Righteousness by Faith

GOD. He beheld sin, lived amongst sinners, yet was without sin. He chose not to sin; what about you? Living amongst sinful men and women as the man Jesus Christ, God was tempted, but He did not fall. Today, if you will have faith in Jesus, He will help you overcome sin. Even in this cesspool of sin, you can emerge victorious!

Monday, July 09, 2007

28/08 Tuesday: Perfectionism vs. Perfection

It seems necessary to distinguish...between the biblical doctrine of perfection and the erroneous doctrine of perfectionism, (the latter of) which no true Seventh-day Adventist espouses.

Perfectionism teaches that a person reaches obedience to the infinite will of God at the moment of his conversion and that for all future time, he is incapable of sinning. ...no sane Seventh-day Adventist has ever put forward such an absurd and nonscriptural doctrine.

On the other hand, the Adventist view of perfection is that God empowers men to obey all that He has revealed to them. This revelation increases as the Christian grows in his faith. Of course, it is possible to become a backslider and even to lose eternity. Others will sincerely repent and salvation will be theirs. This is Christian perfection, the doctrine taught by Scripture.

~ From Chapter 49: The Shaking of Adventism,
in: The Storm Burst, by Russell R. and Colin D. Standish

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