“Rethinking the Record-Focused View on the Investigative Judgment in the Rural Fijian Seventh-day Adventist Context”

Abstract

While Adventist theology since the 1960s has shifted its emphasis from a man-centered to a God-centered understanding of the investigative judgment (IJ), in some rural Fijian Seventh-day Adventist context, the examination of record still dominates the understanding and teaching. This limited interpretation often brings fear and undermines assurance of salvation. By way of documentary research that examines Adventist periodicals, official statements, and theological writings, this paper does the following. Firstly, it presents a historical and theological development of the shift from the “examination of record” focus to the “vindication of God” within the Great Controversy framework. Secondly, it contends that there is a need to rethink the presentation of the IJ in the rural Fijian SDA context through the creation and presentation of the doctrine in a logical and systematic way to address issues of fear of judgment and a lack of assurance in salvation. By presenting the IJ from the perspective of the entire Bible, beginning from Genesis, or by situating the presentation within the larger framework of the Great Controversy, this reorientation will nurture confidence in God’s saving grace and assure salvation.