God's Greatest Gift—Christ And His Righteousness

How could anyone in a group that had for 40 years, more or less, prayed together for hours at a time, studied the Scriptures earnestly to know the will of God, looked forward anxiously for the soon-coming Saviour, dedicated their lives to the cause of God, sacrificed their means to hasten the work, believed themselves to be the “remnant church,” published thousands of pages proclaiming their faith—how could any of them not accept an inspiring message of “righteousness by faith”?WV 256.3

But some could, and some did.WV 256.4

Some even suggested that because Ellen White was tolerant and wished to see a fair discussion of the subject of Christ and His righteousness, she had been influenced by Elder Waggoner.WV 256.5

This she denied. She declared:WV 256.6

Had not these great and glorious truths, the righteousness of Christ and the entire sacrifice made in behalf of man, been imprinted indelibly on my mind by the Spirit of God? Has not this subject been presented in the testimonies again and again? When the Lord had given to my brethren the burden to proclaim the message, I felt inexpressibly grateful to God, for I knew it was the message for this time (Manuscript 24, 1888).WV 256.7

“Righteousness by faith”—had not this been part and parcel of the Protestant faith? Had it not been the fundamental cause of the split with the Roman Catholic Church? promoted by Luther, Calvin, and Wesley? a sort of “goes-without-saying” basic truth held by most Protestant congregations? It was not “present truth” in the same sense as the third angel's message. Hence, perhaps it was not in the forefront of subjects being proclaimed to catch attention by those attempting to warn of the end of the world.WV 256.8

When the early Adventists, in defense of the seventh-day Sabbath, enforced their position by emphasizing the perpetuity of the law and the authority of the Ten Commandments, they were accused of teaching salvation by works or obedience to the law. To get around this argument they tried to show that the law that was “nailed to the cross” was the ceremonial law, leaving the moral law still in effect. But Paul was teaching that salvation was gained not by lawkeeping, either moral or ceremonial, but by faith. The beauty of this concept as presented by Jones and Waggoner and sustained by Ellen White at Minneapolis thrilled most of the hearers, and they went forth to spread it to the churches.WV 256.9

With mixed emotions Ellen White traveled from Minneapolis to Battle Creek following the General Conference session. Her heart rejoiced with the precious revived truth of Christ our righteousness. Somewhat fearfully, however, she pondered what to expect in the attitude of the leaders residing in Battle Creek to whom the people looked. She did not have to wait long for the answer.WV 257.1

When she was invited to speak in the tabernacle on her first Sabbath, she urged the local elders to invite A. T. Jones to speak also. They answered that they would have to check with Uriah Smith.WV 257.2

“Then do this at once,” she replied, “for time is precious and there is a message to come to this people and the Lord requires you to open the way” (Manuscript 30, 1889).WV 257.3

It was now clear that those whose hearts were fired with the light revived at Minneapolis would have to work around the prejudice of some of the leaders who had long resided in Battle Creek, and take the message to the churches. Even the church paper, the Review and Herald, would be of little help under the circumstances.WV 257.4

And take it to the churches Ellen White and A. T. Jones did. Both began in the pulpit of the Battle Creek Tabernacle. In the normal order of things meetings of one kind or another were held in the local conferences through the coming months. Further, by special arrangement of the General Conference Committee, three institutes were held during the spring and summer.WV 257.5

As meetings were held through the spring and summer across the land, Mrs. White and Jones labored as a team. Truly, the presenting of righteousness by faith yielded good fruit.WV 257.6