Latin Writings” Luther’s Works V 34, p 327-329). If read in context, he is clear that (1) justification is obtained by faith alone and (2) justification is God’s accounting a believer righteous and not some spiritual renewal of the believer.
In relation to how justification is obtained (our first question), Luther writes:
“God accounts and acknowledges him as righteous without any works who apprehends His Son by faith alone.” — Ibid., Vol. III, pp. 1229, 1230.
“…the gospel demands no works to make us holy and to redeem us. Indeed, it condemns such works, and demands only faith in Christ, because He has overcome sin, death, and hell, for us.” –“Preface to the New Testament” The Reformation Writings of Martin Luther, Vol. II, p. 280-281.
As to our second question Martin Luther is clear that justification is God’s declaration that the believer is credited with everything Jesus did while on this earth.
“This, then, is the amazing definition of Christian righteousness. It is the divine imputing or accounting for righteousness or unto righteousness because of faith in Christ or for Christ’s sake. When the sophists hear this definition, they laugh, because they imagine righteousness to be a certain quality that is poured into the soul and then spread into all the parts of man.” —Op. Cit., Vol. III, p. 1230.
“Christian righteousness is not a righteousness that is within us and clings to us, as a quality or virtue does, that is, something that is found to be part of us or something that is felt by us. But it is a foreign righteousness entirely outside us, namely, Christ Himself is our formalis Iustitia, our essential Righteousness and complete Satisfaction.” –Ibid.
OTHER PROTESTANTS
Note how other great Protestants have followed Luther’s lead:
John Calvin “… to be justified means something different from being made new creatures.” –“Justification by Faith” Institutes of the Christian Religion.
Philip Melancthon “We are justified by faith alone, not because it is a root,… but because it apprehends Christ, on account of whom we are accepted.” –quoted in God’s Way of Holiness, Horatius Bonar, pp. 18,19.
John Bunyan “…man will be at a loss that looketh for righteousness for justification in himself, when it is to be found nowhere but in Jesus Christ…. Men can be justified from the curse before God while sinners in themselves by no other righteousness than that long ago performed by, and remaining with, the person of Christ….” –Justification by an Imputed Righteousness pp. ?, 60.
“…If you do not put a difference between justification wrought by the Man Christ without, and sanctification wrought by the Spirit of Christ within…you are not able to divide the word aright; but contrariwise, you corrupt the word of God, and cast stumbling-blocks before the people, and will certainly one day most deeply smart for your folly, except you repent.” –The Riches of Bunyan p. 140.
John Wesley “If any doctrines within the whole compass of Christianity may be properly termed fundamental, they are doubtless these two; the doctrine of justification, and that of the new birth: the former relating to that great work which God does for us, in forgiving our sins; the latter, to the great work which God does in us, in renewing our fallen nature. In order of time, neither of these is before the other; in the moment we are justified by the grace of God, through the redemption that is in Jesus, we are also ‘born of the Spirit;’ but in order of thinking as it is termed, justification precedes the new birth. We first conceive his wrath to be turned away, and then his Spirit to work in our hearts.” –Sermons on Several Occasions, sermon 45, “The New Birth.”
Christian David “…Understand this well. To think you must be more contrite, more humble, more grieved, more sensible of the weight of sin, before you can be justified, is to lay your contrition, your grief, your humiliation, for the foundation of your being justified; at least for a part of the foundation. The right foundation is, not your contrition (though that is not your own), not your righteousness, nothing of your own, nothing that is wrought in you by the Holy Ghost; but it is something without you, namely, the righteousness and blood of Christ.” –Sermon in 1738.
John Brunson “…What is the ground of our acceptance; And we reply that it is not our righteousness, nor our humility, nor contrition, nor tears, nor repentance, nor anything that the Holy Spirit has wrought in us, but what Christ has done for us.” —The Review and Herald, August 12, 1902.
WHAT ELLEN WHITE TEACHES
Thus far we have examined two points in regard to justification: (1) How it is obtained and (2) what it means. We have found that the Lessons quarterly and the Roman Catholic Church teach that (1) justification is obtained by faith plus experience and that (2) justification means not only to “declare righteous” but also to “make righteous.” In reviewing the teaching of the Bible and that of Martin Luther and other great Protestants we found that (1) justification is obtained by faith alone and that (2) justification means “to declare righteous,” not “to make righteous.” Where does Ellen White stand on these two important questions?
She teaches that justification is obtained by means of faith alone. Observe:
“Faith is the only condition upon which justification can be obtained….” —Selected Messages bk 1, p.389.
“All that man can possibly do toward his own salvation is to accept the invitation….” —Ibid., p.343.
“Righteousness is obedience to the law. The law demands righteousness, and this the sinner owes to the law; but he is incapable of rendering it. The only way in which he can attain to righteousness is through faith. By faith he can bring to God the merits of Christ, and the Lord places the obedience of His Son to the sinner’s account. Christ’s righteousness is accepted in place of man’s failure, and God receives, pardons, justifies, the repentant, believing soul, treats him as though he were righteous, and loves him as He loves His Son. This is how faith is accounted righteousness…” —Ibid., p.367.
For Ellen White “to justify” means: to declare, impute, or account righteous; to treat a person “as though” or “as if” he were righteous.
“They [sinners] are justified alone through the imputed righteousness of Christ.” —Our High Calling, p.52.
“The great work that is wrought for the sinner who is spotted and stained by evil is the work of justification. By Him who speaketh truth he is declared righteous. The Lord imputes unto the believer the righteousness of Christ and pronounces him righteous before the universe.” —Selected Messages, bk 1, p.392.
“He [Christ] lived a sinless life. He died for us, and now He offers to take our sins and give us His righteousness. If you give yourself to Him, and accept Him as your Saviour, then, sinful as your life may have been, for His sake you are accounted righteous. Christ’s character stands in place of your character, and you are accepted before God just as if you had not sinned.” —Steps to Christ, p.62.
“The believing sinner is pronounced innocent, while the guilt is placed on Jesus Christ. The righteousness of Christ is placed on the debtor’s account, and against his name on the balance sheet is written, Pardoned. Eternal Life.” —Our High Calling, p.53.
Whatever else Ellen White may say on the subject of justification must be in harmony with these clear statements. She believed in personal renewal and internal holiness and often spoke of these things in close proximity to statements on justification by faith alone. Ellen White supports the truth of John Calvin’s statement, “Christ justifies no one whom he does not at the same time sanctify” (Institutes of the Christian Religion, bk.3, chap.16, sec.1). The wise reader will, however, be able to see the distinction between the declared righteousness of justification and the infused righteousness of sanctification.
A LETTER TO THE EDITOR
Another Sabbath School teacher expressed his concerns directly to the editor of the Lessons on Galations. May 15, 1990 he wrote:
Dear Elder Gane,
It is hard to know where to begin in discussing this quarter’s [Apr-Jun 1990] lessons. It seems strange no one is willing to take “credit” as being the author of these studies. Since you are the editor, I’ll assume that the material represents your personal conviction of truth. It is not mine. Neither does it represent a sizeable group of SDA’s who hold to the traditional Protestant view of the doctrine of justification.
To teach people that we are justified by sanctification is the very essence of Catholicism. There can be no other conclusion from these lessons….
Rather than write a long letter I include here material I put together for my Sabbath School class and hope you will find the time to read it:
The Basis of Our Acceptance with God
The born-again experience can never be the basis of our acceptance with God. Here are a few reasons:
- All that a believer does in response to God is mingled with sin. This includes a “born-again” experience. Nothing we do is pure. Eccl. 7:20. According to 1SM 344, Our acceptance with God must be based on a purer and better work than our conversion experience.
- Justification demands merit. A payment equal to the righteousness of God must be met. Our born-again experience makes no payment for sin.
- Justification is based on a finished work that is full and complete. On the cross Jesus declared “It is finished”. Nothing you and I can do will add to this complete work of atonement. We can only accept it.
At the moment of faith we are justified full and complete and in the same moment the born-again experience begins. The born-again experience cannot begin until justification has already taken place. How then, can we be justified by the born-again experience? Impossible!
The Holy Spirit is not our Savior, Jesus is. The Holy Spirit is not our “righteousness”, Jesus is. “Christ our Righteousness” means “Christ in heaven” not our born-again experience. This is not a play on words, the distinction is imperative.
Sinners in Ourselves
Some may object to the idea of being ACCOUNTED righteous for Christ’s sake when they are not righteous in themselves. They doubt that a holy and just God could account them righteous while they are truly sinners in themselves. Many may exclaim, “How can these things be?” “Surely I must be transformed and then God can call me righteous.” But what saith the scriptures, “God calleth those things which BE NOT as though they were.” Rom. 4:17
“This man receiveth sinners.” Luke 15:12. “God justifies the ungodly.” Rom. 4:4 You see then that faith unites a sinner to Christ and in this way we are righteous because God imputes the merits and perfection of Jesus to the sinner. Christ has obeyed the law for us and all the law requires of us He has done in our place. Rom. 10:4.
You don’t get married by experience. You get married by a legal declaration of a proper authority. In the same way, we are declared righteous apart from experience. Just as the marriage experience follows a legal marriage, so the Christian experience follows righteousness by declaration.
Bill Sorensen
Lenexa, KS, USA
THE GENERAL CONFERENCE
REPLIES
July 23, 1990
Dear Mr. Sorensen:
Dr. Gane has just returned from the General Conference Session in Indianapolis, and is weeks behind in editing upcoming quarterlies. He simply cannot take time now to answer letters. However, he read both your letter and Mr. McHenry’s and has asked me to send you a copy of a paper he presented at a recent White Estate Colloquium, on the subject of justification. It describes the difference between the Catholic position on justification and the Protestant position. While Dr. Gane used words and phrases similar to those Catholics use, the underlying theology is vastly different, as you will note in his paper. What the Catholics mean by justification and what the quarterly meant by it are poles apart.
Dr. Gane has studied the Catholic position in depth. His entire Ph.D. study centered on Reformation theology. One point Dr. Gane has noticed is that many Catholic clergy do not even know what they believe. When the Adventist position on justification is presented to them, often they agree with it!
I hope this paper will give you the answer you desire to your question.
Sincerely,
(signed) Mrs. Charlotte Ishkanian
Assistant Editor, Adult Sabbath School Lessons
THE WHITE ESTATE COLLOQUIUM
by Richard A Marin
Dr. Erwin R. Gane titled his paper presented at the White Estate Colloquium, “Righteousness by Faith”. We begin here by examining the answers given to the three questions Dr. Gane asks in his paper:
What is Meant by “The Robe of Righteousness”?
Dr Gane answers this question in the following way:
“The Scriptural metaphor likening righteousness to a robe that is worn indicates that righteousness is not only the legal standing, but also the spiritual state of the believer. In both Old and New Testaments, the person who is made alive spiritually is clothed with garments of righteousness. The imagery points to a spiritual experience, a heart relationship with God, deliverance from the power of evil, and a new life lived in conformity to God’s will.” pp. 2, 3.
“Righteousness is bestowed upon us when Jesus bestows Himself upon us by the Holy Spirit. At that time, in this manner, we receive the robe of His righteousness.” p. 7.
“The presence of the Spirit in your heart is Christ’s presence and righteousness in your heart (Rom. 8:10). This is justification.” p. 8.
Do we Lose the Robe of Righteousness When we Sin?
Under this section of his paper (p. 14) Dr. Gane answers clearly:
“When we commit one act of sin, the evil one touches us; we fail to allow Jesus to keep us by His power. We lose our justified standing with God, our robe of righteousness. We are in need of forgiveness, justification, a renewal of our born-again relationship with Christ.” p. 21.
What is Our Part in Sanctification?
Considering the following statements one must conclude that Dr. Gane believes we have no part in our sanctification:
“Justification is the pouring of water into an empty cup; sanctification is the full cup.” p. 22.
“Justification is by faith alone, ‘apart from works’ (Rom. 3:21, RSV). Sanctification is also by faith alone. The Bible teaches that sanctification is by the Holy Spirit, never by human effort.” p. 23.
If there is no personal effort involved in sanctification and none in justification then where do all the Bible and Spirit of Prophecy references to personal effort fit in? Without going into a discussion of this question let it be here stated that the process of sanctification does involve personal effort. That very truth distinguishes it from justification. (For further study we recommend the cassette tape advertized at the end of this issue.)
The White Estate Colloquium paper by Dr. Gane only confirms that he espouses a Roman Catholic doctrine of justification by faith. No room is made for a distinction between that “outside of us” work that Christ does in heaven and the “inside of us” work that the Holy Spirit does on earth. On page 11 of his paper he attempts to distance his twofold definition of justification from that of Rome. He points to the Catholic view of an immortal soul and suggests that his position does not teach that the soul is changed. Rather than changing the soul he proposes that:
“…in justification Christ comes into the heart of the believer…. Christ…is his inner righteousness. The justified person does not have an inherently righteous soul within that has the capacity to cooperate with grace.” — Ibid. p. 12.
This effort by Dr. Gane does not separate his view of justification from that of Rome. All it does is place him in the camp of “quietism” which proposes that humans are only vessels for the habitation of supernatural beings and not self-determining creatures of God.
Dr. Gane views the Post-Reformation position on justification as unbiblical because of its affinity for the “once-saved, always-saved” doctrine. Not all protestants hold this error but apparently the mention of it is considered sufficient excuse for passing by the clear teaching of Melancthon, Bunyan, Wesley and others on justification. In the years following the Catholic Council of Trent true Protestants have raised their voices in favor of the biblical distinction between justification and sanctification. The present is no time to allow that God-honoring distinction to be muddied up.
NOTES TO MY SABBATH SCHOOL CLASS
by Michael D. Marsh
The believer is justified:
- Meritoriously by the blood. Rom. 5:9.
- Instrumentally by faith. Rom. 3:28.
- Evidently by works. James 2:21-24.
In this life the believer is righteous before God in the outside righteousness of Christ. He waits for ‘the hope of righteousness by faith’ (Gal. 5:5). That is he waits for the hope ‘righteousness by faith’ will bring at the Advent — to be righteous inherently. He waits for the full bestowal of righteousness when Jesus comes. In this life he must be content to rest in the truth that:
(1) The righteousness by which he is justified is perfect but not inherent;
(2) The righteousness by which he is sanctified is inherent but not perfect;
(3) The righteousness he will possess at glorification will be both perfect and inherent.
Questions and Answers
- 1. Is justification a blessing only or does it also include the experience of regeneration?
- A blessing only. Rom.4:6-9; Gal. 3:8-9,14; Rom. 4:17.
- Who does God justify? An ungodly sinner, or a regenerate person?
- The ungodly. Rom. 4:5.
- When, and by what agency does love transform the heart?
- After justification. By the Holy Spirit. Rom.5:1, 5.
- When do we receive the gift of the Holy Spirit? Before or after justification?
- After justification, yet annexed to it, and instantaneously with it. Acts 2:38; Eph. 1:13-14; Gal. 4:4-6.
The Foundation of Adventism
The great foundation of Adventism is that “the temple is in heaven.” Justifying, saving righteousness is in heaven. Immortality is in heaven. Eternal security is in heaven. Perfection is in heaven. And last, but not least, the millennium is in heaven. Thus in every way, the Advent message is to lift truth up from the earth, from man, and place it wholly in heaven, IN CHRIST, where it may be posessed by faith alone. (Rev. 11:19; Rom. 5:17-18; 2 Tim. 1:10; Rom. 8:35-39; Heb. 2:10; 5:9; 10:14; Rev. 20:1-5; Rom. 1:16-17.)
WHAT NEXT?
by Richard A Marin
The Sabbath School Lessons for October, November, December 1990, teach the same Catholic heresy we have been discussing:
“Because Christ is living in the believer’s heart, he or she has the gift of Christ’s righteousness.” — p. 13 (See also pp. 59, 68).
These lessons on the book of Romans teach the doctrine of justification by the new birth experience:
“Justification includes the new birth experience.” — p. 26.
“Christ justifies us by giving us the new birth experience….” — p. 43.
Justification is equated with the new birth experience on pages 41, 45, 54, 58, and 59. On pages 43, 44, 47, 48, and 57 of the quarterly on Romans it is equated with death to sin or the death of the “old man”.
Biblically justification does not include the new birth experience;
it is not death to sin. Justification is God’s declaration in heaven that a believer is 100% righteous and acceptable in His sight. Justification takes place in heaven not in us. It is not a transformation of our character but rather a transformation of our heavenly record.
On the other hand the new birth, death to sin, and transformation of character are to take place in us on earth. This is the work of the Holy Spirit whom God gives to all whom He justifies. This sanctifying work frees the sinner from slavery to his sinful nature and strengthens, inspires, and guides him in a lifelong process of perfecting a character for God’s glory.
Note the lack of harmony between the following two statements:
“…Christ reckons us righteous… because of His indwelling in our hearts ….” Ibid. (Oct-Dec 1990) p. 45.
“…him that… believeth on Him that justifieth the ungodly, his faith is counted for right-eousness.” Rom. 4:5.
A summary statement in “Lesson 11” of the Sabbath School Lessons plainly sets forth the Catholic doctrine we have been challenging:
“His [Jesus’] forgiveness of our sins (justification) includes transformation of our hearts by the work of the Holy Spirit. We are declared righteous because by His coming to dwell in our hearts we have the gift of righteousness.” –p. 77.
The truth of justification by faith is contrary to human logic. But God knows it is the only way to save man from his self-centered sinfulness. Logically, something should be made new before you call it made new. God, however, calls “those things which be not as though they were.” We are declared righteous before we are made righteous because Another lived righteously in our place not because He is placed in us. Our justifying righteousness is in heaven not in us.
The following quotation from “Lesson 4” of the quarterly should bring grief and concern to all who trust in God’s unmerited forgiveness:
“God is never said to count (reckon, impute) something to be true that is not true. God did not declare Abraham to be something that he was not. The imputation of righteousness to Abraham was not a legal declaration of something false. God counted (reckoned, imputed) Abraham to be righteous, not because of his works, but because his faith/grace relationship with God involved the gift of the Holy Spirit to his heart.
“God never counts an unregenerate sinner to be righteous. When the unregenerate person believes in Christ his life is transformed by the new-birth experience. At the point at which the Holy Spirit is bestowed, the individual is counted (imputed, reckoned) righteous….
“Abraham believed; God transformed his heart and simultaneously declared the reality of His act. The imputation of righteousness (justification) involves both the transformation and the declaration. The declaration was God’s recognition of His own presence and power in Abraham’s life.” —Ibid., p.30.
Time and space do not allow us to examine the entire quarterly on Romans. The above glimpse should be sufficient to reveal that the arguments presented in this issue of Thinking Aloud apply with as much force to the Lessons on Romans as to those on Galatians.
The world was turned upside down in the first century by men who taught that God calls a man righteous when he is a sinner. Again in the 16th century the religious world was shaken by a monk who taught that God calls a man righteous when he is a sinner. Obviously the conflict that divided Christendom 400 years ago has returned.
