More Adventist Heritage Stories

This past week the Annual Council of the General Conference had met and discussed many urgent matters.  One addenda item was a revision of the statements of beliefs, the 28 fundamentals received aslight “makeover” in wording (more details will be in the November monthly newsletter).  The transparency and openness of or church enable everyone to read via internet the updates, to see the documents as they were amended.  Some were concerned about changes made.  All are welcome to consider the recommendation which will be brought to the General Conference in session at San Antonio in July 2015.  Until then these changes are up for discussion.

This reminded me of a story from 1888.  By the late 1870s and 1880s Ellen White had become convinced that the low spiritual condition of her contemporary Adventists was a result of the failure of their theology!  She was concerned that inadequate understanding of God and His will was resulting in people’s wrong lifestyle of legalism.  The legalistic heritage of the Christian Connexion, from which her husband James came out into Adventism, which suggested that the right to the tree of life is earned by keeping the commandments, had to be corrected.  When Adventist ministers of the day were approached with the message that it is through the righteousness of Christ that we are saved by Grace alone, most objected.  The two young Biblical scholars Jones & Waggoner were teaching justification by faith, but older generation of leaders and pastors were not hearing it.

Ellen White announced that her intention of taking the new message to the grassroots, to the laity “if the ministers will not receive the light, I want to give the people a chance” (letter to Willie White, September 12, 1881).  Her concern was that those who had bound themselves to their “legal religion” would “see the better things proided for them – Christ and His Righteousness.” (Review & Herald, 1889, 66:465-66).  She wrote that people, masses, would read and see the light of truth for themselves, often by-passing the “chain of command” and not communicating first to pastors, and then to people.  I am encouraged to know that our pioneers took seriously words of Apostle John that all have the same anointing from Christ, and there is no need to depend on others for understanding (1^st John 2:27).

I invite you to study the changes proposed to the 28 fundamentals to learn how definitions of our faith have improved in language to communicate clearer Biblical Message to the world.