Perhaps you have been following this study since I began, or perhaps this is the first time you have looked at it. It might be easy and comfortable to conclude that my primary goal is to be critical of anything Seventh-day Adventist. This conclusion is not accurate. My primary goal is to help transitioning and former Adventist understand the importance of partaking in detailed Bible study with others who understand their roots.
It is, understandably, common for some of those leaving Adventism to desire to put anything Adventist in their past. Sadly, it isn’t that simple. One can reject Ellen White, the Sabbath and the investigative judgment and sanctuary teachings yet still have no idea how the underlying world view of Adventism affects every passage that they read and every message that they hear from the pulpit, radio or TV.
Breaking free from Adventism requires understanding what you think and why you think it. For example, many people leaving Adventism are uncomfortable, particularly soon after leaving, with any dogmatic message about doctrine. Because of our experience as Adventists, we can react negatively to any group or person stating a firm belief on any subject—regardless of the biblical rationale for the firm belief.
People aren’t truly free from Adventism until they understand how Adventist thought has impacted their view of the world (including their view of Scripture). This clarity doesn’t happen without Bible study. I believe that those who are transitioning out—or who have transitioned out—of Adventism benefit from a combination of study with people who have never been exposed to Adventism (in order to hear the Bible presented from a completely different standpoint), and study with people who have experience with Adventism who can actively point out the ways it has impacted our thinking.
It is my hope that the blog posts that I write can, in some small way, contribute to the process of seeing Scripture free from the distortion of Adventist training. This is a long introduction to what will be the shortest passage that I am discussing in Ephesians, chapter 2 verse 10:
For we are his workmanship, created in Christ Jesus for good works, which God prepared beforehand, that we should walk in them (ESV).
Good works are not a taboo item for the born-again follower of God. However, these good works have to be understood within the right context—the context in which Paul has just described them. Paul just finished clearly stating that we are saved entirely by something other than our works. He has taught this truth not just in the immediately prior verses, but through the whole book up to this point. He even spoke of God choosing us for salvation beforehand (1:4—technically before the foundation of the world). Having established this basis for our salvation, Paul can now speak about how a person lives after they have been saved, and this saved life includes good works that were also prepared “beforehand”, works in which we are supposed to walk.
There are several errors that can be made in regards to these good works, including:
- The source of these works (how we generate them);
- The purpose of these works (why we do them):
- The nature of these works (what they are).
I contend that Adventism is wrong in all three of these areas.
The source of good works
The source of the good works is addressed in Galatians 5:16-26:
But I say, walk by the Spirit, and you will not gratify the desires of the flesh. For the desires of the flesh are against the Spirit, and the desires of the Spirit are against the flesh, for these are opposed to each other, to keep you from doing the things you want todo. But if you are led by the Spirit, you are not under the law. Now the works of the flesh are evident: sexual immorality, impurity, sensuality, idolatry, sorcery, enmity, strife, jealousy, fits of anger, rivalries, dissensions, divisions, envy, drunkenness, orgies, and things like these. I warn you, as I warned you before, that those who do such things will not inherit the kingdom of God. But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, self-control; jagainstsuch things there is no law. And those who belong to Christ Jesus have crucified the flesh with its passions and desires.
If we live by the Spirit, let us also keep in step with the Spirit. 26 Let us not become conceited, provoking one another, envying one another.
Good works come from the Holy Spirit in us and are the fruit of His indwelling. Much like salvation, we can’t take credit for what God does. However, Adventist theology makes the works about our efforts.
Again, we can examine the how The Clear Word paraphrases a passage to gain better insight into the “glasses” through which Adventists are taught to understand Scripture. The Clear Word paraphrases Ephesians 2:10 as:
“We are God’s people, created in Jesus Christ to do good works and to walk the road He did when He was here.”
“We are His workmanship” is changed to “we are God’s people”. It is certainly true that we are God’s people. The words used in The Clear Word are true; but the words change the emphasis of the passage. If good works are linked to God’s workmanship, the source of these works is credited to God’s transforming work in us. By changing this to mentioning being God’s people instead of His workmanship, the emphasis is shifted away from God’s transforming work to our efforts at following His laws. For those who might think that seeing a link from God’s people to the Law is an unwarranted leap, God’s people can easily be seen as referencing back to Israelites rescued from Egypt—the same people who were given the Law at Sinai. In Adventism, that connection with Israel is their underlying assumption.
The SDA Bible Commentary is less direct in how it approaches this passage. It does state this the “reference here is to God’s spiritual re-creation of man.” At this point it might seem that The Clear Word is the outlier and doesn’t accurately reflect Adventist teaching. However, the commentary continues: “Before creation it was planned that those saved by grace should have good works as a witness to the fact. That sequence was written into the spiritual code (does this mean law?) by which man was to live.” The commentary concludes its explanation on the verse with the statement that “God has provided not only the opportunity for good works but also the means for their performance.”
This explanation of good works being something possible for God’s people to do contrasts with an Evangelical Christian understanding of the passage, as explained in the Expositor’s Bible Commentary. There, the good works in which believers walk signifies that “The road is already built. Here is a further reason why the Christian has nothing left to boast about. Even the good that he now does has its source in God, who made it possible.”
The question isn’t about whether born-again followers engage in good works; good works are understood as a given.
One of the questions related to a believer’s good works is about their source: do they flow out of man’s determination to “do good”, or do they originate in God Himself? In the Adventist account, the emphasis is on man’s performance of good works, whereas the textually accurate emphasis of Evangelical Christianity is on the role of God in these good works.
The Adventist approach to this passage is very human-centric; the direct language of Scripture, however, is very God-centric.
The purpose of good works
Granted, this passage doesn’t address, directly or indirectly, the purpose of a believer’s good works. Nevertheless, the understanding of this passage can’t be separated from the purpose of the works. Adventists and non-Adventists agree that good works demonstrate the faith of believers (see James 2:14-26). However, the question doesn’t end there. We don’t get the full picture if we don’t also ask, “To whom is it necessary to demonstrate these good works, and to what purpose?”
The Adventist doctrine of the investigative judgment teaches that our good works “validate” to God and to the unfallen beings of the universe our claims of faith. In Adventism, our good works ultimately demonstrate our “fitness for heaven”. This idea is very different from the Evangelical Christian understanding that our good works demonstrate our faith to other people. Other people can’t see whether we wear the robe of Christ’s righteousness, covering all of our sins. But they can see whether being born again changes the way we treat others and interact with our environment. Unlike the Adventist belief, the Bible states that these actions don’t impact our salvation, but they do impact the message we teach about Christ.
Ultimately, the primary purpose of good works is to bring glory to God (Matt 5:16). Is this the primary purpose of good works in Adventism?
The nature of good works
Honestly, the nature of good works is far more tricky to discuss than the other points. In fact, it is hard, if not impossible, to quote from Adventist sources the actual implications of Adventism’s belief about works. So, if you are an Adventist reading my comments and you disagree, please comment and explain why you disagree. I can only attest to my experience and understanding of Adventist teaching.
Seventh-day Adventism focuses on the Law. As a result, Adventist understanding of good works begins (and typically ends) with the keeping of the Law (specifically the dietary elements of the Mosaic Law and the 10 Commandments, particularly the Sabbath command). The SDA Bible Commentary makes clear that believers have been given the means to perform good works; it states, “[God provides] the means for their [the works of the Law] performance.”
Evangelical Christians understand that the first, and primary, work of God is to believe in the One he has sent (John 6:29). The centrality of our belief, however, doesn’t mean that we believe it is acceptable to ignore the hungry, the homeless, the downtrodden, and everyone who is less fortunate than we are.
For the Seventh-day Adventist and other legalists, good works consist of obeying the Law, particularly the 10 Commandments. There was a rich young ruler who visited Jesus believing that he had kept all 10 of these commandments (Matt 19:16-22). Jesus tried to point him to something different.
Likewise, in the parable of the Good Samaritan, Jesus points us to good works that are outside of the Law, particularly of the 10 Commandments. The priest and rabbi didn’t break any of the 10 Commandments by ignoring the person in the ditch, yet they sinned by failing to do the good works that God placed in front of them.
The good works that God has prepared for His followers from the foundation of the earth are not “obedience to the 10 Commandments”, but rather loving God and loving others. Believers do these works because God has changed them. Failing to do a good work is a sin, but it isn’t a sin that separates us from God and His promise of salvation even though it is a sin that has consequences. Our failure to do a good work may cause others to stumble; it may delay their chances to experience the peace of God. Further, a believer’s failure to do good works God brings them may interfere with others being able to experience trusting in the fellowship of other believers.
Finally, in our own lives, our sin often interferes with our opportunity to see God glorified and other people enriched. It may also interfere with our own joy in the Lord.
Yet, in spite of our sometimes flawed attention to the works God gives us, we are still saved by His unmerited favor. That saving work of God alone is the heart of the message of Ephesians. †
How Ephesians Contradicts Adventism #1
How Ephesians Contradicts Adventism #2
How Ephesians Contradicts Adventism #3
How Ephesians Contradicts Adventism #4
How Ephesians Contradicts Adventism #5
How Ephesians Contradicts Adventism #6
How Ephesians Contradicts Adventism #7
How Ephesians Contradicts Adventism #8
How Ephesians Contradicts Adventism #9
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This is very well written. Thank you for sharing it. I was an Evangelical Protestant Christian for 39 years prior to joining the Adventist church. During my time in Adventism, I was never comfortable with the Adventist teachings on good works (or many other things). I stayed in Adventism for 16 years, gritting my teeth at the error, most of the time. I finally had the nerve to quit and go back to my previous denomination. Shortly after the big move back to sanity, I attended a small group fellowship where we studied Ephesians in depth for 6 weeks. It was so refreshing to study the Bible with people who had never been tainted by Adventism. They just enjoyed the Word as it stands, without having to bend and twist it to fit into the mold of a false prophetess.