Why Seventh-day Adventism Is N o t Evangelical
by LOUIS T . TA LBO T , Chancell or, Bible Institute of Los Angeles, Inc.
R eaders of T he K ing ’ s B usiness are well ac quainted with the stand of this magazine on false religious systems, also that of the Bible Institute of Los Angeles, Inc., of which it is the official publication. Since its first issue in 1910, this periodical has accepted the responsibility not only to declare (to the best of its ability) “ the whole counsel of God” in its purity, but also to obey 1 John 4:1 and 2 John 10, 11: “ . . . believe not every spirit, but try the spirits whether they are of God: because many false prophets are gone out into the world. If there come any unto you, and bring not this doctrine [the doc trine of Christ], receive him not into your house, neither bid him God speed: For he that biddeth him God speed is partaker of his evil deeds.” This position of fidelity to scriptural counsel has involved the exposure of false teaching in the light of God’s Word. In following this course T he K ing ’ s B usiness has had “ good company” in the persons of some of the most gifted Bible teachers the Lord ever gave His church — such stalwarts of the faith as I. M. Haldeman, C. I. Scofield, A. C. Gaebelein, W. G. Moorehead, W. L. Pettingill, J. M. Gray, A. T. Pier son, W. E. Biederwolf, and a host of others now with the Lord. But since God never leaves Himself without wit ness in any respect, present-day expositors of the Word such as Martin R. DeHaan, Charles E. Fuller, Wilbur M. Smith, William Culbertson, John R. Rice, John F. Walvoord, Charles L. Feinberg, and many others are following in the train of these giants of the past generation in this dual ministry of proclaiming truth and disclosing error under the lens of Holy Writ. Cull Expose' Important Phase of Ministry My own “ cult ministry” (not by any means the major part or the most enjoyable aspect either of the labors the Lord has committed to my hands) came into being in 1932 when I was called as pastor of the historic Church of the Open Door in downtown Los Angeles, which city was then fast becoming known as “ the cult center of America.” I shortly discovered that I should have to do something about the unscrip-
tural systems of religion which were encroaching upon the Body of Christ, confusing and leading astray many of the lambs of the flock. To refute these false doctrines, I did not rely upon books written by others, however good they might be; but I went directly to the headwaters of this flood of heresy, that is, to the books and other writings of the founders and leaders of these systems. I prepared hundreds of slides, using quotations verbatim from these authoritative writings, and in “ lecturing upon the cults” threw on the screen these statements side by side with the scriptural passages which proved them false. God was pleased to bless this method in a marked way, and to His glory I am glad to say that many were led out of these entanglements into the life of faith in Christ. The statements from their own books could not be gainsaid by adherents of these systems. Sometimes many were present in my meetings, not only in the Church of the Open Door but also in churches throughout the country and occasionally delegations from these sects would wait upon me after the serv ices to take me to task for my preaching. However, since it was God’s Word I was proclaiming, it was not hard to defend my position; it was not with me they were arguing but with the Bible. But please note this, my friends: In all the 25 years of this unique and sometimes disagreeable ministry of exposés of false teaching, I have n ever been accused b y the adherents o f these sects o f misrepresenting their teachings. How could I be? I quoted from the writings of their own fully accepted leaders and their own official publications put out by their own well- estahlished publishing houses. Of course, frequently I was told by these followers of false systems that I was wholly wrong in my view; that I did not com prehend their teachings; that the Bible was not the only authority because “ later light” had been revealed to certain men — and women. But I was not charged with failure to state truly what they believed and taught. At the urgent request of friends who had heard these messages, T he K ing ’ s B usiness asked me to publish them and the series ran in 1954-1955, after which the articles were printed in booklets. These CONTINUED 2 3
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