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What is the New Theology Part 13:
The Substance of 1888: Shall We Hear Heaven’s Message Through A. T. Jones, E. J. Waggoner, and Ellen G. White, or Ignore it in Favor of Martin Luther?
Authored by Pr. Larry Kirkpatrick and published on GreatControversy.org on November 4, 2004
Similarly to the point concerning the New Theology and 1844, when it comes to the question of 1888, two tracks are taken by New Theology people that demonstrate its core antagonism to Adventism. The following concerns are, however, more difficult to clearly prove because few New Theology advocates openly discuss 1888 in any depth.
Sister White, when asked by some who were concerned whether what Jones and Waggoner were presenting was truth or no, responded,
Several have written to me, inquiring if the message of justification by faith is the third angel’s message, and I have answered, ‘It is the third angel’s message in verity’ (Selected Messages, vol. 1, p. 372).
Again, she said,
The Lord in His great mercy sent a most precious message to His people through Elders [E. J.] Waggoner and [A. T.] Jones. This message was to bring more prominently before the world the uplifted Saviour, the sacrifice for the sins of the whole world. It presented justification through faith in the Surety; it invited the people to receive the righteousness of Christ, which is made manifest in obedience to all the commandments of God (Last Day Events, p. 200).
The message of Christ’s righteousness is to sound from one end of the earth to the other to prepare the way of the Lord. This is the glory of God, which closes the work of the third angel (Last Day Events, p. 200).
She even said it was the beginning of the loud cry!
The time of test is just upon us, for the loud cry of the third angel has already begun in the revelation of the righteousness of Christ, the sin-pardoning Redeemer. This is the beginning of the light of the angel whose glory shall fill the whole earth. For it is the work of every one to whom the message of warning has come, to lift up Jesus, to present Him to the world as revealed in types, as shadowed in symbols, as manifested in the revelations of the prophets, as unveiled in the lessons given to His disciples and in the wonderful miracles wrought for the sons of men. Search the Scriptures; for they are they that testify of Him (Selected Messages, vol. 1, p. 362).
Her words are astonishing. The giving of the fourth angel’s message had already begun by the time she wrote the above in 1892!
But as error has deepened in subtlety, its manifestation has tended to come more in what is left out than what is expressed. Although the inspired word is clear—something was happening—today most of our people remain willfully asleep about what it was. Few advocates of the New Theology will call your attention to the following words from one of the two men central to 1888: E. J. Waggoner. Read and understand why!
[Writing with reference to Luke 18:9-14] But what is the result? The man who trusted in his own righteousness had none, while the man who prayed, in heart-felt contrition, ‘God be merciful to me, a sinner,’ went down to his house a righteous man. Christ says that he went justified; that is, made righteous.1
The apostle Paul, having proved that all have sinned and come short of the glory of God, so that by the deeds of the law no flesh shall be justified in His sight, proceeds to say that we are justified [made righteous]2 freely by His grace through the redemption that is in Christ Jesus; whom God hath set forth to be a propitiation through faith in His blood, to declare His righteousness for the remission of sins that are past, through the forbearance of God; to declare, I say, at this time His righteousness; that He might be just, and the Justifier of him that believeth in Jesus. Romans 3:24-26.3
The taking away of the filthy garments [Zechariah 3:1-5] is the same as causing the iniquity to pass from the person. And so we find that when Christ covers us with the robe of His own righteousness, He does not furnish a cloak for sin but takes the sin away. And this shows that the forgiveness of sins is something more than a mere form, something more than a mere entry in the books of record in heaven, to the effect that the sin has been canceled. The forgiveness of sins is a reality; it is something tangible, something that vitally affects the individual. It actually clears him from guilt, and if he is cleared from guilt, is justified, made righteous, he has certainly undergone a radical change.4
We see clearly that E. J. Waggoner embraced justification not only as counting right but also making one right with God. This aspect of the 1888 message is striking in its significance and implications for how we can live. And here is the real problem with 1888: the implications. That last step—away from sin and into the end-zone, walking side-by-side with the Lamb through the last leg of the great controversy war—that is what we have hesitated to take. We remain planetside.
Alonzo T. Jones, the other 1888 messenger writes emphatically concerning the nature of Christ’s humanity and of Christian character perfection. His 1888-era writings harmonize decidedly with what we seek to present. In fact, were you to set aside this series of articles and only read Jones’ The Consecrated Way to Christian Perfection side-by-side with Waggoner’s Christ our Righteousness, similar themes would loudly echo. All we have done is to update them to the issues current to us at the end of the fourth historical period. The issues haven’t gone away. They are still here. They are still alive. God is still pushing them forward.
He has unfinished business with His people!
Unfortunately, the New Theology advocates take one of two approaches to 1888: They either (a) Try to pitch the idea that we just don’t know what 1888 was about anyway and so there is nothing to be done about it but to move forward in ignorance, or (b) They teach that what 1888 was about was the reassertion of the same gospel understanding as they declare was held by Martin Luther.
It should be obvious not only from Waggoner’s lines presented above, but also those of A. T. Jones and Ellen G. White from the same period that followed (i.e., Steps to Christ, Desire of Ages, Christ’s Object Lessons), that there was a fundamental unity between the theological positions they presented. To warn, as some New Theology advocates do, that to say that “to justify” means to make righteous is to teach that “we are saved by our faith and by our own righteous works” and to take a position “that’s a step backwards into Roman Catholicism and into darkness,” is certainly to misstate the facts, to disregard the 1888 message, and to skew the reading of history.
The New Theology prefers not to address 1888 but to advance the notion that Luther’s view on righteousness by faith was, in essence, so exactly correct that heaven has nothing further to add to it. This would make the 1888 message into only a reemphasis of Luther, not actually something necessary and new. Pondering the historical materials leads to a different conclusion. Robert Wieland, for example, has asked the following cogent question:
How could the 1888 message be a mere reemphasis of sixteenth-century concepts, important as the Reformer’s doctrines were for their generation? Ellen White said that the 1888 message of justification by faith was ‘the third angel’s message in verity’ (Review and Herald, April 1, 1890). If the 1888 message of justification was the same as Luther taught, L. R. Conradi was right when he said that Luther taught the third angel’s message in his day and that there was no real justification for the existence of Seventh-day Adventists.5
Speaking of Ellen G. White, what was her perspective concerning the relationship between Martin Luther and the distinctive message Heaven assigned to Seventh-day Adventists to proclaim at time’s end?
Leaning on Luther—Too Hard
It is no new method to argue according to authority. By virtue of a particular authority, it is proposed that a certain idea should be accepted. But the best short-cut of all would be a blank-check prophetic statement—one endorsing a certain teacher or point of view. This is just what some teachers of the New Theology think they have today in Ellen G. White’s, The Great Controversy, p. 253 statement about the Reformer Martin Luther:
The great doctrine of justification by faith, so clearly taught by Luther, had been almost wholly lost sight of; and the Romish principle of trusting to good works for salvation, had taken its place. Whitefield and the Wesleys, who were members of the established church, were sincere seekers for the favor of God, and this they had been taught was to be secured by a virtuous life and an observance of the ordinances of religion.
But this is not the only statement about Luther’s “clarity” found in inspiration…
Foremost among those who were called for God to break the chains of popery, and lead the church into the light of a purer faith, stood Martin Luther. Though, like others in his time, he did not see every point of faith as clearly as we see it today, yet he earnestly desired to know the will of God, and joyfully received the truth as it was made plain to his understanding. Zealous, ardent, devoted, knowing no fear but the fear of God, and acknowledging no foundation for religious faith but the Scriptures of truth, Luther was the man for his time; and through him God accomplished a great work for the emancipation of the church, and the enlightenment of the world (Signs of the Times, May 31, 1883).
The first statement points out some salient facts. The doctrine of justification by faith had, in the time of Whitefield and the Wesleys, been “almost wholly lost sight of.” In its place was found the Roman Catholic view of “trusting to good works for salvation.” When we consider the challenges in his time, we have to realize that because the prevailing teaching on salvation was overwhelmingly centered on meritorious human effort, Luther’s renewed emphasis of the faith component was timely. But does this mean that everything Luther ever said on the topic of justification by faith was sound, or that everything Luther himself did was sound?
Ellen White’s endorsement of Luther is qualified. She says that God called Luther to lead the church into “a purer” faith, not to a completely purified faith. Indeed,
The Reformation did not, as many suppose, end with Luther. It is to be continued to the close of this world’s history. Luther had a great work to do in reflecting to others the light which God had permitted to shine upon him; yet he did not receive all the light which was to be given to the world. From that time to this, new light has been continually shining upon the Scriptures, and new truths have been constantly unfolding (The Great Controversy, pp. 148, 149).
Steadfastly the Reformer labored to clear away the rubbish beneath which true faith had been buried for ages. The dust of ancient errors sometimes obscured his own vision, so that he could not see the truth with perfect clearness; but as he pressed resolutely on, rays of light flashed forth from God’s word, banishing the darkness of superstition, and filling his soul with the brightness of a purer, holier faith (Signs of the Times, June 21, 1883).
The Reformation did not end in the 16th century. “From that time to this, new light has been continually shining upon the Scriptures, and new truths have been constantly unfolding.” It did not end, even in A.D. 1844. So where have the new truths been constantly unfolding within the last few years, the period we earlier labeled as the fourth period, the last part, which we called, “Synthesis II”?
It is not safe for us as reformers to repeat the history of the Reformers in every particular; for after those to whom God gave light advanced to a certain knowledge, many of them ceased to be reformers. We must not for a moment think that there is no more light and truth to be given us, and become careless, and let the sanctifying power of the truth leak out of our hearts by our attitude of satisfaction in what we have already attained. We are not to fold our hands in complacency, and say, ‘I am rich, and increased with goods, and have need of nothing.’
It is a fact that we have the truth, and we must hold with tenacity to the positions that cannot be shaken; but we must not look with suspicion upon any new light which God may send, and say, Really, we cannot see that we need any more light than the old truth which we have hitherto received, and in which we are settled. While we hold to this position, the testimony of the True Witness applies to our cases its rebuke, ‘And knowest not that thou art wretched, and miserable, and poor, and blind, and naked’ (Review and Herald, August 7, 1894).
And why does Sister White say it is not safe to exactly reproduce the history of earlier reformers? Perhaps because Luther approved that Philip of Hesse could marry a second wife—while still married to the first! Luther wrote whithering invective against the Jews, and said their Hebrew Bibles should be taken from them. Luther approved of the death of Anabaptists by drowning. He approved of the censoring of Anabaptist books and tracts.
Luther’s approach to the Bible is what? Sola Scriptura: Scripture only. And yet, He changes the order of the New Testament, pushing to the back books which he not only does not like, but says are Christless. For example, from his “Introduction to the Book of Revelation,” in A.D. 1522:
I miss more than one thing in this book, and this makes me hold it to be neither apostolic nor prophetic…. I think of it almost as I do of the Fourth Book of Esdras, and can nohow detect that the Holy Spirit produced it…6
It is just the same as if we had it not, and there are many far better books for us to keep.7
…Finally, let everyone think of it as his own spirit gives him to think. My spirit cannot fit itself into this book. There is one sufficient reason for me not to think highly of it,—Christ is not taught or known in it; but to teach Christ is the thing which an apostle is bound, above all else, to do, as He says in Acts 1, ‘Ye shall be my witnesses.’ Therefore I stick to the books which give me Christ, clearly and purely.8
On James and other New Testament books:
In a word, St. John’s Gospel and his first Epistle, St. Paul’s Epistles, especially Romans, Galatians and Ephesians, and St. Peter’s first Epistle are the books that show you Christ and teach you all that is necessary and good for you to know, even though you were never to see or hear any other book or doctrine. Therefore St. James’ Epistle is really an epistle of straw, compared to them; for it has nothing of the nature of the Gospel about it.9
Luther was a man, a great man, but also a flawed man, just as we are.
There was a present truth in the days of Luther,—a truth at that time of special importance; there is a present truth for the church today. He who does all things according to the counsel of His will has been pleased to place men under various circumstances and to enjoin upon them duties peculiar to the times in which they live and the conditions under which they are placed. If they would prize the light given them, broader views of truth would be opened before them (The Great Controversy, pp. 143, 144).
But notwithstanding all the persecution and the putting to death of the saints, yet living witnesses were raised up on every hand. The angels of God were doing the work committed to their trust. They were searching in the darkest places, and were selecting out of the darkness, men who were honest at heart. They were all buried up in error, yet God selected them as he did Saul, as chosen vessels to bear his truth, and raise their voices against the sins of his professed people. The angels of God moved upon Martin Luther, Melancthon, and others in different places, to thirst for the living testimony of the word of God. The enemy had come in like a flood, and the standard must be raised up against him. Luther was chosen to breast the storm, and stand up against the ire of a fallen church, and strengthen the few who were faithful to their holy profession (Spiritual Gifts, vol. 1, p. 121).
Here was a man, “all buried up in error.” God led him. And yet, he fails to consistently practice his own principles. Here is a warning to us.
We are reformers; we are not to accept a human standard, but to be governed by the principles of heaven. It does not become reformers to confine the work of reform to some special points which they may choose, to the neglect of others (Ellen G. White, Health, Philanthropic, and Medical Missionary Work, [Pamphlet #66], 1896, p. 9).
We should now closely examine the oracles of God. The garments of self-righteousness are to be laid aside. Let the word of God which you take in your hands be studied with simplicity. Cherish reverence for it, and study it with honesty of purpose. We are not to set our stakes, and then to interpret everything to reach this set point. Here is where some of our great reformers have failed, and this is the reason that men who today might be mighty champions for God and the truth, are warring against the truth. Let every thought, every word, and the deportment savor of that courtesy and Christian politeness toward each other which the Scriptures enjoin. God designs we should be learners, first, from the living oracles, and secondly, from our fellow-men. This is God’s order (1888 Materials, p. 200).
No wonder Mrs. White quotes John Robinson in The Great Controversy,
‘For my part, I cannot sufficiently bewail the condition of the reformed churches, who are come to a period in religion, and will go at present no farther than the instruments of their reformation. The Lutherans cannot be drawn to go beyond what Luther saw; …and the Calvinists, you see, stick fast where they were left by that great man of God, who yet saw not all things. This is a misery much to be lamented; for though they were burning and shining lights in their time, yet they penetrated not into the whole counsel of God, but were they now living, would be as willing to embrace further light as that which they first received’ (The Great Controversy, p. 292).
Hear now Mrs. White warning us to keep the reformation moving forward:
The great principle so nobly advocated by Robinson and Roger Williams, that truth is progressive, that Christians should stand ready to accept all the light which may shine from God’s holy word, was lost sight of by their descendants. The Protestant churches of America,—and those of Europe as well,—so highly favored in receiving the blessings of the Reformation, failed to press forward in the path of reform. Though a few faithful men arose, from time to time, to proclaim new truth and expose long-cherished error, the majority, like the Jews in Christ’s day or the papists in the time of Luther, were content to believe as their fathers had believed and to live as they had lived. Therefore religion again degenerated into formalism; and errors and superstitions which would have been cast aside had the church continued to walk in the light of God’s word, were retained and cherished. Thus the spirit inspired by the Reformation gradually died out, until there was almost as great need of reform in the Protestant churches as in the Roman Church in the time of Luther. There was the same worldliness and spiritual stupor, a similar reverence for the opinions of men, and substitution of human theories for the teachings of God’s word (The Great Controversy, p. 297).
If professed Christians would but carefully and prayerfully compare their views with the Scriptures, laying aside all pride of opinion and desire for the supremacy, a flood of light would be shed upon the churches now wandering in the darkness of error. As fast as his people can bear it, the Lord reveals to them their errors in doctrine and their defects of character. From age to age he has raised up men and qualified them to do a special work needed in their time. But to none of these did he commit all the light which was to be given to the world. Wisdom does not die with them. It was not the will of God that the work of reform should cease with the going out of Luther’s life; it was not his will that at the death of the Wesleys the Christian faith should become stereotyped. The work of reform is progressive. Go forward, is the command of our great Leader,—forward unto victory.
We shall not be accepted and honored of God in doing the same work that our fathers did. We do not occupy the position which they occupied in the unfolding of truth. In order to be accepted and honored as they were, we must improve the light which shines upon us, as they improved that which shone upon them; we must do as they would have done, had they lived in our day. Luther and the Wesleys were reformers in their time. It is our duty to continue the work of reform. If we neglect to heed the light, it will become darkness; and the degree of darkness will be proportionate to the light rejected.
The prophet of God declares that in the last days knowledge shall be increased. There are new truths to be revealed to the humble seeker. The teachings of God’s word are to be freed from the errors and superstition with which they have been encumbered. Doctrines that are not sanctioned by the Scriptures have been widely taught, and many have honestly accepted them; but when the truth is revealed, it becomes the duty of every one to accept it. Those who allow worldly interests, desire for popularity, or pride of opinion, to separate them from the truth, must render an account to God for their neglect (Spirit of Prophecy, vol. 4, p. 186).
The true followers of Christ do not wait for truth to become popular. Being convinced of their duty, they deliberately accept the cross, and thus remove the greatest obstacle to the reception of truth,—the only argument which its advocates have never been able to refute. It is weak, inefficient world-servers that think it praiseworthy to have no principle in religious things. We should choose the right because it is right, and leave consequences with God. To men of principle, faith, and daring, is the world indebted for its great reforms. By such men must the work of reform for this time be carried forward (Spirit of Prophecy, vol. 4, p. 293).
For His church in every generation God has a special truth and a special work (Christ’s Object Lessons, p. 78).
Why all this reform? Why does Heaven invest more than a thousand years in this slow march out of error?
The result of pure and undefiled religion in the heart will be to change the whole character. If any man is in Christ, he is a new creature. We will not, must not, be double-minded, unstable. The renewing grace of Christ renounces everything bad in action, in emotion, in thought. That which was good is purified from its selfishness and every taint of impurity. There is a decided change in the whole life (Manuscript Releases, vol. 7, p. 224).
The goal is to produce the 144K. It can’t be done without the message Heaven called this movement to give. People can be saved on an individual basis before then, for God took men where they were. He winked at their lack of information. Today, excuses are few. Today it is His plan to bring the universe to closure in the great controversy war. God is on the move. Far from being lazy, optional ideas, the Seventh-day Adventist movement’s work plays a deep and important role in the finishing of the war.
To be forced to choose between 1888 and Martin Luther is to be subject to a false dilemma. Had Luther lived, not in his age and his historical context, but in our own, who is to say that he would not today be foremost among Seventh-day Adventists in proclaiming just what Waggoner, Jones, and Ellen G. White proclaimed? We cannot know for certain. But the point is, that was then, this is now. And today the light is shining on Seventh-day Adventists. Today the wilderness wanderings that followed QOD are ending. A new consensus is developing. We gather now once again at the borders of Canaan. Shall we at last embrace the light that has kept us recycling in the fourth historical period? Or just dig our graves like every other generation? The choice is our own.
The Desperate Facts
The New Theology is decidedly out of step with the way the Lord has been leading us. It gives away our historic positions on the nature of sin and on the humanity of Christ. It ignores the results of careful Scriptural study and rejects direct statements from the Spirit of Prophecy showing that justification is “more than the forgiveness of sin.”9 It separates sanctification from justification, it results in a teaching on 1844 and the investigative judgment that has been robbed of its intensity and logical consistency. It makes selective use of the writings of the Spirit of Prophecy. It subtly turns 1888 into a non-event. It is bleary-eyed and destructively consistent in its undermining antagonism to the Seventh-day Adventist message.
Most Important Reason to Address the New Theology Error
The previously described errors must be pointed out. The longer they persist unaddressed within the Seventh-day Adventist Church, the further delayed the realization of the mystery of godliness, the hope of glory, the formation of Christ in us, the reproduction of His character in us. If we should lose sight of the issue of freewill, God’s plan for our transformation and His own vindication, and begin to interpret the Spirit of Prophecy writings in such a way that we participate in making them of none effect, we will sabotage our hope of walking out of this world alive into translation.
While theirs was not the opportunity for translation, the nation of Israel did have an opportunity to meet God’s purpose for them in their day. They failed miserably. Ponder the significance of the following:
When the Jews were dispersed from Jerusalem, there were among them young men and women who were firm as a rock to principle, men and women who had not pursued a course to make the Lord ashamed to call them His people. These were sad at heart for the backsliding which they could not prevent. These innocent ones must suffer with the guilty; but God would give them strength sufficient for their day. It was to them that the message of encouragement [Isaiah 40:1, 2] was sent. The hope of the nation lay in those young men and maidens who would preserve their integrity. And in their captivity these obedient ones had an influence over their idolatrous companions. Had all who were taken captive held firmly to correct principles, they would have imparted light in every place where they were scattered. But they remained impenitent, and still heavier punishment came upon them. Their calamities were sent for their purification. God would bring them to the place where they would be instructed (Ellen G. White, Seventh-day Adventist Bible Commentary, vol. 4, p. 1144).
Here we see the cream of the nation, her precious youth, nay, her precious faithful youth, led off into captivity for the course of a lifetime. These were principled young people, firm and determined to rightly live before their Maker. Innocent of the crimes for which the nation had incurred the divine displeasure, they must suffer with the guilty. These were the hope of the nation.
Regrettably, the responsibility for national leadership, and hence the guilt of the nation, was at this time upon older men whose failure to lead in reform doomed the nation. That was under the Hebrew theocracy. Could it be that in our day things will be different?
With such an army of workers as our youth, rightly trained, might furnish, how soon the message of a crucified, risen, and soon-coming Saviour might be carried to the whole world! How soon might the end come—the end of suffering and sorrow and sin! How soon, in place of a possession here, with its blight of sin and pain, our children might receive their inheritance where ‘the righteous shall inherit the land, and dwell therein forever;’ where ‘the inhabitant shall not say, I am sick,’ and ‘the voice of weeping shall be no more heard.’ Psalm 37:29; Isaiah 33:24; 65:19 (Education, p. 271).
To our generation—and to our youth—much has been given. And much will be required. We are no longer under the Hebrew theocracy. In our day as in no other, personal opportunity to serve God and to learn of Him is unparalleled. Whereas in other ages responsibility has fallen mostly upon adults, in our day young people carry a greatly increased accountability. The youth of today are largely emancipated, freed from the shackles of limited knowledge. Compared to ages past, our young people have opportunities for study, for prayer and spiritual growth like no other generation has ever had. The faithful youth in Daniel’s day were carried away into captivity; the faithful youth in our own day may be the ones who lead us into the heavenly Canaan! GCO
NEXT: What is the New Theology Part 14: Conclusion: A Meaningful Role for Humanity or Not?
ENDNOTES
- E. J. Waggoner, Christ our Righteousness, p. 61.
- These brackets were published in the original by Waggoner.
- E. J. Waggoner, Christ our Righteousness, pp. 62, 63.
- E. J. Waggoner, Christ our Righteousness, p. 69.
- Robert Wieland, The 1888 Message, An Introduction (Washington, DC: Review and Herald Publishing Assn., 1980), p. 73.
- Luther, Martin, translation by C. M. Jacobs, open citation by David Armstrong, Works of Martin Luther, Philadelphia: Muhlenberg Press, 1932, vol. 6. pp. 363 ff., at “Luther vs. the Canon of the Bible,” http://ic.net/~erasmus/RAZ325.HTM, accessed November 4, 2004, 3:35 p.m. PST.
- Ibid., p. 488.
- Ibid., pp. 488, 489.
- Ibid., p. 444.
The above material is an extract from the projected 2005 book, Simply Seventh-day Adventism, by Pr. Larry Kirkpatrick, to be published by GreatControversy.org.
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