Answers To Objections Francis D. Nichol - Walter Veith

Answers To Objections By

Francis D. Nichol

-An Examination of The Major Objections Raised Against The Teachings of Seventh-Day Adventists-

Dedication

To That Valiant Company in the Advent Movement, Both Ministerial and Lay, Who Seek to Present to Men the Truth of God With Convincing and Convicting Power, This Book is:

Prayerfully Dedicated.

Foreword By

W. H. Branson

In bringing out a revised and enlarged edition of this work, the author has rendered a signal service to the cause of God, further strengthening the hands of those whose lives are dedicated to the proclamation and defense of' present truth.

'The history of the Christian church is one of conflict. The enemy of truth and righteousness has always tried to minimize obedience to the commandments of God and to pervert the true teachings of the Bible. Wherever the pure gospel has been preached, opposition has made itself felt. The struggle has continued through the centuries in different forms. In these closing days of time, when the dragon with increased fury is warring against the remnant who seek to uphold the integrity of God's eternal law, there is need as never before that the champions of truth stand fast ill defense of the faith. The Christian witness is called upon today to present a positive message, hewn out of the Word of God, a message that will stand in the evil day of satanic delusion and will leave men and women established in the Christian verities.

This volume gives a clear-cut, convincing answer to the objections most frequently raised by critics of the doctrines held by the Seventh day Adventist Church. The objection is frankly set forth and the answer fully given in such a way as to win the confidence of the reader in the integrity of the presentation. Sources of information and authority not ordinarily available to the minister engaged in general church work are brought forward to clarify the logic of the statements made.

Throughout their entire history Seventh day Adventists have stood for certain distinct doctrines, some of which differ rather sharply from the teaching of other Christian bodies. Because of our insistence upon the Scriptural authenticity of these unpopular teachings, we have naturally found it frequently necessary to defend our positions against those who would by careless or faulty interpretation seek to sweep away the distinctive tenets of our faith. Those pioneers of the church who laid so truly and well the foundation upon which we now build, were able to do so only by arduous study and fervent prayer. But their work has survived. Every assault has further

demonstrated the impregnability of our fundamental doctrinal positions. This does not mean, however, that we are now immune to attack or that we can safely ignore the criticisms of the present day. There is no discharge in the war we are called upon to wage in defense of the faith. With meekness and fear, and yet with an unalterable resolution, we are constantly to be ready with an answer for the hope within us, and so much the more as we "see the day approaching."

With hearty approval, therefore, we commend this book to every gospel worker. It will prove a ready helper in meeting both the attacks of the theological critic and the sincere questions of the perplexed inquirer. It will without doubt win honored acceptance as a valuable contribution to the literature written in defense of the Holy Scriptures and the doctrines of the Advent faith.

From the Author To the Reader of This Book

It is much more delightful to revel in the fragrance and beauty of the flowers in a garden than to busy oneself removing cutworms from the plants. Few of us even wish to discuss such unpleasant things, much less to deal with them. Why talk of them when we may talk of flowers? But unless we remove the cutworms we shall not long be able to enjoy the flowers.

This simple illustration provides the reason for this book. It is written to meet false doctrine and thus to help ensure that the flowers of truth may continue to bloom and disseminate their heavenly fragrance to the children of men.

Perhaps some devout individual may reply that the illustration does not fit. He does not wish to think that enemies lurk in the garden of God. At least he feels that God will care for His own, and that the plants of the Lord, with their roots deep in the soil of eternal truth, can safely withstand all attacks. Therefore we should devote our time wholly to enjoying the flowers and to inviting the wayfarer to enter the heavenly garden and enjoy them with us.

The troubled history of the Christian church reveals the fallacy of such thinking. Even in the earliest, most divinely vigorous period of Christianity, the apostles felt it necessary to deal with threatening doctrinal dangers. John, whose writings breathe the spirit of love, warned,-in his epistles, against the deadly Docetic heresy then developing, that Christ was but an apparition. (See 1 John I:1-3; 4:2, 3) He also warned against the heretical idea that a Christian is beyond sin, and the equally heretical idea that we do not need to keep God's commandments. The person who sets forth such a view, said John, "is a liar, and the truth is not in him." 1 John 2:4. He discusses the matter at length to prove why such teachings are false.

Paul told the Corinthian church: "I determined not to know any thing among you, save Jesus Christ, and him crucified." 1 Cor. 2:2. And some would use that isolated declaration to support the contention that the gospel minister should take no notice of false teachings or opposition. How unwarranted a conclusion can be drawn from a text when it is isolated from its whole context.

Paul's epistles are generally tightly reasoned presentations of truth, with a negative as well as a positive aspect. Indeed he preached Christ crucified. But he realized that unless the deadly heresy of Jewish legalism was exposed and refuted, the preaching of Christ would profit nothing. That is

why his epistles deal so repeatedly and lengthily-with that heresy. Nor was it the only doctrinal error that he exposed and refuted. Note, for example, his extended and militant argument against the false teaching that "there is no resurrection of the dead." 1 Cor. 15:12. One cannot read his writings without exclaiming: "If Paul was not God's lawyer, pray tell what was he?"

Nor was this great apostle content simply to carry on militantly himself. He exhorted others to do likewise. To Timothy he wrote:- Fight the good fight of faith.....Hold fast the form of sound words, which thou has heard of me." 1 Tim. 6:12; 2 Tim. 1: 13. To the elders of the church at Ephesus he told of the "grievous wolves" that would "enter in among" them, "not sparing the flock," and of those in their own midst who would "arise, speaking perverse things, to draw away disciples after them." Then he added immediately: "Therefore watch, and remember, that by the space of three years I ceased not to warn every one night and day with tears." Acts 20:29-31. When you "warn" you warn against. And this inevitably involves a negative action, justified however by its results, the protecting of the believer from false doctrine.

Jude wrote: "Beloved, when I gave all diligence to write unto you of the common salvation, it was needful for me to write unto you, and exhort you that you should earnestly contend for the faith which was once delivered unto the saints." Jude 3. The whole of his brief letter warns against and exposes "certain men" who had 11 crept in unawares" and were corrupting morals and "denying" basic Christian doctrine.

Peter warned the church of "false teachers among you, who privily shall bring in damnable heresies." 2 Peter 2: 1. Then he proceeds to devote most of his epistle to an examination and refutation of those heresies.

The written record of these resolute, militant men of God seems not to support the idea that we should concentrate exclusively on enjoying the flowers, because forsooth the hardy plants of truth need no protecting care from God's husbandmen.

During the Reformation period its advocates had to do more than focus 6n the positive truth of righteousness by faith, and related doctrines. They had to deal with strong and specious arguments brought forth by Rome's most subtle protagonists.

In the Advent awakening of the early 1840's William Miller and his associates were not permitted to deal exclusively with the glorious, positive truth of the personal soon coming of Christ. They had to spend time refuting the plausible arguments of popular ministers who sought, among other things, to prove from Scripture that world conversion preceded Christ's Advent. The literature of the 1844 movement is filled with the vigorous, cogent reasoning of the Advent leaders as they exposed error and exalted truth.

When the Seventh day Adventist movement developed, immediately afterward there began to come from our press special tracts and pamphlets and books answering the claims of those who contended that Sunday is taught in the Scriptures, that immortality of soul is the possession of men, that the law of God is abolished, and other false doctrines.

All this was inevitable. The presentation of any belief or doctrine, religious or otherwise, is in two parts: setting forth evidence for the belief, and answering those who bring forth arguments for a contrary belief.

Now, the initial period of militant advocacy of belief, and the refutation of false teachings, has almost always been followed by quieter times. A religious movement brought forth amid controversy and opposition discovers in time that it has secured a measure of standing among men. Then comes the temptation to stress less earnestly the distinctive truths that brought the movement into existence. It was this policy that caused early Christianity to merge with paganism and various Protestant churches ultimately to lose their distinctiveness. Peace appeals as strongly to the warrior on the religious battlefield as it does to the literal soldier. The mistake that the spiritual warrior makes is in thinking that in this world, so dominated by evil, he can ever hope to conclude an honorable peace that will leave the kingdom of God safe from all future attacks. There is no discharge in the warfare until God declares, "It is done."

I am fully aware that the religious temper of the times is against emphasizing, much less fighting for, distinctive beliefs. It is not supposed to be good taste. It delays the much-desired union of all churches. Certainly if the churches wish above all else to unite, they must play down their differences in theology. But by the same token, if a church wishes to maintain its identity and to. justify its separate existence, it must be ready to give a reason for the hope and the doctrines that it holds, and this inevitably includes meeting the assaults of those who would seek to undermine its hope and its doctrines.

There is one point above all others that distinguishes this Advent movement, the firm belief that God raised it up to preach a distinctive message, and to call on all men to join it in readiness for the day of God. If we sincerely act upon this belief, we must be prepared to meet opposition, an opposition which we have prophetic reason to know will become more active and more bitter as the end draws near. Let us never forget that our announced objective is the completing of the great sixteenth-century Protestant Reformation. That Reformation owes its very name to the militant protest made against false teachings though, of course, Protestantism stands for a great body of positive truths. We belie the great name Protestant when we no longer are concerned to protest that which is opposed to truth.

As members of tile Advent movement we should be forever warned of the danger of buying peace with the currency of compromise as we note what has happened to most of Protestantism today. At the opening of the twentieth century a great number of the Christian ministry were still firm believers in the historic doctrines of Christianity, beginning with the doctrine of creation, But an active, persuasive, and well-educated group of clergy were presenting the case for evolution and related rationalistic ideas. It was evident that their theories were opposed to the long-established doctrines of Christianity. And how did they seek to pierce this defensive doctrinal wall? By the simple expedient of minimizing the importance of doctrine and affirming that Christianity is really a matter of the spirit, a beautiful fellowship with God as our Father and with all men as brothers, and that everything else is incidental. Hence, if science has great discoveries for us, let us make the doctrines fit tile discoveries. Which is another way of saying, Let us abandon the doctrines.

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