Two problems cry for an answer and a solution:
1. Did “we” truly reject the Lord’s gracious message eighty years ago? Have “we” learned our lesson or is our general heart-attitude the same today as it was then? In other words, does the Lord Himself ceil for a repentance?
2. Have we truly recovered the essentials of the 1888 message today? Is that which we are preaching now as “righteousness by faith,” as it gets through to the people, truly an accurate and effective modern presentation of the fundamental truths of 1888? Or could it be that we have unwittingly substituted instead the concepts of the popular Evangelical and Protestant churches? If the latter is true, then our boasted “riches” of understanding and preaching righteousness by faith are in vain.
Actually, answering the first problem will become unnecessary if we can discover the answer to the second problem. This is the real issue! The popular assumption is that we do understand “righteousness by faith,” because that phrase constantly abounds on our tongues and appears in our contemporary literature. If we talk about it so much surely we must have it!
Ellen G. White’s phrase of April 1, 1901 is very impressive, “professedly accepting it” but “making no change.” The mere use of terminology does not mean the clear presence of the truth of the message. The authors insist that the fundamental concepts and dominant features of the genuine 1888 message are not understood by our people today. This is not because our laity are slow to appreciate them, but because they are in general not being presented today, with but few exceptions. The authors have maintained for two decades that a “hidden hunger” exists, and that we as a church are in reality undernourished while we exhibit symptoms of spiritual flabbiness and “overweight.” They have asserted this is due to the fact that Satan has cleverly deceived us into thinking we are “rich and increased with goods” in our assumed understanding of “righteousness by faith” when what we really have is closer to the modern counterfeit of righteousness by faith as taught by “Babylon.” Our message should be, “Babylon is fallen.” The fact remains that in respect to the very “gospel” itself—”righteousness by faith,” most of us are at a loss to distinguish between the concepts as taught by the popular churches and as taught by us. Constantly we are confronted by people who have been through our various Bible Courses who say, “We see no difference between what Adventists teach and what our church teaches except the Sabbath and a few ‘doctrines.’ “
If that is true, then indeed we as a people have no real contribution to make beyond the message of the other churches except legalism. The popular churches teach the “gospel,” and all we have to add is the “law.” But surely this cannot be true! The first angel’s message is “the everlasting gospel.” Has the Lord indeed entrusted the proclamation of that message to the popular Evangelical churches? Are we merely “me-too’s”? Have we no understanding of the very “everlasting gospel” itself that is unique? Yes, we must, indeed, we do! And it is time that we understand it thoroughly so that we can give it to the world clearly.
Bear in mind that the gospel is genuine “righteousness by faith.” Only that can produce the blessed “what might have been” fruits so long delayed. Can someone clearly tell the difference between the basic idea of the “gospel” as taught by the popular Evangelical revivalists of today and what we think is the “gospel”? The authors have found precious few of our ministers or laity who can accept this challenge. We believe that this inability is due directly to a widespread ignorance of what the 1888 message was.
This idea, that we come away from the table with “hidden hunger,” has been shocking to contemplate. It has aroused a storm of protest. Some are so certain that “all is well” that they have wished to see the authors silenced for all time without the church ever being permitted to see or have a chance to consider firsthand the evidence put forth. Some who may not purpose to silence them ask in pained shock, “How could we misunderstand ‘righteousness by faith’ when we have such an abundance of Spirit of Prophecy writings available to study? “
The answer to this question is found by pointing to the Jewish nation who misunderstood and rejected their Messiah when they had the Old Testament in its fulness and read from it every Sabbath. They read and listened with what Paul called a “vail . . . upon their heart.” 2 Cor. 3:15. We too, have our own history. “We have nothing to fear for the future except as we shall forget the way the Lord has led us in the past.” In old Battle Creek in the 1890s, our dear brethren had a great abundance of Spirit of Prophecy material before them constantly, plus Ellen G. White’s living presence.
Obviously the physical possession of Ellen G. White books today does not necessarily mean a clear grasp of truth any more than having her personal presence and listening to her words eighty years ago. A “vailed” reading does not solve the problem.
A re-publication of the clear teaching of the 1888 messengers themselves would automatically reveal the great contrast between what we popularly assume is the gospel and what Ellen G. White said was “a most precious message” from the Lord. A trial presentation of this message before hundreds of our lay members in 1971 has substantiated this as a fact. The overwhelming written testimony was that the original 1888 message was refreshingly different than standard fare today. Ideas and concepts abound in the original sources that almost never find expression in our literature or pulpits today.