While the soon
coming of Christ
lends new urgency
to Christian duties,
the way of salvation
is not different in
these last days.
fulfilled in this century!)
The nearness of Christ's coming is also
the motivation underlying our publish-
ing houses, sanitariums, schools, food
factories, and restaurants. Institutions
are long-range projects, but they give
standing to the work and help proclaim
the three angels’ messages. We must
work until the Lord bids us “make no
further effort to build meeting-houses
and establish schools, sanitariums, and
publishing institutions. . . .
“I'We must] increase the facilities, that
a great work may be done in a short
time.” »°
We must be constantly at our task un-
til the Lord says it is done. We will not be
ready for His coming if we are not. Ellen
White emphasized doing the work and
living the life rather than calculating the
time. Only God knows when the end will
be, but we must always work and live in
the belief that it is near. To ask “When?”
is to ask the wrong question; rather, we
ought to ask how to be ready whenever it
will be.
What about end-time perfection?
Will the church ever reach the point
where it will be without “spot, or wrin-
kle, or any such thing,” ready “to stand
in the sight of a holy God without a
mediator”? *° This seems to imply sin-
less perfection. How is it to be done?
Ellen White never claimed to be per-
fect herself. Shortly before she died she
said, “I do not say that I am perfect, but I
am trying to be perfect. I do not expect
others to be perfect; and if I could not
associate with my brothers and sisters
who are not perfect, [ do not know what I
should do.
“I try to treat the matter the best that
can, and am thankful that [ have a spirit
of uplifting and not a spirit of crushing
down. . . . No one is perfect. If one were
perfect, he would be prepared for
heaven. As long as we are not perfect, we
have a work to do to get ready to be
perfect. We have a mighty Saviour. . . .
“I rejoice that I have that faith that
takes hold of the promises of God, that
works by love and sanctifies the soul.” *’
“We have a mighty Saviour.” That is
the secret of being ready for His coming.
He is our righteousness, just as He was
the righteousness of all our fathers who
died in faith.
God's part in preparing me for transla-
tion is to forgive my sins and impute
Christ's righteousness to me, and then to
cause me to grow from grace to grace,
from strength to strength, from character
to character.’® My part is to believe His
promises, confess my sins, give myself to
Him, and will to serve Him. As I believe
that [ am cleansed, God supplies the
fact— Christ binds up my wounds and
cleanses me from all impurity.
These blessings that give us our title
and fitness for heaven are beautifully de-
scribed in Steps to Christ, pages 50 and
51. There Ellen White says that we must
will to serve Christ and believe His prom-
ise of forgiveness and cleansing— “It is so
if you believe it.” It is His will to cleanse
us from sin, to make us His children and
enable us to live a holy life. “So we may
ask for these blessings, and believe that
we receive them, and thank God that we
have received them.”
We can summarize Ellen White's ex-
hortations by likening her to someone
running a race. In the Millerite move-
ment of 1842-1844 she was a sprinter ina
hundred-yard dash. She put everything
she had into the revival —her money,
her efforts, her prayers— everything.
After the Disappointment she found
herself running a marathon rather than a
sprint. Nevertheless, she always main-
tained the zeal, force, and dedication of
the dash. She urged us to give sacrifi-
cially, to dedicate ourselves to the Lord
as though each day were our last, to love
Christ rather than the world, to make
sure our sins are confessed before we go to
bed every night, and, as the Advent be-
lievers did in 1844, to live in peace and
harmony. In every way she urged us to
continue the drive of the dash through-
out the marathon. Christ’s soon coming
always urges us to holiness and witness.
In this way we live in preparation for
the coming of Christ. This is how the
apostles and, for that matter, how the
Christians of all ages have lived. While
the soon coming of Christ lends new ur-
gency to Christian duties, the way of sal-
vation is not different in these last days.
Thank God, many have reached the
standard in Christ and many are reaching
it today. May we be among them! n
! Manuscript 4, 1883 (see Selected Messages,
book 1, pp. 59-73, especially pp. 66-69). All foot-
notes in this article refer to the writings of Ellen G.
White.
2 The SDA Bible Commentary, Ellen G. White
Comments, vol. 4, p. 1161.
3 General Conference Bulletin, 1893, p. 419;
Christ's Object Lessons, p. 69.
4 Review and Herald, Nov. 22, 1892: Selected
Messages, book 1, p. 363.
> Early Writings, p. 278.
© The Great Controversy, pp. 603-612.
? Testimonies, vol. 9, p. 209.
8 Review and Herald, Mar. 29, 1892, p. 193; The
SDA Bible Commentary, Ellen G. White com-
ments, vol. 7, p. 984.
° Page 69.
19 Education, p. 271; The Acts of the Apostles, p.
111.
'1 The conviction that the last-day saints must
reach a higher level of righteousness than their
fathers does not agree with the doctrine of righ-
teousness by faith. While we must indeed keep the
commandments of God and the faith of Jesus, we
cannot speak of levels of righteousness before God.
Only one righteousness can gain us entrance into
heaven—the righteousness of Christ. However
righteous we may claim to be, we are still only
unprofitable servants. “Nothing in my hand I
bring; simply to Thy cross I cling” must be our song
forever.
12 Letter 38, 1888.
13 Early Writings, p. 15.
14 Selected Messages, book 1, p. 76; see also Early
Writings, pp. 34, 285.
'5 Testimonies, vol. 5, pp. 714-718.
16 The Desire of Ages, p. 32.
'7 See Prophets and Kings, pp. 535-537.
!8 Review and Herald, May 29, 1913, p. 515.
19 Christ's Object Lessons, p. 79.
20 Prophets and Kings, p. 176; see also The Desire
of Ages, p. 822.
21 Selected Messages, book 1, p- 67.
22 Ibid. , pp. 68, 69.
> Manuscript 3, 1867. (Italics supplied.)
24 Testimonies, vol. 5, pp. 214-216; Review and
Herald, Oct. 6, 1896, p. 629.
2 Manuscript 5, 1874.
26 Early Writings, p. 58.
27 Letter 25, 1902.
28 Testimonies, vol. 2, p. 194.
%% Review and Herald, Oct. 2, 1900, p. 625.
3° Testimonies, vol. 5, p. 532.
21 “That I May Know Him,” p. 141.
32 Review and Herald, Oct. 25, 188], p. 257.
33 Testimonies, vol. 8, pp- 36, 37, 252.
>* Ibid. vol. 6, p. 22.
5 Ibid. p. 441.
3% The Great Controversy, p. 425.
37 Review and Herald, July 23, 1970, p. 3.
38 See Selected Messages, book 1, pp. 350-400.
MINISTRY/FEBRUARY/1988 45