The Foundation of Our Faith 6th Edition - Allen Stump - Filadelfia

274 Pages·2007·1.43 MB·English

by  Allen Stump

Over 160 years of
Seventh-day Adventist Christology
Allen Stump
Published by:
Smyrna Gospel Ministries
HC 64 Box 128B
Welch, WV 24801-9606 U.S.A.
http://www.smyrna.org
e-mail:[email protected]
phone: [phone]
Sixth Printing
TheFoundationofOurFaith
Acknowledgment:IwishItothankallthewonderfulpeoplewho
haveworkedsohardtomakethisbookpossible.Thisisnotsimplya
reprint of The Foundation of Our Faith, but it is a major upgrade.
Many pages of new material have been included, and the
proof-reading process has been continued which has resulted in
fewertypographicalerrorsandaclearercontentofmaterial.Weask
thatyouforgiveusforanyimperfectionsthatremain.
Iwishtoexpressaheart-feltthankstoallthebrothersandsistersat
Smyrnawhohaveworkedsotirelesslyovertheyearstoseethisbook
movefromitsoriginalpublicationin1997tothissixthedition.Mayit
provetobearichblessingtoyou,thereader,istheearnestprayerof
usall.
Allen Stump
This Book on the Internet: The Foundation of Our Faith is
available on the Internet in the book section of the Smyrna website
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Allemphasisinthisbookissuppliedunlessotherwisenoted.
-ii-
Introduction ix
1 ADeep-LaidFoundation 1
DoctrinalDevelopmentFromBibleStudyandRevelation . . . . 3
MajorPointsEstablishedEarly . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 5
TheLeadingoftheLord. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 6
FoundationalPointsNottobeMoved . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 7
SteppingAwayFromtheFoundationResultsinApostasy . . . . . 9
2 TheIncarnation:ThePioneerUnderstanding 11
JamesWhite. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 12
UriahSmith . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 12
J.H.Waggoner . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 12
StephenN.Haskell. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 12
E.J.Waggoner. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 13
A.T.Jones. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 13
EllenG.White. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 15
3 TheIncarnation:AScripturalBasis 19
The“NewTheology”ontheIncarnation. . . . . . . . . . . . . . 19
TheScripturalView . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 20
BibleReadingsfortheHomeCircle . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 24
TheReformationContinues . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 24
4 TheHistoryoftheSanctuaryMessage 27
TruthReceivedAftertheDisappointment . . . . . . . . . . . 28
ANewSanctuaryDoctrineIntroduced. . . . . . . . . . . . . 32
PioneersUnderstoodtheScopeoftheAtonement . . . . . . . 34
5 EllenG.WhiteandtheAtonement 39
“White-isms”andtheAtonement . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 39
“Perfectatonement” . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 40
“Complete...atonement” . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 41
“Completeatonement”. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 41
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TheFoundationofOurFaith
“Atonementwascomplete”. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 41
“Atonementiscomplete”. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 42
“Completionoftheatonement” . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 42
“Atonement...truthscluster”. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 42
“Finalatonement” . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 43
6 TheDayofAtonement 45
TheSinOffering. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 46
TheAtonementofAtonements . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 48
7 TheSeventh-dayAdventistChurchandtheAtonement 51
TheQuestionsonDoctrineDenial . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 52
TheSeventh-dayAdventistChurch’sPresentPosition . . . . . 53
God’sReactiontotheBetrayal. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 55
8 TheParadoxof“HistoricAdventism” 59
JosephBates. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 62
TheChristianConnection . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 62
JamesWhite. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 63
TheTrinityRejectedbyHistoricAdventists . . . . . . . . . . 66
UriahSmith . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 67
J.M.Stephensonand“TheAtonement” . . . . . . . . . . . . 67
“TheDoctrineoftheTrinity”byR.F.Cottrell . . . . . . . . . . 70
PaganOrigins–PapalFoundation . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 72
9 EllenG.WhiteandtheDoctrineofGod 75
TheHierarchyofHeaven. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 82
TheDeathofChrist . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 83
“Original,unborrowed,underived”. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 85
TheOriginalSource . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 86
The1888Factor. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 89
AndreasenandTime. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 89
10 TheBibleDoctrineofGod 91
TheShemaofJudaism. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 92
11 JesusChristtheSonofGod 97
TestimoniesofInspiration. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 98
Nota“SpiritualSon” . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 99
TheLiteralSonofGod . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 100
WhatDoes“OnlyBegotten”Mean?. . . . . . . . . . . . . . 101
TheGospelFromthe“CounselofPeace”. . . . . . . . . . . 105
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TableofContents
12 JesusChristtheDivineObjectofOurFaith 111
JesusChristWorshippedastheSonofGod. . . . . . . . . . 112
TheHighNatureofJesusasGod’sSon . . . . . . . . . . . . 113
TheFoundationoftheBeliever’sFaith . . . . . . . . . . . . 114
13 TheDistinctivenessoftheFatherandHisSon 117
FalseGospelsTeachRole-Playing. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 117
FurtherPlainTestimonies . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 121
CreedsofMenorCreedofGod?. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 121
14 TheDeathoftheCross 125
ChristDiedForSinners. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 128
“AccordingtotheScriptures”. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 129
TheDivineSonofGodDied. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 130
TheFormofaSlave. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 131
DivinityClothedinHumanity. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 133
OurHopeIsinHisResurrection . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 134
TheCrossDemonstratesGod’sLove. . . . . . . . . . . . . . 136
15 TheHolySpiritofGod 137
InspirationPredictedaFallingAway . . . . . . . . . . . . . 138
WorshipReform . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 138
TheAdventMovementWasRaisedUpForWorshipReform . . 139
TwoContrastingMovements. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 140
TheMeaningofSpirit. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 141
SpiritandMind. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 142
“Words...areSpirit” . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 143
ManMadeintheImageofGod . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 143
GodIsOmnipresentbyHisSpirit. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 144
16 Jesus-AnotherComforter 147
CloseLinkintheIncarnation. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 151
The Pioneer Understanding of the
RoleoftheHolySpiritintheIncarnation . . . . . . . . 152
ParallelsinInspiration . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 153
OtherParallels. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 153
17 ReceivingtheSpiritofChrist 157
TheLatterRain. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 158
Satan’sUnholyInfluence. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 165
MiraclesAreNottheTest. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 165
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TheFoundationofOurFaith
18 AnswerstoTrinitarianObjections 171
1John5:7,8 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 171
Matthew28:19 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 173
2Corinthians13:14 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 175
Matthew3:16,17 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 176
Genesis1:26 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 177
John10:30. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 178
Hebrews1:8 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 178
Isaiah9:6. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 179
Isaiah44:6andRevelation1:17. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 180
Revelation1:8 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 181
1John5:20. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 182
Titus2:13 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 183
John1:1 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 184
Philippians2:5-9 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 184
John8:58. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 186
Isaiah43:10 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 186
John10:17,18 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 187
John2:19. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 188
Romans8:26 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 189
Acts5:3,4 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 190
19 FurtherThoughtsfromTheSpiritofProphecy 191
TheWeightofEvidence. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 192
PersonandPersonality . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 193
PhotocopyofOriginalEllenG.WhiteManuscript. . . . . . . 196
“ThreeholiestBeings”. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 199
Publishers’UseofCapitalization . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 199
PublishersAlterQuotations . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 201
ClarificationofOtherEllenG.WhiteStatements. . . . . . . 202
20 “AfterTheWayWhichTheyCallHeresy” 207
ImportantImplications . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 209
ImplicationsConcerningtheThreeAngels’Messages . . . . 210
SuccessionoftheFaith. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 212
21 WhatDoesItMeanToBe“Orthodox”? 215
TheBibleIsLeftOut . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 217
TheTrinityIs“Orthodox” . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 218
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TableofContents
22 TheOmegaofDeadlyHeresies 221
ApostasyPredictedAmongSeventh-dayAdventists. . . . . . 222
FurtherStatementsonApostasy . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 223
TheAlphaofApostasy . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 224
TheOmegaofApostasy. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 225
The1919BibleConference. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 226
TheComingoftheComforter . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 227
1931StatementofBeliefs . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 229
1941BaptismalVowandNewHymnal . . . . . . . . . . . . 230
Holdouts–WashburnandLongacre . . . . . . . . . . . . . 231
TheRevisionofDanielandRevelation . . . . . . . . . . . . 232
ThePublicationofEvangelism . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 233
ACallforRepentance . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 234
The1952BibleConference. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 235
The1955,1956Seventh-dayAdventist–Evangelical
Conferences. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 235
1971–MovementofDestiny. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 238
1980StatementofBeliefsandBeyond . . . . . . . . . . . . 238
CurrentRelationshipofIndependentMinistries . . . . . . . 239
23 Appendix 243
FundamentalPrinciples of1872 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 243
QuestionsforBro.Loughborough . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 249
Copyof1898TheDesireofAges,p.671 . . . . . . . . . . . . 251
Manuscript21,1906 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 252
TheFiveStepstoApostasy . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 253
24 SCRIPTUREINDEX 255
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TheFoundationofOurFaith
How Firm a Foundation
How firm a foundation, ye saints of the Lord,
Is laid for your faith in His excellent word!
What more can He say than to you He hath said,
Who unto the Saviour for refuge have fled?
“Fear not, I am with thee; O be not dismayed;
For I am thy God, and will still give thee aid;
I’ll strengthen thee, help thee, and cause thee to stand,
Upheld by My righteous, omnipotent hand.
“When through the deep waters I call thee to go,
The rivers of sorrow shall not overflow;
For I will be with thee, thy troubles to bless,
And sanctify to thee thy deepest distress.
“When through fiery trials thy pathway shall lie,
My grace all-sufficient shall be thy supply;
The flame shall not hurt thee; I only design
Thy dross to consume, and thy gold to refine.
“The soul that on Jesus doth lean for repose,
I will not, I will not desert to His foes;
That soul, though all hell should endeavor to shake,
I’ll never, no, never, no, never forsake.”
-viii-
Introduction
Pauladmonishesusto“lookuntoJesus(Hebrews12:2).”Theimportance
oflooking to Jesusand knowing God, both intellectually and experimen-
tally,canneverbeoverestimated.OurSavioursaid:“Andthisislifeeternal,
thattheymightknowtheetheonlytrueGod,andJesusChrist,whomthou
hastsent(John17:3).”
ThetrueknowledgeofGodandhischaracterwas,toalargedegree,cov-
eredupduringtheDarkAgeswhenthepapacywasatitsheight.Godraised
uptheReformationtodispelthisdarkness.Atfirst,theloveofthetruthper-
meated the hearts of the reformers; however, gradually the flame of love
began to grow dim. Instead of continuing the Reformation which would
haveresultedinthepurificationofthechurch,theProtestantsquitprotest-
ingandquitreforming!FriendshipwiththeRomanChurch,responsiblefor
thebloodofmartyrs,becameacceptable.Compromisesweremadebythe
successorsofthereformersandtheReformationwaschecked.
TheAdventmovementwasraisedupbyGodtofinishtheReformation
thatgreatleaders,likeJohnHussandMartinLuther,hadbegun.Huss,Lu-
ther,andothersweregivengreatlighttosharewiththeworld.However,the
brightness ofallofGod’struthsforthelastdays wastooblinding forthe
darknessoftheworldduringthe15thand16thcentury.God’splanwasto
continue shedding more light as the spiritual eyes of the people became
opened and acclimated. From approximately 1844 to shortly after 1888,
Godgrantedspeciallighttohispeople.However,thelightwhichGodinhis
mercygavetotheAdventpeopleistodayaccountedaserrorbythespiritual
successorsofthatmovement!Yet,wewerecounseled,“Wehavenothingto
fearforthefuture,exceptasweshallforgetthewaytheLordhasledus,and
Histeachinginourpasthistory(EllenG.White,LifeSketchesofJamesand
EllenWhite,p.196).”Thepurposeofthisbookistoreviewtheleadingof
theLordinourpasthistoryandtobiblicallyexaminethefoundationofour
faithasdeliveredtothesaints.
Withoutquestion,theAdventmovementisatacrisispointinitshistory.
LetusrememberwhattheservantoftheLordhaswritten:“IfGodabhors
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