A VERY important doctrine of the church is the doctrine of righteousness by faith. And in recent years many fine articles have been written on the topic, yet it is difficult to keep from becoming somewhat confused because of semantics. I believe much con fusion could be avoided if we thought of certain basic concepts in the same way. For instance, a better definition of terms among us would help us to achieve more under standing and greater unity in the faith, as well as help us to avoid some pitfalls. A clarification of certain frequently used terms might be helpful.
Righteousness by faith—a means whereby sinners can attain to righteousness. It was instituted as a remedy for sin, and is not to be confused with the faith of an unfallen being.
Righteousness by works—a means where by it is possible for unfallen beings to "form a righteous character." (Good in itself, but an impossible method for fallen beings. All our own righteousness is as filthy rags.)
Sinless being—a being who has a sinless nature and therefore finds it natural to refrain from sinning.
Sinful being—a being who was born in sin and therefore has a sinful nature.
Holy flesh—a sinless nature is entailed, rather than a perfect body. A group of fallen beings around the turn of the century claimed to have obtained a sinless nature.
Subdue—to hold in subjection, overcome, or conquer. For instance, we can overcome an evil temper, but as sinful beings, we must watch that it does not come out from its subjection and hold sway again.
Eradicate—to get rid of completely, rather than to hold in subjection.
The Problem of Semantics
It seems that in order to avoid bringing division into our ranks it is more necessary to define our terms today than it was a number of years ago. Ellen G. White, while inspired, sometimes used words or terms that could be taken in two ways. For example, most of the time she referred to our sinful propensities as something that must be fully subdued, but in at least one place she declared that we need not retain even one sinful propensity. Some use this to teach an eradication of sinful propensities rather than a keeping in subjection of all our sinful propensities. (This brings us back to "holy flesh" teaching.)
While it appears impossible to eliminate all problems caused by semantics, with care we could come much closer to it. A number of Spirit of Prophecy quotations that will shed light on the terms mentioned above are submitted for our consideration.
Should they [the dwellers in Eden] once yield to temptation, their nature would become so depraved that in themselves they would have no power and no disposition to resist Satan. Patriarchs and Prophets, p. 53.
It would appear that when God created sinless Adam He put power within him to resist evil. Evidently this was a sinless nature. (This does not mean to say that Adam did not work closely with God and God with him.) Once man fell he lost that power, in himself, to resist evil.
The law demands righteousness, and this the sinner owes to the law; but he is incapable of rendering it. The only way in which he can attain to righteousness is through faith. Selected Messages, book 1, p. 367.
It is only he who knows himself to be a sinner that Christ can save. . . . All our good works are dependent on a power outside of ourselves. Testimonies, vol. 8, p. 316.
Is a Christian a Sinner?
Sometimes we refer to two classes of people: the sinner and the Christian. However, in the true sense of the word a Christian is a sinner too, because he is a fallen being and will remain so until Jesus comes. Righteousness by faith is the method for sinners to attain to righteousness.
It was possible for Adam, before the fall, to form a righteous character by obedience to God's law. But he failed to do this, and because of his sin our natures are fallen, and we cannot make ourselves righteous. Since we are sinful, unholy, we cannot perfectly obey the holy law. We have no righteousness of our own with which to meet the claims of the law of God. --Steps to Christ, p. 62.
There is a vast difference between a fallen being and an unfallen one. Adam, be fore he fell, could form a righteous character by his works; because we are fallen beings, we cannot form a righteous character by our works it has to be through faith. It is just as natural for a sinner to do evil as it is for a sinless being to do right.
God always demanded good works, the law demands it, but because man placed himself in sin where his good works were valueless, Jesus' righteousness alone can avail. --Selected Messages, book 1, p. 343.
Good works are valueless to fallen beings as a means of becoming righteous. Because we are sinful (fallen) beings until Jesus comes we must depend upon His righteousness for salvation. Before man fell, his good works were not valueless in attaining to righteousness.
The child of God will be terror-stricken at the first sight of the majesty of Jesus Christ. He feels that he cannot live in His holy presence. But the word comes to him as to John, "Fear not." ---That I May Know Him, p. 360.
John was a sinful being, and he was terror-stricken when he met Christ in His glory. Our first sight of Christ in His glory will terrify us, too, not because we will not welcome Him, but because we will still be sinful beings. "We shall all be changed" means more than a change of our physical bodies; it will be an eradication of our subdued but still sinful nature.
The closer you come to Jesus, the more faulty you will appear in your own eyes. Steps to Christ, p. 64.
Why do we appear faulty when we come closer to Jesus? It is because of our sinful nature. Our sinful nature, through God's help, must be subdued (held under), but it is still present. If our sinful nature were eradicated and replaced with a sinless nature, like the nature that Adam had before he fell, we would not appear faulty as we come closer to Jesus.
There are those who hold that our sinful nature must be eradicated and replaced by a sinless nature like the one Adam had before he fell. They believe this is necessary before we reach the great time of trouble. But Christ can keep us from sinning (Jude 24) now and also through the time of trouble. We must stress the urgent need to refrain from sinning. Our theme should be: Sinful people, kept from sinning by Christ! Christ first, last, and in between! The sinner's part is to cooperate with Christ by a continual yielding to His will, then God's sinless nature will be seen in our lives.
What About Holy Flesh?
The "holy flesh" movement would never have obtained a start if all Seventh-day Adventists had realized that we cannot become sinless beings in this life, and modern "holy flesh" teachers would get nowhere if we all realized this today.
When human beings receive holy flesh, they will not remain on the earth, but will be taken to heaven. Selected Messages, book 2, p. 33.
But the question may be asked, Does receiving holy flesh mean the receiving of a sinless nature? Notice the following statement made to refute the "holy flesh" error:
The teaching given in regard to what is termed "holy flesh" is an error. All may now obtain holy hearts, but it is not correct to claim in this life to have holy flesh. The apostle Paul declares, "I know that in me (that is, in my flesh,) dwelleth no good thing" (Rom. 7:18). Ibid., p. 32.
It is obvious that whatever the "holy fleshers" meant by "flesh" it was the same kind of "flesh" that Paul referred to in Romans 7:18. The New English Bible quotes this text this way: "For I know that nothing good lodges in me in my unspiritual nature." * Unspiritual (sinful) nature means "flesh." Holy flesh means sinless nature. Romans 7:17 refers to the "sin that dwelleth in me" (sinful nature).
Men who have lived the nearest to God . . . have confessed the sinfulness of their nature. They have put no confidence in the flesh, have claimed no righteousness of their own, but have trusted wholly in the righteousness of Christ. The Acts of the Apostles, p. 561.
Anyone who says that during the time of Jacob's trouble we must have become sin less beings is really saying, We must have holy flesh, we must have righteousness of our own, we must be on a righteousness by works program. But righteousness by faith is for the sinner. That faith is faith in Christ as the only One who can save us. Sinless beings need no Saviour even though they have boundless love for their Maker.
Let us not confuse the issues by:
(1) teaching righteousness by faith for unfalien beings, as well as for fallen ones;
(2) teaching that righteousness by works is valueless for unfallen beings, as well as for fallen ones;
(3) teaching the necessity of becoming sin less people while in this present world, when we should be stressing the power of Christ to keep us from sinning, and our need to cooperate with Him;
(4) teaching that "holy fleshers" meant the physical flesh had been restored to its Edenic condition rather than that their spiritual nature had been restored to its Edenic condition. They may have thought that there was something wonderful about their physical flesh, but they mistakenly thought it was possible to become sinless beings this side of the coming of Christ.
Let's Not Confuse the Issue
It may be right to say that unfallen beings have what could be called righteousness by faith because of their faith in God. However, in dealing with the sin problem we only confuse the issue by calling this righteousness by faith.
It may be right to think of a fallen being as a sinless person when, or if, he should cease to sin, but it only adds confusion. It is much clearer if we place God's free moral agents in two categories the fallen and the unfallen. Then the fallen come into two categories Christian and non-Christian.
How can we speak the same "language" if all think a different meaning for a term? This gives Satan a field day with semantics. Let us do all we can to eliminate confusion. Could we assist theological unity by:
(1) speaking of righteousness by faith only in the realm of fallen beings?
(2) speaking of the need to cease from sin while at the same time speaking of us as sinners until Jesus comes?
(3) remembering that the reason we can put no confidence in our flesh (nature) is because we are sinful beings?
(4) speaking of an overcome sin as a sinful propensity subdued rather than as one eradicated?
By understanding these terms we can come closer to speaking the same "language" on this subject that has brought so much confusion to many.
*From The New English Bible. © The Delegates of the Oxford University Press and the Syndics of the Cambridge University Press 1970. Reprinted by permission.
