Ellen White stated that preachers should talk about the subject matter given in this article more than any other subject. It is something so simple that a little child can understand it, but the adults have difficulty understanding it. Jesus said one time that unless you receive the kingdom of heaven as a little child, you will not enter in. (Mark 10:15; Luke 18:17.) This is a subject with which adults, especially people like ministers, theologians, and those who have studied religion for a long time, have lots of trouble. The subject is the answer to this question: What must I do to be saved?
Regarding this question, Ellen White wrote: “In every congregation in the land there are souls unsatisfied, hungering and thirsting for salvation. By day and by night, the burden of their hearts is, What shall I do to be saved? They listen eagerly to popular discourses, hoping to learn how they may be justified before God. But too often they hear only a pleasing speech, an eloquent declamation. There are sad and disappointed hearts in every religious gathering.” Review and Herald, March 8, 1881. These disappointed individuals want to know whether or not they can be saved, and if so, how. Some of them think they cannot be saved because they are too wicked.
Zechariah 13:1 reads, “In that day there shall be a fountain opened to the house of David and to the inhabitants of Jerusalem for sin and for uncleanness.” There is going to be opened, according to the prophet Zechariah, a fountain to Israel and to the inhabitants of Jerusalem for sin and for uncleanness.
We are living in the time when that fountain has been opened and anybody, even the worst sinner, can be cleansed at it. However, that fountain is only for certain people. Now, that sounds like a contradiction. I just stated that it is for everybody, and yet it will only work for certain people. Well, who are the only people for whom it will work? We will start right at the beginning so you will see why so many people miss it, even when it is for everybody.
The Poor in Spirit
“One fountain only has been opened for sin, a fountain for the poor in spirit.” The Desire of Ages, 300. This is the fountain which is spoken of in Zechariah 13:1.
Who are the poor in spirit? The poor in spirit are the people who know they are lost, and they know that they are utterly helpless. Maybe they have tried a thousand times to overcome some bad habit, but they cannot do it. They recognize they are utterly helpless, and they know that they cannot do anything to save themselves. How, then, are they going to be saved?
The irony of it is, those are the only people who can be saved! The only people who can be saved are the ones who come to the realization that they are utterly helpless and cannot save themselves. Sometimes the reason it seems as though God is not answering your prayers is so you can get to that position. If you ever get to the position where you recognize that you are utterly helpless and that you cannot do anything to be saved, then you can be saved.
Simple as ABC
Regarding the answer to the question of how to be saved, Ellen White said, “We do not understand the matter of salvation. It is just as simple as ABC. But we don’t understand it.” Faith and Works, 64. How interesting! It is as simple as ABC, but we do not understand it. In fact, at another time, speaking of Seventh-day Adventists, she said, “We need also much more knowledge; we need to be enlightened in regard to the plan of salvation. There is not one in one hundred who understands for himself the Bible truth on this subject that is so necessary to our present and eternal welfare.” Selected Messages, Book 1, 360. That is pretty bad! How can something be as simple as ABC, yet there is not one in a hundred who understands it?
The question we are contemplating actually comes right out of the New Testament, in the Book of Acts, when the Philippian jailer sought an answer from Paul and Silas: “And coming to them outside, he said, ‘Lords, what is necessary for me to do so that I might be saved?’ And they said, ‘Believe in the Lord Jesus Christ and you will be saved, and your house.’ ” Acts 16:30, 31.
That is it! Easy, is it not? A child can understand it, but adults cannot, because we want something that is more complicated.
Message Rejected
In 1888, God sent this message to the Seventh-day Adventist Church, but almost all the people in the Church rejected it. So Ellen White began to write, and most of what is quoted in this article from her pen was written shortly after 1888 in regard to the fact of what God was trying to teach the people that they had rejected.
She wrote: “There is salvation for you, but only through the merits of Jesus Christ.” Testimonies to Ministers and Gospel Workers, 97. That is the only way. Period!
In Testimonies to Ministers and Gospel Workers, Ellen White, on pages 91-93, goes over what it was that God tried to bring to the Seventh-day Adventist Church in Minneapolis in 1888. Several years ago, I studied those pages and listed all the things that God was trying to teach His people at that time. I identified seven things that Ellen White listed on page 92, but we are only going to study one of those seven things. One of the things that the Lord was trying to teach through Ellen White and through Jones and Waggoner to the Adventist Church in 1888 was about Christ’s merits.
Christ’s Merits
“There is salvation for you, but only through the merits of Jesus Christ.” That is all.
Now, this is the way people were saved in Old Testament times: “Through the sacrifices and offerings brought to the earthly Sanctuary, the children of Israel were to lay hold of the merits of a Saviour to come.” Spiritual Gifts, vol. 1, 160. What was the purpose of all those ceremonies? To help the people exercise faith in “the merits of a Saviour to come.” But we have a problem.
Creature Merit
“Discussions may be entered into by mortals strenuously advocating creature merit, and each man striving for the supremacy, but they simply do not know that all the time, in principle and character, they are misrepresenting the truth as it is in Jesus. They are in a fog of bewilderment. They need the divine love of God which is represented by gold tried in the fire; they need the white raiment of Christ’s pure character; and they need the heavenly eyesalve . . .” Why do they need the heavenly eyesalve? What is going to happen to Laodicea when they get the heavenly eyesalve? “. . . that they might discern with astonishment the utter worthlessness of creature merit to earn the wages of eternal life.” Faith and Works, 23.
Of how much worth is creature merit? Anything that you or I can do, past, present, or future, is absolutely worthless.
One of the reasons this message was rejected in 1888 is that people said, “You are going to do away with the law. We have been teaching people they have to keep the commandments, and you are telling people that all they have to do is trust in Jesus.” See, that is what happens when people study theology. They get all mixed up. A child can understand it. Why can the children understand it better than the adults? As soon as the adults hear, “Just put your trust in Jesus; He has merits; He will save you,” they think, “Oh, that could not be all there is to it.” Yes, it is! Everything else that you need will happen, but all you need to do is trust in Jesus.
Some people may think that I am going to destroy the Adventist Church, that I am going to destroy the revival and reformation movement within the Adventist Church, that I am preaching heresy or the new theology. No, I am not preaching the new theology. I am preaching the gospel.
Ellen White said, “They need the heavenly eyesalve that they might discern with astonishment the utter worthlessness of creature merit to earn the wages of eternal life.”
All Power Imparted
“I [Ellen White] ask, How can I present this matter as it is? The Lord Jesus imparts all the powers, all the grace, all the penitence, all the inclination, all the pardon of sins, in presenting His righteousness for man to grasp by living faith¾which is also the gift of God. If you would gather together everything that is good and holy and noble and lovely in man and then present the subject to the angels of God as acting a part in the salvation of the human soul or in merit, the proposition would be rejected as treason.” Ibid.
If you told the angels everything wonderful and good that a human being had ever done and asked if these things would add any merit to this person’s salvation, the angels would reject it all, saying, “That is treason against the government of God.” The angels know the plan of salvation. They understand what is involved. They understand the utter worthlessness of anything you and I can do to earn salvation.
Mrs. White continued, “Any works that man can render to God will be far less than nothingness.” Ibid., 24. The idea of humans doing anything to merit the grace of pardon is fallacy from beginning to end.
Through Faith Alone
“There is not a point that needs to be dwelt upon more earnestly, repeated more frequently, or established more firmly in the minds of all than the impossibility of fallen man meriting anything by his own best good works. Salvation is through faith in Jesus Christ alone.” Ibid., 18.
Do you get it? Children can understand it. Theologians usually cannot understand it. People who have studied the Bible for years and years do not get it figured out. The Philippian jailer was baptized early the next morning, and he had been a heathen.
“Many are losing the right way, in consequence of thinking that they must climb to heaven, that they must do something to merit the favor of God. They seek to make themselves better by their own unaided efforts. This they can never accomplish.” Selected Messages, Book 1, 368.
Can you ever do anything to merit the favor of God? No, never. Nothing. So, what must you do to be saved? All you have to do is trust yourself to the merits of Jesus Christ. Everything else will happen if you do this. And if you do not do this, the other things will not happen. You can struggle with sanctification, keeping the law, health reform and dress reform, and anything else, but you will never be saved doing all those things. There is only one way to salvation, and that is to trust yourself, to yield yourself to Jesus Christ, to trust His merits, not your own.
You Can Be Complete
Colossians 2:10 reads, “And you are complete in Him who is the head of all authority and rulers.” Who is this “you”? Are these the people who are ready for translation?
“We stand in favor before God, not because of any merit in ourselves, but because of our faith in ‘the Lord our righteousness.’
“Jesus stands in the holy of holies, now to appear in the presence of God for us. There He ceases not to present His people moment by moment, complete in Himself.” Faith and Works, 107. You can be complete in Christ right now, today, if you yield yourself to Him.
“Because we are thus represented before the Father, we are not to imagine that we are to presume upon His mercy and become careless, indifferent, and self-indulgent. Christ is not the minister of sin. We are complete in Him, accepted in the Beloved, only as we abide in Him by faith.
“Perfection through our own good works we can never attain. The soul who sees Jesus by faith, repudiates his own righteousness. He sees himself as incomplete, his repentance insufficient, his strongest faith but feebleness, his most costly sacrifice as meager, and he sinks in humility at the foot of the cross. But a voice speaks to him from the oracles of God’s Word. In amazement he hears the message, ‘Ye are complete in Him.’ [Colossians 2:10.]” Ibid., 107, 108.
Who is this? This is the person who has decided that he is hopeless. He sinks “at the foot of the cross,” but then he hears the voice, “Ye are complete in Him.”
“Now all is at rest in his soul. No longer must he strive to find some worthiness in himself, some meritorious deed by which to gain the favor of God.” Ibid., 108.
Basis of Protestant Reformation
What we are noting was the basis of the Protestant Reformation. It was what the Waldenses taught during the Dark Ages. Read the experience of the Vaudois missionary during the Dark Ages:
“With quivering lip and tearful eye did he, often on bended knees, open to his brethren the precious promises that reveal the sinner’s only hope. Thus the light of truth penetrated many a darkened mind, rolling back the cloud of gloom, until the Sun of Righteousness shone into the heart with healing in His beams. It was often the case that some portion of Scripture was read again and again, the hearer desiring it to be repeated, as if he would assure himself that he had heard aright. Especially was the repetition of these words eagerly desired: ‘The blood of Jesus Christ His Son cleanseth us from all sin.’ 1 John 1:7. ‘As Moses lifted up the serpent in the wilderness, even so must the Son of man be lifted up: that whosoever believeth in Him should not perish, but have eternal life.’ John 3:14, 15.
“Many were undeceived in regard to the claims of Rome. They saw how vain is the mediation of men or angels in behalf of the sinner. As the true light dawned upon their minds they exclaimed with rejoicing: ‘Christ is my priest; His blood is my sacrifice; His altar is my confessional.’ They cast themselves wholly upon the merits of Jesus . . . .” The Great Controversy, 73, 74.
When they cast themselves completely on the merits of Jesus, not trusting in themselves at all, what happened?
“They cast themselves wholly upon the merits of Jesus, repeating the words, ‘Without faith it is impossible to please Him.’ Hebrews 11:6. ‘There is none other name under heaven given among men, whereby we must be saved.’ Acts 4:12.
“The assurance of a Saviour’s love seemed too much for some of these poor tempest-tossed souls to realize. So great was the relief which it brought, such a flood of light was shed upon them, that they seemed transported to heaven. Their hands were laid confidingly in the hand of Christ; their feet were planted upon the Rock of Ages. All fear of death was banished. They could now covet the prison and the fagot if they might thereby honor the name of their Redeemer.” Ibid., 74.
That is what the reformers found. That is the very thing that caused the Protestant Reformation.
Ellen White recorded the following experience of John Calvin: “In the Bible he found Christ. ‘O Father,’ he cried, ‘His sacrifice has appeased Thy wrath; His blood has washed away my impurities; His cross has borne my curse; His death has atoned for me. We had devised for ourselves many useless follies, but Thou hast placed Thy word before me like a torch, and Thou hast touched my heart, in order that I may hold in abomination all other merits save those of Jesus.’¾Martyn, vol. 3, ch. 13.” Ibid., 221.
Calvin became a Protestant Reformer because he cast aside his confidence and trust in everything else. He said that everything else is an abomination except the merits of Jesus Christ.
Martin Luther found out the same thing: “Luther was the one chosen to breast the storm, stand up against the ire of a fallen church, and strengthen the few who were faithful to their holy profession. He was ever fearful of offending God. He tried through works to obtain His favor, but was not satisfied until a gleam of light from heaven drove the darkness from his mind and led him to trust, not in works, but in the merits of the blood of Christ. He could then come to God for himself, not through popes or confessors, but through Jesus Christ alone.” Early Writings, 222, 223.
More Than Anything Else
Is it complicated? No, it is simple. Children can understand it, but theologians cannot understand it. Ellen White said that it is as simple as ABC, but we do not understand it, because we have so much trouble believing it; we always want to add something to it. But, you see, if we get this point, we are going to get everything else we need. Because it is so simple and, yet, because we do not understand it, it needs to be repeated, Ellen White said, more than anything else is. Then, how does it all come together? Let us consider some questions and answers.
- How can we be received by our heavenly Father and adopted into His family?
How? Just one way. God would like to accept us into His family, but He will only do it on one condition, that we will accept the merits of His Son. That is all. There is no other way. (See The Acts of the Apostles, 333.)
- Whom will God accept?
“God will accept every one that comes to Him trusting wholly [that is, completely] in the merits of a crucified Saviour.” Selected Messages, Book 1, 354.
God will accept every person who comes to Him, claiming the merits of a crucified and risen Saviour.
This is the gospel according to the Old Testament; this is the gospel Paul preached; this is the gospel the Waldenses preached; this is the gospel the Reformers preached; and this is the gospel that God tried to bring to the Seventh-day Adventist Church in 1888. But the Church would not take it, because the people thought, “You are going to destroy the law.” It does not destroy anything.
Oh, the people think that surely there has to be something else for us to do. Here is what we are supposed to do: Ellen White wrote, “Man’s part is to lay hold by faith of the merits of Christ.” Fundamentals of Christian Education, 430. Come to God and ask that the merits of Christ be applied to our accounts, because you and I do not have any merits.
- How much does the righteousness of Christ accomplish in our salvation?
Many people think that we are saved by faith and by our works. That was a major battlefield in the Protestant Reformation between the Catholics and the Protestants. The Catholics believe we are saved by faith and works. In fact, I heard a program recently on a Catholic radio station, and the topic of discussion was about why the Protestant doctrine of faith alone is false and how you must have good works to be saved. That is what the Pharisees thought; that is what the Catholics thought, and that is what the Adventists thought in 1888.
- How much does the righteousness of Christ accomplish in our salvation?
This can be answered in just four words: “Christ’s righteousness accomplishes everything.” Faith and Works, 26.
- So, what do we need to do to be saved?
Ellen White answers this question in this way: “The sinner must ever look toward Calvary; and with the simple faith of a little child, he must rest in the merits of Christ, accepting His righteousness and believing in His mercy.” Evangelism, 185.
We can only be saved like a little child. She said, “Just rest; just rest in Christ’s merits.” Trust Him. That is it.
“Oh, no,” the theologian declares, “There has to be something more than that.” No, there is nothing more than that. That results in everything else you need.
“Oh,” somebody may say, “but I am an Adventist, and I believe that we are living in the Day of Atonement, and my sins have to be blotted out.” Well, let us just ask that question.
- How are our sins going to be blotted out and we be clothed in Christ’s righteousness?
“The merits of Jesus blot out transgressions, and clothe us with the robe of righteousness woven in the loom of heaven.” Ibid., 186.
- What is the only plea we need to make to be saved?
“Present your case before Him, pleading the merits of the blood shed for you upon Calvary’s cross. Satan will accuse you of being a great sinner, and you must admit this, but you can say: ‘I know I am a sinner, and that is the reason I need a Saviour. Jesus came into the world to save sinners.’ ‘The blood of Jesus Christ His Son cleanseth us from all sin’ (1 John 1:7). ‘If we confess our sins, He is faithful and just to forgive us our sins, and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness’ (verse 9). I have no merit or goodness whereby I may claim salvation, but I present before God the all-atoning blood of the spotless Lamb of God, which taketh away the sin of the world. This is my only plea.” Faith and Works, 106.
What is the only plea of the true Christian? “I present before God the all-atoning blood of the spotless Lamb of God.” That is it. That is our only plea.
“The name of Jesus gives me access to the Father. His ear, His heart, is open to my faintest pleading, and He supplies my deepest necessities.” Ibid.
Human Pride
Read the first sentence again: “Present your case before Him, pleading the merits of the blood shed for you upon Calvary’s cross.” Can you do that? A six-year-old child can do that. Why is it so hard for adults to do?
The reason it is so hard is because of our human pride. We want to have some part in it so we can be elevated, so we can feel that we have done something. Ellen White wrote: “See how God wrought to abase the pride of men, and lay human glory in the dust.” Manuscript Releases, vol. 16, 335. No place is left for self-esteem or anything that we can do.
- How should you plead your case to the Father?
Do you want to be saved? How should you plead your case? Here it is again: “Present your case before Him, pleading the merits of the blood that was shed for you upon Calvary’s cross.”
- How often do we need to have the merits of Christ applied to our cases?
“If we are conscious of the weakness of self, we shall not be self-confident and reckless of danger, but we shall feel the necessity of seeking to the Source of our strength, Jesus our Righteousness. We shall come in repentance and contrition, with a despairing sense of our own finite weakness, and learn that we must daily apply to the merits of the blood of Christ, that we may become vessels fit for the Master’s use.” Faith and Works, 86.
Not only do we need the merits of Christ applied to our cases every day, but we need the merits of Christ applied to our cases every hour, every minute. You and I do not have any righteousness. No one who goes to the kingdom of heaven will talk about any righteousness and good deeds that he or she has done. There will not be one. Read the Book of Revelation. All glory will be given to the One who is righteous, to the only One who is holy. God only is holy and righteous.
Our Work
What is our work? There has to be some kind of work. That was asked of Jesus too. The conversation is recorded in John 6:28, 29: “Therefore they said to Him: ‘What shall we do, that we might work the works of God?’ Jesus answered and said to them, ‘This is the work of God, that you believe in the One that He sent.’ ”
That is the work! As Ellen White expressed it, “Our work is to hang our helpless souls on His merits.” (Testimonies to Ministers and Gospel Workers, 247.)
To be continued . . .
[Bible texts quoted are literal translation.]
Pastor John Grosboll is Director of Steps to Life and pastors the Prairie Meadows Church in Wichita, Kansas. He may be contacted by e-mail at: historic@stepstolife.org, or by telephone at: 316-788-5559.