One of the strangest ideas floating around certain circles of contemporary Adventism is the notion that Last Generation Theology—the belief that God is waiting for a people perfected through heaven’s power so that Jesus can return—somehow denies the efficacy of the sacrifice of Jesus on the cross.
This notion is based on the unscriptural theory that the blood of Jesus shed on Calvary is all about the forgiveness of sins, not about power to overcome sin. Thus it is assumed that those who insist on total victory over sin this side of heaven are exalting the work of the Holy Spirit over the work of Jesus, supposedly making the Holy Spirit a “substitute savior.”
Years ago, one Adventist opponent of perfection theology disputed the idea of the saints living without a Mediator after the close of probation with this statement:
If that were true (to live without the need of forgiveness), it would mean that you would come to a place in your Christian life where you don’t need Christ any more. That teaching makes the Holy Spirit your Savior. It says that by the transformation the Holy Spirit does in your life, you can finally get to the place where you’re so good you don’t need Jesus any more [##1|Steve Marshall, What’s the Difference? (Arroyo Grande, CA: Concerned Communications, 1979), p. 23.##].
A more recent Adventist author, speaking of Last Generation Theology, says the same thing:
Again and again I have noticed what seems to be a diminishing need for Christ in this strain of theology [##2|Roy Adams, The Nature of Christ: Help for a church divided over perfection (Hagerstown, MD: Review and Herald Publishing Assn, 1994), p. 23 (italics original).##].
In other words, modern and contemporary Adventists who oppose Last Generation Theology, perfection theology, or whatever one chooses to call it, believe that for Christians to become perfect in this life means they no longer need Jesus. This is because they believe forgiveness to be Jesus’ department, and the work of transformation and the expulsion of sin to be the Holy Spirit’s department. Stop sinning, in their view, and the work of Jesus on the cross ceases to be necessary.
The Cleansing Blood
But this restricted understanding of Calvary and its significance is quite out of harmony with the teachings of Scripture.
Most assuredly the blood of Jesus is the agent of our forgiveness. The Bible is very clear on this point. Speaking of Christ, the apostle Paul declares:
In whom we have redemption through His blood, the forgiveness of sins, according to the riches of His grace (Eph. 1:7; see also Col. 1:14).
But this isn’t all the blood of Jesus accomplishes. Other New Testament passages speak of our Lord’s shed blood as the instrument of sanctification and the practical expulsion of sin. The following verses from the book of Hebrews are clear on this point:
He that despised Moses’ law died without mercy under two or three witnesses; Of how much sorer punishment, suppose ye, shall he be thought worthy, who hath trodden under foot the Son of God, and hath counted the blood of the covenant, wherewith he was sanctified, an unholy thing, and hath done despite unto the Spirit of grace? (Heb. 10:28-29).
Wherefore Jesus also, that He might sanctify the people with His own blood, suffered without the gate….
Now the God of peace, that brought again from the dead our Lord Jesus, that great shepherd of the sheep, through the blood of the everlasting covenant,
Make you perfect in every good work to do His will, working in you that which is well pleasing in His sight, through Jesus Christ, to whom be glory for ever and ever. Amen (Heb. 13:12,20-21).
Notice clearly how the above passages describe the blood of Jesus as the agent which works in the believer that which is well pleasing in God’s sight. This is obviously more than some legal, or forensic, declaration of righteousness. This is internal transformation, which the Bible here declares to be part of the work of Jesus’ blood in the saving process.
The same principle is found in the writings of the apostle John, when he writes:
But if we walk in the light, as He is in the light, we have fellowship one with another, and the blood of Jesus Christ His Son cleanseth us from all sin. . . .
If we confess our sins, He is faithful and just to forgive us our sins, and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness (I John 1:7,9).
Notice how verse 9 in the above passage speaks of cleansing “from all unrighteousness” as something in addition to the forgiveness of sins. While God’s forgiveness does in fact cleanse the record of our past sins in heaven, the cleansing described by the apostle John in the above verses involves a practical cleansing, just like the verses cited earlier from the book of Hebrews.
The above Bible verses are clear, in other words, that the work of Jesus’ blood shed on Calvary is not only to forgive our sins, but to give us victory over them. Both aspects of Jesus’ work are involved in His intercessory ministry in the heavenly sanctuary, where His blood is applied to both the records and the lives of believers. Nor is there any “neat” division of labor between the Members of the Godhead so far as our salvation is concerned, as though justification (forgiveness) is the work of Jesus on the cross while sanctification (overcoming sin) is the work of the Holy Spirit here and now. Ellen White, under divine inspiration, destroys this neat categorizing of Jesus’ work and that of the Spirit when she writes succinctly:
Our sanctification is the work of the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit [##3|Ellen G. White, SDA Bible Commentary, vol. 7, p. 908.##].
Blood and Water
Some have alleged that whenever Scripture or Ellen White speak of the blood of Christ cleansing from sin, this refers exclusively to justification, while references to cleansing by water refer exclusively to regeneration and sanctification. But no such rigid distinction is found in the Bible or the writings of the Spirit of Prophecy. While it is true that water-cleansing is used in Scripture to refer to the new birth and sanctification (John 3:5; Eph. 5:26), it is also true, as we have seen, that the Bible depicts sanctification and inward cleansing as being accomplished by Jesus’ blood (Heb. 10:29; 13:12,20-21).
Ellen White does speak of the two distinct streams of blood and water which flowed from the pierced side of Jesus, and describes their meaning:
When the soldier pierced the side of Jesus as He hung upon the cross, there came out two distinct streams, one of blood, the other of water. The blood was to wash away the sins of those who should believe in His name; and the water was to represent that living water which is obtained from Jesus to give life to the believer [##4|——Early Writings, p. 209.##].
Notice that Ellen White does not define the two streams as representing justification and sanctification, respectively. Rather, she says the blood is to wash our sins away, while the water is to give new life to the believer. Let us remember that the removal of sin from our lives, through both justification and sanctification, is only the first step in our walk with God. To fill our lives with the sustenance and power God seeks to give in place of sin is what the water flowing from Jesus’ side is all about. The blood removes the sin, both from heaven’s records and from our lives. The water then gives refreshment and nourishment to the life thus purified. As we see in Scripture, water-cleansing is indeed a part of regeneration and sanctification (John 3:5; Eph. 5:26). But it is only the second part of the sanctifying process, the first being the removal of sin through Jesus’ sanctifying blood (Heb. 13:21,20-21; I John 1:7,9).
The following Ellen White statement makes it clear that the cleansing accomplished by Jesus’ blood includes the work of sanctification and character development:
When Christ shall come, He will not change the character of any individual. Precious, probationary time is given to be improved in washing our robes of character and making them white in the blood of the Lamb. To remove the stains of sin requires the work of a lifetime. Every day renewed efforts in restraining and denying self are needed. Every day there are new battles to fight, and victories to be gained. Every day the soul should be called out in earnest pleading with God for the mighty victories of the cross [##5|——Testimonies, vol. 4, p. 429.##].
Obviously Ellen White in this passage is referring to sanctification, especially as she speaks here of the “work of the lifetime.” Elsewhere she uses this term specifically with regard to sanctification:
Sanctification is not the work of a moment, an hour, a day, but of a lifetime [##6|——Acts of the Apostles, p. 560.##].
Other statements convey the same thought:
Shall I stand without fault before the throne of God? Only the faultless will be there. None will be translated to heaven while their hearts are filled with the rubbish of earth. Every defect in the moral character must first be remedied, every stain removed by the cleansing blood of Christ, and all the unlovely, unlovable traits of character overcome [##7|——Testimonies, vol. 1, p. 705.##].
Search, oh search, as for your life, and condemn yourself, pass judgment upon yourself, and then by faith claim the cleansing blood of Christ to remove the stains from your Christian character. . . . . Jesus will receive you, all polluted as you are, and will wash you in His blood, and cleanse you from all pollution, and make you fit for the society of heavenly angels, in a pure, harmonious heaven [##8|——Testimonies, vol. 2, p. 81.##].
And what, according to the same author, is our “fitness for heaven”?
The righteousness by which we are justified is imputed; the righteousness by which we are sanctified is imparted. The first is our title to heaven; the second is our fitness for heaven [##9|——Messages to Young People, p. 35.##].
Elsewhere, along similar lines, we read:
A probation is granted us to wash our robes of character and make them white in the blood of the Lamb. Who is doing this work? Who is separating from himself sin and selfishness? [##10|——SDA Bible Commentary, vol. 7, p. 960.##].
“The wages of sin is death.” Sin, however small it may be esteemed, can be persisted in only at the cost of eternal life. What is not overcome will overcome us, and work out our destruction. We must wash our robes of character in the blood of the Lamb until they are white and stainless [##11|——Review and Herald, March 27, 1888.##].
Conclusion
On the basis of the above, both Scripture and the writings of Ellen White constrain us to recognize that the cleansing accomplished by the blood of Jesus includes sanctification as well as justification, and that therefore, inspired statements which speak of salvation through Christ’s blood alone cannot be construed as teaching salvation by justification (or forgiveness) alone. The blood of Jesus shed on the cross provides for the Christian both pardon and power, a righteousness both declarative and transformative.
Despite what some mistakenly believe, to teach perfection of character through God’s power here on earth is in no way to denigrate or marginalize the all-sufficiency of the sacrificial blood of Jesus. Only the sacrifice and blood of Jesus make the forgiveness of our past sins possible, and only that sacrifice and blood make possible the removal of sin for our lives and the perfection of character thus resulting.
REFERENCES
1. Steve Marshall, What’s the Difference? (Arroyo Grande, CA: Concerned Communications, 1979), p. 23.
2. Roy Adams, The Nature of Christ: Help for a church divided over perfection (Hagerstown, MD: Review and Herald Publishing Assn, 1994), p. 23 (italics original).
3. Ellen G. White, SDA Bible Commentary, vol. 7, p. 908.
4. ----Early Writings, p. 209.
5. ----Testimonies, vol. 4, p. 429.
6. ----Acts of the Apostles, p. 560.
7. ----Testimonies, vol. 1, p. 705.
8. Ibid, vol. 2, p. 81.
9. ----Messages to Young People, p. 35.
10. ----SDA Bible Commentary, vol. 7, p. 960.
11. ----Review and Herald, March 27, 1888.
Pastor Kevin Paulson holds a Bachelor’s degree in theology from Pacific Union College, a Master of Arts in systematic theology from Loma Linda University, and a Master of Divinity from the SDA Theological Seminary at Andrews University. He served the Greater New York Conference of Seventh-day Adventists for ten years as a Bible instructor, evangelist, and local pastor. He writes regularly for Liberty magazine and does script writing for various evangelistic ministries within the denomination. He continues to hold evangelistic and revival meetings throughout the North American Division and beyond, and is a sought-after seminar speaker relative to current issues in the Seventh-day Adventist Church. He presently resides in Berrien Springs, Michigan