There are several teachings presented in your publications that I find confusing. What I will try to do is state your teaching as I understand it and you can correct me if I am missing something.
- Christ did not die to pay the penalty for our sins because the penalty is death, but he died without committing sin and was deserving of resurrection. God then applies this merit to us and we are resurrected also. By analogy: we are in prison to be executed. Christ does not take our place; but when he is executed, because he had committed no sins or crimes personally, the governor pardons us, so that his death provides a benefit for us.
- The Holy Spirit, or power of God, does not act in the earth today to convict of sin or help sinners repent except as the words of the Bible may bring conviction.
- The Holy Spirit, or God’s power, does not indwell the believer on salvation [i.e. at baptism] .
- Being born again is a mental attitude change, not a change in spiritual nature.
- The sinner may understand the Bible without God’s spirit or power acting on him.
- To be saved, a person must:
a) Understand God’s prophetic program for Israel.
b) Repent of his sins.
c) Understand and accept all the teaching of the BASF.
d) Participate in a baptism ritual conducted by a Christadelphian.
e) Live righteously and ask forgiveness if they sin. - A person who prays to God for forgiveness, and confesses Jesus as Lord, but does not participate in a baptism ritual will not be resurrected; salvation begins at the time of the baptism ritual.
J.P., U.S A.
Although space does not permit a point by point response in this issue of the magazine, J.P’s entire letter is presented to provide an overall context of his query. Lord willing, the points he raises will be addressed in this and coming months.
If readers think through how they might respond to J.P., they will quickly realize that a simple “Yes” or “No” answer would be inadequate and misleading for the majority of his statements. Because Christadelphians try to couch their doctrine in Bible terms with Bible emphasis, we frequently do not use the vocabulary or theological framework of many “Christian” teachers.
General comments
There are some preliminary comments that apply to more than one of the above queries.
First, substitute “eternal life” for “resurrection/resurrected” in items 1 and 7. While resurrection is occasionally used as a synonym for “eternal life” (e.g. Phil. 3:11), that is not always the case. There is a “resurrection of damnation” as well as a “resurrection of life” (John 5:29).
Second, when speaking of the Holy Spirit or power of God in the context of salvation (items 2, 3 and 5), the Bible, and consequently the Christadelphians, include in the active operation of God the scriptures themselves (John 6:63) and divine providence — i.e. the work of the angels in the arrangement of circumstance (Psa. 34:7; Rom. 8:28; Heb. 1:14).
Third, we do not believe God overrides our free will. Even though He may be active in our lives, we still have the freedom to reject the gospel or at any time turn back from God’s salvation. We are reconciled “If ye continue in the faith grounded and settled and be not moved away from the hope of the gospel” (Col. 1:23).
A right view of imputation
- You have it right that Christ is not our substitute and we benefit from his perfect obedience ev,en unto death and his resurrection to eternal life.
You have it wrong in a) the attribution of righteousness and b) the way in which we benefit from Christ.
- a) Christ’s right conduct is not attributed (i.e. transferred) to us as if we were the ones who did it. But God does graciously count our faith righteousness if we believe Him.
Based on two Old Testament quotations, Romans 4 provides a succinct summary of right theology on this matter: “For what saith the scripture? Abraham believed God, and it [Abraham’s faith] was counted unto him for righteousness…to him that worketh not [does not think his personal obedience warrants divine favor] but believeth on him that justifieth the ungodly, his faith is counted for righteousness…He [Abraham] staggered not at the promise of God through unbelief; but was strong in faith, giving glory to God; and being fully persuaded that, what he had promised. he was able also to perform. And therefore it [Abraham’s faith] was imputed to him for righteousness. Now it was not written for his sake alone that it [righteousness] was imputed to him; but for us also, to whom it shall be imputed, if we believe on him that raised up Jesus our Lord from the dead” (Rom. 4:3,5,23,24). We have underlined the key phrase which clearly states the doctrine of imputed righteousness.
Romans 4 also expresses the same doctrine in different words: “David also describeth the blessedness of the man, unto whom God imputeth righteousness without works, saying, Blessed are they whose iniquities are forgiven, and whose sins are covered. Blessed is the man to whom the Lord will not impute sin” (Rom. 4:6-8 citing Psa. 32:1-2). Forgiving our sins, God deals with us as if we were righteous — as if, in other words, we lived as obediently as did the Lord Jesus. The forgiveness of sins is thus a literal statement of what happens to our sins when we come to believe in and follow the Lord Jesus.
Perhaps your understanding of Christadelphian teaching has been made difficult by the way we sometimes use the phrase the “righteousness [which is] of God.” This is a Bible expression. In Romans and Philippians, the phrase occurs in contrast to “their own righteousness” or “the righteousness which is of the law” (Rom. 10:3-6; Phil. 3:9). In commenting on such verses, Christadelphians may say we have “righteousness that is of God and not of ourselves.”
This does not mean God takes a piece of His righteousness, or of Christ’s, and transfers it to us. What we are referring to is the fact that God counts our faith in Him for righteousness. Summarizing this process as “the righteousness of God” is very appropriate. Because, when one claims a right to blessing because of his compliance with law, he exalts his own righteousness. But when one acknowledges his unworthiness and trusts God to keep His promises, one exalts God’s power, grace and faithfulness (i.e. God’s righteousness). Thus salvation that is based on grace through belief is termed, “The righteousness of God.” While salvation that is based on law through works is termed “our own righteousness.”
To summarize this point: God does not transfer part of Christ’s obedience to us. Rather, He counts our faith righteousness, when we “believe on him that raised up Jesus our Lord from the dead.”
The Origin of the Organic World – Part One