Hans K. LaRondelle, Raoul Dederen, Hans Heinz, Roger S. Evans and Will Eva made the November 2000 issue of Ministry into an outstanding publication.

Under the theme "Luther's Gospel Then and Now" they questioned the assumptions of the Joint Declaration On the Doctrine of Justification, a statement signed by representatives of the Vatican and the Lutheran World Federation on October 31, 1999--482  years to the day after Martin Luther published his 95 theses that gave birth to the Reformation.

The Declaration claims that "a consensus in basic truths of the doctrine of justification exists between Lutherans and Catholics in spite of remaining differences of language, theological elaboration and emphasis". (1) The Ministry authors challenged this assumption, asserting that the Reformation and Catholic traditions remain divided by two irreconcilable concepts of justification.  Consensus could be reached only if one side involved in dialogue seriously compromised its own fundamental beliefs regarding the nature of human salvation.

As the Ministry writers questioned the possibility of a genuine compromise between the two opposing views of salvation, they spoke with clarity, unseen for a considerable time in our official publications, about the forensic, objective, synthetic and legal nature of justification, and distinguished it from sanctification, as taught by Paul and understood by the Reformers. Moreover, although they never mentioned it by name, the concept of the completed atonement at the cross was clearly manifest in their articles; for the alien righteousness of Christ, completely imputed to the believer through faith, implies the necessity of the atonement that was completed once and for all in the sacrifice of Jesus Christ.

After reading this defense of the historic gospel I was perplexed:  Did the November Ministry herald the long expected breeze of change in the church's attitude towards the gospel?  Or will our denominational administrators patronize the effort by calling it a private adventure of a few individual scholars whose isolated opinions do not represent the overall view of the church? By now, the November Ministry would have no doubt upset some within the church establishment, especially those pragmatics who are eager to defend denominational unity even at the expense of the gospel. Indeed, one cannot help but wonder how far the gospel will go this time in the Adventist church. Has the Adventist church finally matured enough to face the challenges of the gospel without prejudice?

Although many Adventists may regard the gospel so distinctly featured in the recent Ministry as indeed the liberating and reassuring good news of Scripture, it is not the gospel often advocated by the mainstream, let alone traditional Adventism.

According to Paul, the Reformers and the November Ministry writers, justification by faith stands for the most literal righteousness of Christ, exhibited in the qualities of his perfect obedience, manifested in his life, death and resurrection experience, and as such entirely imputed to the undeserving repentant sinner despite his indwelling limitations, inadequacies, shortcomings and failures. It is forensic, objective and legal because it is credited to us "apart from observing the law" and apart from any other works, rules, regulations or advancements of character (Romans 3:28, 4:6.). In short, justification is the lifesaving act of God, accomplished through Jesus Christ on behalf of the undeserving sinner.

Is this the gospel we have been hearing from our denominational pulpits, reading in our official church papers or receiving via our international satellite networks? Or, have we become accustomed to another gospel, though seemingly alike, but still different enough to provide a convenient diversion towards human works, just as the creators of the Council of Trent decrees did several centuries ago? Otherwise, how could the Adventist church still maintain that the denominational views about the phased or stretched atonement, character-dependent investigative judgment and final justification of God's character through the sufficiently perfect obedience of God's people--all of which make salvation dependent on the believer's performance--complement to the truth of the objective gospel?

Moreover, if the gospel were truly our priority, why wouldnít we let the gospel challenge our system of cherished beliefs? Why is such deliberate care taken that the substance of our unique doctrines remain intact? How much honesty is there in ignoring cognitive dissonance between the gospel and certain distinctive beliefs of ours, while in the process the global Adventist community remains confused and less confident of what the gospel truly stands for?

To explore these questions, let's briefly consider the three most influential sources of truth in the minds of many Adventists worldwide: writings of Ellen G. White, the Adult Sabbath School Bible Study Guides and a recent phenomenon, global satellite evangelism.

"God requires now what He required of Adam, perfect obedience, righteousness without a flaw, without shortcoming in his sight. God help us to render to Him all the law requires." (2) "Christ came to this earth and lived a life of perfect obedience, that men and women, through his grace, might also live lives of perfect obedience. This is necessary to their salvation." (3)  These are only two among many questionable statements written by Ellen G. White on the issue of salvation. If this were possible I would like to ask Ellen G. White what else did she mean with the statements such as these, if not that the believer is saved with the infused righteousness just as much as with the imputed one?

The editors and writers of the Sabbath School Quarterlies, an influential means of shaping the spiritual awareness of Adventists worldwide, continue to infuse the same logic into their weekly pamphlets, although in a more ambiguous way. This is achieved by selective and repetitious over quoting from the writings of Ellen G. White and equally repetitious usage of assumptive and unqualified jargon that would often leave a gospel loving Adventist wondering about the real intentions of the SSQ editors or writers.

Consider the ambiguity of the statement published in a recent quarterly: "God wants to do more than just proclaim us righteous (forgive our past sin). He also wants to make us righteous (restore us). Through the grace and power that Jesus bought for us at Calvary, we can live out His character."(4) It is true that grace will empower the believer for the life of sanctification exhibited in the life-long process of character shaping according to the likeness of Christ. But one wonders if this was what the author meant, just as much as one wonders about the intent of the following thoughts published in a 1997 Sabbath School Study Guide: "When we sing 'There's power in the blood', we do not actually mean there is literal power in the blood. The power comes from the fact that, because Christ suffered the ultimate penalty for our sins, he is now able to purify us from all sin. The gift of redemption through Christ is always associated with the gift of holiness. The blood represents the way God has chosen to save us through Christís death and cleansing power." Indeed, I would like to ask the Sabbath School Quaríterliesí authors what else do they want to impress upon the minds of the readers?

Similar ambiguities have been very much a part of the messages broadcast globally via satellite by the Adventist Global Communication Network in the churchís ambitious attempt to evangelize the world in recent years. One wonders if our global televangelists are in the business of proclaiming the gospel of salvation or impressing the global audiences with the amazing truths of our 27 Fundamental Beliefs. It is simply not enough to climax the presentation with a few slides passionately depicting Jesus with outstretched hands, if the gospel was absent or only vaguely present throughout the entire presentation, or tacitly confused with human sanctification.

For example, here's a quote from a NET'98 satellite event: "God's government will be judged and His character tried in the lives of his friends.... Apparently God's friends here on earth can live in such a way--through the deeds of love and mercy and kindness--t'hat when their records come up in judgment their Forever Friend above is glorified and exonerated.  (5) If the character of God was not adequately vindicated in the life and death experience of Jesus Christ our Representative, how dare we think we could do a better job?

If the Lutherans who signed the Joint Declaration On the Doctrine of Justification are in crisis over justification by faith, as the November Ministry convincingly suggested, so are the Adventists. It is because, like the creators of the Council of Trent decrees, the Adventist church too continues to amalgamate the human processes of sanctification with the divine act of justification. Also, as long as the church continues to treat the authority of Ellen G. White and some of our distinctive doctrines (such as the investigative judgment and atonement) as if they contained the unquestionable truth, the church has no other choice but to continue drifting from one crisis to another.

However, the church is not at liberty to make adjustments to the gospel so that, cosmetically improved, it may suit our ideological concepts. The integrity of the church and its mission in the days to come does not depend on how skilled it will become in maneuvering through the challenges our distinctive beliefs will continue to face. Ultimately, the integrity of the church will be tested by its honesty towards the integrity of the gospel, for no church or movement has ever been given a commission other than to preach the gospel without strings attached. The success of the gospel message in the Adventist church this time depends on those ministers, evangelists, teachers, scholars, and writers, editors and lay members who treasure the gospel above the loyalty to any ideological concept. For all of us the first step should be to stop hinting at the gospel and start preaching it deliberately and without apology.

Notes and References:

1. Raoul Dederen, The Joint Declaration On the Doctrine of Justification - One Year Later, Ministry, November 2000

2. Selected Messages, Book 2, page 380 - A Work of Purification Needed.

3. Advent Review and Sabbath Herald, March 15th 1906, Article: A Holy People.

4. Adult Sabbath School Bible Study Guide, Proverbs - Wisdom To Live By, October 14 - 20, 2000. Lesson 3 - What I Am Versus What You Think I Am. Authors: Virginia Davidson and Ernest H.J. Steed

5. NET'98, Dwight Nelson, Sermon 14, How To Tip the Scales and Beat Your Audit.

Editorial note: Jesus saves!  It is the editors’ conviction that salvation is so grand no single model or metaphor can explain all that God does when He saves.  We hope this article will prompt others to explore the wonders and mysteries of salvation.  Query us with your ideas.