was delivered after years of service with the Adventists and like Mr. Canright sees “ from the inside” the machinations of the top men and comprehends the Adventist philosophy and strategy. I recommend his books to our readers. Mr. Branson wrote In Defense of the Faith pre sumably to refute Mr. Canright and so obviously he must be held in the highest esteem by this denomina tion. He describes the investigative judgment in chap ters 21 and 24 of Drama of the Ages. I can give but a small portion of it. He declares on page 276: “Whenever a sinner accepts the sacrifice of Christ as the propitiation for his sins, and in contrition and penitence he seeks God for forgiveness through the merits of Christ’s shed blood, his sins are removed from him to the sanctuary in heaven.” Did you imagine that was what happened to your sins when you came to Christ for salvation? I believe that “ As far as the east is from the west, so far hath he removed our transgressions from us” ; and that His Word is true when He says, “ I, even I, am he that blotteth out thy transgressions for mine own sake, and will not remember thy sins” ; and I rejoice in the knowledge that “ . . . thou wilt cast all their sins into the depths of the sea” (Ps. 103:12; Isa. 43:25; Micah 7:19). When God forgives, He forgets, and by Him we “ are justified from all things, from which ye could not be justified by the law of Moses” (Acts 13:39). The Adventists use the term “ justification,” but apparently they do not comprehend it. While we are not discussing the law-keeping heresy of the Adventists in this article but will do so next month, God willing, I would like to mention in passing that this author, Mr. Branson, says this with respect to justification: “A man who has never kept the law can be forgiven and justified before God, but he cannot remain justi fied without keeping it” (p. 139). The Adventist does not acknowledge that by His blood Christ “ purged our consciences” and “ purged our sins” on the cross. I continue to quote: “ There [in this imaginary sanctuary in heaven] Christ ministers in the sinner’s behalf. He spreads His nail-scarred hands before the Father and pleads that because He Himself paid the penalty, the sinner should go free. To this the Father agrees, and Christ lifts the burden of guilt from the sinner and substitutes His own righteousness instead” (p. 276). Now this sounds as if the matter of sin were settled, does it not? But immediately it is made clear that the sins are still there! To continue: “ The sins are borne into the sanctuary, of which Christ is the priest ly minister; and although they are forgiven, the record of them must remain until they are blotted out in the time of the judgment” (p. 276). But John the Baptist declared of Christ: “ . . . Behold the Lamb of
God, which taketh away the sin of the world” (John 1:29). Seventh-day Adventism says those sins are in heaven in the very presence of God. Hear what Branson writes: “ Those, therefore, who have through the years accepted Christ’s death as a sacrifice for their sins, and who have in penitence turned from them, have by those acts been sending their sins into the heavenly sanctuary for judgment” (p. 277). He goes on to explain that this procedure has only to do with those who have accepted Christ, the sinners having no part in this priestly ministry of Christ’s. Yet it is clear that the Christian can have no assur ance of sins forgiven either. Now we come to the heart of this investigative- judgment teaching: “When sins are confessed and forgiven are they entirely removed from the sinner? Yes, so far as the individual is concerned. But this does not mean that the sins are at the time finally disposed of. Christ removes them from the records in the book of heaven, but they are then charged against Him. He takes the responsibility for the sins and imputes His righteousness to the sinner. The record of sins still remains, only now they stand no longer charged to the one who committed them but to Christ, his substi tute. He has become the sin-bearer (Numbers 18:1); but the record of sin, now transferred to the sanctuary, must remain until the judgment. “Again it may be asked: ‘Why wait until the judg ment to blot out and make an end of confessed sins? Why should they not be immediately disposed of?’ We answer, ‘There must first be an investigation of the records’ ” (p. 277). You see, this is completely arbitrary. This is the Adventists’ decision. One may not know until Christ comes whether he is saved or not and consequently cannot enjoy the assurance of salvation or the joy or freedom of it. This is plainly stated in the next sentences: “Let us illustrate: Take an individual who accepts Christ as his Saviour and humbly confesses his sins to God. By these acts and by His acceptance his sins are trans ferred to the sanctuary. But they cannot at that time be blotted out. The final blotting out must wait until the end of his life or until probation closes for him. Why? Because he may not continue in the faith. . . . Thus, before the Lord can blot out the sins from the record books, a very careful examination has to be made to see whether those who accepted Christ are still worthy” (p. 278). If you study Seventh-day Adventism carefully, you will find at the heart of all their doctrines an innate legalism. It is part and parcel of their system. You simply cannot escape it if you go beneath the surface. This sanctuary and investigative-judgment teaching
The K in g's Business/M ay 1957
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