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This article opts for the vicarious atonement model of salvation which was used by Jesus, Paul, and Ellen G. White but which is disputed today.
Universal Legal Justification and Vicarious Atonement
Stephen Bauer
Southern Adventist University
Like the first-century church, Adventism has varying theories of the doctrine of salvation circulating in
its midst. One theory currently in circulation is the doctrine of Universal Legal Justification [ULJ], advocated
by the 1888 Study Committee and Jack Sequeira. The core of ULJ appears to be the assertion that Christ‘s death has actually altered the legal standing of all humans with God. ULJ asserts that all humans were forensically justified in His sight prior to any exercise of faith in Christ by the individual. Hence, justification by faith is reduced to being the subjective realization of one‘s standing with God which is already established. ULJ stands on two theological pillars: The mechanism by which Jesus bears our sins, and the doctrine of man. If either of these pillars prove faulty, the doctrine of ULJ will be undermined. ULJ is
theologically complex and intricate. Hence, in the scope of this article, I can only briefly consider the first
issue, how Jesus bears our sins>>>
Continue here:
http://biblicalresearch.gc.adventist.org/documents/Universal%20Legal%20Justification%20and%20Vicarious%20Atonement.pdf
Universal Legal Justification and Vicarious Atonement
Stephen Bauer
Southern Adventist University
Like the first-century church, Adventism has varying theories of the doctrine of salvation circulating in
its midst. One theory currently in circulation is the doctrine of Universal Legal Justification [ULJ], advocated
by the 1888 Study Committee and Jack Sequeira. The core of ULJ appears to be the assertion that Christ‘s death has actually altered the legal standing of all humans with God. ULJ asserts that all humans were forensically justified in His sight prior to any exercise of faith in Christ by the individual. Hence, justification by faith is reduced to being the subjective realization of one‘s standing with God which is already established. ULJ stands on two theological pillars: The mechanism by which Jesus bears our sins, and the doctrine of man. If either of these pillars prove faulty, the doctrine of ULJ will be undermined. ULJ is
theologically complex and intricate. Hence, in the scope of this article, I can only briefly consider the first
issue, how Jesus bears our sins>>>
Continue here:
http://biblicalresearch.gc.adventist.org/documents/Universal%20Legal%20Justification%20and%20Vicarious%20Atonement.pdf
