Comment on Hope? Slim to none by Bob Helm.
Let me elaborate further on what I stated above. First, the leadership of the SDA Church affirmed three mutually contradictory “gospels”: Last Generation Theology (sinless perfectionism), Reformation Theology (forensic justification), and moral influence theory (the cross as only an example). These three views of salvation cannot possibly all be correct, but yet they are all quite acceptable in the SDA Church.
Then the leadership of the SDA Church tried to be pro-life and pro-choice at the same time. It released its “Guidelines on Abortion” that state: “The Church does not condone abortion for birth control, gender selection, or convenience.” But yet it has allowed certain Adventist hospitals to perform abortions for these very reasons.
Now we have SDA leaders who affirm young life creationism, but give our educational institutions a green light to teach theistic evolution.
I’m not mentioning these things because I want to be critical. I’m a loyal Adventist Christian, and I would like to affirm our leadership. But what Jesus said is so true: “If a house is divided against itself, that house cannot stand.” (Mark 3:25, NIV) It’s time to wake up, because huge compromises like this cannot continue without dire consequences. The warning lights are flashing, and unless our church gets some backbone, we are heading for a spiritual shipwreck!
Table of Contents
Bob Helm Also Commented
Hope? Slim to none
Gentlemen, You may continue this conversation privately. Future comments will be deleted on the topic.
_________________________________________
Shane, I apologise for straying too far from the topic at hand. I should have broken off the conversation earlier. God bless!
Hope? Slim to none
Bill, let me tell you something else. Ellen White was not saying anything new. She was simply repeating what godly Christians have said for centuries about the relationship between faith and works. And no wonder, because it comes straight from the scriptures. For example, Martin Luther is well known for his emphasis on justification by grace alone through faith alone. But consider what he wrote about the necessity of obedience and good works: “Oh, it is a living, busy, active, mighty thing, this faith, and so it is impossible for it not to do good works incessantly. It does not ask whether there are good works to do, but before the question rises, it has already done them and is always at the doing of them. He who does not these works is a faithless man. . . For through faith, a man becomes sinless and comes to take pleasure in God’s commandments. Thus he gives to God the honor that is His and pays Him what he owes Him.” (Preface to Luther’s Commentary on Romans)
I submit to you that this statement from Martin Luther about obedience is every bit as strong as anything Ellen White wrote on the subject. It may even be stronger. But neither Martin nor Ellen were legalists. They were simply using strong language to emphasize the necessity of obedience as the fruit of faith.
Hope? Slim to none
Can you harmonize this statement with your theology, Bob Helm?
““When the judgment shall sit, and the books shall be opened, and every man shall be judged according to the things written in the books, then the tables of stone, hidden by God until that day, will be presented before the world as the standard of righteousness. Then men and women will see that the prerequisite of their salvation is obedience to the perfect law of God. None will find excuse for sin. By the righteous principles of that law, men will receive their sentence of life or of death.”
–
{RH, January 28, 1909 par. 18}
___________________________________________
Sure I can Bill. It’s just like comparing Paul with James. Grace is never an excuse for sin. On the contrary, while grace brings complete forgiveness, it also provides the power to stop sinning – because when we come face to face with the matchless love of Christ, it breaks our hearts and brings forth true love for Him. And love is expressed in obedience (John 14:15). Unless this loving obedience is present, saving faith is absent. It’s as simple as that! Or as James puts it, “Faith without works is dead.” (James 2:26) We are justified forensically by grace alone through faith alone in Christ alone (Romans 3:19-28; Ephesians 2:8-9). But we are justified evidentially by good works (James 2:20-26). So certainly obedience to the perfect law of God is a prerequisite for salvation. It is the outward proof that faith in Christ is real. Therefore, I gladly affirm all the statements about obedience from Ellen White that you have posted above. This is precisely what I believe!
Recent Comments by Bob Helm
Dr. Walter Veith and the anti-vaccine arguments of Dr. Geert Vanden Bossche
I believe in good medicine and am thankful to God for the Moderna vaccine. Walter Veith deserves to be ignored, and not just on this issue.
Complex Organisms are Degenerating – Rapidly
@Carlos: Far from being outdated, I would say that Sean’s arguments are cutting edge. As for the assertion that scientists don’t use Darwin’s model for evolution, that is correct – because Darwin had no knowledge of Mendelian genetics. The original Darwinian model was replaced by the Neo-darwinian Synthesis about 1940, which claims that evolution takes place as natural selection acts on random mutations. Although this model still dominates biology today, it is facing increasingly serious problems, which Sean has touched on.
Complex Organisms are Degenerating – Rapidly
@Sean Pitman: OK, I see it now. Sorry – I missed it earlier.
Complex Organisms are Degenerating – Rapidly
Sean, Dr. John Sanford, who was an important contributor to the development of GMOs, has written a book on this issue entitled, “Genetic Entropy.” I don’t see him quoted anywhere in your article, and I’m wondering if you are familiar with his work. It is noteworthy that Dr. Sanford has abandoned Darwinism and adopted creationism/intelligent design, not originally for religious reasons, but because of this problem.
Evolution from Space?
Sean, once again I urge you to publish your material in book form, preferably with a non-Adventist publisher. You have such wonderful material, but the Educate Truth audience is so small.
