Righteousness by Faith, biblical righteousness

Hi G____,

  I am so glad to hear from you. I was afraid you had succumbed to the health issue you had a few years ago. I really didn't expect you to answer me back. How are your wife and family? I hope they are doing well. I believe you had at one time said your wife was attacked like you were.

  I didn't mean at all to burden you down or anyone (who I assumed had taken over for you, but I'm glad that is not the case.) I am a 3rd generation SDA and a 10th generation sabbatarian. I come from a long line of SDBs (not that I know any personally, as SDB is almost an extinct denomination).

  But, I still see that the issue Paul was fighting was the other ditch on the road to life. As SDAs we have fought the ditch of lawlessness and in 1888 that pulled us into the other extreme. Uriah Smith swayed most of the leadership to run Jones and Waggoner out of town. But as you know EGW stood behind them. Not that she is infallible, but very trustworthy as a leader.

  Still, I see her concept of justification and grace to be different from Jones and Waggoner. Hers was heavily laden with law and obedience. This comes through in Desire of Ages. No one can read that book without getting a heavy dose of responsibility to God's Law. It’s in every chapter! This is very good.

  Yet, we still hear in those pages a firm stance on dependence on Christ for that obedience. And this is all that Paul was putting forth in Galatians. He was in no way downgrading the Law of God. He stands behind the Law of God in Romans. But, the balance for that Law-based stance comes from what he put forth to the brethren of Galatia. And I must say, that only SDAs and the apostolic Christians can understand Galatians.

  This is because the Law has been ingrained in our thinking. This is what I was trying to put across on your website. Once the Law is written in the heart, it comes out in the character and life. That in no way means that we put the Law of God aside!!!! No Way! and I should have made that clearer. Paul's example is of the prince training to become king (Gal. 4:1,2).  Once king, does that mean he forgets all that the royal teachers drilled into him? Should he lose his loyalty to his people once he becomes king? Not at all. He would never be made king, or he should soon be forced to abdicate.

  Likewise, once the soul has wrestled with the Law until it surrenders to it and comes to Christ, the mercy of Christ hardens that surrender to a permanent loyalty and then we are fully justified. "And therefore it was imputed to him for righteousness." (Rom. 4:22). I normally call it justification when we first look to God by faith. And this is true. But the fullest justification comes after the wrestling. Just as EGW experienced as a young girl.

  This is all I was trying to say. Once the Law has grinded on us and we are broken, then the grinding goes away, because we are surrendered to God and His Law through the ministry of Christ in the Most Holy Place. The Law as a schoolmaster retires and we have peace with God through our Lord. Now the Law is ingrained in us and in our loyalties. The Spirit now has much to work with to keep us in His way. The angels can train us further in sanctification, like they couldn't before. And we don't feel so straight jacketed. "For the flesh lusteth against the Spirit, and the Spirit against the flesh: and these are contrary the one to the other: so that ye cannot do the things that ye would." (Gal. 5:17).

  This is righteousness by faith. It doesn't come over night. It is a gift. We must wait for it. "For we through the Spirit wait for the hope of righteousness by faith." (Gal. 5:5). That amazing text has 4 participial phrases! That's because a lot of factors go into salvation. We have one of those parts to play--the waiting! That doesn't mean we sit still and let God do it all. Trust me, He won't let that happen. He will bear down on our conscience like He did with Martin Luther as long as we will let Him. Every son and daughter of Adam must choose to stay in the crucible or bail out. The heat goes up higher and higher. Finally we melt, if we stay in. And what a boon to health! "For God hath not given us the spirit of fear; but of power, and of love, and of a sound mind." (2 Tim. 1:7).

  "Now the end of the commandment is charity out of a pure heart, and of a good conscience, and of faith unfeigned: from which some having swerved have turned aside unto vain jangling; desiring to be teachers of the law; understanding neither what they say, nor whereof they affirm." (1 Tim. 1:5,6). This shows where false doctrine springs from. Everyone who would not let the Law do its perfect work, end up being filled with Satan's doctrines. Only those who stayed in the crucible until God was done, have the spring of truth in their hearts through righteousness by faith.

From: G
To: D
Sent: Monday, June 3, 2013 5:53 PM
Subject: Re: The essay on the law in Galatians

Hi David,

Nice to hear from you.

I got challenged by someone who asked why was I teaching different things and I did not know that was what you had written.

The real issue was that some judaizing teachers from Jerusalem insisted that they should still be observing all the rites of the Jewish religion such as circumcision and the ceremonial law with all its feast days etc. These teachers taught that Paul was inferior to the other Apostles where they had come from and insisted that the Law of Moses was still binding and was necessary for justification.

Now we know you cannot be saved by keeping either law in this fashion. But the issue still lies as in what law they were trying to keep to be justified. That is clear.

Paul said it was what was written in the book of the law. That is not the Ten Commandments.

Paul then said this law was added because another law was transgressed. They did not break the sacrificial law and God add the Ten Commandments because of it.

It also said this law was only until Christ. Did the Ten Commandments end with Christ? This is what SATAN wants everyone to believe and what those who are trying to avoid the Sabbath are teaching and is one of the reasons. And if it was referring to the Ten Commandments then they would be right!!! But not so.

It also calls this law a schoolmaster that was until Christ ONLY!! If  you include the Ten Commandments then they are gone and so is the Sabbath and Satan is very happy with that teaching! I will not help Satan with that one by teaching what Paul never said!

The feasts and sacrifices did not take away their sin. But what it pointed forward to did. Clearly the sanctuary system taught them what was to come and then it was gone with Christ. Not hard to see this was a schoolmaster and remains consistent with everything else Paul said.

There is heaps more but if you include the Ten Commandments then they ended with Christ and were written in a book and were added because another law was transgressed. This is impossible and totally wrong and not hard to see.

Now while I respect Allen White and have no problems there, not every thing she wrote was inspired. She did have to learn many things on her own and study the Word like everyone else.

Is she infallible and incapable of getting anything wrong scripture? I am not about to make her as perfect as Christ and incapable of being wrong as only a fool would believe that. This type of teaching is what again makes Satan happy and he uses such nonsense to attack the SDA Church. Again, I will not help with something that is so clearly absurd.

So while she had her opinion there, I choose to acknowledge the Word of God when it shows she is wrong. She was not perfect add she was not infallible and she can get things wrong and did. We become a delight to the enemy when we put her up on a pedestal and worship her as perfect and blindly accept anything she says as perfect. Satan will and has used that and I will not help him in his attack on her and the SDA Church on those who walk this path. We need to be very careful how we tread here.

There is NOT one reference to the moral law ANYWHERE in Galatians until Paul changes topic in chapter 5. All references are to a law written a book that ended with Christ.

Even all the famous theologians agree and many Adventists before have also agreed. I find the only ones that don’t are the ones that have put Ellen White as infallible and before the Word of God and that is clearly wrong.

This is a page I wrote on the issue and I got asked why I was teaching two different things and said my page made sense but the other view could never fit. I said I agree and did not know about this and had to apologize.

http://www.the-ten-commandments.org/galatians_ceremoniallaw.html

http://www.the-ten-commandments.org/galatians-commentary.html

The issue is clearly being saved by grace through faith BUT...that can apply to any law in scripture! The question is what law were the Galatians trying to keep to be justified by works? Paul makes that clear over and over again. So I agree with the issue but the law is beyond doubt wrong.

I will not and cannot help the enemy with what is not only wrong but what helps him keep people from the kingdom of God and away from the truth on the Sabbath.

Obeying the moral law is not legalism David. I though as an Adventist you would understand this issue. Here it is put very simply on a new web site I put up. http://www.saved-by-grace-through-faith.org/

I am struggling to deal with this right now and are fighting to stay alive due to ill health still. I need to say away from stress as this is very damaging.

God bless,

G_____