RICHARD FOSTER
I recently saw some old Adventist art work circulating online. The picture showed a sieve, such as someone would use for shaking smaller particles out of a soil sample. Inside the sieve were people, specifically those who were on the inside of the Adventist Church. On the side of the sieve was written, “Straight testimony to the remnant church”, and two hands were shaking the sieve to make people fall out into what was labeled “eternal destruction”. On the bottom of the sieve were shown people who were desperately trying to hold on to keep from plunging to eternal loss, but they clearly wouldn’t make it despite their great desire to be saved.
My first thought was of the horrific picture this paints, in that it presents a god who is not only not preserving his people in salvation, but is making efforts to shake them out of their salvation as they hang on for dear life! The sad fact, though, is that this is the reality of the Adventist god. I lived with this reality as an Adventist, others I know lived it, and sadly I know Adventists who are still living the nightmare!
The fact is if someone believes Adventist doctrines like the investigative judgement, salvational Sabbath-keeping, the shaking, and probation, then this picture of a god who shakes his people out of salvation is completely accurate.
The fact is if someone believes Adventist doctrines like the investigative judgement, salvational Sabbath-keeping, the shaking, and probation, then this picture of a god who shakes his people out of salvation is completely accurate. For in the Adventist salvation doctrine, you come to faith in Christ, but that only deals with your past. And now, in the present and the future, you are given a “second probation” to see if you will prove yourself loyal to God by keeping the ten commandments (really, just the seventh day-sabbath is all-important), and following the scores of Adventist rules and standards. If at the end it is found you did everything you possibly could muster, well ,hopefully you will pass the investigative judgement. This is the “gospel” or “good news” of Adventism.
Adventist Darkness Dispelled by God
How dark the Adventist picture of god and salvation is though, when compared to the God revealed in the pages of Holy Scripture! It is terribly ironic, really, when we consider that Adventists love to talk about how good a view they have of the character of God, and all because they don’t believe in eternal hell. But the reality is the Adventist god is what might be described as vindictive and hotheaded, just waiting for his people to mess up so that he can yank salvation out from under them!
By contrast, though, the God of Holy Scripture sent His Son into the world not to condemn the world, but that through Him the world might be saved (John 3:17). The Son Jesus Christ did not come to this earth in human flesh merely to make salvation a possibility (upon all kinds of conditions that we would have to fulfill), but He came to save and secure all who would ever believe in Him!
Let’s look at one of the most amazing passages in all of Holy Scripture, Romans 8:29-30. Theologians have referred to this passage as the “golden chain” of salvation. Others have noted that this “chain” is “unbreakable”. Here is the text from God’s word:
For those whom He foreknew, He also predestined to become conformed to the image of His Son, so that He would be the firstborn among many brethren; and these whom He predestined, He also called; and these whom He called, He also justified; and these whom He justified, He also glorified“ (Romans 8:29-30).
Notice the different steps, or “chain links“ in the passage:
- Foreknew
- Predestined
- Called
- Justified
- Glorified
I must note that as an Adventist I actually feared this passage and ignored it, because of the word “predestined”. Of course, Adventists excoriate any concept of predestination as wrong, despite the fact that the word is in the Bible. The fact of the matter is, though, weather this passage is viewed in a Calvinistic, Arminian, or some other perspective, it will be of great comfort to us to understand Paul’s logic here, and take it to heart.
First of all God is omniscient. He knows all things, including who believers are from all eternity. And all that He has foreknown as His sheep, He predestines to be conformed to the image of His Son. In other words, they are given to Jesus Christ the Son to be His own, which is a concept mentioned by Jesus in the Gospel of John numerous times, when He speaks of those that the Father has given Him (John 6:37). All of those foreknown are predestined to be conformed to the image of the Son, with none being lost in the process.
But Paul continues: “[T]hese whom He predestined, He also called.“ What does it mean that they are called? It must mean they are called to faith in Christ, because the next step is “these whom He called, He also justified.”And as Paul explains in Romans 5:1, we are justified by faith. So those foreknown and predestined are called to faith in Jesus Christ.
He foreknew us, He predestined us, and He called us, knowing that in doing these things He would bring us to faith, and declare us justified.
Not only are they called, though, they are actually justified. This means they not only heard the gospel call, but they actually believed it. Now right here there is a profound implication that we should understand. From our perspective our salvation begins when we heard the real saving gospel, and believed on the Lord Jesus Christ. But from God’s perspective, He wasn’t a reactionary to our faith. He foreknew us, He predestined us, and He called us, knowing that in doing these things He would bring us to faith, and declare us justified. This means our salvation is not some afterthought.
Our salvation is not some hypothetical possibility that will be fulfilled only if we meet some list of requirements. But we can know with certainty, that if we are believers in the Lord Jesus Christ, our personal salvation was part of God’s plan all along. And seeing that God foreknew us and predestined us to be conformed to the image of His Son, we can understand that the Son really died for us in an extremely personal way. When Jesus died on that cross, He laid down His life knowing full well that what He was suffering through that day would infallibly and eternally secure us as a future believer to Himself!
He didn’t lay down His life for a nameless, faceless group of people who He might be able to save if they would just muster up the strength to do everything right and pass an investigative judgement at the end of time. No, not at all! The Son’s death was not in vain! He really secured the salvation of all of the sheep with His death on the cross that day.
Looking back to the chain of Romans 8:29 and 30, there is one more link. The last link mentioned is glorification. “Those whom He justified, He also glorified.” When God justifies us He declares us right in His sight, not on the basis of what we do, but on the basis of what Jesus Christ has already done for us, in His life, death, and resurrection (Romans 5:1, 1 Corinthians 15:1-4). And declaring us right in His sight is not something He changes His mind on at a later date. The text declares “those whom He justified, He also glorified.” In other words, if you have come to faith in Christ and have been justified as a result, your final salvation will come to pass. By God’s good grace He keeps His people in a state of grace to the end. We stand in grace (Romans 5:2).
Answering Adventist Objections
Now right here is where Adventists tend to really object: “so you think you can just sin because you are saved, and it will all be okay?” No, Christians don’t believe that, and the Bible doesn’t teach that. Throughout Scripture there are numerous warnings against sin and living a sinful life. There are also numerous things that Christians are commanded, as well as plenty of calls to holy living. Indeed, the text we have been examining says we predestined to be conformed to the image of the Son. But the whole point of comfort to be derived from the fact that those whom God justifies, He also glorifies, is that we don’t have to fear the loss of our salvation because of our shortcomings, or because of a fall into sin. We can rest in Christ, knowing that He who began a good work in us will complete it to the day of Jesus Christ (Philippians 1:6).
God is our Father. And as a good, loving Father, God asks us to trust Him and obey Him. Just as an earthly father would properly discipline his children for disobedience, so God will too. “For the Lord disciplines the one he loves, and chastises every son whom he receives” (Hebrews 12:6). But just as a loving and responsible earthly father would not disown his children or throw them out of the house when they behave contrary to his will, neither will our heavenly Father. Just as an earthly father does everything he can to protect and care for his children, so does God. The difference is when God protects and cares for us, He never fails. He may allow some hardships to come into our lives for our ultimate good. In this process He may even allow a great fall in our lives, such as He did with David or Peter. But God our Father will never allow us to fully or finally fall away to point of loosing our salvation. Jesus said: “And this is the will of him who sent me, that I should lose nothing of all that he has given me, but raise it up on the last day” (John 6:39). “Those whom He justified, He also glorified” (Romans 8:30).
It remains to be stated that in this “golden chain of salvation” in Romans 8:29-30, the grammar is such in the original Greek that if we are involved in any link of the chain, we are involved in the whole process from beginning to end. In other words, none is lost at any step of the way. All the foreknown are predestined, and all the predestined are called, and all the called are justified, and all the justified are glorified. Our salvation is an infallible work of God from beginning to end.
…the God of the Bible is the exact opposite of the Adventist god when it comes to our salvation. Contrary to working to shake us out of our salvation, our heavenly Father has given us promises that He will keep us to the end.
As Christians who truly take all of Scripture seriously (not just a handful of proof texts), we see that the real God is so far from the Adventist god, that it’s a night and day difference. In fact, the God of the Bible is the exact opposite of the Adventist god when it comes to our salvation. Contrary to working to shake us out of our salvation, our heavenly Father has given us promises that He will keep us to the end. He has justified us, sanctified us, washed us, adopted us, sealed us, made us joint-heirs with Christ, given us to the Son Jesus Christ, and many other Biblical descriptors of what God has done for us.
And if you want to know that God is your Father, if you want to know that you are eternally secure in Him, if you want to know that you are in the unbreakable golden chain of salvation, and if you want to know all of the other things that God has said concerning His people, then remember:
“Truly, truly, I say to you, he who hears My word, and believes Him who sent Me, has eternal life, and does not come into judgment, but has passed out of death into life” (John 5:24).
If you are believing the Father and the Son for your salvation, you can know that you have eternal life right now, and that you will never come into judgement. May we all rest in Christ with the assurance that our God and Father has saved us, and that when He saves us it is not something He repents of, but something He most certainly brings to pass!
How different is the God of the Bible from Adventism. †
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Thank you Richard, for the clearly showing that our assurance of salvation is clearly expounded in God’s word. None of those who trust in Jesus will be “shaken” out, and all will be conformed into His image.