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The Bible
says we are saved by grace through faith in
Jesus Christ alone!
Ephesians 2:8-10 says, “For by grace you
have been saved through faith. And this is
not your own doing; it is the gift of God,
not a result of works, so that no one may
boast. For we are his workmanship, created
in Christ Jesus for good works, which God
prepared beforehand, that we should walk in
them.”
From its very
beginning, the Christian Church had to fight against
the false gospel of legalism and works-righteousness.
God’s grace can be a difficult concept
for some people to grasp. It goes counter to
our human nature. God’s grace is given to us
freely, it cannot be earned, and God has
extended it to those who don’t deserve it.
Although grace is sometimes hard to
comprehend, God means for us to have grace
and experience it on a daily basis. Religion
tells us that we must do certain things to
be saved. Grace tells us our salvation is a
done deal when we rest in what Christ has
already accomplished for us through
the cross.
False
teachers in Galatia were saying Christians
were required to keep the Old Covenant law.
Paul said in Galatians 3:1-5, “You
foolish Galatians! Who has bewitched you?
Before your very eyes Jesus Christ was
clearly portrayed as crucified. I would like
to learn just one thing from you: Did you
receive the Spirit by observing the law, or
by believing what you heard? Are you so
foolish? After beginning with the Spirit,
are you now trying to attain your goal by
human effort? Have you suffered so much for
nothing — if it really was for nothing? Does
God give you his Spirit and work miracles
among you because you observe the law, or
because you believe what you heard?”
Those who try to keep the laws of
the Old Covenant are under a curse.
Galatians 3:10-12 says, “For all who
rely on works of the law are under a curse;
for it is written, “Cursed be everyone who
does not abide by all things written in the
Book of the Law, and do them.” Now it is
evident that no one is justified before God
by the law, for “The righteous shall live by
faith.” But the law is not of faith, rather
“The one who does them shall live by them”
(see also: Deut. 27:26; 28:15;
Rom. 2:23-25; 3:19; 10:5).
The false
gospel of legalism is a curse, it is a
bewitching lie that leads people away from
the true gospel. Rather than living their
lives through the power of the Holy Spirit,
they trust in the things they can do to earn
salvation. The Galatians were mistakenly
trying to achieve perfection through their
own self-efforts.
When someone is trapped in a false
religious system, Christians who know the
truth have an obligation to
warn them about the danger they are in.
Galatians 1:6-9 says, “I am
astonished that you are so quickly deserting
him who called you in the grace of Christ
and are turning to a different gospel— not
that there is another one, but there are
some who trouble you and want to distort the
gospel of Christ. But even if we or an angel
from heaven should preach to you a gospel
contrary to the one we preached to you, let
him be accursed. As we have said before, so
now I say again: If anyone is preaching to
you a gospel contrary to the one you
received, let him be accursed.”
“It
was a remarkably short time between Paul’s
first proclamation to the Galatians and
their present disarray. The phrases
deserting him and different gospel show that
these are not issues over which Christians
might legitimately disagree. The Galatians
are questioning the very gospel itself, and
Paul is a model of forthright frankness when
central gospel issues are at stake.” [ESV
Study Bible: Galatians 1:6].
The Seventh-day Adventist
Church teaches the false gospel of
Galatianism.
Ellen
G. White, the false prophet of the
Seventh-day Adventist Church taught
good works
determine our salvation:
“as the books of record are opened in the
judgment, the lives of all who have believed
on Jesus come in review before God.
Beginning with those who first lived upon
the earth.... Every name is mentioned, every
case 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, and
the record of their good deeds will be
erased from the book of God’s remembrance.”
(GC, p. 483).
“At the time appointed
for the judgment.... All who have ever taken
upon themselves the name of Christ must pass
its searching scrutiny. Both the living and
the dead are to be judged “out of those
things which were written in the books,
according to their works.” (GC, p. 486).
“While
good works will not save even one soul, yet
it is impossible for even one soul to be
saved without good works.” (1SM, p. 377).
Ellen G. White said we must be sinless to be saved:
“To be
redeemed means to cease from sin” (RH,
September 25, 1900).
“Those only who
through faith in Christ obey all of God’s
commandments will reach the condition of
sinlessness in which Adam lived before his
transgression” (SDA Bible Commentary, vol.
6, p. 1118).
“God will accept nothing but purity and
holiness; one spot, one wrinkle, one defect
in the character, will forever debar them
from heaven, with all its glories and
treasures” (2T, page 453).
“A mere
profession of discipleship is of no value.
The faith in Christ which saves the soul is
not what it is represented to be by many.
‘Believe, believe,’ they say, ‘and you need
not keep the law.’ But a belief that does
not lead to obedience is presumption. ...”
(MB, p. 142).
“But the way to life is
narrow and the entrance strait. If you cling
to any besetting sin you will find the way
too narrow for you to enter. Your own ways,
your own will, your evil habits and
practices, must be given up if you would
keep the way of the Lord. . .” (MB, p. 136).
“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. . . This
is the condition in which those must be
found who shall stand in the time of
trouble” (GC, p. 623).
“I saw that many would
fall this side of the kingdom. God is
testing and proving His people, and many
will not endure the test of character, the
measurement of God. Many will have close
[difficult] work to overcome their peculiar
traits of character and be without spot or
wrinkle or any such thing, unrebukable
before God and man” (1T, p. 533).
“The law of God will be satisfied with
nothing short of perfection, or perfect and
entire obedience to all its claims. To come
halfway to its requirements, and not render
perfect and thorough obedience, will avail
nothing” (1T, p. 416).
“Christ
consented to die in the sinner’s stead, that
man, by a life of obedience, might escape
the penalty of the law of God” (ST,
1897-02-25).
“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”
(2T, p. 355).
Ellen G. White
said Christians will have to stand before
God without Christ interceding for us:
“When Jesus ceases to plead for man, the
cases of all are forever decided. This is
the time of reckoning with His servants” (2T,
p. 191).
“In that
fearful time the righteous must live in the
sight of a holy God without an intercessor”
(GC, p. 614).
“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.” (GC, p. 425).
Ellen G. White said we must keep the Sabbath in
the last days to be saved.
“The fourth commandment is virtually
transgressed by conversing upon worldly
things or by engaging in light and trifling
conversation. Talking upon anything or
everything which may come into the mind is
speaking our own words. Every deviation from
right brings us into bondage and
condemnation” (2T, p. 703).
“None
should feel at liberty to spend sanctified
time in an unprofitable manner. It is
displeasing to God for Sabbathkeepers to
sleep during much of the Sabbath” (2T, p.704).
“Parents, above every thing, take care
of your children upon the Sabbath. Do not
suffer [allow] them to violate God’s holy
day by playing in the house or out of doors.
You may just as well break the Sabbath
yourselves as to let your children do it,
and when you suffer your children to wander
about, and suffer them to play upon the
Sabbath, God looks upon you as
Sabbath-breakers” (RH, 1854-09-19).
“In the last days, the Sabbath test will be
made plain. When this time comes, anyone who
does not keep the Sabbath will receive the
mark of the beast and will be kept from
heaven” (GC, p. 449);
“… [T]he
divine institution of the Sabbath is to be
restored. . . The delivering of this message
will precipitate a conflict that will
involve the whole world. The central issue
will be obedience to God’s law and the
observance of the Sabbath.” (GC, pp.
262-63).
“The Sabbath will be the
great test of loyalty, for it is the point
of truth especially controverted. When the
final test shall be brought to bear upon
men, then the line of distinction will be
drawn between those who serve God and those
who serve Him not. . . While one class, by
accepting the sign of submission to earthly
powers, receive the mark of the beast, the
other, choosing the token of allegiance to
divine authority, receive the seal of God.”
(GC, p. 605).
“It means eternal
salvation to keep the Sabbath holy unto the
Lord.” [6T, p. 356].
“The Sabbath is
the golden clasp that unites God and His
people.” [6T, p. 351].
But
what do the Scriptures actually say?
The Bible tells us that God’s
people do not come under negative judgment.
John 5:24 says, “Truly, truly, I say to
you, whoever hears my word and believes him
who sent me has eternal life. He does not
come into judgment, but has passed from
death to life.”
John 10:27-28 says,
“My sheep hear my voice, and I know them,
and they follow me. I give them eternal
life, and they will never perish, and no one
will snatch them out of my hand.”
Romans 8:1-2 says, “There is therefore now
no condemnation for those who are in Christ
Jesus. For the law of the Spirit of life has
set you free in Christ Jesus from the law of
sin and death.”
And Romans 5:1-2 says,
“Therefore, since we have been justified by
faith, we have peace with God through our
Lord Jesus Christ. Through him we have also
obtained access by faith into this grace in
which we stand, and we rejoice in hope of
the glory of God.”
When a
Christian stands before God in the final
judgment, it is to receive their final
reward, not to determine if they are saved
or not:
Romans 14:10 says, “Why
do you pass judgment on your brother? Or
you, why do you despise your brother? For we
will all stand before the judgment seat of
God;”
And 2 Corinthians 5:9-10 says,
“Therefore we make it our aim, whether
present or absent, to be well pleasing to
Him. For we must all appear before the
judgment seat of Christ, that each one may
receive the things done in the body,
according to what he has done, whether good
or bad.” (NKJV)
• Both Romans 14:10
and 2 Corinthians 5:9-10 speak of the “judgment seat” of
Christ. This is a translation of the Greek
word, “bema” which was the tribunal bench in
the Roman courtroom where the governor sat
while rendering judicial verdicts.
Metaphorically it refers to the place where
the Lord will sit to evaluate believers’
lives for the purpose of giving them eternal
rewards.
Salvation and sin are not in
view at this judgment (as that was paid for
by Christ on the cross), but only
faithfulness in Christian service. Selfish
works or those done with wrong motives will
be burned up (the “wood, hay, and stubble”
of 1 Cor. 3:12). Works of lasting value to
the Lord will survive (the “gold, silver,
and precious stones”). Rewards, which the
Bible calls “crowns” (Rev. 3:11), will be
given by the One who is “not unjust; he will
not forget your work and the love you have
shown him” (Heb. 6:10).
Good works have nothing to do with
our salvation!
Titus 3:5
says, “he saved us, not because of works
done by us in righteousness, but according
to his own mercy, by the washing of
regeneration and renewal of the Holy
Spirit,”
Galatians 2:16 says, “yet we
know that a person is not justified by works
of the law but through faith in Jesus
Christ, so we also have believed in Christ
Jesus, in order to be justified by faith in
Christ and not by works of the law, because
by works of the law no one will be
justified.”
And Galatians 3:11 says, “Now
it is evident that no one is justified
before God by the law, for “The righteous
shall live by faith.”
Salvation is by
grace through faith in Jesus Christ alone!
Romans 11:6 says, “But if it is
by grace, it is no longer on the basis of
works; otherwise grace would no longer be
grace.”
Acts 16:31 says, “And they
said, “Believe in the Lord Jesus, and you
will be saved, you and your household.”
1 John 5:4 says, “For everyone who
has been born of God overcomes the world.
And this is the victory that has overcome
the world—our faith.”
Galatians 2:21
says, “I do not nullify the grace of God,
for if righteousness were through the law,
then Christ died for no purpose.”
John 5:24 says, “Truly, truly, I say to
you, whoever hears my word and believes him
who sent me has eternal life. He does not
come into judgment, but has passed from
death to life.”
Romans 4:4-7 says,
“Now to the one who works, his wages are not
counted as a gift but as his due. And to the
one who does not work but believes in him
who justifies the ungodly, his faith is
counted as righteousness, just as David also
speaks of the blessing of the one to whom
God counts righteousness apart from works:
“Blessed are those whose lawless deeds are
forgiven, and whose sins are covered;”
And Ephesians 2:4-7 says, “But God, being
rich in mercy, because of the great love
with which he loved us, even when we were
dead in our trespasses, made us alive
together with Christ—by grace you have been
saved—and raised us up with him and seated
us with him in the heavenly places in Christ
Jesus, so that in the coming ages he might
show the immeasurable riches of his grace in
kindness toward us in Christ Jesus.”
Christ never stops interceding for
us.
Hebrews 7:25 says,
“Consequently, he is able to save to the
uttermost those who draw near to God through
him, since he always lives to make
intercession for them.”
John 14:16
says, “And I will ask the Father, and he
will give you another Helper, to be with you
forever,”
And Ephesians 4:30 says, “And
do not grieve the Holy Spirit of God, by
whom you were sealed for the day of
redemption.”
There is no weekly Sabbath, or Holy
days required
under the New Covenant.
Colossians 2:13-17 says, “When you were dead
in your sins and in the uncircumcision of
your sinful nature, God made you alive with
Christ. He forgave us all our sins, having
canceled the written code, with its
regulations, that was against us and that
stood opposed to us; he took it away,
nailing it to the cross. And having disarmed
the powers and authorities, he made a public
spectacle of them, triumphing over them by
the cross. Therefore do not let anyone judge
you by what you eat or drink, or with regard
to a religious festival, a New Moon
celebration or a Sabbath day. These are a
shadow of the things that were to come; the
reality, however, is found in Christ.” (NIV)
Ephesians 2:11-18 says, “Therefore,
remember that formerly you who are Gentiles
by birth and called “uncircumcised” by those
who call themselves “the circumcision” (that
done in the body by the hands of
men)—remember that at that time you were
separate from Christ, excluded from
citizenship in Israel and foreigners to the
covenants of the promise, without hope and
without God in the world. But now in
Christ Jesus you who once were far away have
been brought near through the blood of
Christ. For he himself is our peace, who has
made the two one and has destroyed the
barrier, the dividing wall of hostility, by
abolishing in his flesh the law with its
commandments and regulations. His purpose
was to create in himself one new man out of
the two, thus making peace, and in this one
body to reconcile both of them to God
through the cross, by which he put to death
their hostility. He came and preached peace
to you who were far away and peace to those
who were near. For through him we both have
access to the Father by one Spirit.” (NIV)
Romans 14:5, 10, 11, 12
says, “One person esteems one day as
better than another, while another esteems
all days alike. Each one should be fully
convinced in his own mind. . . Why do you
pass judgment on your brother? Or you, why
do you despise your brother? For we will all
stand before the judgment seat of God; for
it is written, “As I live, says the Lord,
every knee shall bow to me, and every tongue
shall confess to God.” So then each of us
will give an account of himself to God.”
And Galatians 4:10-11 says, “You observe
days and months and seasons and years! I am
afraid I may have labored over you in vain.”
Christians are told to rest in the
finished work of Jesus Christ!
Matthew 11:29-30 says, “Take my yoke
upon you, and learn from me, for I am gentle
and lowly in heart, and you will find rest
for your souls. For my yoke is easy, and my
burden is light.” (cf. Heb. 3:7-19; 4:1-13; 4:14-16).
Ellen G.
White had this to say about her ministry:
“God is either teaching His church,
reproving their wrongs and strengthening
their faith, or He is not. This work is of
God, or it is not. God does nothing in
partnership with Satan. My work... bears the
stamp of God or the stamp of the enemy.
There is no halfway work in the matter. The
Testimonies are of the Spirit of God, or of
the devil.” [4T, p. 230].
You have to decide!
All the evidence proves Ellen G. White was a
false prophet who
contradicted the Bible in
many places,
plagiarized the words of other
authors, and then lied about where she got
those words. She made
well documented, false prophecies and
then said God showed her those things in
vision. When the Seventh-day Adventist
Church promotes her they are telling people
to believe in a liar, and a fraud. She was a
wolf in sheep’s clothing.
The Seventh-day Adventist Church may not
say everyone has to become a Seventh-day
Adventist to be saved, but they do teach that
you have to keep the seventh day Sabbath,
live without Jesus as your mediator, and be
sinless before Christ comes (if you live in
the time just before his coming). And Ellen
G.
White even said the doctrine of
the Investigative Judgment is as
essential as the plan of salvation itself.
Ellen G. White and the Seventh-day Adventist
Church teach the same message that the false
teachers in Galatia were teaching, salvation
by grace plus works. Ellen G. White
was not a true prophet of God and those who
follow her are being deceived by a false
gospel.
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