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This message revolutionized the
doctrine of righteousness by faith as it was being preached within the
Seventh-day Adventist church. Sister White saw it correcting errors that
had side-tracked the church's mission and give it new life and power.
The ceremonial law, instead of being
seen as an imperfect means of salvation as well as a "wall of
separation" between the Jews and the Gentiles,90
served as superadditions to the everlasting covenant, giving a visible
and public way of confessing faith and teaching how God dealt with sin.
Only believers could expect forgiveness, for the ceremonies did nothing
to clear sin and guilt. The second major area that the message
transformed was that of making a man righteous, that is, obedient to the
law of God. The statement, "to make righteous," has caused
problems for some but it must be understood that Waggoner did not
believe in the Catholic idea of infused righteousness.91
He simply believed that God could and would make man, through faith, a
keeper of the law which would place him in harmony with heavenly
principles. The method, by which man was to receive this transformation,
was based upon the experience of Christ here on earth.
Waggoner had stated as early as 1887,
that he believed that Christ had taken the fallen sinful nature of man
after the fall.92
Thus he held that Christ was man's substitute and man's exemplar. As
man's substitute, he satisfied the penalty of sin for all men. As man's
exemplar, he took our nature and without yielding to sin in any way to
give man evidence that true faith produces perfect obedience and
overcomes the power of the devil in our personal lives. His faith is to
be our faith, His confidence in the Father's power to deliver is the
same we are to have. And by possessing this faith, this great
appreciation of God's ability to do what He promises, sinful man can
overcome sin.
From the idea of Christ's example of
faith, Waggoner developed the concept of sinless living based upon the
doctrine of the cleansing of the heavenly sanctuary. Many have been
confused with this concept, because it seems difficult to believe such a
doctrine without falling into legalism. Again one must understand what
faith is and how it is related to the everlasting covenant. A. T. Jones
best stated what the two of them meant;
And in this word "faith" I
mean not a mere theoretical notion, but "faith" in its only
true meaning of the will submitted to Him, the heart yielded to Him,
and the affections fixed upon Him …
And "Obey"?—Of course
they (the angels) obey. But the obedience is not an outward
compliance, or of law; but the free-flowing service of love, which is
the only true obedience in heaven or earth. And in this obedience, of
course, they live; for it is the very expression of the life and
righteousness of God which is the faith of Jesus Christ through the
grace of God.93
(quoting Ellen White from Mount of
Blessing, p. 161) "But in Heaven service is not rendered in
the spirit of legality. When Satan rebelled against the law of
Jehovah, the thought that there was a law came to the angels
almost as an awakening to something unthought of. In their ministry,
the angels are not as servants, but as sons. There is perfect unity
between them and their Creator. Obedience is to them no drudgery. Love
for God make their service a joy. …
Again note the sentence that "in
heaven service is not rendered in the spirit of legality." A holy
angel, of his own choice, rendering service by the law would be
"legality." But for angels to be constrained by bargain and
"compact," upon "condition," and proviso, to
render service by the law and in order to get life or to have life—that
would change it from "ity" to "ism" to and make it
only legalism. And for sinful man to render service by the law is also
only legalism.94
Waggoner and Jones were convinced that
the new or everlasting covenant was based upon a heart relationship that
resulted in obedience to all of God's commandments. This went for angels
in heaven and it was the case for all men. When Christ became a man, He
too served God according to the everlasting covenant and not out of a
sense of legality. And the fact that He truly took our fallen sinful
nature, without yielding to sin, gives every sinner the same method of
overcoming sin, namely, true faith. Understanding these men's definition
of faith clearly shows they were not espousing a perfectionism which
would be a life of ever striving to reach a standard by one's self by
performing perfectly. They sought to establish righteousness by faith
upon the principle that one was converted from sinful ways by believing
and appreciating God's power to keep His promises of salvation. There
are several articles that have been compiled in a book, Lessons on
Faith, in which both men explain this concept repeatedly.95
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