Revelation 3:17 describes the last church of the seven churches of Revelation: “Because thou sayest, I am rich, and increased with goods, and have need of nothing; and knowest not that thou are wretched, and miserable, and poor, and blind, and naked.” There is a terrible deception pictured here. They say one thing while they are actually the opposite.
We say that we are not that group of people, but our best-known writer says we are. As an individual you probably say, “I am not deceived.” I am sure that if you are a minister you will say, “It’s not possible! I teach too much truth to be deceived.” But because we say we are not deceived, it is difficult to convince us that we are. In fact, we will hardly look at it; and the first problem in accepting Christ our righteousness is to realize the fact that we might be deceived. In fact, there are millions of Christians who must be deceived because they are so disagreeable. We are all so many miles apart from one another. Even in the confines of any individual church congregation, we are certainly not going down the road side by side in our theology. We are vastly different in many ways, and we cannot all possibly be right. When everyone says, “I am right,” then that positively guarantees deception.
The Spirit of Prophecy comments on what this deception is all about. “What is it that constitutes the wretchedness and nakedness of those who feel rich and increased with goods? It is the want of the righteousness of Christ [they don’t have it]. In their own righteousness they are represented as clothed in filthy rags; and yet in this condition they flatter themselves that they are clothed upon with Christ’s righteousness. Could deception be greater?” RH, August 7, 1894. They insist they have Christ’s righteousness, but the True Witness says, “No, you do not. You have your own filthy rags.” Yet all the time they insist that they have His righteousness. Could deception be greater?
We can go on for years accusing others of being deceived, but someday we must come face to face with Revelation 3:17. We must confront ourselves with this text. We should be willing to ask, “Lord, is it I? Can I be a Laodicean?” I know all the arguments people use to wiggle out of being Laodicean, but we all must ask, “Lord, is it I?” During that last supper with Jesus, the disciples asked that question, each one wondering if it would be he that betrayed Jesus. Of that elite group of disciples, all could betray Him. They all forsook Him and fled, and denied Him in some way. It was not only Judas who denied Him. Peter certainly did. The others ran frightened, although they were sure they never would. Are you and I better than they? We must take a hard, careful look at this.
This deception was so great in 1889 that Ellen White had this to say: “There is not one in one hundred who understands for himself the Bible truth on this subject [justification by faith] that is so necessary to our present and eternal welfare.” COR 87. Not even one percent understands. Are we better than those to whom she wrote this?
By 1904, things had not improved very much. “For the last twenty years, a subtle, unconsecrated influence has been leading men to look to men, to bind up with men, to neglect their heavenly Companion. Many have turned away from Christ. They have failed to appreciate the One who declares, ‘Lo, I am with you always.’ Let us do all in our power to redeem the past.” RH, February 18, 1904. They had not improved very much over the “one in one hundred” of 1889, had they? They were still turning away from Christ.
Why is it so difficult to understand this? Why is it so easy to be deceived about it? “The enemy of man and God is not willing that this truth [justification by faith] should be clearly presented; for he knows that if the people receive it fully, his power will be broken.” COR 54. Is his power broken in your life? Then have you received it fully?
This quote continues on: “If the enemy of truth and righteousness can obliterate from the mind the thought that it is necessary to depend upon the righteousness of Christ for salvation, he will do it. If Satan can succeed in leading men to place value upon his own works, as works of merit and righteousness, he knows he can overcome him by his temptations and make him his victim and prey. Lift up Jesus before the people. Strike the door posts with the blood of Calvary’s Lamb.”
Somehow in days gone by we have argued and debated about this subject more and more, yet understood it less and less. By 1924, this topic seemed so extremely important and so relevant to the ministerial department of the General Conference that they requested Elder Daniels, a former General Conference president, to write a book on the topic. So Elder Daniels wrote the book Christ Our Righteousness. In the foreword of that book he describes the condition of the people in 1924. He wrote: “In our blindness and dullness of heart, we have wandered far out of the way, and for many years have been failing to appropriate this sublime truth— Christ our Righteousness. But all the while our great Leader has been calling His people to come into line on this great fundamental of the gospel—receiving by faith the imputed righteousness of Christ for sins that are past, and the imparted righteousness of Christ for revealing the divine nature in human flesh.” It was hoped that by this book the Lord would bring us back to a correct understanding of this fundamental truth of the gospel.
Apparently, many back then were missing this marvelous truth; and to say it cannot mean us today is to suffer with the pride of the Pharisees who went on and on until they could crucify the Son of God, and still believe that God was with them, even as late as 70 AD when the temple was being destroyed. When God departed from the temple, Christ said, “Behold, your house is left unto you desolate” (Matthew 23:38); but they still worshipped God as though He were there. But He was not there. And friend, it is possible that we can come and go to church for decades and never meet God. They did, and they were as human as we are. Like them, we can go on and on with gross assumptions and just be totally deceived, walking in darkness and thinking we are the children of light. We can criticize them greatly, but we really only criticize ourselves. Too often we are unimpressed. We cannot remember five minutes later anything about the worship service. Somehow we can go about as blind and deceived as they. The Lord is begging and pleading with us to learn what He has for us that we might have missed, and about which we might be deceived.
With all this warning concerning deception and misunderstanding, the least we can do is to take an honest look at ourselves, and ask, “Is it possible that I am deceived concerning Christ and His righteousness and justification by faith?” Preachers have the most difficult task of all, because they will point to all the good they have been doing for years, and all they have been preaching about it, and that leads to many assumptions.
Is there any possibility that, while I think I understand justification by faith, I really do not? I know that most people have some kind of a belief in justification by faith, but is it the complete Bible teaching on that subject? Or is it your own interpretation of it? Which is it? The Lord is not accusing us of not having a belief in justification by faith. He is saying we do not know what it is and we have not experienced the real article. It is not the lack of some teaching on it. It is the right teaching and the right understanding and right experience of it. We must compare different theories of justification by faith—yours and the true Bible teaching concerning it. Is yours completely in accordance with the Bible? If it is not, you need to come in line with the Scriptures. God knows more about this than we do, so we need to line up with what He has to say. It is not a deficiency in a belief of it, but rather the deception as to what the genuine article really is. Do we have that which the Bible teaches?
We want to look into those vulnerable areas where we are prone to deception and misunderstanding, and also into those areas we disagree on. You may not agree with me, but at least let me ask you: Is it possible that you are deceived about justification by faith? Do you completely understand it? It should be our prayer: “Lord, open our eyes that we may see.” Let us examine our own hearts and ask, “What do I believe about this and how does it compare with what the Bible teaches?” We will be looking at what the Bible and the Spirit of Prophecy say concerning it; and we will discover that the areas of dispute on this subject are areas of misunderstanding.
The most obvious deceptions and misunderstandings are in the area of faith and works. This is at the heart of all the problems. It has been so for hundreds of years in the Christian church; and it is amazing how we can get so tangled up in the subject of faith and works.
What is justification by faith? In Webster’s Collegiate Dictionary, the definition of “just” is: “Conforming to spiritual law, or righteous, especially before God.” To be just is to be righteous before God and to conform to spiritual law. So the act of justification is the act of making us just or righteous before God. Justification is to make us righteous.
Ellen White understood that “Righteousness is right doing….” COL 312. Do not shudder at that. Some seem to have had a different interpretation of righteousness. Righteousness is right doing. Some say it is right relationships. Yes, it can be; but do right relationships bring right actions? Yes, they do. Ultimately we come back to right doing. True justification by faith is right doing before God.
The problems confronting us concerning justification by faith include these: How does a sinner who is not just before God become righteous in God’s sight? How do those who are wrong become right in God’s sight? How do sinners become saints in God’s sight? How do those who are disobedient become obedient to the law?
Is it accomplished by attempting to do good works? The Lord lays His requirements before us, and we say, “Okay, I will do it.” That seems to be the obvious response, but sometimes the obvious answer is not the right answer. To say “I will do it” is old covenant mentality. There is more than one way to get inside a house, and it is not always through the front entrance. In fact, the front door may be locked and barred. It may be much faster to go in the back door, or through a window. The most obvious way is not necessarily the right way. It could be the wrong way, or an impossible way.
Is this righteousness before God accomplished by obedience to the law? Is it accomplished by trying to obey or by praying to be obedient? Is it accomplished by a life-long struggle of trying to obey? We can go on and on with the ideas people have about this.
This problem must be answered clearly, and we must use all the information available in order to channel our minds down the right highway. Otherwise we will wander all over the place in our own thinking. “Let no one take the limited, narrow position that any of the works of man can help in the least possible way to liquidate the debt of his transgression. This is a fatal deception [and we are talking about deceptions]. If you would understand it, you must cease haggling over your pet ideas, and with humble hearts survey the atonement. This matter is so dimly comprehended that thousands upon thousands claiming to be sons of God are children of the wicked one, because they will depend on their own works.” 1SM 343. This is a deadly deception. While professing to be children of God they are really children of the devil, because they will depend on their own works just that much! We need to either throw the inspired books away or begin to agree with them.
The quote continues on: “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.” There is one good reason why you cannot obey the law to satisfy God and become just in His eyes, and that is that we are born in sin and therefore our good works are “valueless.” Therefore, only one Person’s righteousness, or obedience to the law, is of any value. That is why she says, “Jesus’ righteousness alone can avail.” Our own righteousness will never avail.
Immediately many have a thousand fears and want to argue that we are trying to do away with the law. We must dispel those fears and outline the sequence that God outlines for us, or we will be as lost as anyone else (even while keeping the Sabbath). We must never forget that “because man placed himself in sin where his good works were valueless, Jesus’ righteousness [His good works] alone can avail.”
“Man cannot possibly meet the demands of the law of God in human strength alone. His offerings, his works, will always be tainted with sin….The law demands righteousness, and this the sinner owes to the law; but he is incapable of rendering it.” COR 116.
All of these quotations tell us two things as to why man can never be justified by his own works. First, he is incapable of producing good works. Second, everything that he does is valueless because it is tainted with the sins of his past life. No matter how perfect your background, everything you do is tainted with sin and self. Everything. We must never trust our own righteousness. We are incapable of producing true righteousness, and all we do is tainted with sin.
Here lies another deception. Because we obey certain requirements of God’s law, because we avoid certain sinful acts that others commit, we then assume that we are obeying and are therefore righteous. Seventh-day Adventists are in more jeopardy in this area than any other group of people I know of. It is because we can prove by the Bible that what we teach is truth that we say we are conforming and are therefore righteous. We have to be most careful about that because it might be a total deception.
There is an inherent weakness in this type of obedience. “It is true that there may be an outward correctness of deportment without the renewing power of Christ. The love of influence and the desire for the esteem of others may produce a wellordered life. Self-respect may lead us to avoid the appearance of evil. A selfish heart may perform generous actions.” SC 58. If I do what is right because I am afraid of what the neighbors will think, is that righteousness? No, that is fear. If I do what you think I should do in order to get your esteem, is that righteousness? No, that is ego, or self being inflated by the approval of others. Many appear to be crude, uncultured or uneducated, and one of the most terrible criticisms today is to accuse others of being that way; and intellectuals seem to indulge in this greatly. Without any logic whatsoever, they say, “You are not well educated—you just don’t understand.” They used that on Jesus, too, did they not? How, having never gone to school, could He ever understand? Be careful whose club you join with your criticisms. I might have an outward correctness of deportment but be without Christ in my heart.
Certain pressures will accomplish this. Those pressures are listed for us: “Education, culture, the exercise of the will, human effort all have their proper sphere, but here they are powerless. They may produce an outward correctness of behavior, but they cannot change the heart. They cannot purify the springs of life. There must be a power working from within, a new life from above, before men can be changed from sin to holiness. That power is Christ.” SC 18. Many think that the heart can be changed by education, culture, human effort, and the exercise of the will. They have almost totally left out Jesus in this process. Outward performance can be the greatest deception; and many are prone to point to their performance most of the time.
Paul put forth the same argument when he wrote: “Therefore we conclude that a man is justified by faith without the deeds of the law.” Romans 3:2. We are justified by faith only, and not by any of our efforts at obeying the law.
This causes many disputes. Some say that we are not using all the Scriptures and thus you are trying to deceive us. If you do not believe that a person is justified by faith alone without the deeds of the law, if you do not accept this just as it is, without thinking that certain verses in the book of James disagree with it, if you do not accept it by faith alone, then you do not have justification by faith, nor do you understand it. And until you understand that James does not disagree with Paul (for the same Holy Spirit inspired both men), you can never be justified by faith. We must harmonize both Paul and James. They are both talking about Abraham in the context of faith and works.
James did not disagree with Paul at all. James was simply discussing faith, not justification. James said that even the devils believe; therefore, your faith is nothing special unless it is different from what the devils believe. He argues that there is a difference between true faith and false faith (or presumption). He tells us how to tell the difference between the two. “Seest thou how faith wrought with his works, and by works was faith made perfect?” James 2:22. Faith was at work in his actions, and thus the integrity of his faith was proved. Abraham established his faith by his works. And it was by his faith that he was justified.
“Genuine faith will be manifested in good works, for good works are the fruits of faith….Those who are justified by faith must have a heart to keep the way of the Lord. It is an evidence that a man is not justified by faith when his works do not correspond to his profession. James says, ‘Seest thou how faith wrought with his works, and by works was his faith made perfect?’ (James 2:22). The faith that does not produce good works does not justify the soul. ‘Ye see then how that by works a man is justified, and not by faith only’ (James 2:24). ‘Abraham believed God, and it was counted unto him for righteousness’ (Rom. 4:3).” 1SM 397.
All that James was saying is that we are justified by faith alone, but we are not really justified unless that belief produces good works. His argument is not that we are justified by works. He only says that we are justified by faith providing it is genuine faith. If it is genuine faith, good works will follow. The sequence is genuine faith, justification, and then works, in that order. It is not works, justification, and then faith. We are justified by faith alone, and the result of that is good works. James was apparently dealing with some people who thought they were justified and professed that. He asked, “Are you really? Have you really had the faith that justifies? Then why do I not see the good works?”
James and Paul are in total agreement. James is arguing for genuine faith, for genuine faith will truly justify; and that in turn will make us accomplish good works for God. He is examining faith and saying that works are the result, not the cause, of justification. When we speak of justification by faith, we are talking about the cause—how and for what reason are we justified? Not by my works, but by my faith.
The biggest question here is: Who accomplishes justification? Is it something I do for God, or something that He does for me? How is it accomplished? Paul talks about Abraham and how God did something for him. “What shall we say then that Abraham our father, as pertaining to the flesh, hath found? For if Abraham were justified by works, he hath whereof to glory; but not before God. For what saith the scripture? Abraham believed God, and it was counted unto him for righteousness. Now to him that worketh is the reward not reckoned of grace, but of debt. But to him that worketh not, but believeth on him that justifieth the ungodly, his faith is counted for righteousness.” Romans 4:1-5.
It comes across even more clear in the Good News Version: “What shall we say then of Abraham our racial ancestor? What did he find? If he was put right with God by the things he did, he would have something to boast about; but he cannot boast before God. The Scriptures say that Abraham believed God, and because of his faith, God accepted him as righteous. A man who works is paid. His wages are not regarded as a gift but as something that he has earned. As for the man who does not work, however, but simply puts his faith in God, who declares the guilty of the innocent, it is his faith that God takes into account in order to put him right with Himself.”
Justification is an act of God, and not of man. Man simply believes what God does for us. There are other texts that will help us understand this. “It is God that justifieth.” Romans 8:33 (last part). “And by Him all that believe are justified from all things, from which ye could not be justified by the law of Moses.” Acts 13:39. God does for us what the law could not do. By Him we are justified, and not by ourselves. “That He might be just, and the justifier of him which believeth in Jesus.” Romans 3:26. He is the Justifier; I am not; nor do I earn His justification, for it is by grace. “Being justified freely by His grace….” Romans 3:24. “Much more then, being now justified by His blood, we shall be saved from wrath through Him.” Romans 5:9. Not by our activity, but by belief in His sacrifice. “…even so by the righteousness of One the free gift came upon all men unto justification of life.” Romans 5:18 (last part). By one Person’s righteousness, justification came unto all men. It is something from outside man coming upon him and unto him. Is that what your Bible says? And it is by one Person’s obedience, not by many people’s obedience. There is one more text to see. “Even the righteousness of God which is by faith of Jesus Christ unto all and upon all them that believe.” Romans 3:22. Again, it is something that comes “unto” us and “upon” us. It is not what I achieve or am doing for Him.
There are many places in Scripture where it is taught that justification comes from outside, and not from inside of us. We are all familiar with a parable found in Luke chapter 18 where Jesus taught this truth. A Pharisee and a publican were in the temple praying. The Pharisee said he was thankful that he was not like other men, doing the terrible things they do. He listed the good things he did, and thus he thought he obeyed the law and was right (or just) before God. The publican came along and it is said he would not lift up his eyes to heaven. He said, “God be merciful to me a sinner.” Verse 13. He had no good works to plead. Christ’s conclusion is found in verse 14. He said, “this man [this publican] went down to his house justified rather than the other.” The man who said he had no good works was justified.
This seems to be a contradiction to many of us. That is, when you seek to be righteous by right doing, you do not obey the law. When you seek it by faith and not by right doing, you do obey the law. Have you ever seen anything so puzzling? This is the most radical logic we have ever heard of. But Paul taught that very thing when he wrote: “What shall we say then? That the Gentiles, which followed not after righteousness, have attained to righteousness, even the righteousness which is of faith. But Israel, which followed after the law of righteousness, had not attained to the law of righteousness. Because they sought it not by faith, but as it were by the works of the law.” Romans 9:30-32. Paul is saying that the obvious approach of trying to do right because the law and God ask you to do right is not the right way. The Jews tried that and it did not work. They were not obedient. We can try it and it will not work, either. But the ones who did not seek after it [try to obey] but sought it by faith became righteous. They literally did what the law requires of them. They were not attempting to obey the law; but rather attempting to put their faith in God. This led to righteousness and to true justification. This is very difficult to understand. People ask, “How can that be? Many do not understand this at all.
There are two texts that help us understand this better. “But the scripture hath concluded all under sin….” Galatians 3:22. This includes the fine, upstanding citizens like the mayor and the pastor of the church. “What then? Are we better than they? No, in no wise: for we have before proved both Jews and Gentiles, that they are all under sin; As it is written, There is none righteous, no, not one. There is none that understandeth, there is none that seekest after God. They are all gone out of the way, they are together become unprofitable: there is none that doeth good, no, not one.” Romans 3:9- 12. Do you want to argue with Paul?
We see an upstanding person saying, “Lord, let me try.” God steps back and says, “Alright, go ahead.” So he tries and tries for fifty years. Then God comes back and asks, “Well, how good are you?” And the person says, “Well, I’ve done lots of good things.” And the Lord replies, “I know that, but let’s ask your wife how good you are.” “Oh, don’t talk to her!” “Let’s ask your children.” “Oh, no.” “Let’s ask those who work for you.” “No, don’t ask them.” It is that way with many. You can seek righteousness by the law, but it can not be attained that way. All our righteousness is as filthy rags; and it does not matter how hard we try.
All of our good works are valueless. They are tainted with sin because we have all been sinners. We do not climb out of that miry pit by trying to do good. It is like quicksand—the more you try, the more you sink. You might think you are out, but everyone close to you knows by your attitude toward them and treatment of them that you are still in the muck.
It does not matter how much you try to do good. You are incapable of doing good because all you do is tainted with self and with past sins. “Can the Ethiopian change his skin, or the leopard his spots? Then may ye also do good, that are accustomed to do evil.” Jeremiah 13:23. If it is impossible for them, it is impossible for you. We must look at this as it is, and not as we would like to make it. It does not matter how good you are, or how good you have been, or how good you would like to be, or how good you try to be. All our righteousness is ultimately as filthy rags.
Job asked the question and also provided the answer: “Who can bring a clean thing out of an unclean? Not one.” Job 14:4. Who can bring righteousness out of a sinner? No one can. Someone from outside of us who is righteous must come in and clean up the sinner and make him just. The sinner cannot do it for himself. He must believe that someone wants to do that for him. “Surely, shall one say, in the Lord have I righteousness and strength.” Isaiah 45:24. All our righteousness is of Him. I have none. I must go to Him as the only source of righteousness. That is the only place I can find it. Paul prayed, “And be found in Him, not having mine own righteousness, which is of the law, but that which is through the faith of Christ, the righteousness which is of God by faith.” Philippians 3:9.
When we put all these texts together, we have a startling message. If you are a proud person, as so many of us are, you will hate it. You will hate the person who brings this message to you for he has destroyed all your hopes. And I am just as prone to dislike it as anyone because I like to be proud of myself, don’t you? But we are told that this topic of justification by faith is laying the glory of man in the dust and doing for man what he cannot do for himself. There goes my pride in the dust, and I don’t like it down there. I want it up on a pinnacle somewhere with everyone worshipping it.
On the other hand, to those who have been struggling for years and years to do what is right, only to discover that they are incapable, this is a most precious, most hopeful, most enlightening message. It is glorious, because the good news is that God will do for you what you cannot do. The thing we desire to do, the thing we need most, the thing that is the most precious in all of life, He says He will give to us. He does this because He is so good. Do you believe God is that good? This is the big question. Do you believe that God so loved sinners that He gave His Son for them? That Jesus so loved sinners that He died for them? That He has interceded all these two thousand years for them? Is He that good? Or are you always trying to prove how good you are in comparison to other people?
The nice thing about all this is that the praise will go to Him, not to me. He can handle it, but I cannot handle praise. Friend, if you will really look at this subject, and really look at yourself in the light of the Bible, you will find out that the truth on this subject is glorious! It is just wonderful. And if you are a believer in this, it will make you want to jump and shout for joy. Once this truth gets hold of you, you cannot keep quiet about it. You will just radiate it. Our spiritual stupor is evidence that we are quite a long way from understanding and accepting this message. In our lukewarmness, we just cannot get excited about what God does for humans. It is so wonderful, so real; and it is mine if I will by faith reach out and grasp the goodness of God to sinners.
May God help us by lifting this gloom, this dullness, this blindness that keeps us from accepting what He has tried to show us. May He illumine our minds until we praise Him from Whom all blessings flow.