Luther and EJW

[Hanseng]

The gospel teachings of the Reformation were affirmed by Ellen White in 1884. She described the day of the Augsburg Confession as “one of most glorious days in the history of the world.”  “Since the apostolic age, there had not been such a magnificent confession of Jesus Christ.”  Written by Melanchthon, in consultation with Luther, she later opined that Luther clearly taught the doctrine of justification by faith.  
 
The Reformation began with a quarrel between two monks.  It eventually involved bishops, popes, soldiers, knights, princes, kings, and the emperor. At issue was the power of the Pope to forgive sin. Luther believed that divine wrath against mortal sin could only be mitigated through the merits of Christ, appropriated by the faith of the individual. When people guilty of gross sin presented themselves at his confessional, Luther was incensed that they expected to avoid true repentance by presenting indulgences they had purchased from the Dominican monk John Tetzel.  Heartfelt repentance, personal faith, and the merits of Christ were vital issues from the beginning of the Reform.
  
 The Reformation view of justification by faith has its foundation in Genesis 15:6: “And Abraham believed in the Lord, and it was counted to him for righteousness.”  In his Genesis commentary, Luther commented on the word translated as “counted.” He understood it to mean think, reckon, impute, or account, as in God thinks of, accounts, or reckons us as righteous, because of our faith.  God imputes righteousness to us, as the KJV of Romans 4 says.
 
This accounting of Abraham as righteous took place before there was a Decalogue or torah.  Moses was centuries away. Circumcision would not be implemented for several years; consequently, Abraham’s justification was by faith, apart from the deeds of the law. Faith in God’s promises is what God “thinks” of, or counts, as righteousness. Abraham had faith in a coming Messiah, we have faith in one who sacrificed Himself for us. 9 Luther held that Genesis 15:6 was the basis of justification teaching in both Romans and Galatians.  
Luther’s position on justification by faith was unequivocal:  We are, in ourselves, sinful. God considers us righteous because of our faith; consequently, we are righteous [justified] and sinful at the same time. While faith alone justifies, it is never truly alone.  It brings with it “a multitude of the most beautiful virtues.”  It follows that we meet the requirements of the law.  
 
E. J. Waggoner, a principal proponent of righteousness by faith at the 1888 Minneapolis conference, had another view. His thoughts were published in the book Glad Tidings. He understood that the word “justify” means “make righteous.”   He based his interpretation on the meaning of the Latin suffix in the word justitia.     Waggoner wrote more about justification in a series published from October 1895 to September 1896 in the Signs of the Times magazine. These articles were bound into what became his commentary on Romans.  Again he defined “justify/justified” as “to make” or “be made” righteous.  He also cited Romans 5: 19 “So by  the obedience  of one shall many  be made righteous.” 
  
 Waggoner believed that the resurrection power of Christ dwelt in the believer, making the believer righteous.  God can declare a person righteous because he makes him righteous.  They are not merely accounted or thought of as righteous, they truly become righteous.  The justice of God declaring a sinner to be righteous lies in the fact that the believer is actually made righteous. Waggoner’s emphasis on making the sinner righteous led him to believe that the justified sinner would not sin anymore.    He chided the denomination for not coming to the place where it believed the Christian life should be a sinless life.  He believed that the law of God would be exalted by preaching 

Waggoner was not the first SDA to advocate what is now known as sinless perfection. J. N. Andrews, who died in 1883, wrote of overcomers standing before God without a mediator. He based his view on the “investigative judgment” and “blotting out of sin” doctrines, as he understood them.  Waggoner’s views, however, were based on his understanding of justification by faith. In his 1916 “Confession of Faith,” Waggoner denied belief in the investigative judgment and the blotting out of sin; nevertheless, in his Romans commentary, he espoused perfectionistic views akin to those of J. N. Andrews.
   
Luther elaborated on the life of the justified believer in his commentary on Galatians, chapter 3. He believed that a residue of sin remained in the justified, a stain which would be eliminated when Christ returned. The residue of sin that remained polluted the life of the believer. The imputed righteousness of Christ spared the believer from condemnation on account of that pollution.     “Sins remain in us, and God hates them very much. Because of them it is necessary for us to have the imputation of righteousness, which comes to us on account of Christ, who is given to us and grasped by our faith. Meanwhile, as long as we are alive, we are supported and nourished at the bosom of divine mercy and forbearance, until the body of sin (Rom. 6:6) is abolished and we are raised up as new beings on that Day.“ 

Luther’s position follows Romans 8, which details the longing of all creation for deliverance from the corruption which vexes a fallen world. “….even we ourselves groan within ourselves eagerly, waiting for the adoption, the redemption of our body” (Rom 8: 23). That is what being an Adventist is all about—ultimate deliverance from sin within and without.