by Brian A. Willard
Early in my Christian walk I was somewhat perplexed about how to “put on the new man” with the indwelling of the Holy Spirit. I had ran across a couple of books written by Morris Venden. At the time, I thought his books were most enlightening and helpful in pursuing the Christian walk. Unfortunately, I learned the hard way that Venden’s theology could easily be more of a hindrance than a help. Nevertheless Venden has one very important aspect of the Christian walk spot on! That is, the importance of overcoming sin in our lives. To illustrate this, see the link below for a copy of his talk entitled “Getting God off the Hook.”
I trust you will find this material as insightful as I have. It is interesting to note that Vance Ferrell who has been helpful in decoding Venden’s theology, seems to downplay the emphasis Venden places on overcoming sin. While Venden’s view on how to be an overcomer may be flawed, should he not be applauded for highlighting its utmost importance? You decide…
CONTENTS.
2: Cooperation with Christ in the Work of Salavation
3: Good Works are Necessary—for All Phases of Salvation
4: Good Works are Necessary—in Sanctification
5: Right-Doing by Faith—Retains Our Justification and Sanctification
6. Claimed and Kept – C.D. Brooks
7. Enter Into Life
And the following is a gem from the writings of Ellen G. White:
“And what is it [righteousness by faith] to believe? It is to fully accept that Jesus Christ died as our sacrifice; that He became the curse for us, took our sins upon Himself, and imputed unto us His own righteousness. Therefore we claim this righteousness of Christ, we believe it, and it is our righteousness. He is our Saviour. He saves us because He said He would. Are we going to go into all the explanations as to how He can save us? Do we have the goodness in ourselves that will make us better and cleanse us from the spots and stains of sin, enabling us then to come to God? We simply cannot do it.” —White, E. G. (1979). Faith and Works. p. 70, Nashville, TN: Southern Publishing Association.
In 1888, at the General Conference meetings in Minneapolis, MN, the message of the righteousness of Christ was presented, discussed and debated. Starting with that event in 1888 and for the five following years this message was met with opposition. Dennis Priebe documents this textually and verbally. Preibe’s artifacts are embedded below.
All the messages in this playlist are outstanding, but the second video in the list is exceptional. In that presentation, Priebe summarizes “If you ever wanted to know what it is to finish the work—this is finishing the work that we have just read* today. This is the mission statement of the Seventh-day Adventist church. This is what it means to be a Seventh-day Adventist. This is the final atonement you’ve heard. That word “the-final-atonement” it is preparing us to see Him as He is. This is the cleansing of the sanctuary you’ve heard a lot about. This is the cleansing of the sanctuary. This is the blotting out of sin first in my heart, and then from the heavenly sanctuary.”
*Preibe read A.T. Jones’ sermon that was preached Oct. 22, 1898.
Priebe’s playlist:
Text version of video 2 “Our God Is a Consuming Fire”:
For our God [is] a consuming fire. [Hebrews 12:29 NKJV]
Leslie Hardinge puts in this way in this short video clip: “I want to repeat God does not turn the blowtorch of His anger at me, and not at you. He doesn’t. He comes to be glorified in His saints. He comes in all His splendor, in all His power, in all His glory. And only those who can survive His presence are those who are like Him.” That is, only those who, through faith, have the righteousness of Christ will be able to stand.
https://youtube.com/clip/UgkxlspTMmQRPOT2_UBUJzS-GuNYY5sQ6rpU
“But who can endure the day of His coming? And who can stand when He appears? [Malachi 3:2 NKJV, cf. Rev 6:17]