Seventh-day Adventism—The Spirit Behind the Church

Chapter 18—Ellen White denied the assurance of the gospel by teaching that when a person’s name comes up in the investigative judgment, even one unconfessed sin will prevent the individual from being saved.

Answer:

Ellen White wrote that “no repentance is genuine that does not work reformation. The righteousness of Christ is not a cloak to cover unconfessed and unforsaken sin; it is a principle of life that transforms the character and controls the conduct. Holiness is wholeness for God; it is the entire surrender of heart and life to the indwelling of the principles of heaven.”—The Desire of Ages, 555, 556. While holding on to even one sin is sufficient to lose one’s salvation, Ellen White believed in the efficacy of Christ’s atonement and intercession to fully restore sinners to God’s favor, thus providing assurance during the judgment time. She wrote, “If you are right with God today, you are ready if Christ should come today.”—In Heavenly Places, 227. The last words Ellen White spoke to her son were, “I know in whom I have believed.”—Life Sketches of Ellen G. White, 449. SDASBC 7.2