DALE RATZLAFF | Pastor and Founder, Life Assurance Ministries (1936–2024)
There are two extremes that the Church must continually face; either of which could prove fatal. Like driving down a road while punching in phone numbers on a cell phone it is easy to lose one’s concentration and veer off the center of the road. I almost hit the curb the other day doing that very thing.
The first extreme is for churches to start criticizing one another. There is no perfect church and we must remember Jesus’ prayer for unity that they all be one. If there was a perfect church it would not be perfect if we joined it. So to argue about worship styles, music, how often we celebrate the Lord’s Supper, or just how last day events are going to work out I think is hurtful to the church at large.
The other extreme that many Christians have fallen into is that we just mind our own business. We really don’t care what the church down the road teaches. After all, who are we to judge? Our job is to preach the truth and not worry about others. Right? This attitude of non-involvement allows false teachers to pull thousands, yes, millions, into cult and quasi-cult organizations which compromise the gospel which was once for all delivered to the saints.
Therefore on the one hand we must be careful not to condemn other churches which have a different style of worship and differences in other peripheral beliefs, yet on the other hand, Scripture is clear that we must confront false teachers who compromise the basic fundamental of Christianity—the gospel of Christ.
The Galatian Problem
I have been asked to share with you what I consider to be the main, or at least one of the main, problems with the Seventh-day Adventist church. Adventists hold many good values and practices. Their emphasis on health, education, mission, evangelism, community and giving are to be commended. However, I believe Adventists hold several false doctrines and at the heart of historic Adventism there is a compromise of the gospel which is very similar to that which was being promoted to the Galatian churches in the time of Paul.
Galatians was written about AD 50, and many scholars think it is the first letter Paul wrote to the young Gentile churches. The issue to which Galatians was written was one of the first problems the new Christian church had to face. What relationship should exist between the old covenant laws and Christianity? That problem is still a pressing issue in the church today.
The magnitude of the Galatian problem
If you compare the book of Galatians to Paul’s other books, it will become immediately evident that Paul considered the Galatian problem to be of greater magnitude than any other problem he addressed in any of his letters.
First, we note that there are no words of endearment. If one compares, for example, Paul’s letter to the Corinthians we find that he addresses the Corinthians as “sanctified in Christ Jesus, saints by calling” (1 Cor. 1:2). Paul goes on to commend them saying, “you were enriched in Him, in all speech and all knowledge (1 Cor. 1:5). “you are not lacking in any gift, awaiting eagerly the revelation of our Lord Jesus Christ, who will also confirm you to the end, blameless in the day of our Lord Jesus Christ” (1 Cor. 1:7, 8). However we know that the church in Corinth was not very “saintly” in their behavior. There were factions, with jealousy and strife (1 Cor. 4). There was “immorality of such a kind as does not exist even among the Gentiles, that someone has his father’s wife” (1 Cor. 5). The Corinthians were taking one another to court (1 Cor. 6). There was false teaching about marriage (1 Cor. 6) and the list goes on and on.
Paul considered the Galatian problem to be of greater magnitude than any other problem he addressed in any of his letters.
Yet Paul could call them “saints in Christ Jesus!” Why? Because the problem of the Corinthians was one of behavior, immaturity and misunderstanding and not a blatant compromise of the gospel. When writing to the Galatians, however, there are no words of assurance or endearment. There is no mention of “saints” anywhere in the book of Galatians. There are terms of endearment in all of Paul’s other letters but not here. Why?—Because of the magnitude of the problem! We can justly conclude that for Paul the problem is Galatia was much worse than the situation in Corinth.
Paul comes right to the point and tells the Galatians that they are teaching a false gospel.
I am astonished that you are so quickly deserting the one who called you by the grace of Christ and are turning to a different gospel—which is really no gospel at all. Evidently some people are throwing you into confusion and are trying to pervert the gospel of Christ. (Gal. 1:6,7)
The Greek makes it very clear that the “gospel” the Galatian false teachers were promoting was a gospel of a totally different kind from the true gospel of Christ. Paul goes on in the strongest language to condemn anyone who would teach this false gospel.
But even if we, or an angel from heaven, should preach to you a gospel contrary to what we have preached to you, he is to be accursed! As we have said before, so I say again now, if any man is preaching to you a gospel contrary to what you received, he is to be accursed! (Gal. 1:8, 9)
Paul, why such strong, condemning language? Why?—Because of the magnitude of the problem!
Next consider the public confrontation with Peter in Gal. 2:11–14. We would expect that Paul would treat Peter more graciously than to condemn him in front of the gathered assembly. After all, was Peter not the head of the disciple band that walked and talked with Christ? Was it not Peter who was used so mightily on the day of Pentecost when 3,000 people were converted? Was it not Peter to whom Cornelius was directed by the angel of God when the Gentiles received the gift of the Holy Spirit? Why did not Paul take Peter aside and admonish him in private? Why?—Because of the magnitude of the problem!
Note the words Paul uses as he describes these false teachers.
You foolish Galatians, who has bewitched you, before whose eyes Jesus Christ was publicly portrayed as crucified? (Gal. 3:1)
Here Paul calls them “foolish” and “bewitched”. This is passionate language indeed. He did this to jolt them to the seriousness of there actions. Today, we might say something like this. “You stupid idiots, why did you leave the simple gospel of grace through faith in Christ for a false gospel? You dummies!” Why did Paul use such passionate language? Why?—Because of the magnitude of the problem.
Paul goes even further. The Galatian heresy, says Paul, has caused them to be “Severed from Christ” and they had “fallen from grace” (Gal. 5:1-4). Wow! Paul, why are you so condemning? Why? —Because of the magnitude of the problem!
Then, as if his readers had not yet sensed the full enormity of the problem, Paul pulls out all of the stops.
I wish that those who are troubling you would even cut themselves off (Gal. 5:12).
We begin to see the magnitude of the Galatian problem. It called forth from Paul the strongest confrontation. The reason the Galatian problem loomed so large in Paul’s mind was that the false teachers were promoting a false gospel which undermined the basic foundation upon which Christianity is based.
The Nature of the Galatian problem
What was this perversion of the gospel? In the Adventist church there is a lot of controversy over just what the Galatian problem was. Some have tried to limit the statements about law in Galatians to the so-called “ceremonial law” thus excluding the so-called “moral law” of the Ten Commandments. By doing this they can keep the seventh-day Sabbath out of the Galatian problem. Others have tried to make the Galatian problem some sort of Gnostic heresy. I am convinced beyond a shadow of doubt that the Galatians were mixing faith and works. They were placing both faith in Christ and obedience to the law as the foundation of salvation. They were saying that to be saved one must have faith in Christ, yes, but one also had to keep the law. And they went a step further and were promoting old covenant rituals as a sign that one was obedient to the law. The following texts lead to this conclusion.
…the Galatians were mixing faith and works. They were placing both faith in Christ and obedience to the law as the foundation of salvation.
New Covenant Righteousness does not come through law (Gal. 2:21). This is the consistent teaching of Paul. In Philippians 3:8, 9 we read,
More than that, I count all things to be loss in view of the surpassing value of knowing Christ Jesus my Lord, for whom I have suffered the loss of all things, and count them but rubbish so that I may gain Christ, and may be found in Him, not having a righteousness of my own derived from the Law, but that which is through faith in Christ, the righteousness which comes from God on the basis of faith.
Old covenant righteousness, however, is based upon obedience to the law.
It will be righteousness for us if we are careful to observe all this commandment before the Lord our God, just as He commanded us (Deut. 6:25).
Paul asks the Galatians,
“This is the only thing I want to find out from you: did you receive the Spirit by the works of the Law, or by hearing with faith? (Gal. 3:2).
Then he says,
For as many as are of the works of the Law are under a curse; for it is written, “Cursed is everyone who does not abide by all things written in the book of the law, to perform them…However, the Law is not of faith; on the contrary, “He who practices them shall live by them”(Gal. 3:10, 12).
Paul makes it very clear that the reign of law was from Moses to Christ. He says that a number of times in different ways.
- The law came 430 years after Abraham (Gal. 3:17).
- He says the law was “added” until the seed (Christ) would come (Gal. 3:19). When one adds something, it means that it was not there before. The word “until” means that what was added was then taken away.
- The law was a tutor to lead to Christ (Gal. 3:24, 25). But now that faith has come we are no longer under a tutor or under the law. (Gal. 3:25)
- Let us not overlook the significance of Galatians 3:28, 29.
There is neither Jew nor Greek, there is neither slave nor free man, there is neither male nor female; for you are all one in Christ Jesus. And if you belong to Christ, then you are Abraham’s descendants, heirs according to promise.
This avowal that the new covenant makes no distinction between Jew and Greek, slave nor free, male nor female is a statement of grand proportions to anyone versed in the old covenant law! It cuts through the very heart of old covenant law. There are many laws in the old covenant that separated the Jew from the Gentile,1 slave from free,2 male and female.3 These two verses completely invalidate the old covenant laws that deal with clean and unclean foods, circumcision, Sabbath, new moons, fixed festivals and all the laws that separated the Jew from the Gentile.
Paul shows that the new covenant Christian is linked directly to the promise of Righteousness by faith that was given to Abraham, completely bypassing all Sinaitic laws.4 - Paul is relentless in driving home this point about the reign of law. In Galatians 4:3–5, Paul states that the Jews were slaves held in the bondage under the law until Christ came to redeem those who were under the law.
So also we, while we were children, were held in bondage under the elemental things of the world. But when the fullness of the time came, God sent forth His Son, born of a woman, born under the Law, so that He might redeem those who were under the Law, that we might receive the adoption as sons.
He goes on to tell them the good news.
Therefore you are no longer a slave, but a son; and if a son, then an heir through God (Gal. 4:7).
With these clear facts in mind, we come to the heart of the matter. Just what were the Galatians doing that prompted such a strong confrontation from Paul?
- They were enforcing circumcision as a necessary ingredient for right standing with God. (Gal. 5:3)
- They were enforcing the separation of Jew and Gentile regarding table fellowship. The Gentiles brought something other than a leg-of-lamb to the fellowship meal! This caused the Jews to pull away from the Gentiles which in turn caused Paul to confront Peter to his face in front of the gathered assembly.
- They were enforcing the holy days of the old covenant calendar.
But now that you have come to know God, or rather to be known by God, how is it that you turn back again to the weak and worthless elemental things, to which you desire to be enslaved all over again? You observe days and months and seasons and years. I fear for you, that perhaps I have labored over you in vain. Gal. 4:9–11
There are some who will go to any length to get out from under the clear teaching of this verse. They will try to bring in some new idea to Paul’s discussion of old covenant law and say that the activities outlined here deal with some ancient pagan festivals. However, it is clear that Paul uses “elemental things” for old covenant law in several places and it is definitely in view here.5 Therefore, we must conclude that the above text has reference to “the Lord’s appointed times” 6 of Sabbath days, new moons, the seven seasonal feasts and sabbatical years. In Colossians 2:16, 17 Paul clearly stated that these things (as a group) were a mere shadow but the substance is Christ.
Galatians 5:18 states very clearly,
But if you are led by the Spirit, you are not under the Law.
Summary of the Galatian problem
The false teachers were saying that to be saved one had to have faith in Christ and keep the law, including the food laws, the rituals of circumcision, Sabbath, new moons, fixed festivals and sabbatical years. Paul said that this teaching was a false gospel which drew from him the strongest condemnation.
There are two formulas for salvation that have been promoted:
1. Faith + the works of the law = Salvation
Our obedience is a necessary component for salvation, or
2. Faith = Salvation + the fruits of the Spirit.
Our obedience is not a necessary component of salvation but only an imperfect evidence of it.
Here is a most important statement. The acts of obedience that spring from salvation are not works of law and do not include any rituals from old covenant law such as clean and unclean, circumcision, Sabbaths, new moon celebrations, seasonal feasts or sabbatical years. Mk. 7:14–23; Rom. 14:5, 14; Heb. 10:1, Gal. 4:10, Col. 2:16, 17.
The Galatians wanted to be under old covenant law.
They were promoting old covenant rituals.
Paul said that this was a false gospel and condemned this teaching in the strongest possible terms!
The Adventist Problem
Adventists, too, want to be under law and vigorously promote the law. They too, enforce the old covenant ritual of Sabbath and the laws of clean and unclean foods. The Adventist problem is much like the Galatian problem. Adventists teach that one is saved by faith alone but in order to stay saved one must keep the law, especially the Sabbath.
Adventists teach that one is saved by faith alone but in order to stay saved one must keep the law, especially the Sabbath.
They teach that the Sabbath is the seal of God and that those who worship on Sunday will receive the Mark of the beast thus making the Sabbath a salvation issue.
In their official fundamentals of beliefs #17 we read “One of the gifts of the Holy Spirit is prophecy. This gift is an identifying mark of the remnant church and was manifested in the ministry of Ellen G. White. As the Lord’s messenger, her writings are a continuing and authoritative source of truth…” Here are some of her “authoritative statements of “truth”.
The name Seventh-day Adventist is a standing rebuke to the Protestant world. Here is the line of distinction between the worshippers of God and those who worship the beast and receive his mark… EGW, Spiritual Gifts, Vol. 4, p. 54.
Then I was shown a company who were howling in agony. On their garments was written in large characters. “Thou art weighted in the balance, and found wanting.” I asked who this company were. The angel said, “These are they who have once kept the Sabbath and have given it up… EGW Early Writings, p. 37.
I found it instructive at the recent X Convention to learn that many modern-day false teachings had their origin from a communication from an “angel”. Paul, under the guidance of the Holy Spirit, must have foreseen this when he wrote.
But even if we, or an angel from heaven, should preach to you a gospel contrary to what we have preached to you, he is to be accursed! (Gal. 1:8).
Ellen White continues:
I saw that the Holy Sabbath is, and will be, the separating wall between the true Israel of God and unbelievers. EGW, Early Writings, p. 3.
These statements make it clear beyond a shadow of doubt that in Adventism the Sabbath is a salvation issue. However, the Sabbath is not a moral law; it is a ritual law.7 There is no clear distinction in the law (books of Moses) between ritual and moral. They are often, if not usually, all mixed up together. The Sabbath is mentioned two times with moral laws in Exodus 20 and in Deut 5 because it is the sign of the Sinaitic covenant between God and Israel (Ex. 31:16,17) and ancient Near East treaty documents always had the sign of the covenant in the center of the covenant document.8 It is mentioned a dozen times with the ritual laws of the old covenant such as new moons, fixed festivals, etc.
As long as Adventism teaches that the Sabbath is a salvation issue there will be a great similarity between those who were preaching “another gospel” in Galatia and Adventism.
At best Adventists teach that the “works” that result from salvation are “works of the law” with an emphasis on keeping the Sabbath, an old covenant ritual, as a evidence of salvation. At worst, Adventists teach that salvation is faith in Christ + works of the law with emphasis on the keeping of the Sabbath. As long as Adventism teaches that the Sabbath is a salvation issue there will be a great similarity between those who were preaching “another gospel” in Galatia and Adventism. For Paul any compromise of the simple gospel of faith in Christ met the strongest condemnation. Can we do less?
Let us pray for Adventist leaders. There are many within Adventism who do not believe historic Adventist doctrine. Many in Adventism want to change but they are trying to do it without admitting past error. To admit error on these points undermines the whole structure of Adventism because Adventism stands on three legs: The authority of Ellen White, the Seventh-day Sabbath and their 1844 sanctuary theology. If they take out any one of these three, and are consistent in their reasoning and teaching, the others will fall because they are not biblical doctrines. This is why most former Adventist pastors leave Adventism. They become convinced that one of these three legs is broken (contrary to Bible teaching and in error) and soon see the whole structure of Adventism fall.
I have personally spoken with many Adventist pastors who do not believe that Ellen White is a source of authority, they do not believe that the Sabbath is the seal of God, they do not believe that Sunday worship will become the mark of the best, they do not believe that the Adventist church is the remnant church of Bible prophecy. They do not believe in Adventist’s 1844 sanctuary theology. Not only have I spoken with pastors, but also many members and Adventist scholars and administrators who in private tell me the same thing.
Many hundreds of Adventist leaders know that historic Adventism teaches a number of unbiblical, false doctrines. Pray that there will be a reformation within Adventism to biblical truth and to the simple gospel which was once and for all delivered to the saints.
Perhaps there are some readers of Proclamation! who still believe your right standing with God is determined, at least to some degree, on your keeping Sabbath. I am going to be bold at this point and tell you that you will never keep the Sabbath according to all the biblical Sabbath laws and, if you are an Adventist and believe that the writings of Ellen White are “a continuing and authoritative source of truth,” you will find it impossible to follow all of her restrictive Sabbath-keeping rules which are legion. Remember Scripture is clear: if you are under law, you must keep all the law. “Cursed is everyone who does not abide by all things written in the book of the law to perform them” (Gal. 3:10).
Read Galatians through in one sitting and do it every day for 30 days. It will bring clarity to your thinking and peace to your life.
Read Galatians through in one sitting and do it every day for 30 days. It will bring clarity to your thinking and peace to your life. Also read Romans and Ephesians. These books are like cool water—the living water—on a hot summer day. They lead you into the shade of the Mighty Rock in a weary land where you will find true rest for your soul. “We who have believed enter that rest” (Heb. 4:3).
I appeal to you to humbly recognize that you cannot be good enough and you cannot keep the Sabbath perfectly enough for it to hold any place in your assurance of salvation. Rather, simply reach out the hand of faith and grasp the free gift graciously given by our good God. Let God pronounce you righteous based solely on the righteousness of Christ. Let the Holy Spirit regenerate you life on the inside so that the fruits of the Spirit will flow naturally from the center of your being. Accept the simple gospel of faith in Christ plus nothing.
He who believes has eternal life (Jn. 6:47).
For Christ is the end of the law for righteousness to everyone who believes (Rom. 10:4).
If you confess with your mouth Jesus as Lord, and believe in your heart that God raised Him from the dead, you will be saved (Rom. 10:9).
Whoever will call on the name of the Lord will be saved (Rom. 10:13).
Then He believed in the Lord and He reckoned it to him as righteousness (Gen. 15:6).
Yes, the gospel is good news; it is not good advice. It is simple. It is the story of what God has done for us in Christ Jesus and it is worth defending with every fiber of our being. †
Endnotes
1 Ex 12:43 Lev. 22:25; Deut. 14:21; Deut. 15:3; Deut. 17:15; Deut. 23:20; Deut. 29:22, etc.
2 Ex. 12:44; 21:2,5,7,20;26,27,32; 23:12; Lev. 19:20; 20:11; Deut. 5:12; 15;18; 16:12,15.
3 Lev. 6:29; Lev. 7:6; 12:2,5,7; 7:6; 27:3-7
4 Gal. 3:29 cf. 4:9–16.
5 Compare Gal. 4:3,4; Heb. 5:12.
6 See Lev. 23; 2 Chron. 31:3 and Sabbath in Christ, p. 78–80.
7 See Sabbath in Christ, p. 103–111; 150–161,331–350 for more documentation on this point.
8 Meredith G. Kline, Treaty of the Great King (Wm. B. Eerdmans Publishing Company, Grand Rapids, MI, 1963), pp. 13, 14, 18, 19 See also Sabbath in Christ, p. 41f.
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