Why We “Fight”

This article, by Chris Lee, originally appeared in the January/February 2008 issue of Proclamation! Magazine.

The title of this article is taken from a series of Frank Capra films commissioned by the United States during World War II. The purpose of Capra’s series was to explain to soldiers and the general public why the U.S. was engaged in the conflict.1 This article has a similar purpose. All one need do is peruse the “Letters to the Editor” section of this publication to see that this ministry is indeed involved in a conflict. The purpose of this article is to demonstrate why engagement in conflict is sometimes necessary and why this ministry is on the front lines.

“Why do you go around judging Adventists? Doesn’t the Bible say, ‘Judge not, that ye be not judged’?” I have heard these questions often, in various forms, since I began writing for Proclamation! It’s not only Adventists who ask them, but some former Adventists and other Christians as well. They are legitimate questions, but I believe they reveal presuppositions based upon two common misunderstandings.

The first is a misunderstanding of Jesus’ injunction against judging in Matthew 7:1. Jesus is not speaking against exercising any type of judgment or discernment. In the context of the broader passage, He is speaking against judging in a spirit of self-centered pride. Holman’s excellent New Testament Commentary states the case this way, “A good summary of [Jesus’] meaning is, ‘Do not judge others until you are prepared to be judged by the same standard. And then, when you exercise judgment toward others, do it with humility.'”2 The fact is, the Bible commands us in various ways and many places to exercise judgment, but when we do we are to judge with righteous judgment.3

The second misunderstanding is the belief that those who express concerns regarding the Adventist system are judging all Adventists. I know many of the writers for Proclamation! and have never detected any desire to judge the Adventist people. We are not attempting to make a judgment about each and every individual within the system, nor are we attempting to judge all individuals collectively. What we do discuss in the pages of this magazine is the nature of a particular religious system, as a system. When we do so, we are attempting to draw certain critical conclusions about a system of thought, belief, and practice.

In evaluating the system, we also draw conclusions about the effects of the system of belief on the lives of people, but we are not judging individuals themselves. I believe that most readers, of all backgrounds, would agree that it is possible for God to reach and regenerate an individual within a system regardless of what that system might be. However, this possibility does not necessarily say anything about the system itself. A person may come to Christ in spite of a bad system, not because of it. Likewise, even in a good system, a particular individual may never come to know Jesus. So we need to be clear that it is the system we are judging and not the people.

Why judge?

Now that the two most common misunderstandings have been addressed, an additional question may arise. “So why is it so important to make these types of judgments about religious systems?” Consider for a moment the mission statement of Life Assurance Ministries, the publisher of Proclamation!: “To proclaim the good news of the new covenant gospel of grace in Christ and to combat the errors of legalism and false religion.” While most evangelical Christians would find this mission laudable, at least some fail to realize what is inherent in carrying out the mission. If one is to combat the errors of false religion, one must first make a judgment about whether a system of belief constitutes false religion. In evaluating a system, our conclusion will dictate the appropriate response. There are two primary conclusions at which we might arrive:

1. The religious system in question represents orthodox Christianity in the essentials and teaches the same Gospel as Jesus and His apostles.

2. The religious system in question denies orthodox Christianity in one or more of the essentials and/or teaches a different gospel than Jesus and His apostles.

If we determine that the religious system is orthodox Christianity and teaches the true Gospel, then we have absolutely no business influencing people to leave it. We might disagree on a few non-essentials, but if it’s Christianity in the essentials and the Gospel, then drawing people out of it is “sheep stealing”. Engaging in such an act is a sin that divides the body of Christ. Put bluntly, if Adventism is orthodox Christianity, then Life Assurance Ministries is engaged in sin!

If however, the religious system in question denies one or more of the essentials of the Christian faith or teaches a different gospel, then it is a false religion. We then have a sacred duty to help the poor souls held in bondage within the false system. If Adventism is something other than orthodox Christianity, then we cannot shirk our duty to expose the errors and assist people within it to leave and to integrate into the body of Christ.

Adventism’s self-definition

As we wrestle with how to classify Adventism as a system and whether or not it is just another expression of the body of Christ, it is instructive to understand how Adventist sources view Adventism. Seventh-day Adventist (SDA) fundamental belief number 13 states in part, “The universal church is composed of all who truly believe in Christ, but in the last days, a time of widespread apostasy, a remnant has been called out to keep the commandments of God and the faith of Jesus.” 4

Notice the use of “has been called” in the present perfect progressive tense. This is not something that will only take place in the future, but something that took place in the past and is happening now in the present.5 Underlying this fundamental belief is the teaching that Adventism is presently, and has been since its inception during the Millerite movement of 1844, the remnant church of God.

In the textbook Christian Beliefs: Fundamental Teachings for Seventh-day Adventist College Classes,6 the SDA church is identified as the remnant church of Revelation 12:17 due in part to it’s proclamation of the “three angels’ messages”. 7 It is claimed that the first angel delivered the unique Adventist message of an investigative judgment of believers’ works beginning in 1844.8 The second angel then declares that Babylon has fallen.9 The Christian Beliefs textbook states, “The Millerites preached this message [that Babylon had fallen] beginning in the summer of 1844. They applied it to the churches that had rejected the first angel’s message.” 10 One of the most authoritative sources within Seventh-day Adventism, Ellen G. White, viewed Adventism as having special truths such as the investigative judgment that should result in people separating themselves from all the other churches which are part of Babylon.11

Even with this very small sample of SDA references, it can readily be seen that Adventism has traditionally set itself apart from all other “churches” who do not accept unique SDA doctrines. Those who accepted the 1844 message, originally referring to the return of Christ to the earth and later morphed into the investigative judgment, were the remnant people of God. People in all other “churches” were to come out of what was disdainfully referred to as Babylon.

In reality, there is only one Church, but many denominations which make up the visible Church. However, by defining Adventism as the remnant church and other denominations as Babylon, SDA sources render Adventism distinct from what most evangelicals would consider to be the visible manifestation of the body of Christ. The self-assessments of SDA sources alone suggest that Adventism is something other than orthodox Christianity.

Nothing is neutral

For this and many other doctrinal reasons, Proclamation! takes the stand that Adventism as a system is not consistent with orthodox Christianity. However, it is often debated, even among the writers of Proclamation!, exactly what label best applies. It is the opinion of this author that once it is clear that a system of belief is not orthodox Christianity, it matters very little which label we use. We might use words and phrases like heterodox, unorthodox, an aberrant theological system, a false system, another gospel, a corruption of the gospel, a corruption of Christianity, a cult of Christianity, and so forth. Ultimately, all these words and phrases are saying that this system is something other than orthodox Christianity and that the Church has a duty to help those who are trapped in that system to come out. Once that conclusion has been reached, the discussion of labels is primarily an argument of semantics.

We must be careful not to become overly embroiled in superfluous debates. We could discuss which words to use to describe the system ad nauseam, or we could endlessly discuss the exact nature of Ellen White’s visions, her angel guides, and how these things reflect on Adventism as a system. These are important and interesting discussions, but it seems unlikely that extended debate will produce consensus of opinion on these topics. While this author certainly has opinions on these side issues, in the final analysis, the only opinion that counts is God’s opinion as expressed in His word. I see nothing in the Scriptures to suggest that any system of thought is completely neutral in the ultimate sense. I believe the overwhelming thrust of Scripture teaches that there are those systems which are of God, and there are those systems which are ultimately part of this world system and its ruler. Nothing is completely neutral in an ultimate sense. Ongoing debates about ancillary issues tend to obscure this most basic reality.

The reality that nothing is ultimately neutral brings us back to the necessity of rightly judging religious systems and then rightly responding. If Adventism is orthodox Christianity, then Life Assurance Ministries needs to leave it alone and make no more effort to persuade people to come out of the system. If, however, Adventism is a corruption of Christianity, then we have a duty to help rescue those caught in it. If Adventism is not of God, then our struggle is not against flesh and blood, but against the rulers, against the powers, against the world forces of this darkness, against the spiritual forces of wickedness in the heavenly places.12 If this is true, then the rescue operation is not just a cognitive exercise to be done in the flesh through well-reasoned arguments; it’s a spiritual war. We must never forget this. As soon as we do, we’re missing the real battle.

Each of us must come to a conclusion, based on the word of God and much prayer, as to whether Adventism represents orthodox Christianity or something else. We must then respond accordingly. It is my prayer that every concerned Christian will become a soldier in the real battle. It is my prayer that each of us will avoid expending our energies on unproductive debates. Instead, I pray that all believers will be engaged in the struggle against spiritual forces as the indwelling Spirit of God leads and empowers. May we never surrender one single precious soul without a fight. In the words of a Civil War-era hymn, “As He died to make men holy, let us live to make men free; while God is marching on.” 13 †

Endnotes

1. Why We Fight. Wikipedia. December 17, 2007. January 12, 2008. <http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Why_We_Fight>
2. This paragraph closely follows material from Gangel, Kenneth. Holman New Testament Commentary: John. Nashville, Tennessee: Broadman & Holman, 2005.
3. John 7:24.
4. Adventist Beliefs: Fundamental Beliefs. Seventh-day Adventist Church. January 12, 2008. <http://www.adventist.org/beliefs/fundamental/index.html> (Emphasis mine.)
5. Literacy Education Online: A Summary of Verb Tenses. St. Cloud University. January 11, 2008. January 12, 2008. <http://leo.stcloudstate.edu/grammar/tenses.html>
6. Although published in 1959, this textbook was in use in SDA colleges at the time I was a student in the late 1980s and early 1990s.
7. Jemison, T.H. Christian Beliefs: Fundamental Teachings for Seventh-day Adventist College Classes. Boise Idaho: Pacific Press Publishing Association, 1959, pg. 342.
8. Ibid. pg. 328.
9. Revelation 14:8.
10. Jemison, T.H. Christian Beliefs: Fundamental Teachings for Seventh-day Adventist College Classes. Boise Idaho: Pacific Press Publishing Association, 1959, pg. 342.
11. White, Ellen. The Great Controversy. Mountain View California: Pacific Press Publishing Association, 1950, pg. 390.
12. Ephesians 6:12.
13. Howe, Julia. Battle Hymn of the Republic, 1861.

Copyright 2008 Life Assurance Ministries, Inc., Glendale, Arizona, USA. All rights reserved. Revised September 24, 2008. Contact email: proclamation@gmail.com

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Chris Lee

Chris Lee lives in Lincoln, Nebraska with his wife, Carmen, and they have two adult daughters, Ashlyn and Alyssa. Chris is a self-described “theology junkie” whose mission is to proclaim the unfathomable grace of Christ in a clear, understandable, and Biblical way.

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