ART(3)1 / AA10 pp 17-20 Letter to George Vandeman

It is with sadness that I pen this ciples; the other unites on the doc- sinned, but did not do so,—we can letter. I have admired you for years: trine of cronyism: “Whatever my su- be saved! He died to live our life the empathy you so often manifested periors advocate, that is what I will and be our example, and provide in your demeanor and voice, and the teach.” us with grace to overcome, resist evangelistic fervor with which you It is rather easy to detect this sin, and obey God’s command- worked. pattern, because those defending the ments—just as He did while on You were the one who, when in corporate error use logic to defend earth. 1955 as I was completing the Bach- their position. They may interweave That is the correct view. elor of Divinity degree and seven some Scripture into it—which may “For verily He took not on Him years of college, graduate, and post- seem to loosely accord with it,—but the nature of angels; but He took on graduate school, counseled me to go they do not take the whole teachings Him the seed of Abraham.”—He- into the ministry instead of going on of the whole Word. They take a seg- brews 2:16. for a Ph.D. and becoming a Bible ment of an idea, and blow it up into Hebrews 2:16 declares that teacher in one of our colleges. I took a full-fledged doctrine, while ignor- Christ did not take the nature of your advice, and that summer en- ing the great majority of Scriptural Abraham’s ancestor, Adam, but the tered the ministry in California. statements on the subject. This is the nature of Abraham’s descendants! I have here before me your letter method used to find “Sunday sacred- Surely, then, how can anyone say that in defense of a Martin Webber article ness” in the Bible. This is how men Christ took the nature of Adam be- in the It Is Written monthly, Chan- defend the incorrect view of the na- fore his fall? nels, advocating the erroneous view ture of Christ. “Wherefore in all things it be- of the nature of Christ. When forced to defend their po- hoved Him to be made like unto His Because his article was sent to sition more fully, they will quote fal- brethren, that He might be a merci- all your Channels readers, and be- lible, uninspired men: the councils, ful and faithful High Priest in things cause you wrote a form letter to ev- the creeds, the popes, the saints, or pertaining to God, to make reconcili- ery one protesting the article (en- influential theologians. ation for the sins of the people. closed), I will let others read my re- “For in that He Himself hath suf- Those unacquainted with the is- ply to your theological position, fered being tempted, He is able to sues here may wonder why it mat- I was deeply saddened as I read succour them that are tempted.”— ters what nature Christ had. Yet as it. I had thought you to be a staunch Hebrews 2:17-18. both you and I know, it is a crucial supporter of our Bible/Spirit of Unless Christ was “made like matter. For Christology prefaces Prophecy historic beliefs. It comes as unto His brethren,” He could not be soteriology: The nature of Christ a shock to learn that you have been lays the foundation for the way we our High Priest. Unless He Himself swayed, as have so many other of our are saved or lost. was able to be tempted as we are, He leaders and workers, by fellow asso- could not give us overcoming help Very briefly, here are the issues: ciates. when we are tempted. That is what I have repeatedly observed that, The Bible/Spirit of Prophecy we learn in Hebrews 2:17-18. in our denomination, doctrinal be- truth is that Christ took our hu- In contrast, the erroneous posi- liefs among workers are determined man nature. That means He was tion is that Christ had the nature of more by friendships, and cronyism, able to be fully tempted as we are, Adam before he sinned in the Gar- than by the study of God’s Word. and was fully tempted as we are. den of Eden. This is called the un- A higher-echelon worker notes Yet He never yielded; He never once fallen nature of Christ view. that a subordinate is standing for a sinned. This is the teaching that Christ certain position. In a few friendly He took not the nature of Adam could not have had our fallen nature, words he sets him straight. “Didn’t before his fall, but the nature of for then He could not have resisted you know that . . ?” Perhaps he men- Adam’s fallen descendants. temptation! According to this error, tions it with a laugh, but the point is This concept is called the fallen Christ did not, by His life and death, made: Shape up, or you may ship off nature of Christ. It might better be give us empowering grace to resist down the road erelong. called the post-Adamic nature of sin and obey the laws of God. In every century of church his- Christ. Though Christ had a nature Thus, the erroneous view com- tory it has been the same. Errors like ours—a fallen nature,—He never pletely changes the way we are saved! creep into the church, and divisions actually fell! He never sinned. Instead of receiving forgiveness and Because Christ could have DATE OF PUBLICATION: APRIL 1994 OF PUBLICATION: DATE occur. One side stands on Bible prin- empowering grace, the error provides 2 Waymarks only forgiveness. But the truth is that Christ Elder Vandeman, in your letter The unfallen nature position is chose to resist sin and successfully to inquiring listeners, (paragraph 3) closely tied to the error of original did it—and He did it in the same you write that Christ only had “a sin, which the licentious Catholic humanity that you and I have. form similar (not identical) to sinful bishop, Augustine, invented in order That is a promise! In Christ— flesh. In other words, He had a body to explain how he, so passionately you and I can have victory also! like ours, but He did not have the locked in cherished sin, was certain Trusting, moment by moment in sinful nature we have. His nature was that he was going to heaven. Christ, you and I can also resist holy, harmless, and undefiled.” According to this false collection temptation and obey the law of But the correct position would be of errors, mankind does not have to God. this: Christ did indeed have a body obey the laws of God; indeed, God The controverted issue is about like ours, but in that body He did not does not enable him by grace to do the nature of Christ—whether or not choose to commit sin. He had our it, and does not necessarily want him He actually took our human nature. body, but He did not indulge in our to try to do it. This is the heart of, All agree there is no controversy sins. All the decisions of His life were what is called, the New Theology. about the actions of Christ—whether holy, harmless, and undefiled. So, on one side, we have the or not He ever sinned. (Paragraph 4) This paragraph fallen nature position which we The controverted issue is is reasoning based on your premise clearly find in the Bible and Spirit of whether or not you and I can resist in paragraph 3. But, as we have Prophecy: Christ was made in all temptation and sin. There is no con- noted, that premise is incorrect. points like us. He was tempted in all troversy about whether Christ was (Paragraph 5) You here get to the points like as we. But He never sinless. heart of the matter: You state that sinned. Because He was fully God So the fundamental question in babies sin, and Jesus never did; and fully man, His death on the cross the nature of Christ—is whether He therefore He could not have had our could provide the basis for our atone- took OUR nature (and thus was nature. The implication is obvious: ment. We are now to come to Him, truly tempted like us, and truly You are saying that, if Christ really find forgiveness for the past, and resisted sin as we may do); or did had our nature, He could not have henceforth live in Him. By faith in His He take a nature NOT OURS— resisted sin. THIS is the fundamen- enabling grace, we are to live His life. Adam’s pre-fall nature—which tal crux of the erroneous view of the We are to live “in Christ.” We, adopted could not really be tempted or re- nature of Christ: The theory is that sons and daughters of God through sist sin, as we in our daily struggles He could not have had our nature, Him, are to obey the Father as He, must do. because everyone with our nature Christ the Son, obeyed the Father. The obvious outworking of the cannot, in this life, resist sin; we are However, there is one point about erroneous view is that, if Christ could locked into it, by virtue of original the nature of Christ teaching, which not, and did not have to, resist sin,— sin. it is easy to twist into an attempt to then we do not either. Jesus was “that Holy One” by Christ was support the erroneous position (that But the truth is that choice, not by nature. Because He tempted in all points like as we, of the unfallen nature of Christ) from was holy in our nature, we can put yet without ever once yielding;— Scripture. away our sins in that same nature, therefore, by His grace we can suc- That is the obvious fact that both by faith in His empowering merits. cessfully resist and overcome also. (Paragraph 6) views teach that Christ never sinned. Repeatedly, you Everyone agrees on THAT point: Both sides agree that Christ confuse nature with choices. Al- Christ did not once yield to tempta- never sinned. But the truth is that though Christ’s nature was like ours, the reason He never sinned, while tion or indulge in any kind of sin. His choices were always pure and on earth, was because He resisted Christ was sinless. This is clearly clean. sin by relying on His Father for di- stated in both the Bible and the Spirit You say, “Christ came to this vine help—just as today, by rely- of Prophecy. earth, as Adam did, with a sinless ing on Him, we may now do. The error is presented in this nature. He overcame where Adam way: Christ never sinned, therefore The error is that Christ never failed, and therein lies our salvation.” The truth is that, when Adam Christ must have been miraculously sinned while on earth—because He sinned,—it resulted in an immense protected from being able to sin. could not be tempted as we are But the truth is that Christ re- tempted! Therefore we are still in our fall! As soon as Adam fell, Satan lied on His Father for help, just as sins, and cannot escape them till the could thereafter have much closer we today may rely on Christ for Second Advent. The error teaches access to him. If Christ lived and help to overcome. that Christ did not die to save man died in Adam’s UNFALLEN nature, from in then by His life and death He may The error is presented in this his sins, but his sins (Matt have been able to save Adam, but way: Because Christ never sinned, 1:21). not us! Yet if Christ took our na- therefore He must have had an un- There it is in a nutshell. ture (not Adam’s), then by His life fallen nature. Letter to George Vandeman 3 and death and heavenly mediation Christ altogether human, such an of humanity with all its attendant He would be able to save us, as well one as ourselves, for it cannot be.” ills.”—ST, 1-04-77 / “To unite the fallen as Adam! “Never, in any way, leave the race with Himself.”—ST, 9-23-89 / “Not (Paragraphs 7-10) In these four slightest impression upon human aloof from degraded, sinful human- paragraphs, we are told that Christ minds that a taint of, or inclination ity.”—5T, 346 / “United the fallen world never sinned. Everyone agrees on this to, corruption rested upon Christ, or with heaven.”—RH, 7-10-91 / “To meet point. that He in any way yielded to corrup- fallen men where they were.”—RH, 7- The quotation in paragraph 9 is tion.” 21-91 / “Identified Himself with the weakness and wretchedness of fallen from the Baker letter, and the one in “Do not set Him before the people man.”—RH, 8-04-74 / “Linked Himself paragraph 10 is also in response to as a man with the propensities of to the weakness of humanity.”—RH, 4- Baker’s peculiar view. sin.” 01-75 / “The child of a fallen race.”— W.L.H. Baker was an Adventist “On not one occasion was there Letter 19, 1901 / “Down to the level of minister in Tasmania, an island off a response to his [Satan] manifold fallen humanity.”—GCB, 4-25-01 / the southeast coast of Australia. He temptations.” “Brother in our infirmities.”—ST, 6-18- had developed a strange concept Not only did the Adoptionists 02 / “Took upon Him the infirmities of which Ellen White replied to in, what teach that Christ had sinful propen- degenerate humanity.”—ST, 12-03-02 is known as, the Baker Letter (Let- sities, but they also tried to decide / “Stand among men as one of them.”— ter 8, 1895). at what time divinity entered His ST, 4-29-03 / “Not only made flesh, but From 1852 through 1895, Ellen body. In the Baker letter, Ellen White made in the likeness of sinful flesh.”— Letter W6, 1896 / “He was in all things White repeatedly taught that Christ wrote: like us.”—Ms 141, 1901 / “He assumed took the fallen human nature of hu- “The exact time when humanity human nature, and its infirmities, its manity. From 1895 to her death in blended with divinity, it is not neces- sary for us to know.” liabilities, its temptations.”—Ms 141, 1915, she continued to teach that 1901 / “Took upon Himself fallen suf- doctrinal truth. (The most complete Understanding the background of the Baker Letter, we can better see fering human nature, degraded and collection of these statements is to defiled by sin.”—YI, 12-20-1900 / “Tak- be found in The Word Was Made the strange error which she was try- ing to counteract. ing the nature but not the sinfulness Flesh, by Ralph Larson.) of man.”—ST, 5-29-01 / “Took human At the same time that the Baker Elder Baker had gotten into a nature upon Him . . to stand at the Letter was written, Ellen White was peculiar error, called Adoptionism. head of the fallen race.”—Ms 11, 1902 writing Desire of Ages. He imagined that Christ was just a / “Like every child of Adam, He ac- regular man, whom God later en- Seven times in that book, she cepted the results of the working of the dowed with divinity. Adoptionism stated the correct view of the nature great law of heredity.”—DA, 49 / “Bear- If you have a little extra was an ancient error that Christ was of Christ. ing the humanity we bear.”—Ms 21, time, just turn to two pages and merely a human being whom God 1895 / “Took on Him our sinful na- read them: Desire of Ages, pages eventually adopted into the divine ture.”—RH, 12-15-96 / “Passing over 49 and 117. family. Obviously, it is a strange and They clearly explain the the ground which man must travel.”— unscriptural teaching. Baker theo- whole matter. ST, 5-27-97 / “Fully human.”—ST, 6- 17-97 rized that, during His life, Christ may How many different ways can the / “Taking man’s nature in its fallen condition.”—ST 6-09-96 / “Christ have sinned. correct view of the nature of Christ came to be one with humanity.”—Ms So Ellen White wrote and warned be stated? Well, one will surely will 124, 1903 / “[God] gave Him to the Baker! Some of the warning state- find them in the Spirit of Prophecy! fallen race.”—[Austr. Signs] AST, 7-22- ments in that letter have been taken Consider these: 29. out of context, in an attempt to set “Nature . . identical to our own.”— “The nature of God, whose law had aside all her other statements on this Ms 94, 1893 / “Became flesh even as been transgressed, and the nature of subject. we are.”—MH, 422 / “Down to the level Adam, the transgressor, meet in Jesus, Paul of Samosata (bishop of of those He wished to save.”—ST, 7- the son of God and the son of man.”— Antioch from A.D. 260 to 269) was 30-02 / “He should take man’s fallen Manuscript 141, 1901. one of the teachers of adoptionism. nature.”—1 SG, 25 / “The likeness of “If we have in any sense a more try- He said this: sinful flesh.”—RH ,12-24-72 / “Taking ing conflict that had Christ, then He “Mary did not bring forth the the place of fallen Adam.”—RH, 2-24- would not be able to succor us. But Word, for Mary was not before the 74 / “The weaknesses of fallen man our Saviour took humanity, with all its ages. But she brought forth a man upon Him.”—RH, 7-28-74 / “Humble liabilities. He took the nature of man, on a level with ourselves.” Himself to fallen humanity.”—RH ,2- with the possibility of yielding to temp- Because Baker was moving into 24-74 / “Bore the infirmities and de- tation. We have nothing to bear which the Adoptionist arena, Ellen White generacy of the race.”—RH, 7-28-74 / He has not endured.”—Desire of Ages, wrote to Baker: “One with the fallen race.”—ST, 4-25- 117. PILGRIMS REST “Let every human being be 92 / “All the strength of the passion of HCR 77, BOX 38A - BEERSHEBA SPRINGS, TN 37305 USA warned from the ground of making humanity.”—ST, 11-21-92 / “The form