A recent article on a liberal Adventist website illustrates once again what can happen when the inspired writings are studied partially and out of context.
Written by a retired pastor, academy Bible teacher, and college professor, the article is titled, “Perfection Without a Mediator (The Good News)” [1]. Like so many discussions of this issue by those who deny sinless obedience to be possible for the Christian in this life, the article in question is driven largely by negative personal experiences and gross misunderstandings of what the perfecting of the final generation of believers will in fact involve.
The Biblical Foundation
Like most other attacks on what has come to be known as Last Generation Theology, the article begins on the wrong foot by neglecting to acknowledge the solid Biblical basis for the perfection theology taught in the writings of Ellen White. The article’s first paragraph starts by quoting the following Ellen White statements, well known for their support of the perfection imperative for history’s final generation of Christians [2]:
When the character of Christ shall be perfectly reproduced in His people, then He will come to claim them as His own [3].
Those who are living upon the earth when the intercession of Christ shall cease in the sanctuary above, are to stand in the sight of a holy God without a Mediator [4].
The article then states:
These two sentences are perhaps two of the most challenging and misunderstood ideas in all of the writings of Ellen White. They evoke a last-day perfection image that scares many sincere Christians as they seek to prepare for a time called Jacob’s trouble. Then, it is thought, that they must live an absolutely perfect sinless life [5].
Before we confront the article’s claim as to the alleged misunderstandings of God’s perfection requirement, we must establish the fact that despite repetitive arguments to the contrary in modern and contemporary Adventism, this is not an issue unique to the writings of Ellen White. The afore-quoted Ellen White statements on this subject, and countless others, merely reflect an emphasis pervasive throughout Holy Scripture.
The following verses are clear that sinless obedience through heaven’s power is both possible and necessary for the earthly believer:
Stand in awe, and sin not; commune with your own heart upon your bed, and be still (Psalm 4:4).
Keep thy tongue from evil, and thy lips from speaking guile. Depart from evil, and do good; seek peace, and pursue it (Psalm 34:13-14).
Depart from evil, and do good; and dwell forevermore (Psalm 37:27).
Blessed are the undefiled in the way, who walk in the law of the Lord. Blessed are they that keep His testimonies, and that seek Him with the whole heart. They also do no iniquity; they walk in His ways. . . .
Thy word have I hid in mine heart, that I might not sin against Thee (Psalm 119:1-3,11)
For what the law could not do, in that it was weak through the flesh, God sending His own Son in the likeness of sinful flesh, and for sin, condemned sin in the flesh.
That the righteousness of the law might be fulfilled in us, who walk not after the flesh, but after the Spirit (Rom. 8:3-4).
Awake to righteousness, and sin not (I Cor. 15:34).
Having therefore these promises, dearly beloved, let us cleanse ourselves from all filthiness of the flesh and spirit, perfecting holiness in the fear of God (II Cor. 7:1).
For the weapons of our warfare are not carnal, but mighty through God to the pulling down of strong holds. Casting down imaginations, and every high thing that exalteth itself against the knowledge of God, and bringing into captivity every thought to the obedience of Christ (II Cor. 10:4-5).
Husbands, love your wives, even as Christ loved the church, and gave Himself for it. That He might sanctify and cleanse it through the washing of water by the Word. That He might present it to Himself a glorious church, not having spot, or wrinkle, or any such thing, but that it should be holy and without blemish (Eph. 5:25-27; see also Song of Sol. 4:7).
Nevertheless the foundation of God standeth sure, having this seal, The Lord knoweth them that are His. And, Let every one that nameth the name of Christ depart from iniquity (II Tim. 2:19).
For even hereunto were ye called, because Christ also suffered for us, leaving us an example, that we should follow in His steps. Who did no sin, neither was guile found in His mouth (I Peter 2:21-22).
Forasmuch then as Christ hath suffered for us in the flesh, arm yourselves likewise with the same mind: for he that hath suffered in the flesh hath ceased from sin (I Peter 4:1).
But if we walk in the light, as He is in the light, we have fellowship one with another, and the blood of Jesus Christ His Son cleanseth us from all sin. . . . If we confess our sins, He is faithful and just to forgive us our sins, and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness (I John 1:7,9).
Now unto Him that is able to keep you from falling, and to present you faultless before the presence of His glory, with exceeding joy (Jude 24).
This divine summons is especially underscored in the Bible for those who await the second coming of Christ—Christians living in the final generation of sacred history:
The remnant of Israel shall not do iniquity, nor speak lies, neither shall a deceitful tongue be found in their mouth: for they shall feed and lie down, and none shall make them afraid (Zeph. 3:13).
And the very God of peace sanctify you wholly; and I pray God your whole spirit and soul and body be preserved blameless unto the coming of our Lord Jesus Christ (I Thess. 5:23).
But the day of the Lord will come as a thief in the night, in the which the heavens shall pass away with a great noise, and the elements shall melt with fervent heat; the earth also and the works that are therein shall be burned up. Seeing then that all these things shall be dissolved, what manner of persons ought ye to be in all holy conversation and godliness, Looking for and hasting unto the coming of the day of God, in the which the heavens being on fire shall be dissolved, and the elements shall melt with fervent heat? . . . Wherefore, beloved, seeing that ye look for such things, be diligent that ye be found of him in peace, without spot, and blameless (II Peter 3:10-12,14).
Beloved, now are we the sons of God, and it doth not yet appear what we shall be: but we know that, when He shall appear, we shall be like Him, for we shall see Him as He is. And every man that hath this hope in Him purifieth himself, even as He is pure (I John 3:2-3).
And in their (the saints’) mouth was found no guile, for they are without fault before the throne of God (Rev. 14:5).
So while it is true that Ellen White strongly upholds the necessity of sinless obedience for those awaiting (and hastening) the coming of Jesus, it is equally true that—like all other theological and moral principles in her writings—this one traces its roots directly to the Bible, both Old and New Testaments.
Grace and Perfection
The article continues with the author’s personal testimony, and some serious misunderstandings:
How well I remember my early experience of discovering surety in Christ. In my third year of college I understood grace for the first time in Ephesians 2:8-9: “For by grace have you been saved, through faith, and that not of yourselves, it is the gift of God and not of works, lest any man should boast.” For several months I basked in the joy of believing I could go to heaven.
However, my exuberance was short lived. The university pastor at the time had a sermon that rocked my surety to the core. He spoke of a time in the future when we must perfectly reflect the character of Christ and live without a Mediator in the sight of a Holy God. I knew I was deeply flawed and being that perfect was impossible. I was distraught [6].
Here we see a common problem in the assumptions of those who deny that sinless obedience is possible for the earthly Christian. Instead of seeing grace as both the instrument of divine pardon (Rom. 3:24; Eph. 1:7; Col. 1:14) and the means whereby the sanctified conquest of sin is achieved (II Cor. 9:8; 12:9; II Tim. 2:1; Titus 2:11-13; Heb. 12:28), the author of the article in question appears to see salvation by grace through faith and the imperative of character perfection to be mutually exclusive. But the above verses make plain that the Bible doctrine of grace includes power to make us holy, not merely the means whereby our sins are forgiven.
Regarding the Time of Jacob’s Trouble just before Jesus comes, the article asks, “Will grace be available to us during this time?” [7]. We will see that the inspired evidence is clear that while empowering grace will certainly available during the great time of trouble, forgiving grace will cease to be available when probation ends. While standing without a Mediator doesn’t mean standing without divine power to keep from falling, it does mean living without the continuous availability of forgiveness. The work of a mediator is to resolve differences. When General Motors and the United Auto Workers conduct successful negotiations, no government mediator is needed. With God and humanity, differences are called sins. No sin committed, no Mediator needed. But the power of God to subdue our fallen natures and keep us from sinning will be needed till Christ returns, just as such power was needed in the earthly experience of our Lord.
The article encourages what has long come across to me as a popular “urban legend” in Adventism when it states: “Others have even advocated that through the power of the indwelling Spirit the righteous will have become so perfect during that period that without help from the Father they will conquer sin just like Jesus did in the Garden of Gethsemane” [8]. Like others who allege the presence of this erroneous view in the church, the author gives no references. Speaking as a born-and-bred fifth-generation Adventist who has lived his entire life among persons adhering to Last Generation Theology, I have never read a single author or heard a single pronouncement by anyone who has advocated the notion of living within divine aid during the time of trouble. This doesn’t mean, of course, that no one has ever taught such a thing among us. I only wish that the many I have encountered who have claimed the existence of this teaching in the church could provide some hard documentation.
But at the bottom line, it is the continuous availability of forgiveness that we must live without following probation’s close. But so long as we live in this mortal body, we will never be asked to live without heaven’s strength to “keep under [our] body, and bring it into subjection” (I Cor. 9:27).
Let’s be clear, of course, that when probation closes the past sins of the living righteous are still covered. But no Mediator will be available to forgive additional transgressions. All sin will have been revealed and overcome in the lives of the living saints when probation ceases. Ellen White states clearly, regarding the second coming: “The Refiner does not then sit to pursue His refining process and remove their sins and their corruption. This is all to be done in these hours of probation” [9].
Will Jesus Hear Our Prayers After Probation Closes?
The article in question asks at one point, “Will Jesus hear our prayers during the time when there is no Mediator?” [10]. The answer is definitively, definitely Yes. Ellen White is very clear on this point in her description of the saints’ experience during the great time of trouble:
Though God’s people will be surrounded by enemies who are bent upon their destruction, yet the anguish which they suffer is not a dread of persecution for the truth’s sake; they fear that every sin has not been repented of, and that through some fault in themselves they will fail to realize the fulfillment of the Saviour’s promise: I “will keep thee from the hour of temptation, which shall come upon all the world.” Revelation 3:10 [11]/
Yes, Jesus will hear our prayers during the great time of trouble. Indeed, the saints during that time will need the power of prayer and the sanctified empowerment of their Savior more than ever. But forgiveness will be neither necessary nor available, as we will see from the inspired pen.
Can We Become As Good As Jesus?
The article in question asks: “What does it mean to perfectly reflect Jesus? Does that mean that we can become as good as He was?” [12]. The Bible is quite clear that the answer to the latter question is also Yes, provided we are speaking of the total absence of sin. The apostle Peter writes:
Christ also suffered for us, leaving us an example, that we should follow in His steps. Who did no sin, neither was guile found in His mouth (I Peter 2:21-22).
This is the same language used to describe God’s faithful remnant at the end of time, who are described as guileless in both the Old and New Testaments (Zeph. 3:13; Rev. 14:5). Elsewhere Peter describes Jesus as “a lamb without blemish and without spot” (I Peter 1:19). When the same author describes the saints who will meet Jesus at His coming, he exhorts them to "be diligent that ye may be found of Him in peace, without spot, and blameless” (II Peter 3:14). Again we see the same language used to describe the character of Jesus and that of His followers who meet Him when He returns.
The apostle John says the same thing regarding the character preparation required of those who see Jesus when He appears:
Beloved, now are we the sons of God, and it doth not yet appear what we shall be, but we know that, when He shall appear, we shall be like Him, for we shall see Him as He is.
And every man that hath those hope in Him purifieth himself, even as He is pure (I John 3:2-3).
Once again the saints at the second coming are depicted as revealing the pure, spotless character of their Savior. The same is true when we read our Lord’s message to the church of Laodicea in the book of Revelation, where He equates the overcoming experience of this last church to His own overcoming experience: “To him that overcometh will I grant to sit with Me in My throne, even as I also overcame, and am set down with My Father in His throne” (Rev. 3:21).
The article in question touts the erroneous belief that sin and the inherited sinful nature are one and the same thing, when the author states that “sin is not merely an act. We all struggle with a sinful nature” [13]. Most assuredly we all struggle with a sinful nature. Yet the Bible tells us that Jesus took such a nature Himself, condemning sin “in the flesh, that the righteousness of the law might be fulfilled in us, who walk not after the flesh, but after the Spirit” (Rom. 8:3-4). One need not enter the old debate over “likeness” and sameness” so far as verse 3 of this passage is concerned, for the simple reason that the “flesh” in this passage is obviously a human nature which tempts us to disobey God (verses 4-5,8-9,12-13). And Jesus condemned sin in this flesh as a means of showing us how we can do the same thing (verses 3-4). Other New Testament passages are likewise clear that Jesus partook of the same fleshly nature as the rest of humanity (Rom. 1:3; Heb. 2:14-6).
Moreover, all the passages we have reviewed already, which admonish the believer to live the same sin-free life Jesus lived (I Peter 1:19; 2:21-22; II Peter 3:14; I John 3:2-3; Rev. 3:21), obviously recognize the possibility of such a life in sinful human nature for the reason that they call for such a life on the part of persons who possess such a nature. The New Testament is clear that Jesus proved the possibility of sinless obedience in sinful human nature. Thus the apostle John writes: “Little children, let no man deceive you. He that doeth righteousness is righteous, even as He is righteous” (I John 3:7).
Verses Out of Context
After declaring that sin is supposedly “not merely an act” because “we all struggle with a sinful nature” [14], the article claims: “This is why Paul says, ‘There is none righteous, no not one’ (Romans 3:10)” [15].
But this is not why Paul makes this statement. In context, the apostle’s statement that “there is none righteous; no, not one” (Rom. 3:10) is a reference to the fact that all humanity—Jews and Gentiles alike, stand in need of the forgiving, transformative righteousness of Jesus. The context of this verse is not addressing what Christians can become when possessed by that righteousness. Later in this same epistle Paul speaks of what happens when people invite that righteousness into their lives. He declares that “sin shall not have dominion over you” (Rom. 6:14), and that “the righteousness of the law might be fulfilled in us, who walk not after the flesh, but after the Spirit” (Rom. 8:4).
Another verse taken out of context by the article in question is First John 1:8, which says, “If we say we have no sin, we deceive ourselves and the truth is not in us” [16]. But if we read the verses just before and after this one, it is clear that while we can’t say we are free from sin, cleansing and freedom from sin can in fact be a practical reality in our lives:
But if we walk in the light, as He is in the light, we have fellowship one with another, and the blood of Jesus Christ His Son cleanseth us from all sin. . . .
If we confess our sins, He is faithful and just to forgive us our sins, and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness (verses 7,9).
Notice how this cleansing “from all unrighteousness” is depicted as something in addition to the forgiveness of sins. The cleansing described in these verses, in other words, is not merely judicial. It is internal and practical.
All that First John 1:8 is warning us against is saying we have no sin. We can’t say this because the Bible declares, speaking of God: “Thou, even Thou only, knowest the hearts of all the children of men” (I Kings 8:39). Only God knows when someone is totally free from sin. We see this illustrated in the story of Job. The Bible declares him to be “a perfect and upright man, one who feared God, and eschewed evil” (Job 1:1,8). Despite enduring the most horrific loss and tragedy, the Bible declares that “in all this Job sinned not, neither charged God foolishly” (Job 1:22; see also 2:10). But at the same time, Job refused to make this claim about himself, declaring later:
If I justify myself, mine own mouth shall condemn me; if I say I am perfect, it shall also prove me perverse.
Though I were perfect, yet I would not know my soul; I would despise my life (Job 9:20-21).
As with Job, the same with the final generation of believers. They will not dare to declare themselves sinless, as they will not know they have reached this level even when in fact they have. God alone will declare of them: “Here are they that keep the commandments of God, and the faith of Jesus” (Rev. 14:12). Never will they say, “Here are we who keep them.”
Are God’s Requirements Inconsistent?
The article under review asks the following questions, which are often asked when the perfecting of the final generation is discussed:
Is it necessary for us to be absolutely sinless in order for us to make it through the time of Jacob’s trouble? If so, is this not a different requirement for salvation than any other in history? For instance, are the righteous at that time more perfect than Enoch or Jacob or the martyrs? [17].
If last generation people are the only ones to become perfect, has not God failed every other generation? [18].
Are we the only individuals that will appear blameless before God? Are we the only ones to experience perfection in Christ? [19].
First of all, it is a fact of sacred history that succeeding generations receive greater divine light than former ones, and thus greater spiritual responsibility. Proverbs 4:18 observes that “the path of the just is as the shining light, that shineth more and more unto the perfect day.” In the parable of the sower Jesus describes the seed falling on good ground as achieving different levels of growth, “some an hundredfold, some sixtyfold, some thirtyfold” (Matt. 13:8)—all among the saved. Elsewhere Jesus declared:
For unto whomsoever much is given, of him shall be much required: and to whom men have committed much, of him they will ask for more (Luke 12:48).
Ellen White is clear, of course, that the condition of eternal life in every age has always been what it first was in Eden—perfect obedience to the law of God [20]. But since our loving God winks at the times of our ignorance (Acts 17:30), and says that “to him that knoweth to do good, and doeth it not, to him it is sin” (James 4:17), we must conclude that the perfect obedience God requires is in proportion to the volume of light and truth revealed. This, in fact, is the only kind of “relative perfection” Inspiration teaches—perfection relative to knowledge, not human weakness. For those who sin ignorantly, God has provided a remedy through the atonement of Christ in the heavenly sanctuary. In Ellen White’s words:
The minds of all who embrace this message are directed to the most holy place, where Jesus stands before the ark, making His final intercession for all those for whom mercy still lingers and for those who have ignorantly broken the law of God. This atonement is made for the righteous dead as well as for the righteous living. It includes all who died trusting in Christ, but who, not having received the light upon God’s commandments, had sinned ignorantly in transgressing its precepts [21].
Ellen White is clear that different generations throughout history have been accountable for less demanding levels of light and truth, in contrast with history’s final generation:
We are accountable for the privileges that we enjoy, and for the light that shines upon our pathway. Those who lived in past generations were accountable for the light which was permitted to shine upon them. Their minds were exercised in regard to different points of Scripture which tested them. But they did not understand the truths which we do. They were not responsible for the light which they did not have. They had the Bible, as we have, but the time for the unfolding of special truth in relation to the closing scenes of this earth’s history, is during the last generations that shall live upon the earth.
Special truths have been adapted to the conditions of the generations as they have existed. The present truth, which is a test to the people of this generation, was not a test to the people of generations far back. .
We are accountable only for the light that shines upon us [22].
But the Last Generation saints, who will pass through the great time of trouble following probation’s close, will have a unique experience. “In that fearful time the righteous must live in the sight of a holy God without an intercessor” [23]. Fully aware of the whole counsel of God—or at least that which is essential for the total conquest of sin—by His grace they will live accordingly. All ignorant sin in their lives will before that time have been revealed and conquered, for the Mediator will no longer be available to make atonement for sin—whether ignorant or otherwise. For this reason, as we noted earlier, Ellen White declares that at the second coming, “the Refiner does not then sit to pursue His refining process and remove their sins and their corruption. This is all to be done in these hours of probation” [24].
Let us remember that Scripture identifies the last-day experience of God’s people as “a time of trouble, such as never was since there was a nation, even to that same time” (Dan. 12:1). And according to the book of Revelation, this time is not permitted to come upon the earth until God’s servants are sealed and ready for it (Rev. 7:1-3). Ellen White is therefore in harmony both with Scripture and common sense when she writes that the latter rain and coming crisis will require of God’s people a deeper and greater experience than their present one if they are to successfully endure the final test:
The work that God has begun in the human heart in giving His light and knowledge must be continually going forward. Every individual must realize his own necessity. The heart must be emptied of every defilement and cleansed for the indwelling of the Spirit. It was by the confession and forsaking of sin, by earnest prayer and consecration of themselves to God, that the early disciples prepared for the outpouring of the Holy Spirit on the Day of Pentecost. The same work, only in greater degree, must be done now [25].
The “time of trouble, such as never was” is soon to open upon us, and we shall need an experience which we do not now possess and which many are too indolent to obtain. It is often the case that trouble is greater in anticipation than in reality; but this is not true of the crisis before us [26].
Likewise we recall again the following Ellen White statement, quoted only partially by the article in question:
Those who are living upon the earth when the intercession of Christ shall cease in the sanctuary above, are to stand in the sight of a holy God without a mediator. Their robes must be spotless, their characters must be purified from sin by the blood of sprinkling. Through the grace of God and their own diligent effort they must be conquerors in the battle with evil. While the investigative judgment is going forward in heaven, while the sins of penitent believers are being removed from the sanctuary, there is to be a special work of purification, of putting away of sin, among God’s people upon the earth. . . .
When this work shall have been accomplished, the followers of Christ will be ready for His appearing [27].
Notice how she describes the work needed at this time as “a special work of purification.” Again, God has always demanded purity of character, but the final moments of history necessitate a purifying work not generally seen till then. In past ages God could use someone like Martin Luther, a beer-drinking anti-Semite whose hatred of Jews would later be celebrated by the Nazis [28]. But in the final hours of the controversy with evil, God seeks a higher attainment from those who serve Him. Few in the present discussion would likely disagree here. (Some of our more worldly members might not see a problem with beer-drinking, but I doubt even they would want an anti-Semite teaching religion at one of our colleges or universities!)
This “special work of purification” of which Ellen White speaks explains why God gave His end-time church all the detailed, divinely-inspired counsel on faith, lifestyle, and institutional governance found in the writings of the Spirit of Prophecy. This explains why, based on this inspired instruction, Seventh-day Adventists insist on higher standards of diet, dress, relationships, worship, and entertainment than are found in any other Christian community. This isn’t because we consider ourselves superior to fellow Christians (or non-Christians) who order their lives differently. Rather, it is because we recognize that the Last Generation of believers must—through divine-human cooperation—develop an experience capable of triumph in an all-out death struggle with the most deeply-rooted, subtle, and pervasive sin in the history of the great controversy. Thus will the greatest measure of light shine on their pathway, and thus—in harmony with the Biblical principles noted earlier (Prov. 4:18; Matt. 13:8; Luke 12:48)—a higher attainment will be expected of them. But they can praise God that, as with every previous command of their Lord, “all His biddings are enablings” [29].
With the Biblical teaching known as Last Generation Theology, the case for the delay of Jesus’ coming rests at last. The final generation doesn’t have to reach the highest height of sinless obedience simply to qualify for heaven. While all in every age must, by the grace of God, live up to all the light and truth revealed to them, we have already noted how different levels of light and spiritual awareness have existed at different times. Multitudes of Christians throughout history will be in heaven who died sinning ignorantly (see Acts 17:30; James 4:17). Millions of Christians who die ignorant of such truths as the Sabbath and the health message—keeping Sunday and eating pork—will be raised in the first resurrection. (The same holds true, by the way, for sincere heathens, atheists, and agnostics who live up to all the light God has shown them, while dying in ignorance of many divine truths. [30].) That is because God knows the positive responses they would have offered had the light in question been disclosed to them in God’s appointed time and manner.
Some might then ask, Why didn’t God reveal this light to them while they lived, if He knew all along they would be willing to accept it? The words of Jesus to His disciples come to mind: “I have yet many things to say unto you, but ye cannot bear them now” (John 16:12). The human experience can only absorb so much at a given time. And even if an individual can bear greater light, many within one’s sphere of influence might not be able. No man is an island, as the saying goes. Too much light and truth revealed all at once can have the effect of red-hot iron suddenly plunged into ice-cold water. God is therefore limited as to how much can be revealed to men and women at a given moment. Hence the delay of the fullest revelation of light and truth until the end of time.
But while men and women can qualify for heaven without this fullest revelation in their earthly lives, the delay of Jesus’ coming till that fullest revelation is complete must be for a very different reason. This is where the vindication of God, His character, and His government enters the picture. Certainly the trials of the last days will test Christian character beyond anything experienced by the people of God in previous times, thus necessitating a level of preparedness not seen before. Hence Ellen White’s call for “a special work of purification” [31] as need for the great time of trouble, and why she states regarding the disciples’ heart-preparation for Pentecost: “The same work, only in greater degree, must be done now” [32].
More Ellen White Statements
The article in question describes the two Ellen White statements quoted at the beginning—on the perfect reproduction of Jesus’ character in His people [33] and the need to stand without a Mediator after probation’s close [34]—as a mere “two sentences” producing the challenge and misunderstanding the author so direly laments [35]. The author appears unaware of the fact that numerous other Ellen White statements affirm the same reality, and urge the necessity of reaching this unprecedented standard as the ultimate spiritual imperative for God’s people as they face the final crisis.
Following are just a few of Ellen White’s admonitions in this regard:
Now, while our great High Priest is making the atonement for us, we should seek to become perfect in Christ. Not even by a thought could our Saviour be brought to yield to the power of temptation. . . . He had kept His Father’s commandments, and there was no sin in Him that Satan could use to His advantage. This is the condition in which those must be found who shall stand in the time of trouble [36].
I also saw that many do not realize what they must be in order to live in the sight of the Lord without a high priest in the sanctuary through the time of trouble. Those who receive the seal of the living God and are protected in the time of trouble must reflect the image of Jesus fully. . . . I saw that none could share the ‘refreshing’ (latter rain) unless they obtain the victory over every besetment, over pride, selfishness, love of the world, and over every wrong word and action [37].
Those who come up to every point and stand every test, and overcome, be the price what it may, have heeded the counsel of the True Witness, and they will receive the latter rain, and thus be fitted for translation [38].
[From a chapter titled, “Pray for the Latter Rain”] By the power of the Holy Spirit the moral image of God is to be perfected in the character. We are to be wholly transformed into the likeness of Christ . . . Every individual must realize his own necessity. The heart must be emptied of every defilement, and cleansed for the indwelling of the Holy Spirit [39].
Only those who have withstood temptation in the strength of the Mighty One will be permitted to act a part in proclaiming it (the third angel’s message) when it shall have swelled into the loud cry [40].
Not one of us will ever receive the seal of God while our characters have one spot or stain upon them. It is left with us to remedy the defects in our characters, to cleanse the soul temple of every defilement. Then the latter rain will fall upon us, as the early rain fell upon the disciples upon the day of Pentecost [41].
What are you doing, brethren, in the great work of preparation? Those who are uniting with the world, are receiving the worldly mold, and preparing for the mark of the beast. Those who are distrustful of self, who are humbling themselves before God and purifying their souls by obeying the truth—these are receiving the heavenly mold, and preparing for the seal of God in their foreheads. When the decree goes forth, and the stamp is impressed, their characters will remain pure and spotless for eternity.
Now is the time to prepare. The seal of God will never be placed upon the forehead of an impure man or woman. It will never be placed upon the forehead of the ambitious, world-loving man or woman. It will never be placed upon the forehead of men or women of false tongues or deceitful hearts. All who receive the seal must be without spot before God—candidates for heaven [42].
The latter rain will come, and the blessing of God will fill every soul that is purified from every defilement. It is our work today to yield our souls to Christ, that we may be fitted for the time of refreshing from the presence of the Lord—fitted for the baptism of the Holy Spirit [43].
May the Lord help His people to cleanse the soul temple from every defilement, and to maintain such a close connection with Him that they may be partakers of the latter rain when it shall be poured out [44].
The refreshing or power of God comes only on those who have prepared themselves for it by doing the work which God bids them, namely, cleansing themselves from all filthiness of the flesh and spirit, perfecting holiness in the fear of God [45].
Are we seeking for His fullness, ever pressing toward the mark set before us—the perfection of His character? When the Lord’s people reach this mark, they will be sealed in their foreheads. Filled with His Spirit, they will be complete in Christ, and the recording angel will declare, “It is finished” [46].
“As it was in the days of Noah, so shall it be also in the days of the Son of man.” God will have a people zealous of good works, standing firm amid the pollutions of this degenerate age. There will be a people who will hold so fast to the divine strength that they will be proof against every temptation [47].
No impurity can enter the pearly gates of the golden city of God. And the question for us to settle is whether we will turn from all sin and comply with the conditions God has given us, that we may become His sons and daughters. . . .
When you are all ready, having overcome your sins, having put away all your iniquity from you, you are in a condition to receive the finishing touch of immortality [48].
Every living Christian will advance daily in the divine life. As he advances toward perfection, he experiences a conversion to God every day; and this conversion is not complete until he attains to perfection of Christian character, a full preparation for the finishing touch of immortality [49].
Jesus sits as a refiner and purifier of His people; and when His image is perfectly reflected in them, they are perfect and holy, and prepared for translation. A great work is required of the Christian. We are exhorted to cleanse ourselves from all filthiness of the flesh and spirit, perfecting holiness in the fear of God [50].
When our earthly labors are ended, and Christ shall come for His faithful children, we shall then shine forth as the sun in the kingdom of our Father. But before that time shall come, everything that is imperfect in us will have been seen and put away. All envy and jealousy and evil surmising and every selfish plan will have been banished from the life [51].
We can never see our Lord in peace unless our souls are spotless. We must bear the perfect image of Christ. Every thought must be brought into subjection to the will of Christ [52].
We must not think that we can wait till we get to Heaven before we perfect pure, chaste, lovely characters. The Christian will be Christlike here. There is diversity among us. We each have traits of character, tastes, gifts, and capacities peculiar to ourselves, all of which have been established or modified by education and habit. But by the grace of God all these varied characteristics may be brought into harmony with the will of God [53].
When He comes, He is not to cleanse us of our sins, to remove from us the defects in our characters, or to cure us of the infirmities of our tempers and dispositions. If wrought for us at all, this work will be accomplished before that time. When the Lord comes, those who are holy will be holy still. . . . The Refiner does not then sit to pursue His refining process and remove their sins and their corruption. This is all to be done in these hours of probation [54].
In other words, the need for sinless obedience on the part of the Last Generation saints is not based on a scant “two sentences” in the writings of Ellen White [55]. Rather, it is a theme pervasive throughout her writings, as well as the Bible, as the present article has shown.
“Their Earthliness Must Be Consumed”
The author of the article under review claims that the following Ellen White statement, describing the experience of the saints during the Time of Jacob’s Trouble, brought him “much encouragement” [56] as he struggled with the need to reach character perfection in advance of probation’s close:
Jacob’s history is also an assurance that God will not cast off those who have been deceived and tempted and betrayed into sin, but who have returned unto Him with true repentance. While Satan seeks to destroy this class, God will send His angels to comfort and protect them in the time of peril. The assaults of Satan are fierce and determined, his delusions are terrible, but the Lord’s eye is upon His people, and His ear listens to their cries. Their affliction is great, the flames of the furnace seem about to consume them; but the Refiner will bring them forth as gold tried in the fire. God’s love for His children during the period of their severest trial is as strong and tender as in the days of their sunniest prosperity; but it is needful for them to be placed in the furnace of fire; their earthliness must be consumed, that the image of Christ may be perfectly reflected [57].
After quoting this statement [58], the article’s author states:
This is addressed to those who have been deceived and betrayed into sin. It is for those who have not been squeaky clean, who have failed in their walk with Jesus. And yet these failing ones are not cast off as forsaken [59].
But while the author is correct to describe the saints at this time as persons who “have been deceived and betrayed into sin,” “who have not been squeaky clean,” and “who have failed in their walk with Jesus” [60], he is wrong to describe them as “failing ones” [61]. They are not still failing. The fact that Ellen White describes these believers as having “returned unto [God] with true repentance” [62] makes this clear, as Ellen White states elsewhere that “repentance includes sorrow for sin, and a turning away from it” [63]. This, together with the many statements we have cited already from the inspired pen, which affirm that the saints have experienced the total expulsion of sin from their lives in advance of probation’s close, disallow any present-tense description of this group of believers as “failing ones” [64].
So what in fact is the “earthliness” that remains to be consumed from their lives during the great time of trouble? When we follow Ellen White’s hermeneutical principle that “the testimonies themselves will be the key that will explain the messages given, as scripture is explained by scripture” [65], we can better understand what Ellen White means by this language in The Great Controversy statement quoted earlier.
In light of all the Ellen White statements we have seen already, which make clear that all sin must be removed from the living saints in advance of probation’s end, we are forced to conclude that whatever remains to be removed from the lives of these Christians does not include sin. Many will not perceive until the ultimate crisis the need for absolute, exclusive trust in God at the deepest level. Speaking of what the saints will experience during this crisis, Ellen White observes:
In the last great conflict of the controversy with Satan those who are loyal to God will see every earthly support cut off [66].
Many earthly support systems—family, friends, the fellowship of the church—were divinely established, and to repose a certain trust in them is not sinful. But during this time God must remove these anchors from our souls to give total proof of our utter helplessness apart from Him. In another statement Ellen White helps us further understand this principle:
We may have special, select friends that, all unperceived and unacknowledged by us, we place in the heart where God should be, and we can never perfect a round, full Christian experience until every earthly support is removed, and the soul centers its entire affections about God [67].
Now let us look again at the statement about earthliness needing to be consumed:
It is needful for them to be placed in the furnace of fire; their earthliness must be consumed, that the image of Christ may be perfectly reflected [68].
Putting these statements together, along with the others we have seen about the total conquest of sin in believers’ lives before the close of probation, it becomes clear that the earthliness left in the saints during the great time of trouble is not sin, but rather, reliance on earthly support systems which must be taken from the faithful in order to prove their fidelity in the deepest possible way.
Like other perfection deniers, the author continues by quoting the following Ellen White statement as alleged proof that the saints can’t stop sinning still Jesus comes:
So long as Satan reigns, we shall have self to subdue, besetting sins to overcome; so long as life shall last, there will be no stopping place, no point which we can reach and say, I have fully attained. Sanctification is the result of lifelong obedience [69].
But this statement says nothing about the saints continuing to fail till Jesus comes; it only says they must continue to subdue self and overcome besetting sins. Constant struggle and occasional defeat are not one and the same. The Russians learned this during World War II, when it took them two years—from the aftermath of Stalingrad in early 1943 to the conquest of Berlin two years later—to recover territory the Germans had taken from them in four months during 1941. But while the struggle was constant in those final two years of the war, their string of victories was also constant and uninterrupted. Thus it will be with God’s saints after the close of probation.
“We Cannot Equal the Pattern”
Following the anti-perfection playbook even further, the article in question quotes the following Ellen White statement as support for the theory that sinless obedience is impossible this side of heaven:
We cannot equal the pattern, but we shall not be approved of God if we do not copy it and, according to the ability which God has given, resemble it [70].
The author of the article then states, “No one will ever duplicate the righteousness of Jesus. This was a one-time, forever, finished accomplishment” [71].
But like others who quote the above Ellen White statement in seeking to make the case against sinless perfection in this life, the author of the article in question violates the context of this statement. Here is the context, just prior to the sentence quoted by the article in question:
He [Christ] laid aside His glory, His dominion, His riches, and sought after those who were perishing in sin. He humbled Himself to our necessities, that He might exalt us to heaven. Sacrifice, self-denial, and disinterested benevolence characterized His life. He is our pattern [72].
Earlier in this volume we find this:
Our Lord and Saviour laid aside His dominion, His riches and glory, and sought after us, that He might save us from misery, and make us like Himself. He humbled Himself and took our nature that we might be able to learn of Him, and, imitating His life of benevolence and self-denial, follow Him step by step to heaven. You cannot equal the copy, but you can resemble it, and according to your ability do likewise [73].
Later in the same volume we find similar words:
He laid aside His glory, His high command, His honor, and His riches, and humbled Himself to our necessities. We cannot equal the example, but we should copy it [74].
A comparable point is made in two similar passages:
Our Lord and Saviour loved every creature. He laid aside His dominion, riches, and glory and sought after us, sinful, erring, unhappy, that He might make us like Himself. He humbled Himself and took upon Himself your nature that He might be able to teach you to be pure, correct in character, and free from all impurity of sin, that you might follow Him to heaven. He suffered more than any of you will be called to suffer. He gave all for you. What have you given to Jesus for this great love? Have you practiced the same toward your brethren? Have you copied His example in patience, in self-denial? You cannot equal the pattern, but you can resemble it [75].
We shall never be called upon to suffer as Christ suffered; for the sins not of one, but the sins of the whole world were laid upon Christ. He endured humiliation, reproach, suffering, and death, that we by following His example might inherit all things.
Christ is our pattern, the perfect and holy example that has been given us to follow. We can never equal the pattern; but we may imitate it and resemble it according to our ability [76].
In each of these statements, and in similar ones, the pattern we are told we can't equal is that of Christ's infinite love, humiliation, suffering, and sacrifice for our sins, not the pattern of sinless obedience. We can't equal the pattern in question because we don't have the throne of God to give up. Nor have the sins of all humanity been laid upon us. The sinless angels can't equal this pattern either.
Another such statement speaks of Christ’s infinite goodness as the pattern we cannot equal but must strive to follow:
What efforts are we putting forth as the believers of unpopular truth, in self-denial, in self-sacrifice? We can never equal the Pattern, because it is infinite goodness practiced in His human nature, yet we should make determined efforts with all the powers of our being to follow His example [77].
What is the pattern we can’t equal? Christ’s “infinite goodness.” Again, even the sinless angels can’t equal that. Only God is capable of infinite goodness, and Jesus demonstrated that goodness by coming to earth as the sacrifice for our sins. But in no way is this or any comparable passage saying our Lord’s sinless obedience is a pattern fallen beings can’t equal, even through heaven’s power.
Corrupt Channels and Fragrant Incense
The article in question continues by citing another Ellen White statement often used to establish the assumption that even the Christian’s sanctified conduct is involuntarily polluted by our sinful natures, and that for this reason the Christian—even after probation closes—will inevitably fall short of the divine law. Here is the statement as quoted by the article:
The religious services, the prayers, the praise, the penitent confessions of sin ascend from true believers as incense to the heavenly sanctuary, but passing through the corrupt channels of humanity, they are so defiled that unless purified by blood, they can never be of value with God. They ascend not in spotless purity, and unless the Intercessor, who is at God’s right hand, presents and purifies all by His righteousness, it is not acceptable to God. All incense from earthly tabernacles must be moist with the cleansing drops of the blood of Christ. He holds before the Father the censer of His own merits, in which there is no taint of earthly corruption. He gathers into this censer the prayers, the praise, and the confessions of His people, and with these He puts His own spotless righteousness. Then, perfumed with the merits of Christ’s propitiation, the incense comes up before God wholly and entirely acceptable. Then gracious answers are returned.
O, that all may see that everything in obedience, in penitence, in praise and thanksgiving must be placed upon the glowing fire of the righteousness of Christ [78].
After quoting this statement, the article’s author states:
This is true now and will be true even after probation closes. Our title to heaven will never be how completely we are sanctified through the ministry of the Holy Spirit. It will always be the doing and dying of Jesus [79].
But the author seems not to have considered the full definition Ellen White gives for the believer’s title to heaven. He seems to have embraced a popular error in certain circles of contemporary Adventism—that the Christian is saved exclusively by a legal declaration of righteousness as distinct from the Spirit’s transformation and empowerment. But the Bible is clear that the Spirit’s sanctifying, regenerating work is very much a part of the means of our salvation:
God hath from the beginning chosen you to salvation through sanctification of the Spirit and belief of the truth (II Thess. 2:13).
Not by works of righteousness which we have done, but according to His mercy He saved us, by the washing of regeneration, and renewing of the Holy Ghost (Titus 3:5).
Many are familiar with Ellen White’s statement that “the righteousness by which we are justified is imputed; the righteousness by which we are sanctified is imparted. The first is our title to heaven, the second is our fitness for heaven” [80]. But what many forget is that in Ellen White’s theology, imputed righteousness is both declarative and transformative. The following statements make this clear:
God’s forgiveness is not merely a judicial act by which He sets us free from condemnation. It is not only forgiveness for sin, but reclaiming from sin. It is the outflow of redeeming love that transforms the heart. David had the true conception of forgiveness when he prayed, “Create in me a clean heart, O God, and renew a right spirit within me.” Psalm 51:10 [81].
At the creation “He spake, and it was done; He commanded, and it stood fast.” He “calleth those things which be not as though they were” (Psalm 33:9; Rom. 4:17); for when He calls them, they are [82].
By receiving His imputed righteousness, through the transforming power of the Holy Spirit, we become like Him [83].
In other statements Ellen White is clear, in contrast to the article in question, that our title to heaven does in fact include Spirit-empowered transformation and obedience. The following statement directly ties spiritual diligence and striving with our title to eternal life:
Little departures from right, little indulgences, seem a trifling thing at present, but Satan will lead us on a track that will separate us from righteousness and from God. We want not our ways but God’s ways. We want to strive with all the powers of being to bruise Satan under our feet and be sure that we are right with God, that we have a clear title to our immortal inheritance [84].
Speaking of the spiritually indifferent, she writes:
They have no time to pray, no time to watch, no time to search the Scriptures. They are altogether too busy to make the necessary preparation for the future life. They cannot devote time to perfect Christian characters and in diligence to secure a title to heaven [85].
Describing the final step on Peter’s ladder of virtues (II Peter 1:5-7), she writes:
This last step in the ladder (charity) gives to the will a new spring of action. Christ offers a love that passeth knowledge. . . . This is the new affection that pervades the soul. The old is left behind. Love is the great controlling power. When love leads, all the faculties of mind and spirit are enlisted. Love to God and love to man will give the clear title to heaven [86].
Now let’s return to the Ellen White statement which speaks of corrupt channels needing purification by the incense of Christ’s righteousness. Quite obviously, the article in question views this statement as a description of legal, declarative righteousness covering presumably “inevitable” sin. But again we must permit Ellen White to define her own vocabulary [87]. Other statements from her writings using language identical or similar to the “corrupt channels” statement depict this cleansing by Jesus’ blood and merit as internal, not forensic:
Before the believer is held out the wonderful possibility of being like Christ, obedient to all the principles of the law. But of himself man is utterly unable to reach this condition. The holiness that God's Word declares he must have before he can be saved is the result of the working of divine grace as he bows in submission to the discipline and restraining influence of the Spirit of truth. Man's obedience can be made perfect only by the incense of Christ's righteousness, which fills with divine fragrance every act of obedience [88].
Shall we not, then, give to Christ that which He has died to redeem? If you will do this, He will quicken your conscience, renew your heart, sanctify your affections, purify your thoughts, and set all your powers to work for Him. Every motive and every thought will be brought into captivity to Jesus Christ.
Those who are sons of God will represent Christ in character. Their works will be perfumed by the infinite tenderness, compassion, love, and purity of the Son of God. And the more completely mind and body are yielded to the Holy Spirit, the greater will be the fragrance of our offering to Him. [89].
Man is permitted to handle the Lord's goods. Thus he is tested and proved. His heart must be perfumed with the incense of Christ’s righteousness, the Saviour must work in him to will and to do of His good pleasure [90].
If our perceptions could be quickened to take in this wonderful work of our Saviour for our salvation, love, deep and ardent, would burn in our hearts. Our apathy and cold indifference would then alarm us. Entire devotion and benevolence, prompted by grateful love, will impart to the smallest offering, the willing sacrifice, a divine fragrance, making the gift of priceless value. But, after willingly yielding to our Redeemer all that we can bestow, be it ever so valuable to us, if we view our debt of gratitude to God as it really is, all that we may have offered will seem to us very insufficient and meager. But angels take these offerings, which to us seem poor, and present them as a fragrant offering before the throne, and they are accepted [91].
The offering that is made to God without a spirit of reverence and gratitude, He does not accept. It is the humble, grateful, reverential heart that makes the offering as a sweet-smelling savor, acceptable to God [92].
In another statement she writes that "the merit of Jesus must be mingled with our prayers and efforts, or they are as worthless as was the offering of Cain. Could we see all the activity of human instrumentality, as it appears before God, we would see that only the work accomplished by much prayer, which is sanctified by the merit of Christ, will stand the test of the judgment" [93].
Speaking of the consecration essential for gospel workers, she declares:
There is none too much of any of the workers, be they possessed of large or small talents, to render themselves to God that they may be sanctified and fitted for His service. Give all you have and are, and it is all nothing without the merit of the blood that sanctifies the gift. Could those who hold responsible positions multiply their talents a thousandfold, their service would have no worth before God unless Christ was mingled with all their offerings [94].
Only the work accomplished with much prayer, and sanctified by the merit of Christ, will in the end prove to have been efficient for good [95].
Quite obviously, the process here described is not forensic, but internal and transformative. Ellen White doesn't say our prayers, efforts, and talents need to be justified by the merit of Christ, but sanctified. Our prayers and praise and obedience ascend through our corrupt human channels to the heavenly sanctuary, but if we place all the above statements together, it is while our words and deeds ascend through those channels—not when they get to heaven—that they receive purification.
Ellen White on Sinless Living
Contemporary Adventism has seen the words “sinless” and “sinlessness” relative to earthly human conduct morph into popular theological vulgarisms. The article in question joins this chorus in its first paragraph, denouncing the belief that the saints during the Time of Jacob’s Trouble “must live an absolutely perfect sinless life” [96].
But we have already noted the numerous Bible verses which uphold the possibility of sinless obedience by earthly believers through heaven’s power (Psalm 4:4; 34:13-14; 37:27; 119:1-3,11; Zeph. 3:13; Rom. 8:3-4; I Cor. 15:34; II Cor. 7:1; 10:4-5; Eph. 5:25-27; I Thess. 5:23; I Peter 2:21-22; 4:1; II Peter 3:10-14; I John 1:7,9; 3:2-3,7; Jude 24; Rev. 3:21; 14:5). And in a number of very clear statements, the writings of Ellen White use the despised words “sinless” and “sinlessness” as descriptive of the lives God’s people are called to live on this earth, while they still possess fallen human natures. Here are some of the most articulate examples of such statements:
In our world, we are to remember the way in which Christ worked. He made the world. He made man. Then He came in person to the world to show its inhabitants how to live sinless lives [97].
Paul writes to the Corinthians, “Casting down imaginations, and every high think that exalteth itself against the knowledge of God, and bringing into captivity every thought to the obedience of Christ.” When you come into this position, the work of consecration will be better understood by you both. Your thoughts will be pure, chaste, and elevated, your actions pure and sinless [98].
But it is God’s purpose that man shall stand before Him upright and noble; and God will not be defeated by Satan. He sent His Son to this world to bear the death penalty of man’s transgression, and to show man how to live a sinless life. There is no other way in which man can be saved. “Without Me,” Christ says, “ye can do nothing.” Through Him, and Him alone, can the natural heart be changed, the affections transformed, the affections set flowing heavenward. Christ alone can give life to the soul dead in trespasses and sins [99].
Thus He (Christ) placed us on vantage ground, where we could live pure, sinless lives. Repentant sinners stand before God justified and accepted, because the Innocent One has borne their guilt. The undeserving are made deserving, because in their behalf the Deserving became the undeserving [100].
Christ bore the sins of the whole world. He was the second Adam. Taking upon Himself human nature, He passed over the ground where Adam stumbled and fell. Having taken humanity, He has an intense interest in human beings. He felt keenly the sinfulness, the shame, of sin. He is our Elder Brother. He came to prove that human beings can, through the power of God, live sinless lives [101].
The Saviour is wounded afresh and put to open shame when His people pay no heed to His word. He came to this world and lived a sinless life, that in His power His people might also live lives of sinlessness. He desires them by practicing the principles of truth to show to the world that God’s grace has power to sanctify the heart [102].
Recent public attacks in the church against Last Generation Theology have, from the present writer’s observation, totally ignored the above Ellen White statements. This is an omission of no small magnitude on their part. If one is prepared to accept the authority of Ellen White in doctrinal matters—not to mention the authority of Scripture itself—the passages cited in the present article cannot but be seen as striking a devastating blow against the theory that sinless conduct lies beyond the reach of the sanctified Christian here on earth.
Conclusion
Frankly, one is both amazed and outraged when a website that consistently promotes disbelief in both Scripture and the writings of Ellen White bothers to publish an article which seeks to clarify, from the author’s perspective, the correct meaning of certain Bible verses or Ellen White statements. Considering their ambiguous, even negative view of both the Bible’s and Ellen White’s authority, one must wonder what possible difference it makes to the editors of the website in question what in fact the Bible or Ellen White teach about character perfection or any other issue.
More than likely, as their publishing record bears witness, this is because the editors of the website in question cherish a particular loathing for perfection theology, and thus presume that any article or sermon casting doubt on this theology deserves the light of day. But if indeed the author or editors responsible for the article in question presume it will add to the case against this teaching which they revile so deeply, the inspired evidence produced in the present article should go far in demonstrating that they have notably failed.
The article in question is correct, powerfully correct, in affirming that during the great time of trouble our Lord will always be there to hear the cries of His struggling saints, that His blood-bought children will ever be the apple of His eye, and that His strength will ever be available to them in this climactic battle of the great controversy [103]. The fact that mediation has ceased and that the forgiveness such mediation offers is no longer available, in no way means that the Savior won’t still be there to help His followers as they strive against sin and Satan. Praise the Lord His promise will still hold during that cataclysmic conflict, as affirmed by Ellen White in The Great Controversy: “I also will keep thee in the hour of temptation, which shall come upon all the world” (Rev. 3:10) [104].
But the article is very wrong to describe the saints during this period as “failing ones” [105]. Yes, they have failed in the past, as the inspired evidence quoted by the article bears witness [106]. But the collective witness of the inspired pen is clear that they are failing no longer.
The article in question leaves open a major loophole when, in its affirmation that obedience is indeed important to the Christian, the author writes:
So is obedience important? Absolutely! John is clear that a person who says he knows God but disobeys his commandments is a liar! (1 John 2:4). This has always been true for God’s true followers, not just last generation individuals. By God’s grace we will be victorious conquerors. No one will be willfully sinning [107]
But the author seems not to consider that some of the worst sins committed in the human family are impulsive rather than willful. Many murders are committed impulsively, as are many acts of sexual immorality. Moses’ sin in striking the rock, when the Lord had commanded him to speak to it instead, was certainly an impulsive act. Yet, in describing this tragic lapse on the part of Israel’s great leader, the modern prophet writes:
The strongest temptation cannot excuse sin. However great the pressure brought to bear upon the soul, transgression is our own act [108].
Failure to achieve, through divine power, total victory over impulsive as well as willful sin, would leave Christians during the final crisis still vulnerable to some of the most misery-inducing, perverse, and destructive behaviors known to humanity. Little wonder that the inspired pen insists that those preparing for the latter rain before probation closes must gain the victory “over every besetment, over pride, selfishness, love of the world, and over every wrong word and action” [109].
After insisting that forensic, judicial righteousness is the only perfection he can expect in this life, the author of the article in question closes with the insistence, “That’s my story and I’m sticking to it” [110]. I pray he will come across the present article at some point in the near future, and will prayerfully consider the inspired evidence it offers. Like too many in contemporary Adventism, the author of the article under review seems badly confused about the theology of Christian perfection as taught in the Bible and the writings of the Spirit of Prophecy. And according to the latter, which thankfully he appears to believe, this is no small issue. Consider the following statement, with which we close our study:
In the day of judgment the course of the man who has retained the frailty and imperfection of humanity will not be vindicated. For him there will be no place in heaven. He could not enjoy the perfection of the saints in light. He who has not sufficient faith in Christ to believe that He can keep him from sinning, has not the faith that will give him an entrance into the kingdom of God [111].
REFERENCES
1. David Bissell, “Perfection Without a Mediator (The Good News),” Spectrum, Aug. 10, 2020 https://spectrummagazine.org/views/2020/perfection-without-mediator-good-news
2. Ibid.
3. Ellen G. White, Christ’s Object Lessons, p. 69.
4. ----The Great Controversy, p. 425.
5. Bissell, “Perfection Without a Mediator (The Good News),” Spectrum, Aug. 10, 2020 https://spectrummagazine.org/views/2020/perfection-without-mediator-good-news
6. Ibid.
7. Ibid.
8. Ibid.
9. White, Testimonies, vol. 2, p. 355.
10. Bissell, “Perfection Without a Mediator (The Good News),” Spectrum, Aug. 10, 2020 https://spectrummagazine.org/views/2020/perfection-without-mediator-good-news
11. White, The Great Controversy, p. 619.
12. Bissell, “Perfection Without a Mediator (The Good News),” Spectrum, Aug. 10, 2020 https://spectrummagazine.org/views/2020/perfection-without-mediator-good-news
13. Ibid.
14. Ibid.
15. Ibid.
16. Ibid.
17. Ibid.
18. Ibid.
19. Ibid.
20. White, Steps to Christ, p. 62; Thoughts from the Mount of Blessing, p. 76; Selected Messages, vol. 2, p. 381.
21. ----Early Writings, p. 254.
22. ----Testimonies, vol. 2, pp. 692-693.
23. ----The Great Controversy, p. 614.
24. ----Testimonies, vol. 2, p. 355.
25. ----Testimonies to Ministers, p. 507.
26. ----The Great Controversy, p. 622.
27. Ibid, p. 425.
28. See William L. Shirer, The Rise and Fall of the Third Reich: A History of Nazi Germany (New York: Simon & Schuster, 1960), pp. 91,236.
29. White, Christ’ Object Lessons, p. 333.
30. ----The Desire of Ages, p. 638.
31. ----The Great Controversy, p. 425.
32. ----Testimonies to Ministers, p. 507.
33. ----Christ’s Object Lessons, p. 69.
34. ----The Great Controversy, p. 425.
35. Bissell, “Perfection Without a Mediator (The Good News),” Spectrum, Aug. 10, 2020 https://spectrummagazine.org/views/2020/perfection-without-mediator-good-news
36. White, The Great Controversy, p. 623.
37. ----Early Writings, p. 71.
38. ----Testimonies, vol. 1, p. 187.
39. ----Testimonies to Ministers, pp. 506-507.
40. ----Review and Herald, Nov. 19, 1908.
41. ----Testimonies, vol. 5, p. 214.
42. Ibid, p. 216.
43. ----Evangelism, p. 702.
44. ----SDA Bible Commentary, vol. 6, p. 1055.
45. ----Testimonies, vol. 1, p. 619.
46. ----SDA Bible Commentary, vol. 6, p. 1118.
47. ----Testimonies, vol. 3, p. 472.
48. ----From the Heart, p. 44.
49. ----Testimonies, vol. 2, p. 505.
50. Ibid, vol. 1, p. 340.
51. ----Selected Messages, vol. 3, p. 427.
52. ----Review and Herald, May 30, 1882.
53. ----Signs of the Times, Oct. 22, 1885.
54. ----Testimonies, vol. 2, p. 355.
55. Bissell, “Perfection Without a Mediator (The Good News),” Spectrum, Aug. 10, 2020 https://spectrummagazine.org/views/2020/perfection-without-mediator-good-news
56. Ibid.
57. White, The Great Controversy, p. 621.
58. Bissell, “Perfection Without a Mediator (The Good News),” Spectrum, Aug. 10, 2020 https://spectrummagazine.org/views/2020/perfection-without-mediator-good-news
59. Ibid.
60. Ibid.
61. Ibid.
62. White, The Great Controversy, p. 621.
63. ----Steps to Christ, p. 23.
64. Bissell, “Perfection Without a Mediator (The Good News),” Spectrum, Aug. 10, 2020 https://spectrummagazine.org/views/2020/perfection-without-mediator-good-news
65. White, Selected Messages, vol. 1, p. 42.
66. ----The Desire of Ages, p. 121.
67. ---- Letter 6, 1894, quoted in The Fannie Bolton Story: A Collection of Source Documents (Silver Spring, MD: Ellen G. White Estate, 1990), p. 36.
68. ----The Great Controversy, p. 621.
69. ----Acts of the Apostles, pp. 560-561.
70. ----Testimonies, vol. 2, p. 549.
71. Bissell, “Perfection Without a Mediator (The Good News),” Spectrum, Aug. 10, 2020 https://spectrummagazine.org/views/2020/perfection-without-mediator-good-news
72. White, Testimonies, vol. 2, p. 549.
73. Ibid, p. 170.
74. Ibid, p. 628.
75. ----Manuscript Releases, vol. 2, pp. 125-126.
76. ----Review and Herald, Feb. 5, 1895.
77. ----Manuscript Releases, vol. 16, p. 199.
78. ----God’s Amazing Grace, p. 154; also in Selected Messages, vol. 1, p. 344.
79. Bissell, “Perfection Without a Mediator (The Good News),” Spectrum, Aug. 10, 2020 https://spectrummagazine.org/views/2020/perfection-without-mediator-good-news
80. White, Messages to Young People, p. 35.
81. ----Thoughts from the Mount of Blessing, p. 114.
82. ----Education, p. 254.
83. ----SDA Bible Commentary, vol. 6, p. 1098.
84. ----This Day With God, p. 27.
85. ----Our High Calling, p. 44.
86. Ibid, p. 73.
87. ----Selected Messages, vol. 1, p. 42.
88. ----Acts of the Apostles, p. 532 (italics supplied).
89. ----SDA Bible Commentary, vol. 7, p. 909 (italics supplied).
90. ----Review and Herald, Nov. 26, 1901 (italics supplied).
91. ----Testimonies, vol. 3, pp. 396-397.
92. ----SDA Bible Commentary, vol. 6, p. 1118.
93. ----Christian Service, p. 263 (italics supplied).
94. ----Manuscript Releases, vol. 2, p. 337 (italics supplied).
95. ----The Desire of Ages, p. 362 (italics supplied).
96. Bissell, “Perfection Without a Mediator (The Good News),” Spectrum, Aug. 10, 2020 https://spectrummagazine.org/views/2020/perfection-without-mediator-good-news
97. White, Evangelism, p. 385.
98. ----Testimonies, vol. 3, p. 83.
99. ----Youth’s Instructor, April 16, 1903.
100. ----Signs of the Times, June 17, 1903.
101. Ibid, Aug. 9, 1905.
102. ----Review and Herald, April 1, 1902.
103. Bissell, “Perfection Without a Mediator (The Good News),” Spectrum, Aug. 10, 2020 https://spectrummagazine.org/views/2020/perfection-without-mediator-good-news
104. White, The Great Controversy, p. 619.
105. Bissell, “Perfection Without a Mediator (The Good News),” Spectrum, Aug. 10, 2020 https://spectrummagazine.org/views/2020/perfection-without-mediator-good-news
106. White, The Great Controversy, p. 621.
107. Bissell, “Perfection Without a Mediator (The Good News),” Spectrum, Aug. 10, 2020 https://spectrummagazine.org/views/2020/perfection-without-mediator-good-news
108. White, Patriarchs and Prophets, p. 421.
109. ----Early Writings, p. 71.
110. Bissell, “Perfection Without a Mediator (The Good News),” Spectrum, Aug. 10, 2020 https://spectrummagazine.org/views/2020/perfection-without-mediator-good-news
111. White, Selected Messages, vol. 3, p. 360.
Pastor Kevin Paulson holds a Bachelor’s degree in theology from Pacific Union College, a Master of Arts in systematic theology from Loma Linda University, and a Master of Divinity from the SDA Theological Seminary at Andrews University. He served the Greater New York Conference of Seventh-day Adventists for ten years as a Bible instructor, evangelist, and local pastor. He writes regularly for Liberty magazine and does script writing for various evangelistic ministries within the denomination. He continues to hold evangelistic and revival meetings throughout the North American Division and beyond, and is a sought-after seminar speaker relative to current issues in the Seventh-day Adventist Church. He presently resides in Berrien Springs, Michigan