Stephen
Terry, Director
About
Good Works
"What good is it, my brothers and sisters, if someone claims
to have faith but has no deeds? Can such faith save them? Suppose a brother or
a sister is without clothes and daily food. If one of you says to them, 'Go in
peace; keep warm and well fed,' but does nothing about their physical needs,
what good is it? In the same way, faith by itself, if it is not accompanied by
action, is dead."
"But someone will say, 'You
have faith; I have deeds.'"
"Show me your faith without
deeds, and I will show you my faith by my deeds." James 2:14-18, NIV
The relationship between faith
and works has long been in tension within the Christian community. Within the
Seventh-day Adventist fellowship, the struggle has been particularly sharp.
This is because from the very early days of the denomination, we have presented
a unique view of the Investigative Judgment instigated by Hiram Edson s claimed
insights while walking through a field of corn. He stated that the cleansing of
the sanctuary mentioned in Daniel 8:14 was not the earth as the evangelist William
Miller had predicted but instead referred to Jesus moving from the Holy Place to
the Most Holy Place of the tabernacle in heaven. Coupled with this concept was
the idea that when Jesus finished that work, probation would be closed and no
one else could be saved. This was a projection of the original Shut Door
doctrine to occur at some future date very near the Parousia. The Shut Door
doctrine originally taught that probation had already closed in the mid-19th
century. Another aspect of the doctrine was that those who were living when probation
closed would need to be perfect as Christ will have left the heavenly sanctuary
to come to claim his people and therefore could not intercede for them. Perfectionism
was thus woven into the theological fabric of Seventh-day Adventism almost from
its foundation. The troubling implication of this is the idea that the founders
believed they were the prefect ones, who had already passed through the shut door
to salvation. Denominational history reveals otherwise. While I will not be dealing
directly with the issue here, this perfectionism also makes getting the idea of
the Seventh-day Sabbath correct particularly appealing as part and parcel of
being perfect.
Works of all sorts done by the believer
became essential to salvation, sometimes developing ridiculous extremes even as
it did in ancient Israel. In modern times, it could mean not being allowed to
go in the water on Sabbath deeply enough to cause rolled up pants cuffs to be
dampened. In ancient Israel, it could mean pinning a handkerchief to your
garments so it could not be defined as carrying an extra burden on the Sabbath.
But despite all of the rules written and unwritten, modern Christians achieved
perfection no more than ancient Israelites. Like Paul, everyone seemed to come
to the same point, proclaiming, "For I know that good itself does not dwell in
me, that is, in my sinful nature. For I have the desire to do what is good, but
I cannot carry it out. For I do not do the good I want to do, but the evil I do
not want to do--this I keep on doing...What a wretched man I am! Who will rescue
me from this body that is subject to death?" (Romans 7:18-19, 24) Into this
frustration came a novel theology for the denomination, presented at the 1888 General
Conference Session. That theology, righteousness by faith, is a theological structure built
upon the same foundation that originally delivered Martin Luther from his struggles
with perfectionist theology when he discovered Romans 1:7, "For in the gospel the
righteousness of God is revealed--a righteousness that is by faith from first to
last, just as it is written: 'The righteous will live by faith.'" Two young
men, Alonzo T. Jones and Earl J. Waggoner, sharing primarily Bible texts,
presented the idea that we are not saved by perfect obedience, but by faith in
Christ and that our condemnation has been set aside by Christ. This was meant
to echo Paul's statement regarding resolution of the dissonance he felt over
obedience, "Therefore, there is now no condemnation for those who are in Christ
Jesus." (Romans 8:1) While James White, steeped in the perfectionism of the Investigative
Judgment Theology wished to challenge this novel upstart theology from Jones
and Waggoner, his wife, Ellen, wholeheartedly endorsed it. As a result, since
that day, Seventh-day Adventism has suffered from a theological schizophrenia
due to the dissonance between the two perspectives. Uncomfortable with this
conflict, some have tried to meld the two, holding that works and faith
together are the formula for salvation. But this results in a theological
compromise satisfying to neither party in the long term.
The present rift within
Seventh-day Adventism is indicative of the inadequacy of the compromise. On the
one hand, we have the proponents of Last Generation Theology, largely influenced
by M. L. Andreasan's book, "The Sanctuary Service," especially the chapter "The
Last Generation." This group adheres closely to the theology of the mid-19th
century Investigative Judgment and the perfectionism inherent in that doctrine.
While for most of these that perfect obedience is focused on the observance of
the Decalogue, some carry it further and require obedience to all Old Testament
festivals and ceremonies, eschewing holidays and practices not specifically
mentioned in scripture. This stance also assumes a perfect understanding of
scripture and its context based on a literalist approach to the text. While no
one has ever provided evidence that they had achieved such perfection and would
be suspect, even by other perfectionists, if they did, complete perfection is
nonetheless commonly presented as salvific and essential.
On the other hand, a more
progressive trend exists within Adventism and is well explained in the writings
of Morris Venden. In his book, "Never Without an Intercessor," he refutes the
idea that we will have to stand on our own perfection at any point prior to the
Parousia. He also harmonizes with the message presented to the 1888 General
conference by presenting that our salvation is dependent not upon our perfect
works but upon those of Christ, accepted by faith on our behalf. In his book, "Modern
Parables," he explains that works are not what makes us Christian. Instead,
good works flow because of our being Christian. He illustrates this with an
apple tree. The tree does not produce apples in order to be an apple tree. It
produces apples because it is an apple tree. By the same token, we do not
produce good works to be saved. We produce good works because we have been
saved by the glorious grace of Jesus Christ. Paul presents a similar metaphor
in his letter to the Roman Church. "...some of the branches have been broken off,
and you, though a wild olive shoot, have been grafted in among the others and
now share in the nourishing sap from the olive root." (Romans 11:17) While his
fruit tree is an olive, the principle is the same. It is the nourishment
through our connection with Christ that grants us life and the fruit comes
naturally as a property of the fruit tree producing it. Again, not in order to
become the fruit tree, but because we are a part of that fruit tree that by
definition produces according to its kind.
Why did Jesus make this
possible? It is his nature to do so. He told his followers, "He who has seen me
has seen the Father." (John 14:9) What is the Father like? John, perhaps because of his close contact
with Jesus wrote, "God is love." (1 John 4:8) Jesus therefore brought us
salvation as a loving act. (John 3:16-17) Despite our being enemies, he came to
save us. (Romans 5:10) In the beginning we were created in God's image.
(Genesis 1:27) That image is love. What he offers through Jesus is an
opportunity to restore that image. Through untold millennia we have lost the
ability to bear loving fruit as God does. He defines perfection as a loving character
like his. Jesus put it like this: "I tell you, love your enemies and pray for
those who persecute you, that you may be children of your Father in heaven. He
causes his sun to rise on the evil and the good and sends rain on the righteous
and the unrighteous. If you love those who love you, what reward will you get?
Are not even the tax collectors doing that? And if you greet only your own
people, what are you doing more than others? Do not even pagans do that? Be
perfect, therefore, as your heavenly Father is perfect."
Returning to the fruit tree
metaphor, just as Jesus died equally both for enemy and friend alike, the fruit
tree offers its fruit to all without condition. The apple tree has no desire to
withhold its fruit from the worst miscreant or the most loving saint and will
freely share its fruit to all undeserving or not. This is what the love of God
flowing up through our branches leads us to become, for as the loving image and
character of God is restored in us, we will also offer, without pre-conditions,
our fruit born from love offered to us without preconditions of our worthiness
to receive such an offer.
We should note some additional aspects
of the fruit tree metaphor specifically addressed to those who wish to be
judges of apple trees and their fruit. An apple or olive tree does not begin to
bear fruit until it is four to five years old. Nonetheless, it is an apple or
olive tree, even while not bearing fruit. Also, in general, fruit trees share similar
properties regarding sharing their fruit. Cherry trees, plum trees, pear trees
and their ilk all share their fruit without pre-conditions regarding the eater's
worthiness. Regardless of our denomination, regardless of what fruit is borne
in our orchard, we were all created to share love unconditionally, even as God
does. If this is how nature was created to function, if this is how God's
character is, if this is the image we were created in, does it not stand to
reason that bringing ourselves to the Master Gardener to be restored to our
former beauty would be the most wonderful thing we could do? We can be revived
with the light of Christ and the water of baptism will refresh our roots. Then
the Holy Spirit will guide us as we grow to more faithfully emulate the loving character
of God. (Acts 2:38)