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Taking this position, the analysis of
the two pamphlets become very interesting. Butler never had a complete
grasp of the gospel despite his frequent statements that he firmly
believed in righteousness by faith.43
Butler never did ever specifically explain how man is to keep the law of
God or how He will write the law within the hearts of man. The old
covenant was a compact that God made with the Israelites where He would
bless them if they would abide by the rituals and ceremonies given at
Mt. Sinai. This condition would make this covenant in simple terms,
"obey and live, disobey die." This is a legalistic
arrangement, an arrangement that, if not contrasted with the true
gospel, will suggest that salvation is really legalistic procedure. This
Butler never attempted such a contrast. He correctly believed that the
law was to be kept but he could not present the gospel as a means for
God to work out His will in the lives of men. His interest was not the
gospel only the law, especially the Sabbath, and man's obedience to that
law.
Butler did give some evidence of his
position on the covenants when he stated that it was God's purpose to
separate the Israelites from the other nations by giving them the
ceremonial law. This arrangement was to establish them as God's special
people.44 The
interesting point here is that Butler believed that God's people were
"elected" in the sense of the Reformed tradition. They were
special because God decided to make them His people. Furthermore, his
argument in regards to the law in Galatians led him to suggest that
salvation was only figurative in the Old Testament. It was as if there
were two different plans of salvation, one in the old and one in the
new.45 This
seriously affected his understanding of the relationship of law and the
gospel by suggesting different methods for different dispensations.
Waggoner was convinced that the law in
Galatians was the moral law. The function of the moral law was that of
pointing out sin by revealing the standard of righteousness.
The reason for the giving of the moral
law at Sinai was because the people were not clear in their hearts that
they were sinners.46
The ceremonial law was the means by which a believer exhibited or
exercised his faith. This was is in direct contrast to Butler's view on
the need for the ceremonial law. By following the rituals and
ceremonies, he saw in the symbols the real truth that by faith his sins
were truly forgiven. Justification by faith had not been revealed only
at the coming of Christ; it had always been understood by any sincere
Jew. The whole of Waggoner's presentation emphasizes strongly that law,
any law, did not make a person righteous. What makes men righteous is
the condition of man's heart response of faith which is brought about by
the Holy Spirit.47
At this point, the counsel of Ellen
White in this matter of the law in Galatians is very important. She did
not really get involved with this debate until, 1888 in Minneapolis.
There, she heard Waggoner for the first time and was enthralled. Soon
after that time she began to make statements to the effect that the law
in Galatians was not the issue; in fact, it had never been. The true
issue was that of righteousness by faith.48
Uriah Smith, a close friend and supporter of Butler, disagreed. He
believed that the subject was the law and that Waggoner was undermining
the truth.49
Then Ellen White began to question the spirit that Butler and his
supporters were exhibiting. She called it an unchristlike spirit, one
that resembled the spirit of the pharisees of the New Testament. She
questioned any position that needed such a negative spirit to sustain
it.50
She saw the theological issues in the
debate and encouraged all to study and come to a unified position from
prayer and Bible study. She also revealed that the struggle was for the
heart of man. Correct theology would produce spiritual fruit.51
This viewpoint became increasingly more vital as the conflict progressed
because it was the only way that the real issues could be discerned.
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