In this episode of Here We Stand, Dr. David Shin and Dr. Dojcin Zivadinovic examine the theology of “Love Reality.” Referencing a warning from Ted N. C. Wilson in Adventist World, they explore whether this teaching reflects the gospel—or undermines biblical themes of repentance, confession, and sanctification.

<p>In this episode of Here We Stand, Dr. David Shin and Dr. Dojcin Zivadinovic examine the theology of “Love Reality.” Referencing a warning from Ted N. C. Wilson in Adventist World, they explore whether this teaching reflects the gospel—or undermines biblical themes of repentance, confession, and sanctification.</p>

<p>Free sharing permitted under the Creative Commons <a rel="license" href="http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-nd/3.0/us/">BY-NC-ND 3.0 (US)</a> license.</p>

Weimar University

David Shin

Dojcin Zivadinovic

What’s the Big Deal with “Love Reality”

It's very dangerous to actually teach people that you don't have to confess your sin.

It means that every time you got up, The wicked man falls and stays down.

It is a gross misinterpretation of God's character to say God has forgiven you whether you want that or not.

Satan, once you give him your heart, he takes over and you cannot get rid of it The Holy Spirit doesn't force himself onto us so he you say Jesus take the wheel at any moment if you want to take the wheel he's gonna okay a Person's out there.

They're struggling with an addiction and they're just tired.

They feel the guilt, they feel the shame.

This is the question, what is the role of guilt in the Christian experience?

Why, God, why didn't you take away the desire for everything at that moment?

It took me some time to realize that had God given me perfect victory, instantaneous sanctification of everything at that moment, in my human nature True usage of the will is not for you to win or over sin with your own willpower.

The True usage of the will is not for you to win over sin with your own willpower.

The true usage of the will is to take your will and say, Jesus, here it is.

David Shin, and welcome to Here We Stand, a Weimar University podcast where we tackle real issues with biblical conviction, Truth over trends, evidence over noise, and scripture over opinion.

Z, who's professor of theology at Weimar University, and let's talk about love reality.

This is a quote from Adventist World, November 11, 2023, page 18.

Ted Wilson, who was general conference president at the time.

A recent false doctrine, love reality, has been promoted in some Adventist institutions of higher learning.

It is a derivative of 1 saved always saved in which behavior is not important since God loves you and doesn't worry about what you do if you're embraced in love.

This is a very dangerous false doctrine and should not be accepted since it destroys the understanding of Christ's justifying and sanctifying righteousness.

Do not be tempted with this false doctrine." So there we have it.

And I thought we could have a little chat about this, conversation about some of the points that love reality makes, and I want to make it very clear here at the beginning, we're talking about ideas, this is not personal.

This is from the book Free From Sin, page 173, which is written by 1 of the founders of Love Reality.

1 John 1.9 is not teaching us that our forgiveness from God is dependent on our admitting guilt and then requesting forgiveness.

It is of such great importance to remember that forgiveness is a reality in Christ.

It is not conditioned on our asking for it." In summary, what Love Reality is proposing is that you don't have to ask for forgiveness.

Well, it just goes very much against everything we know from the Bible, and for...it goes against not just Adventist teaching, it goes against Martin Luther, it goes against Reformation, it goes against Ellen White statements, and I talk with some of the proponents of love reality, and When I show them Spirit of Prophets, Ellen White's statement, we believe she's an inspired prophet in our church, they usually just reject Ellen White out of the door.

And so, This is a reinterpretation of the Bible that is not biblical.

It's very dangerous to actually teach people that you don't have to confess your sin to God.

Many passages, but maybe a passage that people don't know, this is Proverbs 28, 13.

This is the wisest man who has ever lived.

I'm gonna listen to him rather than Love reality proponents.

Okay, this is Solomon when he was converted.

He was very spiritual And this is the Bible and he is the most wisest man ever lived.

He says, he who covers his sins will not prosper, but whoever confesses and forsakes will have mercy, not had mercy before confession and forsaking.

Because before confession and forsaking, you're not confessing forsaking, you're not going to prosper.

So he who covers, that means it's nothing, nothing didn't happen.

I'm in the reality of love I'm in a reality of Jesus forgave me.

I don't have to confess and forsake." No, they will not prosper if you just cover your sins under the rug.

But whoever confesses them and says, I admit my wrong, that's humility, that's true humility.

I admit I was wrong, And I'm turning away from it.

So even by the fact of your confessing, it's the Holy Spirit leading you into confessing.

Confession is prompted by the Holy Spirit.

It's a yielding of soul to Christ saying, You're right, Christ.

Patch up the past and give me a new power for future.

And so a lot of reality is teaching that that experience on a daily level or is not important, is not necessary.

And that is actually the most dangerous heresy in Christianity, I would say, at this moment.

There's an argument that's made, and I'll quote from another proponent, that confession of sin in 1 John 1, 9 only applies to unbelievers.

1 John 1, 9, if we confess our sins, he is faithful and just to forgive us our sins and cleanse us from all unrighteousness.

He talks about children, he talks about, oh, ye little children, he talks, John talks about the believers.

He's calling them brethren He's calling them little children love 1 another If we say that we have no sin, we deceive ourselves.

If we confess our sins, He is faithful and just to forgive us our sins and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness.

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What’s the Big Deal with “Love Reality”

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