Seventh Day Adventism & Salvation
What Ellen G. White has to say
What the Bible has to say
(A Brief Look At Some Of The Teachings of E.G. White In Her Book – ‘The Great Controversy’)
PREFACE
This study is meant to inform and enlighten true Christians as well as those who are caught up in Seventh Day Adventism, not realizing it is what could be called a “Christian-like cult” that preaches a false plan of salvation. Please take the time to examine the statements below. They are based upon direct quotations from a book by a woman considered to be a prophetess of the SDA church. I believe it is possible that there are genuine Christians in the SDA church but they will eventually leave upon learning the truth about that man-made (and woman-made) organization.
INTRODUCTION
This article will point out some very serious doctrinal errors of the SDA church by examining one of the major writings (“The Great Controversy”) of their favorite prophetess, Ellen G. White. Adventism was started by William Miller who predicted that Christ would return in 1843 and then in 1844. His successor, Ellen White, reinterpreted Miller’s claims about Christ’s return, saying that what happened in 1844 was that Christ entered into a place called “the heavenly sanctuary”. Mrs. White said that she got her ideas from visions from her accompanying angels. While some Adventists may be genuine twice-born Christians, the teachings of this group represent a gospel other than the true Gospel of the Bible, especially since they look at Mrs. White’s writings as having equal authority (or perhaps greater authority) to Scripture as is evidenced by what they preach and practice. Saturday Sabbath worship is a major tenet of Seventh Day Adventism. In fact, Mrs. White and her followers hang a person’s salvation on Saturday Sabbath worship – saying that the mark of the Beast will apply to those who do not worship on the Sabbath day of the Old Testament. This paper addresses this subject below.
Ellen G. White’s book “The Great Controversy” is written in the form of a Bible commentary but a central theme is the history of the Christian Church from the destruction of the temple in Jerusalem by the Romans in 70AD. Her book is quite interesting and she writes as one having a very thorough knowledge of Scripture and intermixes it (Scripture) liberally in the text. However, there are various times when Mrs. White interjects her own personal biases towards Saturday Sabbath worship into the discussion and she writes about things that are supposed to happen in the future that are contrary to Scripture as you will see.
Chapter 28 – The Investigative Judgment:
This chapter contains contradictions to the Bible and contradictions to what Mrs. White said elsewhere:
First, on page 481, she quotes the Bible: “Rejoice, because your names are written in heaven.” Luke 10:20 AND “Paul speaks of his faithful fellow workers, whose names are in the book of life.” Philippians 4:3, indicating that people knew for sure that they were going to Heaven, then on page 483 she says: “the lives of all who have believed on Jesus come in review before God.” … “Every case is closely investigated. Names are accepted, names rejected. When any have sins remaining upon the books of record, unrepented of and unforgiven, their names will be blotted out of the book of life,” This is not true! People whom Christ converts, whom God elected to be saved from before the foundation of the world CANNOT be rejected!…
Romans 8:33 – “Who shall lay any thing to the charge of God’s elect? It is God that justifieth.”
Jude 24 – “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”
2Cor 3:5 – “Not that we are sufficient of ourselves to think any thing as of ourselves; but our sufficiency is of God”
John 6:37 – “All that the Father giveth me shall come to me; and him that cometh to me I will in no wise cast out.”
Heb 8:12 – “For I will be merciful to their unrighteousness, and their sins and their iniquities will I remember no more.”
To reject God’s elect FOR ANY REASON is to say that Christ’s atonement was faulty. For sinners to be able to “undo” their salvation is to say that God is not in charge of His own plan of salvation.
When God saves a person, He causes them to believe in Christ the way that HE wants them to believe…
Ezekiel 36:25 – “Then will I sprinkle clean water upon you, and ye shall be clean: from all your filthiness, and from all your idols, will I cleanse you. 26 A new heart also will I give you, and a new spirit will I put within you: and I will take away the stony heart out of your flesh, and I will give you an heart of flesh. 27 And I will put my spirit within you, AND CAUSE YOU to walk in my statutes, and ye shall keep my judgments, and do them.”
2 Cor 5:17 – “Therefore if any man be in Christ, he is a new creature: old things are passed away; behold, all things are become new. 18 And all things are of God, who hath reconciled us to himself by Jesus Christ, and hath given to us the ministry of reconciliation;”
Many who claim to “believe in Christ” believe in a Christ of their own invention or a Christ manufactured by their church which is usually a Christ who needs their help to save them:
Matthew 7:21 – “Not every one that saith unto me, Lord, Lord, shall enter into the kingdom of heaven; but he that doeth the will of my Father which is in heaven. 22 Many will say to me in that day, Lord, Lord, have we not prophesied in thy name? and in thy name have cast out devils?and in thy name done many wonderful works? 23 And then will I profess unto them, I never knew you: depart from me, ye that work iniquity.”
Romans 10:2 – “For I bear them record that they have a zeal of God, but not according to knowledge. 3 For they being ignorant of God’s righteousness, and going about to establish their own righteousness, have not submitted themselves unto the righteousness of God.”
To determine if the idea of an investigative judgment is true, we must compare it with what the Bible says about salvation:
- Salvation is “not by works of righteousness which we have done” (Titus 3:5)
- We “are saved by grace through faith, and that not of yourselves, not of works, lest any man should boast” (Ephesians 2:8-9)
- “all our righteousness is as filthy rags” (Isaiah 64:6) – to a Holy and perfect God
Therefore, there is nothing to review, it is just a matter of looking up a name in the Book of Life. If a person’s name is in the book of Life, that person is saved. If it is NOT in the book, they are lost. That is because God has already – in eternity past – determined whom He was going to save and Christ paid the penalty for THOSE sinners (and only those, no more, no less):
Ephesians 1:4 – “According as he hath CHOSEN US in him before the foundation of the world, that we should be holy and without blame before him in love: 5 Having predestinated us unto the adoption of children by Jesus Christ to himself, according to the good pleasure of his will, 6 To the praise of the glory of his grace, wherein he hath made us accepted in the beloved. 7 In whom we have redemption through his blood, the forgiveness of sins, according to the riches of his grace; 8 Wherein he hath abounded toward us in all wisdom and prudence; 9 Having made known unto us the mystery of his will, according to his good pleasure which he hath purposed in himself: 10 That in the dispensation of the fulness of times he might gather together in one all things in Christ, both which are in heaven, and which are on earth; even in him: 11 In whom also we have obtained an inheritance, being PREDESTINATED according to the purpose of him who worketh all things after the counsel of HIS OWN WILL“
References in the Bible about blotting out names from God’s book are just figurative and meant to emphasize the seriousness of certain situations. God does not take back the gift of eternal life that He bought for His elect at Calvary. The gift has been purchased by the specific RANSOM of Christ’s atonement:
Matt. 20:28 – “Even as the Son of man came not to be ministered unto, but to minister, and to give his life a RANSOM for many.”
Hebrews 2:17 – “Wherefore in all things it behoved him to be made like unto his brethren, that he might be a merciful and faithful high priest in things pertaining to God, to make reconciliation for the sins of the people.”
That ransom payment was for SPECIFIC sinners:
Matt. 1:21 – “And she shall bring forth a son, and thou shalt call his name JESUS: for he shall save HIS PEOPLE from their sins.”
Heb 10:14 – ” For by one offering he hath perfected for ever them that are sanctified [i.e. those that God set apart]. 15 Whereof the Holy Ghost also is a witness to us: for after that he had said before, 16 This is the covenant that I will make with them after those days, saith the Lord, I will put my laws into their hearts, and in their minds will I write them; 17 And their sins and iniquities will I remember no more. 18 Now where remission of these is, there is no more offering for sin.”
God is very HOLY. Man is very sinful:
Jeremiah 17:9 – “The heart is deceitful above all things, and desperately wicked: who can know it?”
Even the great prophet Isaiah had this to say about himself:
Isaiah 6:5 – “Then said I, Woe is me! for I am undone; because I am a man of unclean lips, and I dwell in the midst of a people of unclean lips: for mine eyes have seen the King, the LORD of hosts.”
Therefore, no sinner is even capable of repenting of every sin ever committed because we are too sinful to even recognize every sin for what it is. That is what makes us spiritually LOST and in dire need of a Savior to rescue us from the wrath to come. The apostles knew long before they died if they POSSESSED eternal life in Heaven as pointed out by Mrs. White herself in the two Bible verses I quoted (Luke 10:20, Philippians 4:3) at the beginning of this section.
Those who are saved, born-again children of God, are no longer under judgment, investigative or otherwise:
John 5:24 – “Verily, verily, I say unto you, He that heareth my word, and believeth on him that sent me, hath everlasting life, and shall not come into condemnation; but is passed from death unto life.”
Romans 8:1 – “There is therefore now no condemnation to them which are in Christ Jesus, who walk not after the flesh, but after the Spirit.”
One point that Mrs. White brings up that does not have to do with Sabbath keeping but that is clearly contrary to scripture is found on page 485: “as the priest, in removing the sins from the sanctuary, confessed them upon the head of the scapegoat, so Christ will place all these sins upon Satan” and “so Satan, bearing the guilt of all sins which he has caused God’s people to commit, will be for a thousand years confined to the earth.”
The Bible NEVER calls Satan our sin bearer or “guilt” bearer but it repeatedly refers to Jesus as our one and only sin bearer:
1 Peter 2:21-24 – “Christ also suffered for us, leaving us an example, that ye should follow his steps: Who did no sin, neither was guile found in his mouth: Who, when he was reviled, reviled not again; when he suffered, he threatened not; but committed himself to him that judgeth righteously: Who his own self bare our sins in his own body on the tree, that we, being dead to sins, should live unto righteousness: by whose stripes ye were healed.”
SATAN WILL NOT AND CANNOT BEAR ANYONE ELSE’S SINS. THE UNBLEMISHED LAMB OF GOD IS THE ONLY ONE CAPABLE OF BEARING ANYONE ELSE’S SINS.
2 Corinthians 5:20-21 – “Now then we are ambassadors for Christ, as though God did beseech you by us: we pray you in Christ’s stead, be ye reconciled to God. For he hath made him to be sin for us, who knew no sin; that we might be made the righteousness of God in him.”
ALL OF THE SINS OF GOD’S ELECT PEOPLE WERE PLACED ON CHRIST AT CALVARY! CHRIST, NOT SATAN, WAS THE SCAPEGOAT! IT IS A SHAMEFUL THING TO GIVE SATAN CREDIT FOR WHAT CHRIST ALONE HAS DONE! SINCE CHRIST ALREADY WAS THE SCAPEGOAT FOR HIS PEOPLE, THEY NEED NO OTHER. THERE WILL BE NO OTHER SCAPEGOAT IN THE FUTURE, as further stated in Hebrews chapter 9:
Hebrews 9:28-10:1 – “So Christ was once offered to bear the sins of many; and unto them that look for him shall he appear the second time without sin unto salvation. For the law having a shadow of good things to come, and not the very image of the things, can never with those sacrifices which they offered year by year continually make the comers thereunto perfect.”
Chapter 33 – The First Great Deception:
On Page 543, lines 1 to 2, Mrs. White says “years of probation were granted them that they might form characters for heaven; but they have never trained the mind to love purity“. Mrs. White does not seem to understand that people are not made fit for heaven by ‘training their minds’ or using their own efforts to ‘form characters for heaven’. A person is only made fit for heaven by being regenerated – given an entirely new nature from God, by being born from above, when the Holy Spirit comes to dwell within them the moment Christ saves them. The Bible, in Titus 3:5 says that it is “Not by works of righteousness [like mind training] which we have done, but according to his mercy he saved us, by the washing of regeneration, and renewing of the Holy Ghost”. It doesn’t take years of probation to get saved. “All who call upon the Lord shall be saved” [Romans 10:13]. How long does it take for God the Holy Spirit to take up residence in a person?…
Ezekiel 11:19 – “And I will give them one heart, and I will put a new spirit within you; and I will take the stony heart out of their flesh, and will give them an heart of flesh”
Jeremiah 31:31 – “Behold, the days come, saith the LORD, that I will make a new covenant with the house of Israel, and with the house of Judah: 32 Not according to the covenant that I made with their fathers in the day that I took them by the hand to bring them out of the land of Egypt; which my covenant they brake, although I was an husband unto them, saith the LORD: 33 But this shall be the covenant that I will make with the house of Israel; After those days, saith the LORD, I will put my law in their inward parts, and write it in their hearts; and will be their God, and they shall be my people”
These verses above mention the ‘new heart’ that God gives individuals in order for them to become His children.
On Page 545, lines 1 to 2, Mrs. White has written “they sink into hopeless eternal oblivion” and then on lines 14 through 16, she writes “Upon the fundamental error of natural immortality rests the doctrine of consciousness in death – a doctrine, like eternal torment, opposed to the teachings of he scriptures, to the dictates of reason, and to our feelings of humanity.” Anyone who would say such a thing has never read or a least not understood the true story that Christ related in Luke 16 of the rich man in Hades and the beggar Lazarus in a place called Abraham’s bosom. This story is presented precisely to let people know that THERE IS CONSCIOUSNESS IN DEATH:
Luke 16:22 – “And it came to pass, that the beggar died, and was carried by the angels into Abraham’s bosom: the rich man also died, and was buried; 23 And in hell he lift up his eyes, being in torments, and seeth Abraham afar off, and Lazarus in his bosom. 24 And he cried and said, Father Abraham, have mercy on me, and send Lazarus, that he may dip the tip of his finger in water, and cool my tongue; for I am tormented in this flame.”
Jesus would not use a lie (if Hell is not real) to illustrate a truth. And what about these verses:
Revelation 14:11 – “And the smoke of their torment ascendeth up FOR EVER AND EVER: and they have no rest day nor night, who worship the beast and his image, and whosoever receiveth the mark of his name.”
Matthew 8:12 – “But the children of the kingdom shall be cast out into outer darkness: there shall be weeping and gnashing of teeth.”
Matthew 22:13 – “Then said the king to the servants, Bind him hand and foot, and take him away, and cast him into outer darkness; there shall be weeping and gnashing of teeth.”
Matthew 24:51 – “And shall cut him asunder, and appoint him his portion with the hypocrites: there shall be weeping and gnashing of teeth.”
Matthew 25:30 – “And cast ye the unprofitable servant into outer darkness: there shall be weeping and gnashing of teeth.”
Luke 13:28 – “There shall be weeping and gnashing of teeth, when ye shall see Abraham, and Isaac, and Jacob, and all the prophets, in the kingdom of God, and you yourselves thrust out.”
The existence of Hell does not mean that God is unfeeling or inhuman. It means that man is wicked, God is Righteous and Holy. God hates sin and He severely punishes people for it.
The Old Testament is full of descriptions of God’s hatred for sin and rebellion and how He FORCEFULLY dealt with it.
SIN IS NOT A TRIVIAL THING TO GOD. It cost Him the life of His only begotten Son. He does not wink at sin like man does. Sin must be punished and the punishment is very severe because of the monumentally high standards of the One whose laws we have violated. Our sins must be paid for no matter how long it takes even if it takes us forever which is how long it will take if we choose to be our own saviour or try to help Christ to save us. We either believe that Christ’s death on the cross was necessary and complete payment for our sins or we end up paying for them ourselves by spending eternity in Hell in torment.
Chapter 35 – Aims Of The Papacy:
While I agree very much with Mrs. White’s opinions of Rome and the papacy and what she observed about Protestants who have forgotten the reason for the great Reformation, I must take issue with her statement on page 573 where she refers to “Sunday observance – a custom which originated with Rome”. Rome does not deserve the credit for Sunday worship because the New Testament was written before the Catholic Church existed. The Church of Rome did not come into existence until around the 4th century when emperor Constantine was high priest (Pontifex Maximus) of Rome. The New Testament was completed by the end of the first century. The apostle Paul spoke of Sunday worship (or shall we say Sunday “fellowship gatherings”) in several places:
Acts 20:7 – “And upon the first day of the week, when the disciples came together to break bread, Paul preached unto them, ready to depart on the morrow; and continued his speech until midnight.”
1 Corinthians 16:2 – “Upon the first day of the week let every one of you lay by him in store, as God hath prospered him, that there be no gatherings when I come.” Paul also said:
Colossians 2:16-17 – “Let no man therefore judge you in meat, or in drink, or in respect of an holyday, or of the new moon, or of the sabbath days: Which are a shadow of things to come; but the body is of Christ.”
Sabbath worship was strictly a commandment for Israel and was part of the Mosaic Covenant given by God through Moses to Israel on Mount Sinai. There were no 10 commandments prior to Mt Sinai so there was no Sabbath commandment prior to Mt Sinai. Not only that, but the Bible points out 2 very important points about the Law (the 10 commandments):
He who breaks just one commandment is as guilty as he who breaks them all! So nobody is special for keeping one of the ten or for placing special emphasis on one of the ten:
James 2:10 – “For whosoever shall keep the whole law, and yet offend in one point, he is guilty of all.”
Nobody even keeps ANY of the 10 commandments to the degree that God requires.
You are a murderer if you have hatred in your heart towards someone (Matthew 5:22)
You are an adulterer if you have lust in your heart towards someone (Matthew 5:27-28)
You are a sabbath breaker if God does not reign supreme in your life every day of the week:
Mark 12:30 – “And thou shalt love the Lord thy God with all thy heart, and with all thy soul, and with all thy mind, and with all thy strength: this is the first commandment.”
God can only reign in a person’s life if they have been born-again, born from above, by the Holy Spirit…
“God is a Spirit: and they that worship him must worship him in spirit and in truth.” (John 4:24).
You can only worship God in spirit if His Spirit is in you.
The need for the ceremonial laws of the Old Testament, including the laws regulating the Sabbath, ended when Christ came and fulfilled that which the ceremonial laws were a shadow of.
The meaning of the Sabbath is ‘day of rest’ (see Exodus 20:10) – rest from our labors.
The Sabbath served as a symbol of the rest we have in Christ.
We do not need to LABOR for our salvation.
Christ lifts the burden of sin off of us and takes it on himself:
Matthew 11:28-30 – “Come unto me, all ye that labour and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest. Take my yoke upon you, and learn of me; for I am meek and lowly in heart: and ye shall find rest unto your souls. For my yoke is easy, and my burden is light.”
Chapter 40 – God’s People Delivered:
If Mrs. White was truly a born-again child of God, in whom the Spirit of the Living God was dwelling, she would never have said “Too late they see that the Sabbath of the fourth commandment is the seal of the living God.” (page 640).
The seal of God is the HOLY SPIRIT, not Sabbath keeping:
Ephesians 1:13-14 – “In whom ye also trusted, after that ye heard the word of truth, the gospel of your salvation: in whom also after that ye believed, ye were sealed with that HOLY SPIRIT of promise, Which is the earnest of our inheritance until the redemption of the purchased possession, unto the praise of his glory.”
Ephesians 4:30 – “And grieve not the HOLY SPIRIT of God, whereby ye are sealed unto the day of redemption.”
2 Corinthians 1:21-22 – “Now he which stablisheth us with you in Christ, and hath anointed us, is God; Who hath also sealed us, and given the earnest of the SPIRIT in our hearts.”
Chapter 41 – Desolation Of The Earth:
In this chapter (page 658), Mrs. White talks about “when the work of atonement in the heavenly sanctuary has been completed.” as if Christ’s atonement has yet to take place. If that were the case then why would these verses be in the Bible?:
John 19:30 – “When Jesus therefore had received the vinegar, he said, It is finished: and he bowed his head, and gave up the ghost.”
SALVATION WAS PURCHASED BY THE PRECIOUS BLOOD OF CHRIST! IT WAS AND IS FINISHED! NOTHING ELSE NEEDS TO BE DONE TO SAVE GOD’S PEOPLE! JESUS HAS DONE IT ALL! WHO ARE WE TO SAY THAT GOD NEEDS OR WANTS OUR HELP? WE OWE HIM A DEBT THAT WE CAN NEVER REPAY AND THAT IS WHY IT WOULD TAKE ALL ETERNITY IN HELL TO PAY FOR SINS ONE’S SELF. Like it or not, that is what God says we deserve.
Hebrews 10:10-12 – “By the which will we are sanctified through the offering of the body of Jesus Christ once for all. And every priest standeth daily ministering and offering oftentimes the same sacrifices, which can never take away sins: But this man, after he had offered one sacrifice for sins for ever, sat down on the right hand of God;”
NOTICE THAT JESUS SAT DOWN! HE FINISHED THE WORK OF REDEMPTION!
That’s the GOOD NEWS of the Gospel! Jesus already did all that was needed to save His people from the eternal wrath of God.
Romans 3:28 – “Therefore we conclude that a man is justified by faith without the deeds of the law.”
WE DON’T NEED TO OBEY THE LAW TO BE JUSTIFIED BECAUSE WE CAN’T KEEP THE LAW. OUR CONDITION IS HOPELESS. WE ARE COMPLETELY LOST WITHOUT CHRIST:
Luke 19:10 – “For the Son of man is come to seek and to save that which was LOST.”
JESUS CAME TO SAVE THE LOST – NOT THE RIGHTEOUS – AND NONE ARE RIGHTEOUS:
Romans 3:10 – “As it is written, There is none righteous, no, not one”
TRYING TO TELL GOD THAT WE DESERVE HEAVEN BECAUSE WE WERE NOT REALLY A BAD PERSON OR THAT WE KEPT THE SABBATH (AT LEAST TO THE EXTENT THAT WE WANTED TO) WILL PUT A PERSON UNDER THE CURSE OF GOD:
Galatians 3:10-13 – “For as many as are of the works of the law are under the curse: for it is written, cursed is every one that continueth not in all things which are written in the book of the law to do them. But that no man is justified by the law in the sight of God, it is evident: for, the just shall live by faith. And the law is not of faith: but, the man that doeth them shall live in them. Christ hath redeemed us from the curse of the law, being made a curse for us: for it is written, cursed is every one that hangeth on a tree.”
THOSE WHO TRY TO GET RIGHT WITH GOD BY KEEPING THE LAW ARE CURSED. THAT CURSE CONSISTS OF BEING ETERNALLY LOST! (See Mark 16:16).
Hebrews 8:7-13 – “For if that first covenant had been faultless, then should no place have been sought for the second. For finding fault with them, he saith, Behold, the days come, saith the Lord, when I will make a new covenant with the house of Israel and with the house of Judah: NOT ACCORDING TO the covenant that I made with their fathers in the day when I took them by the hand to lead them out of the land of Egypt; because they continued not in my covenant, and I regarded them not, saith the Lord. For this is the covenant that I will make with the house of Israel after those days, saith the Lord; I will put my laws into their mind, and write them in their hearts: and I will be to them a God, and they shall be to me a people: And they shall not teach every man his neighbour, and every man his brother, saying, Know the Lord: for all shall know me, from the least to the greatest. For I will be merciful to their unrighteousness, and their sins and their iniquities will I remember no more. In that he saith, A new covenant, he hath made the first old. Now that which decayeth and waxeth old is ready to vanish away.”
WE NEEDED A NEW COVENANT AND WE NEEDED A SAVIOR BECAUSE THE OLD COVENANT (KEEPING THE LAW OF MOSES) COULD NEVER SAVE ANYONE FROM GOD’S WRATH! IT ONLY SERVES TO SHOW US THAT WE ARE LAWBREAKERS AND THAT WE NEED A SAVIOUR, A SIN BEARER, BECAUSE WE ARE INCAPABLE OF OBEYING GOD’S LAWS!
Galatians 3:21-26 – “if there had been a law given which could have given life, verily righteousness should have been by the law. But the scripture hath concluded all under sin, that the promise by faith of Jesus Christ might be given to them that believe. But before faith came, we were kept under the law, shut up unto the faith which should afterwards be revealed. Wherefore the law was our schoolmaster to bring us unto Christ, that we might be justified by faith. But after that faith is come, we are no longer under a schoolmaster. For ye are all the children of God by faith in Christ Jesus.”
THE BOOK OF GALATIANS WAS WRITTEN SPECIFICALLY TO DEAL WITH THE FALSE GOSPEL OF SALVATION BY FAITH-PLUS-WORKS THAT SOME JEWS WERE TRYING TO BRING INTO THE EARLY CHURCH AND THAT MRS. WHITE APPARENTLY BELIEVED.
When I checked the scripture index in Mrs. White’s book (page 707) for references to the book of Galatians, she never mentioned the 3 chapters in Galatians (chapters 2, 3 and 4) where Paul addresses legalism and the false teaching of justification by keeping the law!
So what did Jesus mean by this verse:
Matthew 5:17 – “Think not that I am come to destroy the law, or the prophets: I am not come to destroy, but to fulfil.”
To determine what he meant, we must look at the verse in context (Matt 5:18-22):
Matthew 5:17-22 – “17 Think not that I am come to destroy the law, or the prophets: I am not come to destroy, but to fulfil. 18 For verily I say unto you, Till heaven and earth pass, one jot or one tittle shall in no wise pass from the law, till all be fulfilled. 19 Whosoever therefore shall break one of these least commandments, and shall teach men so, he shall be called the least in the kingdom of heaven: but whosoever shall do and teach them, the same shall be called great in the kingdom of heaven. 20 For I say unto you, That except your righteousness shall exceed the righteousness of the scribes and Pharisees, ye shall in no case enter into the kingdom of heaven. 21 Ye have heard that it was said by them of old time, Thou shalt not kill; and whosoever shall kill shall be in danger of the judgment: 22 But I say unto you, That whosoever is angry with his brother without a cause shall be in danger of the judgment: and whosoever shall say to his brother, Raca, shall be in danger of the council: but whosoever shall say, Thou fool, shall be in danger of hell fire.”
Obviously Jesus came to fulfil prophecies about himself and to fulfill the SPIRIT of the law as he defined in verse 22. The Spirit of the law was PERFECTION, loving God and His commandments with all our heart, mind, and strength, which Christ indeed fulfilled, since he was the only person to ever live a perfect life. It was necessary for him to fulfill the law since the Lamb of God had to be sinless in order to take away the sins of the world. Can we fulfill the law? No! We are sinners. Yet, the miracle of salvation is that Christ’s PERFECT righteousness is imputed to those whom God saves:
Rom 4:16-24 – “16 Therefore it is of faith, that it might be by grace; to the end the promise might be sure to all the seed; not to that only which is of the law, but to that also which is of the faith of Abraham; who is the father of us all, 17 (As it is written, I have made thee a father of many nations,) before him whom he believed, even God, who quickeneth the dead, and calleth those things which be not as though they were. 18 Who against hope believed in hope, that he might become the father of many nations, according to that which was spoken, So shall thy seed be. 19 And being not weak in faith, he considered not his own body now dead, when he was about an hundred years old, neither yet the deadness of Sara’s womb: 20 He staggered not at the promise of God through unbelief; but was strong in faith, giving glory to God; 21 And being fully persuaded that, what he had promised, he was able also to perform. 22 And therefore it was IMPUTED to him for righteousness. 23 Now it was not written for his sake alone, that it was IMPUTED to him; 24 But for us also, to whom it shall be IMPUTED, if we believe on him that raised up Jesus our Lord from the dead; 25 Who was delivered for our offences, and was raised again for our justification.”
2 Cor 5:21 – “For he hath made him to be sin for us, who knew no sin; that we might be made the righteousness of God in him.”
Php 3:9 – “And be found in him, not having mine own righteousness, which is of the law, but that which is through the faith of Christ, the righteousness which is of God by faith:”
God will look upon His elect as if they had fulfilled the whole law perfectly, all the time, even though in actuality, they fell exceedingly far short. Another miracle of salvation is that God makes a person a new creature in Christ with a new nature that wants to please God and wants to avoid sin.
Chapter 18 – An American Reformer:
Can we believe the things that William Miller, the founder of Adventism, wrote and taught? Not according to something that Mrs. White said about him on page 321, lines 3 & 4:
“Angels of heaven were guiding his mind and opening the Scriptures to his understanding.”
According to the Bible, it is the HOLY SPIRIT, in conjunction with the WORD OF GOD, and not angels from Heaven, that guide a true Christian’s mind:
John 16:13 – “Howbeit when he, the Spirit of truth, is come, he will guide you into all truth”
John 17:17 – “Sanctify them through thy truth: thy word is truth.”
Likewise, Mrs. White cannot be believed about anything she wrote if she is off base about who guides a Christian’s mind.
Based on the testimony of Ellen White: William Miller and Ellen White were blinded to the message of the Gospel… “But if our gospel be hid, it is hid to them that are lost: In whom the god of this world hath blinded the minds of them which believe not, lest the light of the glorious gospel of Christ, who is the image of God, should shine unto them” (2 Corinthians 4:3-4).
CONCLUSIONS
Based on Ellen White’s teachings in her Great Controversy book, it is apparent that the Seventh Day Adventist organization is just another one of many Christian-like cults whose founders did not realize that the true Church of Jesus Christ is the world-wide collection of born-again believers who are trusting in NOTHING but the finished work of Jesus Christ to save them from the literal eternal wrath of God in Hell.
The true church transcends denominations. It is not a visible organization started by some especially gifted modern-day prophet or prophetess. It rests upon Jesus Christ and the Word of God alone…
Luke 17:21 – “Neither shall they say, Lo here! or, lo there! for, behold, the kingdom of God is within you.”
Thanks be to God for sending the Holy Spirit to dwell in all true believers so that they can know the meaning of scriptures if they ask God for understanding and if they search the scriptures diligently, comparing scripture with scripture.
Adventism was started by fallible human beings who did not understand that there is nothing that a person can do to contribute to his or her salvation. Based on Mrs. White’s comments in chapter 33, Adventism’s founders did not understand WHAT IT WAS that Christ died to save sinners from. When Paul wrote: “How shall we escape, if we neglect so great salvation” (Hebrews 2:3) he did not mean that we needed to escape from annihilation. Luke 12:4-5 and 2 Thessalonians 1:7-9 clear up any doubts about the reality of a literal place of torment for the damned:
Luke 12:4 – “And I say unto you my friends, Be not afraid of them that kill the body, and after that have no more that they can do. 5 But I will forewarn you whom ye shall fear: Fear him, which after he hath killed hath power to cast into hell; yea, I say unto you, Fear him.”
2Thess 1:7 – “And to you who are troubled rest with us, when the Lord Jesus shall be revealed from heaven with his mighty angels, 8 In flaming fire taking vengeance on them that know not God, and that obey not the gospel of our Lord Jesus Christ: 9 Who shall be punished with everlasting destruction from the presence of the Lord, and from the glory of his power”
The whole idea of annihilation (i.e. no future punishment) minimizes the sacrifice that Christ made because it minimizes the seriousness of sin, sin against an infinitely holy God.
God is not looking for legalistic, Old Testament Sabbath keepers who don’t keep the Sabbath anywhere near perfectly anyway.
God is looking for worshipers who worship Him in Spirit and in truth, every single day of the week.
To become saved, requires a supernatural act of God: “Salvation is of the Lord” (Jonah 2:9). Through the convicting power of the Holy Spirit and the Word of God, God causes a person to realize that they are a hopelessly lost sinner in desperate need of a Saviour, the only begotten Son of God the Father, Jesus Christ!
Once saved, a person’s salvation is permanent: “I give unto them eternal life; and they shall never perish, neither shall any man pluck them out of my hand” (John 10:28).
A true Christian does not have to wait until they die to know that they are Heaven-bound either: “These things have I written unto you that believe on the name of the Son of God; that ye may know that ye have eternal life” (1 John 5:13). Once saved, a believer is complete in Christ, they were bought with a price – the precious blood of the Lamb of God. To try to add to the finished work of Christ at Calvary is a tremendous insult to what Christ did. It is akin to a clumsy blind child trying to touch up a finished work of art. The child’s efforts would only ruin the completed masterpiece. — RM Kane
Additional Information About Seventh Day Adventism:
- Is The Sabbath For Today?
- Facts And False Teachings Of The Seventh Day Adventist Church
- The History of the Seventh-day Adventist Church