THIS IS THE
NEW THEOLOGY by, Vance Ferrell
It is extremely important that our people become aware of the basic doctrinal teachings of the modernists, which have entered our churches in recent years. This hideous set of errors is tearing our church apart and causing our most faithful members to leave in everincreasing numbers and form small home churches.
Here are several aspects of this treacherous, soul-destroying, unScriptural theory.
This horrible package of errors was initially taught to our Bible teachers by men opposed to God’s law in outside universities, when our men went there for doctorates. Upon returning to our colleges and universities, these Bible teachers then taught them to our future ministers who, upon being hired into our conferences, began teaching the whole package to our church members. Here is this theological package:
Sin: Sin need not be put away in this life. We must not even try to resist sin; for, to do so, is legalism. We must let God automatically do it in our lives for us, to whatever degree He might at times decide to, with no effort on our part. Sin, including cherished sin, is not removed from us until the Second Advent. There is no such thing as living a good, clean life. Bible/Spirit of Prophecy proof? None. A variant error is that sin is not disobedience to God’s law, but only separation from God! Therefore, as soon as we accept Christ, we no longer have sin in our lives! Bible/Spirit of Prophecy proof? None.
God’s commandments: God’s commands in the Inspired Writings need not be kept in this life. It is legalism to try to obey God’s laws. Bible/Spirit of Prophecy proof? None. (But they say we should continue obeying the laws of the land; it is not legalism to do that!)
Grace: The grace of Christ can forgive our past sins, but it cannot empower us to resist present temptations to sin. God did not plan that we be given strength to overcome sin. He does not care if we sin. Prior to the Second Advent, the plan of salvation only includes forgiveness. Bible/Spirit of Prophecy proof? None.
The human nature of Christ: It is said that no one with a fallen nature can resist sin, so Christ did not take our fallen nature. Instead, He took the sinless nature of Adam before his fall. While on earth, Christ did not give us an example of how to be over- comers; so He is not our Example, and the “overcomer promises” in Revelation are meaningless. Bible/Spirit of Prophecy proof? None.
The atonement: Because it is all right to con- tinue living a life in sin, we have salvation, complete and eternal, as soon as we accept the fact that Christ died on Calvary. All that matters is justification; sanctification is of little consequence. Because sins committed after Calvary do not matter, the atonement was finished when Christ ascended to heaven; and He has done nothing since then. Bible/ Spirit of Prophecy proof? None.
The judgment: There is no future judgment of anyone who professes faith in Christ. There would be no need for it; since they cannot be judged for their sins. It is comforting to know that God does not care how much they sin. Bible/Spirit of Prophecy proof? None.
The church: Because sin and obedience does not matter, all the denominations are part of the remnant. But those who are legalists are not in the remnant. A “legalist” is defined as someone who believes his conduct has any affect on his salvation. Bible/ Spirit of Prophecy proof? None.
Bible prophecy: We should not interpret any of the Bible prophecies as applying to the Roman Catholic Church. Therefore, the prophecies of Daniel and Revelation were either fulfilled before Catholicism came into existence [preterism) or at some future time, just before Christ’s return (futurism). The predicted Mark of the Beast will only be given to legalists. Bible/Spirit of Prophecy proof? None.
Bible interpretation: Doctrine should only be based on a single verse or passage, never a combination of several (“here a little and there a little”). We should never compare passages in order to arrive at truth (because we might arrive at too much truth). This helps us produce only a few meaningful doc- trines. Our sermons should primarily consist of ban- tering and philosophying rather than Bible studies. It is important that we keep the people from study- ing God’s Word. Bible/Spirit of Prophecy proof? None.
Spirit of Prophecy: Because it is so pointed and contains so many Bible quotations, we have decided that the Spirit of Prophecy was only given for “comfort” and should not be used to explain doctrine or standards. Actually, it is of little value, compared with many other books,—the most valuable of which are those written by men with doctoral degrees. Bible/ Spirit of Prophecy proof? None.
Non-Adventist theologians: We were taught in college, and at the Seminary, that books and articles by Protestant and Catholic theologians are an in- valuable source of fresh, new concepts which we can integrate into Adventist teachings. Bible/Spirit of Prophecy proof? None.
Ecumenism:—by holding joint meetings, inviting their ministers and priests to speak to us, seeking to harmonize our teachings with theirs, and doing nothing to antagonize them. They have great light which we need. Bible/Spirit of Prophecy proof? None.
Governments: We should obey governmental laws, without question, and accept government funds even when strings are “not” attached. Bible/ Spirit of Prophecy proof? None.
Church membership: Because we need more members, we should overlook worldly beliefs and practices in those who wish to join, and we should avoid disfellowshipping because of lowered standards. The only ones who need to be eliminated are the troublemakers who demand stricter standards or a return to historic teachings. Bible/Spirit of Proph- ecy proof? None.
So there you have it: the whole horrible mess! It is an encouragement to worldliness, licentiousness, and fraud. It is an invitation to disaster.
Here are several aspects of this treacherous, soul-destroying, unScriptural theory.
This horrible package of errors was initially taught to our Bible teachers by men opposed to God’s law in outside universities, when our men went there for doctorates. Upon returning to our colleges and universities, these Bible teachers then taught them to our future ministers who, upon being hired into our conferences, began teaching the whole package to our church members. Here is this theological package:
Sin: Sin need not be put away in this life. We must not even try to resist sin; for, to do so, is legalism. We must let God automatically do it in our lives for us, to whatever degree He might at times decide to, with no effort on our part. Sin, including cherished sin, is not removed from us until the Second Advent. There is no such thing as living a good, clean life. Bible/Spirit of Prophecy proof? None. A variant error is that sin is not disobedience to God’s law, but only separation from God! Therefore, as soon as we accept Christ, we no longer have sin in our lives! Bible/Spirit of Prophecy proof? None.
God’s commandments: God’s commands in the Inspired Writings need not be kept in this life. It is legalism to try to obey God’s laws. Bible/Spirit of Prophecy proof? None. (But they say we should continue obeying the laws of the land; it is not legalism to do that!)
Grace: The grace of Christ can forgive our past sins, but it cannot empower us to resist present temptations to sin. God did not plan that we be given strength to overcome sin. He does not care if we sin. Prior to the Second Advent, the plan of salvation only includes forgiveness. Bible/Spirit of Prophecy proof? None.
The human nature of Christ: It is said that no one with a fallen nature can resist sin, so Christ did not take our fallen nature. Instead, He took the sinless nature of Adam before his fall. While on earth, Christ did not give us an example of how to be over- comers; so He is not our Example, and the “overcomer promises” in Revelation are meaningless. Bible/Spirit of Prophecy proof? None.
The atonement: Because it is all right to con- tinue living a life in sin, we have salvation, complete and eternal, as soon as we accept the fact that Christ died on Calvary. All that matters is justification; sanctification is of little consequence. Because sins committed after Calvary do not matter, the atonement was finished when Christ ascended to heaven; and He has done nothing since then. Bible/ Spirit of Prophecy proof? None.
The judgment: There is no future judgment of anyone who professes faith in Christ. There would be no need for it; since they cannot be judged for their sins. It is comforting to know that God does not care how much they sin. Bible/Spirit of Prophecy proof? None.
The church: Because sin and obedience does not matter, all the denominations are part of the remnant. But those who are legalists are not in the remnant. A “legalist” is defined as someone who believes his conduct has any affect on his salvation. Bible/ Spirit of Prophecy proof? None.
Bible prophecy: We should not interpret any of the Bible prophecies as applying to the Roman Catholic Church. Therefore, the prophecies of Daniel and Revelation were either fulfilled before Catholicism came into existence [preterism) or at some future time, just before Christ’s return (futurism). The predicted Mark of the Beast will only be given to legalists. Bible/Spirit of Prophecy proof? None.
Bible interpretation: Doctrine should only be based on a single verse or passage, never a combination of several (“here a little and there a little”). We should never compare passages in order to arrive at truth (because we might arrive at too much truth). This helps us produce only a few meaningful doc- trines. Our sermons should primarily consist of ban- tering and philosophying rather than Bible studies. It is important that we keep the people from study- ing God’s Word. Bible/Spirit of Prophecy proof? None.
Spirit of Prophecy: Because it is so pointed and contains so many Bible quotations, we have decided that the Spirit of Prophecy was only given for “comfort” and should not be used to explain doctrine or standards. Actually, it is of little value, compared with many other books,—the most valuable of which are those written by men with doctoral degrees. Bible/ Spirit of Prophecy proof? None.
Non-Adventist theologians: We were taught in college, and at the Seminary, that books and articles by Protestant and Catholic theologians are an in- valuable source of fresh, new concepts which we can integrate into Adventist teachings. Bible/Spirit of Prophecy proof? None.
Ecumenism:—by holding joint meetings, inviting their ministers and priests to speak to us, seeking to harmonize our teachings with theirs, and doing nothing to antagonize them. They have great light which we need. Bible/Spirit of Prophecy proof? None.
Governments: We should obey governmental laws, without question, and accept government funds even when strings are “not” attached. Bible/ Spirit of Prophecy proof? None.
Church membership: Because we need more members, we should overlook worldly beliefs and practices in those who wish to join, and we should avoid disfellowshipping because of lowered standards. The only ones who need to be eliminated are the troublemakers who demand stricter standards or a return to historic teachings. Bible/Spirit of Proph- ecy proof? None.
So there you have it: the whole horrible mess! It is an encouragement to worldliness, licentiousness, and fraud. It is an invitation to disaster.