Let History Speak
Let History Speak

"ACQUITTAL AND LIFE
FOR ALL MEN"

The Bible, Ellen White, and the 1888 Messengers Confirm
the Gift of Justification For the Whole World

Primacy of the Gospel Committee • Andrews University • May 14-16, 1999

"Acquittal and Life for All Men"

The Majority Primacy Report specifically disagrees with "Universal Legal Justification." Under its "Areas with Disagreement" in paragraph No. 6 it quotes from 1888 Re-examined as follows: "Christ's sacrifice is not merely provisional but effective for the whole world, so that the only reason anybody can be lost is that he has chosen to resist the saving grace of God" (p. vi). Its comment on this is negative.

But what do the Bible, Ellen White, and the 1888 messengers confirm was accomplished in the sacrifice of Christ? Was a gift of justification given to all the children of Adam "from the foundation of the world"? The following was presented to the Primacy Committee:

SOME BIBLE TEXTS ON A JUDICIAL VERDICT OF ACQUITTAL

Rom. 5:16, 18 NEB • The gift of God is not to be compared in its effect with that one man's sin; for the judicial action, following upon the one offense, issued in a verdict of condemnation, but the act of grace, following upon so many misdeeds, issued in a verdict of acquittal.... It follows, then, that as the issue of one misdeed was condemnation for all men, so the issue of one just act is acquittal and life for all men. (Italics added to all texts.)

1 John 2:2 • And he is the propitiation for our sins: and not for ours only, but also for the sins of the whole world.

John 4:42 • Now we believe, not because of thy saying: for we have heard him ourselves, and know that this is indeed the Christ,
the Saviour of the world.

John 4:14 • We have seen and do testify that the Father sent the Son to be the Saviour of the world.

Cor. 5:19 • God was in Christ, reconciling the world unto himself, not imputing their trespasses unto them; and hath committed unto us the word of reconciliation.

Rom. 5:1, 6, 12, 18 • Therefore being justified by faith, we have peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ. ... For when we were yet without strength, in due time Christ died/or the ungodly. ... Wherefore, as by one man sin entered into the world, and death by sin; and so death passed upon all men, for that all have sinned.... Therefore as by the offence of one judgment came upon all men to condemnation; even so by the righteousness of one the free gift came upon all men unto justification of life.

1 Tim. 2:3-6 • For this is good and acceptable in the sight of God our Saviour; who would have all men to be saved, and to come unto the knowledge of the truth. For there is one God, and one mediator between God and men, the man Christ Jesus; who gave himself a ransom for all.

John 3: 16, 17 • God so loved the world, that he gave his only begotten Son, that whosoever believeth in him should not perish, but have everlasting life. For God sent not his Son into the world to condemn the world; but that the world through him might be saved.

John 6:33 • For the bread of God is he which cometh down from heaven, and giveth life unto the world.

John 6:51 • I am the living bread which came down from heaven: if any man eat of this bread, he shall live for ever: and the bread that I will give is my flesh, which I will give for the life of the world.

Titus 2:11 • The grace of God that bringeth salvation hath appeared
to all men.

Isa. 53:6 • All we like sheep have gone astray; we have turned every one to his own way; and the LORD hath laid on him the iniquity of us all.

John 12:47 • If any man hear my words, and believe not, I judge him not: for I came not to judge the world, but to save the world.

Eph. 1:4 • According as he hath chosen us in him before the foundation of the world, that we should be holy and without blame before him in love.

1 Tim. 1:15 • This is a faithful saying, and worthy of all acceptation, that Christ Jesus came into the world to save sinners; of whom I am chief.

Heb. 2:9 • We see Jesus, who was made a little lower than the angels for the suffering of death, crowned with glory and honour; that he by the grace of God should taste death for every man.

1 Tim. 4:10 • We trust in the living God, who is the Saviour of all men, specially of those that believe.

Rom. 3:23, 24 • For all have sinned, and come short of the glory of God; being justified freely by his grace through the redemption that is in Christ Jesus.

Rom. 4:24, 25 • But for us also, to whom it shall be imputed, if we believe on him that raised up Jesus our Lord from the dead; who was delivered for our offences, and was raised again for our justification.

Eph. 2:1, 5-7 • And you hath he quickened, who were dead in trespasses and sins;... even when we were dead in sins, hath quickened us together with Christ, (by grace ye are saved;) and hath raised us up together, and made us sit together in heavenly places in Christ Jesus: that in the ages to come he might shew the exceeding riches of his grace in his kindness toward us through Christ Jesus.

John 1:7-9 • [John] came for a witness, to bear witness of the Light, that all men through him might believe. He was not that Light, but was sent to bear witness of the Light. That was the true Light, which lighteth every man that cometh into the world.

2 Tim. 1:9, 10 NEB • It is he [God] who brought us salvation and called us to a dedicated life, not for any merit of ours but of his own purpose and his own grace, which was granted to us in Christ Jesus from all eternity, but has now at length been brought fully into view by the appearance on earth of our Saviour Jesus Christ.

Matt. 19:10 • For the Son of man is come to seek and to save that which was lost.

Gen. 3:13-15 • The Lord God said unto the woman,... And the Lord God said unto the serpent,... I will put enmity between thee and the woman, and between thy seed and her seed; it shall bruise thy head, and thou shalt bruise his heel.

[The day there was sin there was a verdict of acquittal for all humanity through the seed of mother Eve with a curse on the serpent whose head would be crushed.]

SOME ELLEN WHITE STATEMENTS ON GOD'S VERDICT OF ACQUITTAL

(Underscore added.)

  1. Christ is not only the propitiation for our sins, but also for the sins of the whole world.... The value of the offering was deemed sufficient to save every soul from Adam's time down to the close of earth's history. "With the heart man believeth unto righteousness; and with the mouth confession is made unto salvation. " Salvation is proffered to all men. The Jews, the Greeks, the Gentiles, the bond, the free, all tribes and nations, may come to Christ (ST, Jan. 22, 1894).
  2. In faith the woman of Phoenicia flung herself against the barriers that had been piled up between Jew and Gentile. Against discouragement, regardless of appearances that might have led her to doubt, she trusted the Saviour's love. It is thus that Christ desires us to trust in Him. The blessings of salvation are for every soul. Nothing but his own choice can prevent any man from becoming a partaker of the promise in Christ by the gospel (DA 403).
  3. "Ye are the light of the world. " The Jews thought to confine the benefits of salvation to their own nation; but Christ showed them that salvation is like the sunshine. It belongs to the whole world (DA 306).
  4. The humiliation and agonizing sufferings of Christ in the wilderness of temptation were for the race. In Adam all was lost through transgression. Through Christ was man's only hope of restoration to the favor of God. ... He alone could make an acceptable atonement for man in suffering the agonizing sense of His Father's displeasure. The sorrow and anguish of the Son of God for the sins of the world were proportionate to His divine excellence and purity, as well as to the magnitude of the offense (1 SM 283, 284).
  5. God has made every provision that His purpose in the creation of man shall not be frustrated by Satan. After Adam and Eve brought death into the world by their disobedience, a costly sacrifice was provided for the human race. A higher value than that they originally possessed was placed upon them. By giving Christ, His only-begotten Son, as a ransom for the world, God gave all heaven (1 SM 299).
  6. When all hope was excluded from Adam and Eve in consequence of transgression and sin, when justice demanded the death of the sinner, Christ gave Himself to be a sacrifice for the sin of the world. The world was under condemnation. Christ became substitute and surety for man, He would give His life for the world, which is represented as the one lost sheep that had strayed from the fold, whose guilt as well as helplessness was charged against them and stood in the way, hindering their return (FE 283).
  7. [Christ] took in His grasp the world over which Satan claimed to preside as his lawful territory, and by His wonderful work in giving His life, He restored the whole race of men to favor with God.... Let no one take the limited, narrow position that any of the works of man can help in the least possible way to liquidate the debt of his transgression. This is a fatal deception.... Christ is able to save to the uttermost because He ever liveth to make intercession for us. All that man can possibly do toward his own salvation is to accept the invitation, "Whosoever will, let him take the water of life freely" (Rev. 22: 17). No sin can be committed by man for which satisfaction has not been met on Calvary. Thus the cross, in earnest appeals, continually proffers to the sinner a thorough expiation (1 SM 343).
  8. Adam and Eve were given a probation in which to return to their allegiance; and in this plan of benevolence all their posterity were embraced. After the Fall, Christ became Adam's instructor. He acted in God's stead toward humanity, saving the race from immediate death. He took upon Him the work of mediator between God and man. In the fullness of time He was to be revealed in human form. He was to take His position at the head of humanity by taking the nature but not the sinfulness of man (ST May 29, 1901; 7 BC 912).
  9. Christ as High Priest within the veil so immortalized Calvary, that though He liveth unto God, He dies continually to sin and thus if any man sin, he has an Advocate with the Father. He arose from the tomb enshrouded with a cloud of angels in wondrous power and glory, —the Deity and humanity combined. He took in His grasp the world over which Satan claimed to preside as his lawful territory, and by His wonderful work in giving His life, He restored the whole race of men to favor with God. The songs of triumph echoed and re-echoed through the worlds. Angel and archangel, cherubim and seraphim, sang the triumphant song at the amazing achievement (Manuscript 50, 1900; 7 BC 485).
  10. All men have been bought with this infinite price. By pouring the whole treasury of heaven into this world, by giving us in Christ all heaven, God has purchased the will, the affections, the mind, the soul, of every human being. Whether believers or unbelievers, all men are the Lord's property. All are called to do service for Him, and for the manner in which they have met this claim, all will be required to render an account at the great judgment day (COL 326).
  11. Jesus knows the circumstances of every soul. The greater the sinner's guilt, the more he needs the Saviour. His heart of divine love and sympathy is drawn out most of all for the one who is the most hopelessly entangled in the snares of the enemy. With His own blood He has signed the emancipation papers of the race (MH 90).
  12. In the matchless gift of His Son, God has encircled the whole world with an atmosphere of grace as real as the air which circulates around the globe. All who choose to breathe this life-giving atmosphere will live, and grow up to the stature of men and women in Christ Jesus (SC 68).
  13. Christ was tempted by Satan in a hundredfold severer manner than was Adam, and under circumstances in every way more trying. The deceiver presented himself as an angel of light, but Christ withstood his temptations. He redeemed Adam's disgraceful fall, and saved the world.... He lived the law of God, and honored it in a world of transgression, revealing to the heavenly universe, to Satan, and to all the fallen sons and daughters of Adam that through His grace humanity can keep the law of God (God's Amazing Grace, p. 43; YI, June 2, 1898).
  14. Heaven's plan of salvation is broad enough to embrace the whole world. God longs to breathe into prostrate humanity the breath of life. And he will not permit any soul to be disappointed who is sincere in his longing for something higher and nobler than anything the world can offer (RH, June 24, 1915).
  15. Christ wrought out a redemption for men. This was not done by going out of Himself to another, but by taking humanity into Himself. Thus Christ gave to humanity an existence out of Himself. To bring humanity into Christ, to bring the fallen race into oneness with divinity, is the work of redemption (1 SM 250, 251).
  16. In consequence of Adam's sin, death passed upon the whole human race. All alike go down into the grave. And through the provisions of the plan of salvation, all are to be brought forth from their graves. "There shall be a resurrection of the dead, both of the just and unjust; " [Acts 24: 15. ] "for as in Adam all die, even so in Christ shall all be made alive" [1 Cor. 15: 22] (GC 544).
  17. The mission of Christ to the world was to break the chain of Satan from the soul, and to set at liberty those that are bound. It cost an infinite price to deliver the captives of Satan from the captivity of sin. In the councils of heaven it was determined that Christ should die for the sins of the whole world. He laid aside his royal crown, his royal robe, clothed his divinity with humanity, that he might touch humanity, and yet he was not received by the world (ST, April 4, 1894).
  18. The divine Author of salvation left nothing incomplete in the plan; every phase of it is perfect. The sin of the whole world was laid upon Jesus, and divinity gave its highest value to the suffering of humanity in Jesus, that the whole world might be pardoned through faith in the Substitute. The most guilty need have no fear that God will not pardon, for because of the efficacy of the divine sacrifice the penalty of the law will be remitted. Through Christ the sinner may return to allegiance to God. How wonderful is the plan of redemption in its simplicity and fullness! It not only provides for the full pardon of the sinner, but also for the restoration of the transgressor, making a way whereby he may be accepted as a son of God (RH, Nov. 28, 1912).
  19. Jesus taught that the religion of the Bible does not consist in selfish exclusiveness, in personal enjoyment, but in the doing of loving deeds, in bringing the greatest good to others, in genuine goodness. His life, from its beginning to its close, was one of self-denial and self-sacrifice. Upon the cross of Calvary he made the great sacrifice of himself in behalf of all men, that the whole world might have salvation if they would. Christ was hid in God, and God stood revealed to the world in the character of his Son. He declared, "The Son can do nothing of himself, but what he seeth the Father do: for what things soever he doeth, these also doeth the Son likewise" (YI, Aug. 16, 1894).
  20. Christ wrought out a redemption for men. This was not done by going out of Himself to another, but by taking humanity into Himself. Thus Christ gave to humanity an existence out of Himself. To bring humanity into Christ, to bring the fallen race into oneness with divinity, is the work of redemption (1 SM 250, 251).
  21. The Lord Jesus, who is the image of the invisible God, gave his own life to save perishing man, and, oh, what light, what power, he brings with him! In him dwells all the fullness of the Godhead, bodily. What a mystery of mysteries! It is difficult for the reason to grasp the majesty of Christ, the mystery of redemption. The shameful cross has been upraised, the nails have been driven through his hands and feet, the cruel spear has pierced to his heart, and the redemption price has been paid for the human race (RH, June 3, 1890).
  22. The angels of heaven are sent forth to minister to those who shall be heirs of salvation. We know not now who they are; it is not yet made manifest who shall overcome, and share the inheritance of the saints in light; but angels of heaven are passing throughout the length and breadth of the earth, seeking to comfort the sorrowing, to protect the imperiled, to win the hearts of men to Christ. Not one is neglected or passed by. God is no respecter of persons, and He has an equal care for all the souls He has created (DA 639).
  23. For the world Christ's sacrifice was made. "God so loved the world, that He gave His only begotten Son. " John 3: 16. It is through that one gift that every other is imparted to men. Daily the whole world receives blessing from God. Every drop of rain, every ray of light shed on our unthankful race, every leaf and flower and fruit, testifies to God's long forbearance and His great love (COL 301, 302).
  24. But not to any class is Christ's love restricted. He identifies Himself with every child of humanity. That we might become members of the heavenly family, He became a member of the earthly family. He is the Son of man, and thus a brother to every son and daughter of Adam. His followers are not to feel themselves detached from the perishing world around them. They are a part of the great web of humanity; and Heaven looks upon them as brothers to sinners as well as to saints. The fallen, the erring, and the sinful, Christ's love embraces; and every deed of kindness done to uplift a fallen soul, every act of mercy, is accepted as done to Him (DA 638).
  25. The message of mercy that was brought from the Father was meant for the ears of the whole world. Christ came to unveil the character of God. He did not select a part of the human race and place a limited value on them. His grace is for all, and the estimate He places on the human soul is infinite. His power also is unlimited by right of His position with the Father. Had it not been for the great sacrifice He made in giving His life for mankind, the human race would have perished in their sin. But after the fall of Satan and man, Christ stepped in to give us another trial. He alone could give man another opportunity to recover himself, for only He who has equal with God could carry out the great scheme of redemption. When Christ has given such an example of comprehensive love, should an exclusive spirit be cherished by those who profess His name? Christ says, "I am the light of the world. " He is the great fountain of life and salvation (13 MR 160).
  26. What does that say to us? "This is my beloved Son, in whom I am well pleased. " It says to you, I, God, have sent My Son into your world, and through Him is opened all heaven to fallen man. After the sin of Adam man was divorced from God, but Christ came in. He was represented through the sacrificial offerings until He came to our world. Here Christ offers this prayer, and what does it say to us? The human race is accepted in the Beloved. His long human arm encircles the race, while with His divine arm He grasps the throne of the Infinite, and He opens to man all of heaven. The gates are ajar today. Christ is in the heavenly sanctuary and your prayers can go up to the Father (1888 Materials, p. 124).
  27. The atonement for a lost world was to be full, abundant, and complete. Christ's offering was exceedingly abundant, reaching every soul that God had created. It could not be restricted nor measured so as not to exceed the number who would accept the great gift (YI, July 19, 1900).

(Other statements are readily available.)

THE 1888 MESSENGERS SPEAK OF GOD'S VERDICT OF ACQUITTAL

(Italics added.)

E. J. Waggoner, Waggoner on Romans, p. 5. 101 [from ST Oct. 95 to Sep. 96]: — "'By the righteousness of One the free gift came upon all men unto justification of life' [Rom. 5: 18]. There is no exception here. As the condemnation came upon all, so the justification comes upon all. Christ has tasted death for every man. He has given himself for all. Nay, he has given himself to every man. The free gift has come upon all. The fact that it is a free gift is evidence that there is no exception. If it came upon only those who have some special qualification, then it would not be a free gift.

"It is a fact, therefore, plainly stated in the Bible, that the gift of righteousness and life in Christ has come to every man on earth. There is not the slightest reason why every man that has ever lived should not be saved unto eternal life, except that they would not have it. So many spurn the gift offered so freely. "

E. J. Waggoner, The Gospel in the Book of Galatians, pp. 29, 30 [Feb. 10, 1887]: — "Your misapplication ... I am sorry to see ... And that is that in the so-called Jewish dispensation forgiveness of sins was only figurative. Your words plainly indicate that there was no real forgiveness of sins until Christ, the real sacrifice, was offered. If that were so, I would like to inquire how Enoch and Elijah got to Heaven. Were they taken there with their sins unforgiven? Had they been in Heaven for two or three thousand years before their sins were forgiven? The very fact that they were taken to Heaven is sufficient evidence that their sins were really pardoned ... no sham forgiveness. ... It was expressly declared that if a soul should sin ... he should offer his sacrifice and his sins should be forgiven him. ... There was no virtue in the sacrifice, which was typical, yet the pardon was as real as any that has ever been given since the crucifixion. How could this be? Simply because Christ is the Lamb slain from the foundation of the world."

Page 54: — "If the 'great system of justification by faith' was not reached till the cross of Christ, pray tell me whether anybody was ever justified before Christ came, and if so, how? My reading of the Bible convinces me that 'the great system of justification by faith' was known as soon as sin entered the world. I read that 'by faith Abel offered unto God a more excellent sacrifice than Cain, by which he obtained witness that he was righteous.'"

Page 63: — "He [Christ] redeems none who were not in the condition which he was made. And since only the Jews were subject to the ceremonial law, your theory would make it that he came to save only the Jews. I am glad that a proper interpretation does not oblige us to limit the plan of salvation in this way. Christ died for all men; all men were under the condemnation of the law of God; and so he was made under its condemnation. By the grace of God he tasted death for every man. " [Heb 2: 9.]

E. J. Waggoner, The Glad Tidings, pp. 13, 14 [1900]: — "The will of God is our sanctification. 1 Thess. 4: 3. He wills that all men should be saved and come to the knowledge of the truth. 1 Tim. 2: 4. And He 'accomplishes all things according to the counsel of His will. ' Eph. 1: 11. 'Do you mean to teach universal salvation?' someone may ask. We mean to teach just what the Word of God teaches—that 'the grace of God hath appeared, bringing salvation to all men. ' Titus 2: 11, RV. God has wrought out salvation for every man, and has given it to him; but the majority spurn it and throw it away. The judgment will reveal the fact that full salvation was given to every man and that the lost have deliberately thrown away their birthright possession."

Page 61: — "It is true that all are redeemed, but not all have accepted redemption. Many say of Christ, 'We will not have this Man to reign over us, ' and thrust the blessing of God from them. But redemption is for all. All have been purchased with the precious blood—the life—of Christ, and all may be, if they will, free from sin and death."

Page 66: — "Thank God for the blessed hope! The blessing has come upon all men. For 'as by the offense of one judgment came upon all men to condemnation; even so by the righteousness of one the free gift came upon all men unto justification of life, ' Rom. 5: 18. God, who is no respecter of persons, 'has blessed us in Christ with every spiritual blessing in heavenly places. ' Eph. 1: 3. The gift is ours to keep. If anyone has not this blessing, it is because he has not recognized the gift, or has deliberately thrown it away."

A. T. Jones, General Conference Bulletin, 1893, p. 258: — "When he [Satan] came to our first parents and they received of that mind, what mind was that? The mind of self, because it is the mind of Satan who is self.... Then what is the mind that is in us? [Congregation: "Self. "] The natural mind is the mind of Satan; that is self always.

"Now the Lord did not leave it there alone. The Lord did not stop right there.... But God said, I will break that up; T will put enmity between thee and the woman, and between thy seed and her seed. ' God put the enmity there, the hatred against Satan's power, the hatred against the things that are in that mind even. God has planted that hatred there, and that is the source of every impulse to good, or to right, or anything of the kind that ever comes into any man's mind in this world. ...

"This is that Light which lighteth every man that cometh into the world. "

A. T. Jones, General Conference Bulletin, 1895, pp. 268, 269: — "Wherein, then, was Adam the figure of Christ?—In this: That all that were in the world were included in Adam; and all that are in the world are included in Christ. In other words: Adam in his sin reached all the world; Jesus Christ, the second Adam, in his righteousness touches all humanity. ...

"The question is, Does the second Adam's righteousness embrace as many as does the first Adam's sin? Look closely. Without our consent at all, without our having anything to do with it, we were all included in the first Adam; we were there. All the human race were in the first Adam. What that first Adam, what that first man, did, meant us; it involved us. ...

"Jesus Christ, the second man, took our sinful nature. He touched us 'in all points. ' He became we and died the death. And so in him, and by that, every man that has ever lived upon the earth, and was involved with the first Adam, is involved in this, and will live again. There will be a resurrection of the dead, both of the just and of the unjust. Every soul shall live again by the second Adam, from the death that came by the first Adam. ... Therefore, just as far as the first Adam reaches man, so far the second Adam reaches man. The first Adam brought man under the condemnation of sin, even unto death; so the second Adam's righteousness undoes that, and makes every man live again."

A. T. Jones, Review and Herald, Oct. 3, 1899: — "[Gal. 2: 16 quoted] By this it is plain that it is law in general, the idea of law, that is considered in this text: that men are not justified by any law at all, nor by all law together; but solely by faith of Jesus Christ without any works of any law whatever. Evidently it could not be otherwise. For to specify some particular law, and assert that men were not justified by that law, would leave the question open to the implication that men might be justified by some other law. But 'the truth of the gospel' is that man can not be justified by any law at all, nor by all laws together; but only by the faith of Christ: simply by believing in Jesus."

A. T. Jones, Review and Herald, Oct. 10, 1899: — "The law of Ten Commandments, while it, with all other law, must never be used as a means of justification is not abandoned altogether. ...

"The Lord Jesus did not come into the world to minister to sin, but altogether to save from sin.... The Lord Jesus came to save men from sin, in the nature of the case he came to save men from the transgression of that law."

A. T. Jones, Review and Herald, Oct. 24, 1899: — "[Gal. 2: 20 quoted. ] Thus this verse is a beautiful and solid foundation of Christian faith for every soul in the world. ...

"For any soul to say, I am crucified with Christ, ' is not speaking at a venture. It is not believing something on a guess. ... Every soul in this world can say, in all truth and all sincerity, I am crucified with Christ. ' It is but the acceptance of a fact, the acceptance of a thing that is already done. ...

"It is a fact that Jesus Christ was crucified. And when he was crucified, we also were crucified; for he was one of us. ...

"Jesus Christ was 'us. ' He was of the same flesh and blood with us. He was of our very nature. He was in all points like us. ... He was 'the last Adam, ' and precisely as the first Adam was ourselves, so Christ, the last Adam, was ourselves. When the first Adam died, we being involved in him, died with him. And when the last Adam was crucified,—he being ourselves and we being involved in him,—we were crucified with him. As the first Adam was in himself the whole human race, so the last Adam was in himself the whole human race; and so when the last Adam was crucified, the whole human race-the old, sinful, human nature-was crucified with him. ...

"Thus every soul in this world can truly say, in perfect triumph of Christian faith, 'I am crucified with Christ;' my old sinful nature is crucified with him, that this body of sin might be destroyed."

A. T. Jones, Review and Herald, Nov. 7, 1899: — "[Gal. 3: 1 quoted. ] Christ crucified at Jerusalem in Judea, was also Christ crucified wherever there is a man on the earth. And the preaching of Christ crucified at Jerusalem in Judea, to be the true preaching of that fact must be also the preaching of Christ crucified wherever the fact is preached. It is simply the preaching of the universal and ever-present Christ the Saviour. ...

"The preaching of Christ crucified at Jerusalem in Judea, and also wherever there is a human soul, —this brings to each soul, just where that soul is, Christ, the crucified, the risen, and ever-living Saviour. And then and there each soul who hears the preaching can be crucified with him (Rom. 6: 6), can rise with him (Eph. 2: 5, 6), and can live with him (Rom. 6: 8), as the ever-crucified, ever-risen, and ever-living Saviour."

A. T. Jones, The Consecrated Way, pp. 82, 83 [1905]: — [Heb. 10: 15-18; 'I will put My laws into their hearts... '] "And this is the 'new and living way' which Christ, through the flesh, 'hath consecrated for us'—for all mankind; and by which every soul may enter into the holiest of all—the holiest of all places, the holiest of all experiences, the holiest of all relationships, the holiest of all living. This new and living way He 'hath consecrated for us through the flesh; ' that is, He, coming in the flesh, identifying Himself with mankind in the flesh, has, for us who are in the flesh, consecrated a way from where we are to where He now is, at the right hand of the throne of the Majesty in the heavens in the holiest of all.

"In His coming in the flesh—having been made in all things like unto us, and having been tempted in all points like as we are—He has identified Himself with every human soul just where that soul is. And from the place where every human soul is, He has consecrated for that soul a new and living way through all the vicissitudes and experiences of a whole lifetime, and even through death and the tomb, into the holiest of all, at the right hand of God for evermore. ...

"And this 'way' He has consecrated for us. He, having become one of us. He, having become one of us, has made this way our way; it belongs to us. He has endowed every soul with divine right to walk in this consecrated way; and by His having done it Himself in the flesh—in our flesh—He has made it possible, yea, He has given actual assurance, that every human soul can walk in that way, in all that that way is; and by it enter fully and freely into the holiest of all."

CONCLUSION — THE FIRST PAPER
"Acquittal and Life for All Men"
Universal Legal Justification in Christ

These sources confirm that every human being can walk in this "consecrated way, " for this is the judicial action of God, following the one misdeed that brought condemnation on all men. Christ brought acquittal and life for all men.

The evidence presented here from the Bible and from Ellen White seems conclusive. Added to this is the confirmation of the "messengers, " E. J. Waggoner and A. T. Jones, whom Ellen White supported in a special way and whom the Lord used to bring us "a most precious message."

The sacrifice of Christ seems to be far more significant and effective than the average Seventh-day Adventist understands. The 1888 message proclaims that the second Adam literally "saved the world" which the first Adam had ruined by his sin. God reversed the judicial condemnation "in Adam" by judicial justification "in Christ. " If the condemnation in Adam had not been merely legal, the human race would perish instantly. Likewise the justification in Christ is legal, making it possible for God to treat every person as though he/she had never sinned. This accomplishment conquered Satan and brought the gift of salvation to "all men, " for Christ paid the full penalty of sin for every child of Adam.

Thus the lost by unbelief reject the gift which Christ has already placed in their hands. In this eternal truth there is healing power for Laodicea and the world, as it gives the human race the true view of the Creator's character of love.

End of Section One — The First Paper — Compiled in February 1999
Primacy of the Gospel Committee • Andrews University • May 14-16, 1999
See Appendix C for covering letter, July 20, 1999

Read Section #2 — "Able to Succor Them Who are Tempted" — The Bible, Ellen White, and the 1888 Messengers Confirm that Jesus Was "Made Like Unto His Brethren"

Home | Articles Index | Sabbath Studies | Baal Worship | Let History Speak Contents