Early in my pastoral ministry, a pastoral colleague invited me to join a Bible study group where those present were exploring a theology that greatly minimized the role of obedience and human effort in the saving process. Because the pastor in question was concerned about the direction these folks were taking, and because he knew of my having made a point of studying these issues, he asked me to come.

As is often the case with such groups, personal experience seemed to be the driving force in the convictions being shared, rather than the objective study of God’s Word. One young woman spoke at length of her spiritual journey, her alleged forays into legalism, etc, and then said she had resolved to find “a gospel with no if’s.” She now believed she had discovered such a gospel in the theology being explored by this study group.

“If My People . . . “

Listening to this woman’s testimony, I couldn’t help wondering where she might have found such a “gospel” in the pages of Scripture, especially in light of such verses as the following:

If My people, which are called by My name, shall humble themselves, and pray, and seek My face, and turn from their wicked ways, then will I hear from heaven, and will forgive their sins, and heal their land” (II Chron. 7:14).

He that covereth his sins shall not prosper, but whoso confessed and forsaketh them shall have mercy (Prov. 28:13).

Let the wicked forsake his way, and the unrighteous man his thoughts, and let him return unto the Lord, and He will have mercy upon him: and to our God, for He will abundantly pardon (Isa. 55:7).

For if ye forgive men their trespasses, your heavenly Father will also forgive you:

But if ye forgive not men their trespasses, neither will your Father forgive your trespasses (Matt. 6:14-15).

And how can anyone forget the story of Jesus’ answer to the rich young ruler, who asked, “What good thing shall I do, that I might have eternal life?” (Matt. 19:16)?

If thou wilt enter into life, keep the commandments (verse 17).

Jesus was clear, of course, that such commandment-keeping is impossible in humanity’s unaided strength. When the young man walked away sorrowful because he clung to his material possessions, the disciples asked, “Who then can be saved?” (verse 25). Jesus replied, “With men this is impossible, but with God all things are possible” (verse 26).

Clearly, the Bible is full of conditions—“if’s, if you prefer—so far as divine forgiveness and ultimate salvation is concerned. But why is this?

Forgiveness—Human and Divine

One prominent political figure in the United States, whose life experience has taught her much about forgiveness, spoke in an interview years ago of how forgiveness “has more to do with the forgiver than with the one being forgiven.” So far as human forgiveness is concerned, she was right, as human forgiveness is generally about choosing to let go of a grudge. But God’s forgiveness is different.

Divine forgiveness as taught in the Bible, often called justification, involves God declaring the sinner righteous. In Ellen White’s words: “If you give yourself to Him, and accept Him as your Saviour, then, sinful as your life may have been, for His sake you are accounted righteous. Christ’s character stands in place of your character, and you are accepted before God just as if you had not sinned” [##1|Ellen G. White, Steps to Christ, p. 62.##].

But this declaration of righteousness is not a mere accounting. When God declares something to be so, it in fact becomes so. When at the creation He declared, “Let there be light,” the Bible says, “And there was light” (Gen. 1:3). When the leper came to Jesus for healing in Matthew chapter 8, Jesus said to him, “Be thou clean. And immediately his leprosy was cleansed” (verse 3).

Ellen White reflects this Biblical teaching in such passages as the following:

In the creation, “He spake, and it was done; He commanded, and it stood fast.” He “calleth those things which be not as though they were” (Psalm 33:9; Rom. 4:17); for when He calls them, they are [##2|——Education, p. 254.##].

God’s forgiveness, in other words, has nothing to do with letting go of a grudge, since God holds no grudges to start with. God’s forgiveness goes beyond changing heaven’s record books; it involves a change in the human heart. Ellen White speaks of this change in such statements as the following:

To be pardoned in the way that Christ pardons, is not only to be forgiven, but to be renewed in the spirit of our mind. The Lord says, “A new heart will I give unto thee.” The image of Christ is to be stamped upon the very mind, heart, and soul [##3|——Review and Herald, Aug. 19, 1890.##].

Justification means pardon. It means that the heart, purged from dead works, is prepared to receive the blessing of sanctification [##4|——Ye Shall Receive Power, p. 96.##].

The grace of Christ purifies while it pardons, and fits men for a holy heaven [##5|——That I May Know Him, p. 336.##].

God’s forgiveness is not merely a judicial act by which He sets us free from condemnation. It is not only forgiveness for sin, but reclaiming from sin. It is the outflow of redeeming love that transforms the heart. David had the true conception of forgiveness when he prayed, “Create in me a clean heart, O God; and renew a right spirit within me.” Psalm 51:10 [##6|——Thoughts from the Mount of Blessing, p. 114.##].

God’s Respect for Liberty

This is the reason God can’t forgive people unconditionally—because God won’t violate our free will in order to save us. And because His forgiveness changes our hearts as well as heaven’s records, no one can receive divine forgiveness without repentance, which according to Ellen White “includes sorrow for sin, and a turning away from it” [##7|——Steps to Christ, p. 23.##]. The idea that the whole world was involuntarily justified at the cross, as some mistakenly believe, runs counter to God’s respect for liberty. In Ellen White’s words:

The Lord Jesus came to our world full of mercy, life, and light, ready to save those who should come unto Him. But He can save no one against his will. God does not force the conscience. . . . All this work is after the order of Satan [##8|——Sons and Daughters of God, p. 182.##].

This, at the bottom line, is why a “gospel with no if’s” is impossible with the God of Scripture. The free will of God’s creatures is sacred, because without it, a strictly love-based obedience can’t happen. Love-based, Spirit-empowered obedience is the condition of our salvation because such obedience is the only kind God will accept—the only kind that arises from a truly willing heart and which will thus secure the universe for eternity against a recurrence of the present rebellion.

REFERENCES

1. Ellen G. White, Steps to Christ, p. 62.

2. ----Education, p. 254.

3. ----Review and Herald, Aug. 19, 1890.

4. ----Ye Shall Receive Power, p. 96.

5. ----That I May Know Him, p. 336.

6. ----Thoughts from the Mount of Blessing, p. 114 (italics original).

7. ----Steps to Christ, p. 23.

8. ----Sons and Daughters of God, p. 182.

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