In Clause 14 of both the Birmingham Amended Statement of Faith and its unamended equivalent, we read the following:
XIV.—That he is a priest over his own house only, and
does not intercede for the world, or for professors who are abandoned to disobedience.
That he makes intercession for his erring brethren, if they confess and forsake
their sins.—Luke 24:51; Ephesians 1:20; Acts 5:31; 1 Timothy 2:5; Hebrews 8:1;
Acts 15:14; 13:39; Hebrews 4:14,15; John 17:9; Hebrews 10:26; 1 John 2:1;
Proverbs 28:13.
While
he would later fall into disgrace, Michael Ashton, a then-leading and
well-respected member of the Central Fellowship (largest Christadelphian body;
over 95% of Christadelphians worldwide) wrote the following about this clause
in the May 1990 issue of The Christadelphian:
An Advocate with the Father
For mankind there could be no more appropriate priest,
manifesting God’s requirements and revealing His mercy, and sympathising with
every difficulty faced by his people. He was also wholly qualified to represent
mankind before God, for he was sinless: “If any man sin, we have an advocate
with the Father, Jesus Christ the righteous” (1 John 2:1).
The Statement of Faith helpfully draws attention to a
verse in Proverbs. It well catches the human tendency towards self deception,
first manifested when Adam and Eve, recognising their nakedness, vainly
attempted to cover themselves and their sin: “He that covereth his sins shall
not prosper: but whoso confesseth and forsaketh them shall have mercy”
(Proverbs 28:13).
Until the Lord returns, this ever-continuing confession
of sins to the Father requires that forgiveness shall be granted “for Jesus’
sake”. “Neither is there salvation in any other; for there is none other name
under heaven given among men, whereby we must be saved” (Acts 4:12). The
importance of “the name of Jesus” in this saving process cannot be
overestimated. We have no means of approach to God, other than through Jesus.
Forgiveness of sins has been made possible only through his redeeming work. Salvation
has been made available to all, for God “will have all men to be saved, and to
come unto the knowledge of the truth” (1 Timothy 2:4). But He has established
the basis on which this approach can be made. Jesus himself declared about his
disciples: “I pray for them: I pray not for the world, but for them which thou
hast given me; for they are thine” (John 17:9). He is therefore “a priest over
his own house only, and does not intercede for the world” (Clause XIV).
This Clause in the Statement of Faith does not mean, as
some detractors have insisted, that only Christadelphians will be saved or
benefit from Christ’s mediation on their behalf. To claim this would be
arrogance in the extreme. Judgement belongs to the Father and Son alone, and
will be exercised by them at Jesus’ return. But the scriptures do teach that
Jesus himself declared that his priestly work is limited to those who are known
to God, who have been adopted into His family, and who strive to remain faithfully
in His house, or as the Statement of Faith makes plain: “Over his own house
only”.
For many this is an unpalatable truth. Wishing to see
Jesus as an amiable saviour, ever forgiving, always generous and true, they
fail to add to this list of his qualities those describing his justice and
righteousness. We must never forget that, in addition to being “full of grace”,
he is also “full of truth”. Like his Father he will not “clear the guilty”,
meaning by that phrase the unrepentant sinner. He can only intercede on behalf
of those who approach the Father in his name, who are truly “in him”. Even
those who claim this allegiance but who deny it utterly by their thoughts and
actions cannot expect his intercession to operate for them: “There remaineth no
more sacrifice for sins” (Hebrews 10:26). The principle which makes forgiveness
conditional was established in the scriptures, and Jesus taught it to his
disciples when they asked him how to pray: “Forgive us our debts, as we forgive
our debtors” (Matthew 6:12). (Michael Ashton, "Studies in the Statement of
Faith," The Christadelphian 127, no. 1511 [May 1990]: 167)
To see how seriously this is taken, consider the following letter to the
editor of The Christadelphian in late 1980:
As you rightly said,
Brother Editor, it is not Scriptural to say that Christ is a High Priest for
the world. I would go further and assert that it is unscriptural and a false
teaching to make such a claim, and also it is contrary to our basis of fellowship
embodied in our Statement of Faith (Clause 14) which positively asserts, “That
he (Christ) is a Priest over his own house only, and does not intercede for the
World or for professors who are abandoned to disobedience.” Those holding views
contrary to this statement have no right to claim our fellowship. These are not
un-Christlike sentiments but an essential part of our faith in Christ. (Hubert
E. Taylor, "Meditation at a Funeral," The Christadelphian 117
no, 1397 [November 1980] 68)
Further Reading:
