THE ROLE AND IMPORTANCE OF POST-CONVERSION FAITHFULNESS AND THE UNIQUENESS OF THE 144000 SAINTS

POST-CONVERSION SINLESSNESS: WHY HAS THIS NEVER BEEN DEMONSTRATED YET AND WHY WOULD THIS BE REALIZED WITH ONLY THE 144000 SAINTS AT A DETERMINED FUTURE DATE?

The Seventh-day Adventist church is largely accused of legalism, of believing and teaching salvation by the keeping of the law. But although the church does emphasize the law, it is never her teaching that salvation is by the law. The church believes in, and teaches, salvation by grace through faith in Christ Jesus.

Where the church appears to be seemingly legalistic is on the POST-CONVERSION LIFE of a Christian. The church stresses over this phase of a believer’s life mainly because she understands that the Bible teaches that post-conversion sinlessness  is a possibility because Christ has demonstrated it. But where she takes this too far is to assume or presume that post-conversion imperfection determines if the conversion received at new-birth as a gift is retained or lost.

The reason post-conversion perfection, even if it were accomplished by any(as will be the case with the 144000 saints), cannot determine our salvation is because it can never make such a person equal to Christ. Christ is a Savior because he has never sinned at any time and has never had any need for forgiveness of sin. Only he who has no sin can offer salvation, which is essentially freedom from and victory over sin and its eternal consequence of eternal death. That is the qualification of a Savior. Christ cannot therefore expect this from any human, as he alone can have that qualification, hence the reason he is the Savior. Though the 144000 will achieve post salvation(post-conversion) sinlessness, this does not qualify them as Saviors, as they were sinners that were saved.

So, why then should post-salvation be made a determinant of the assurance of salvation? No reason at all, except as the saved go out of their way to become unsaved, when, according to Paul, they “tread underfoot the son of God…”(See Hebrews 10:26-19). By this Paul does not mean sinning due to weakness, as John noted(“But if we sin, we have an advocate…”). Falling out of salvation is not an easy and simple act of sin by a person who has been saved. It is a consistent and prolonged bent towards rejection of the means by which one was saved, the grace of God by His Spirit. At a point, determined by God’s omniscience, that person disconnects from the source of salvation and becomes unredeemable. It is therefore dangerous to presume that one knows how long to knowingly and consistently walk the part of sin after they are converted. Repentance is never solely by the will of man. It begins by the promptings of the Spirit of God. When these promptings are rejected long enough, by God’s omniscient determination, the soul loses their salvation. But post-salvation mistakes and weaknesses do not take away, should not take away a person’s assurance of salvation. A person’s salvation is never pending, waiting on the tallying up of their post-salvation score. That is a false belief and doctrine.

Therefore, since post-salvation sinlessness will never make anyone equal to Jesus, and therefore cannot grant you any salvation, the undue stress and stressing over it, which is prevalent among Seventh-day Adventists, which makes them paranoid over losing their salvation should they fail in even one point, is sad. The result is a perennial lack of assurance of salvation. It robs a believer the heavenly peace and joy and confidence, and ultimately the love for God that comes with salvation. Satan rejoices greatly at this. It makes loving God difficult if not impossible.

The remedy is realizing that your  occasional post-salvation missteps does not cause God to take away your salvation, and therefore to readily and boldly(not presumptuously and arrogantly approach the throne of grace to receive forgiveness and cleansing for your missteps. God is Omnipotent, Omniscient, and knows a genuine and sincere heart who sins out of weakness. He can also tell who is on the slippery dangerous path towards losing their salvation.  We can manage to deceive ourselves, but it is impossible to deceive God who reads the heart. God can tell a person who stumbles as against the one who mocks and despises him. If one is truly saved, post-conversion missteps will not erase the assurance of salvation.

THE 144000 SAINTS AND WHY THEIR POST-CONVERSION SINLESSNESS IS IMPORTANT TO GOD AND CHRIST 

Before humans were created, Satan had rebelled against God, out of envy that God honors his son and accords him equal status with himself. Despite knowing that Christ has this honor by inheritance due to his origin by reason of birth, Satan still expected that God should honor him as Christ is honored. God and the good Angels reasoned with him that Christ is not being accorded this honor because he worked for it, but simply because he was God’s literal son, and therefore can’t be anything but God-like and of God-nature.

All the entreaties of heaven fell on rebellious, deaf ears, and eventually Satan stormed out of heaven with his loyal Angels-“left their first estate”(Revelation 12:4; Jude 6). When humans were created, Satan saw an opportunity to extend and prolong the rebellion by deceiving Adam and Eve and getting them to join his rebellion. At this point Satan came up with his argument for why he should be allowed to live forever, namely, that he has proved that no creature made(not born of God as Christ was)  can possibly keep the Law of God. He presents as his proof himself, and the Angels he had deceived , as well as the first human pair. 

But God had a plan, His son, to answer Satan’s argument. His son was not only going to live as human and accomplish sinlessness, but will produce a people who can do so also, the 144000 saints. But then the question is: Why only 144000? Is this number predetermined and has God simply arbitrarily chosen this number of people?

The answer is that though God is all knowing, he did not however arbitrarily choose this number. These are the select few that have demonstrated in their lifetime a certain level of submission to the will of God, denied themselves enough, followed the plan of God so much more than others. These are the few whose post-conversion sanctification rises above that of the rest.

But why would the post-salvation sinlessness be demonstrated towards the end of the world? Does this mean that all these would be chosen from one generation of the Great controversy? Does this number preclude those who have died? The answer is no.  A number of them would be resurrected to join those living to go through that furnace that will refine and perfect them finally for the final test they would need to pass. No one has been sealed yet, as this sealing is not that of conversion, being that they are already recognized as God’s servants, which means already saved. This sealing is to render them immune to death since death results from sin, and if sinlessness is achieved, death is cancelled. The only reason Christ died is not because of his sins, but because of the sins of the world that he willingly hung up on himself out of love. Otherwise, death would never have had dominion over him. He died our death. So, the sealing of the 144000 is a recognition of their above average faithfulness, and for this they are sealed into the state of sinlessness and consequent deathlessness. They will maintain this state till Christ comes and give them physical transformation.

The selection of the 144000 saints can be likened to what a general or commander does in the selection of the battalion that would go to war. A general starts off with a large number, then narrows it down to a select few. But that’s not the end. There is a last phase of training that is to prepare the remnant few before they are sent out to battle. God has judged and assessed, over the years, as he deemed wise, those who have shown exceptional faithfulness in their post-conversion lives, and these he has selected over two plus generations, since October 22, 1844.

Since this date, Christ has engaged in this important task of cleansing the host(church), that other half of the work he ascended to heaven in 31 CE to do. Daniel 8:14 reveals that the cleansing of the sanctuary and cleansing of the host(church) are two separate works that are accomplished at different times. The sanctuary, whose treading underfoot has been ongoing since Adam sinned, was finally cleansed on October 22 1844, marked by the casting down of Satan and his angels who have been defiling and polluting the heavenly sanctuary with their evil presence, accusations and foul language(It has been Satan that has been defiling the sanctuary by bringing up the sins of the church in his accusations before God).

But the cleansing of the host(church) is left for a later date, and this is the work that Christ is to accomplish with the 144000 saints. The period of training of the 144000 begins with the Image of the beast formation and the Sunday Law test(the third and last fulfillment of Taking Away of the daily and setting up of Abomination of desolation-Daniel 12). From this time onwards through the 1290 days, and then through the 1260 days, their faithfulness are put through a most severe test, never before given to humanity. During the 1260 days, the training will be finalized, making them ready for that TRIBULATION PERIOD that begins from when Michael stands up, when no more forgiveness of sin is available to anyone that sins. This is the time of Jacob’s trouble, and the 144000 will live through it sinless. But their courage will be from knowledge that Christ is still in them the hope of glory, making available to them his own experience while on earth. 

At this period they will be brought to that same point and experience that had Christ cry out, “My God, my God, why hast thou forsaken me”. And just as their Master received strength and encouragement from his Father through the Angels, so will Christ strengthen his servants at this critical moment. Satan will bring all his evil, cunning deceit, treachery and threat of violence to bear, but to no avail. Then again, he will be defeated by Christ, and for the final time. And at that last moment, Jesus, will sigh in relief and pride in his 144000 servants, as he declares, “It is done”(Revelation 16:17)