Recognising the differences in theology between General Booth and Mrs White is important for understanding their different approaches to music and evangelism. Due to the extensive influence of Holiness and revivalist practice on Christianity more broadly, studying the history of these movements helps us to better understand current practice. The Booths’ experience with revivalism and holiness theology influenced how they evangelised.² For example, they built on the emotional appeal of Methodism. The Seventh-day Adventists, while retaining heart religion, rejected emotionalism and adherence to holiness theology.

As with the Methodists, Seventh-day Adventists also emphasised the perfecting of the Christian believer, though Adventists tended to use more language concerning the believer’s capacity, by grace, to keep the law of God.³⁷ By keeping the law we show love to God and to others (Rom 13:8-10). Woodrow Whidden, professor of systematic and historical theology at the Adventist International Institute for Advanced Studies, compares John Wesley’s theology of salvation with Mrs White’s. He wrote that the Methodist concept of salvation, while not entirely the same as Adventists, does resonate to a certain degree with the Christian classic, Steps to Christ, written by Mrs White.^{40 (p50)} Adventist theology teaches that before Christ returns, His character will be perfectly reflected in His people, though not all Adventists agree with this theology.³⁷ In Christ’s Object Lessons, Mrs White wrote, “When the character of Christ shall be perfectly reproduced in His people, then He will come to claim them as His own.”^{85 (p69)}

Some Seventh-day Adventist members have a hard time reconciling the church’s teachings on salvation by grace through faith alone with the teachings on sanctification and perfection – they want to avoid anything that bears semblance to legalistic salvation by works. But is legalism synonymous with seeking perfection? Edsel Burdge of Elizabethtown College sarcastically described two types of legalists: someone who is stricter than you are and someone who disapproves of something you like to do!⁸⁶

Wesley recognised in Scripture a high standard that Jesus expects of us: “unless your righteousness exceeds the righteousness of the scribes and Pharisees, you will by no means enter the kingdom of heaven (Matt 5:20).” And the book of Hebrews says:

“For if we sin willfully after we have received the knowledge of the truth, there no longer remains a sacrifice for sins, but a certain fearful expectation of judgment, and fiery indignation which will devour the adversaries.” (Heb 10:26-27)

How do we synchronise this with the love and mercy of God and Martin Luther’s emphasis on salvation by faith alone? Professor Whidden compares Mrs White’s understanding of salvation with Wesley:

“…for Wesley and White, salvation is understood to be by grace through faith alone (not by works). But the nature of true salvation (in Christ) is such that faith will never stop there. Participation in the grace of Christ always leads to the fruits of faith – loving obedience, service, joyous witness, and worship.”^{40 (p52)}

Therefore, despite her emphasis on sanctification, Mrs White, as with Wesley, believed we are fully dependent on God’s grace for salvation.

There are numerous examples in the Bible of people living holy lives, obedient to God. Enoch walked with God and was translated (Gen 5:24; Heb 11:5). Job was “a blameless and upright man, one who fears God and shuns evil (Job 1:8)” Even after losing his property and children, “Job did not sin nor charge God with wrong (Job 1:22).” God said that Abraham would be a blessing to the world because he “obeyed My voice and kept My charge, My commandments, My statutes, and My laws (Gen 26:5).” Zechariah and Elizabeth “were both righteous before God, walking in all the commandments and ordinances of the Lord blameless (Lk 1:6).”

What the Bible means by upright, blameless, righteous, or perfect is much disputed by Bible scholars and theologians. Regardless, it might be argued that the answer to this question is not really our concern. It is our responsibility to look unto Jesus, the author and finisher of our faith (Heb 12:2). We strive to be Christlike in all that we do because He was perfect and pleased His Father. The Bible is filled with passages exhorting His people to aim for a higher standard. The following statement from Mrs White shows how she believed we can achieve a Christlike character:

 “He bids us to be like Him. ‘Bless them that curse you,’ said Jesus; ‘do good to them that hate you, … that ye may be the children of your Father which is in heaven.’ These are the principles of the law, and they are the wellsprings of life.

God’s ideal for His children is higher than the highest human thought can reach. ‘Be ye therefore perfect, even as your Father which is in heaven is perfect.’ This command is a promise. The plan of redemption contemplates our complete recovery from the power of Satan. Christ always separates the contrite soul from sin. He came to destroy the works of the devil, and He has made provision that the Holy Spirit shall be imparted to every repentant soul, to keep him from sinning.

The tempter’s agency is not to be accounted an excuse for one wrong act. Satan is jubilant when he hears the professed followers of Christ making excuses for their deformity of character. It is these excuses that lead to sin. There is no excuse for sinning. A holy temper, a Christlike life, is accessible to every repenting, believing child of God.”^{87 (p311)}

Likewise, Wesley believed that:

“While we cannot ‘merit’ final salvation, or assume that our works are a prerequisite to God’s acceptance, the truly saved person will have the evidence of genuine faith in the inevitable fruits of his or her experience of sanctification.”^{40 (p52)}

John said whoever abides in Jesus does not sin (1 Jn 3:6). But it is only by faith that sin is overcome. It was by faith that Abraham obeyed (Heb 11:8). The following statement from Mrs White helps to put her understanding of this subject into perspective:

“What does God require? Perfection; nothing less than perfection. But if we would be perfect, we must put no confidence in self. Daily we must know and understand that self is not to be trusted. We need to grasp God’s promises with firm faith. We need to ask for the Holy Spirit with a full realization of our own helplessness. Then when the Holy Spirit works, we shall not give self the glory. The Holy Spirit will graciously take the heart into His keeping, bringing to it all the bright beams of the Sun of Righteousness. We shall be kept by the power of God through faith.”^{88 (p353)}

According to Scripture, God’s desire is for us to be perfect through the workings of His Holy Spirit and not by our own merits – but we are not passive bystanders in the process. We flee from greed and lust, pursue righteousness and fight the good fight (1 Tim 6:9-11). We are to “depart from iniquity” and to “flee also youthful lusts (2 Tim 2:19,22).” We are temperate in all things and, like Paul, we discipline the body, bringing it into subjection, lest we become disqualified (1 Cor 9:25-27). We press on, that we may take hold of perfection (Phil 3:12). We seek God’s righteousness (Matt 6:33). We “go on to perfection (Heb 6:1).” We “cleanse ourselves from all filthiness of the flesh and spirit, perfecting holiness in the fear of God (2 Cor 7:1).” We are to “awake to righteousness” and not sin (1 Cor 15:34). We “lay aside every weight, and the sin which so easily ensnares us” and we “run with endurance the race that is set before us (Heb 12:1).” We are ‘trained’ by God’s chastening which yields the fruit of righteousness (Heb 12:11). We are to pursue holiness, “without which no one will see the Lord (Heb 12:14).”

Wesley would also argue that these passages suggest that we are to be active participants in the pursuit of perfection. Barnes’ Notes on the Bible, commenting on Hebrews 6:1, reads:

“…it is proper to exhort Christians to aim at entire perfection. Even if none have ever reached that point on earth, that fact does not make it any the less desirable or proper to aim at it.”⁸⁹

Wesley would argue that when Paul said, “Flee sexual immorality,” it implies we have to do something. When we walk past a shop with seductive advertising, we turn our eyes in the other direction. When a lustful thought comes into our mind, we suppress it immediately. We avoid watching movies with any suggestion of adultery. We ‘flee’ from it so that it does not get a hold of us and pull us into sin. But, because of our sinful flesh, the law cannot save us (Rom 8:3; Heb 7:19); therefore, ‘we must put no confidence in self,’ Mrs White writes. According to this theology, it is when we turn inward that we lose faith and doubt the power of Jesus to save us. Selfless devotion to Christ is at the heart of the issue.

Mrs White says elsewhere:

“There can be no growth or fruitfulness in the life that is centered in self. If you have accepted Christ as a personal Saviour, you are to forget yourself, and try to help others. Talk of the love of Christ, tell of His goodness. Do every duty that presents itself. Carry the burden of souls upon your heart, and by every means in your power seek to save the lost. As you receive the Spirit of Christ – the Spirit of unselfish love and labor for others – you will grow and bring forth fruit. The graces of the Spirit will ripen in your character. Your faith will increase, your convictions deepen, your love be made perfect. More and more you will reflect the likeness of Christ in all that is pure, noble, and lovely.”^{85 (p67)}

Jesus showed the world that He loves His Father by obeying His commandments (Jn 14:31). Likewise, we show our love for God through obedience. Mrs White maintains that living a holy life is not to earn salvation but to glorify God. By abiding in Christ, we become like Him, bringing glory to Him:

“‘Herein is My Father glorified,’ said Jesus, ‘that ye bear much fruit.’ God desires to manifest through you the holiness, the benevolence, the compassion, of His own character. Yet the Saviour does not bid the disciples labor to bear fruit. He tells them to abide in Him. ‘If ye abide in Me,’ He says, ‘and My words abide in you, ye shall ask what ye will, and it shall be done unto you.’ It is through the word that Christ abides in His followers. This is the same vital union that is represented by eating His flesh and drinking His blood. The words of Christ are spirit and life. Receiving them, you receive the life of the Vine. You live ‘by every word that proceedeth out of the mouth of God.’ Matthew 4:4. The life of Christ in you produces the same fruits as in Him. Living in Christ, adhering to Christ, supported by Christ, drawing nourishment from Christ, you bear fruit after the similitude of Christ”^{87 (p677)}

James White, Mrs White’s husband, describes how there were quite a few people who were bringing perplexity into the Advent movement:

“…by urging upon the flock extreme views of entire consecration, of Christian perfection, then taught by the Methodists… Many of them soon became self-righteous, and, notwithstanding their apparent humility, were proud of their spiritual attainments.”^{32 (p142)}

Mrs White taught that this is the fruit of focusing on self. Doubting God or trying to earn salvation by perfection arises out of selfish motives. Self-centredness causes people to either reject holiness because they want to continue in sin, or it causes them to pursue perfection to win salvation. Those who strive for perfection out of selfish motive live in fear of God’s wrath, Mrs White would argue, while a person motivated by selfless love for God will pursue perfection for the honour and glory of their Saviour.

John the apostle points out that obedience is not a burden when we love God, “For this is the love of God, that we keep His commandments. And His commandments are not burdensome” (1 Jn 5:3-4). It is only hard to be obedient to rules that we do not love. As with Martin Luther, both John Wesley and Mrs White believed that those with genuine faith recognise their own wretchedness and their need for Christ, but through faith, they rest in the assurance of their salvation. That is why ‘we need to ask for the Holy Spirit with a full realisation of our own helplessness,’ Mrs White said. We are ‘to grasp God’s promises with firm faith.’ God promises to perfect us (1 Pet 5:10). Jesus promises “My grace is sufficient for you, for My strength is made perfect in weakness (2 Cor 12:9).” “For we are His workmanship, created in Christ Jesus for good works, which God prepared beforehand that we should walk in them” (Eph 2:10).

According to this theology, we play a role in the process of sanctification because we are in the relationship and we love His ‘perfect law of liberty’ (Jas 1:25) and long to be perfect as our Lord is perfect. Whether we believe in Wesley’s understanding of entire sanctification or not, the Bible says there are blessings for those who pursue righteousness. Jesus said, “Blessed are those who hunger and thirst for righteousness, for they shall be filled (Matt 5:6).” Psalms says we are blessed when we walk in the law of the Lord (Ps 119:1).

What can we take from all this to help us harmonise with God? Firstly, we strive, we press on, we fight and run, because God asks us to. However, according to Scripture, the outcome is not our concern, for we are the clay, and He is the potter; we are the work of His hands (Is 64:8). In light of this, let us do what He requires of us – to strive to be perfect – and let Him do what He promises to do – to make us perfect. He requires perfection, we pursue it and He achieves it. Whether He requires or achieves perfection of us before or after translation is not something to fear or concern ourselves with because, either way, He is the one who does the perfecting.

It is for His own purpose and glory that His people will be perfected and made holy (Eph 5:27; Phil 2:13; Zech 14:20-21). When He presents His redeemed people perfect and spotless before the universe, He will be praised and glorified because it will be His workmanship (Jn 15:8; Eph 2:10). It will be His love and sacrifice that made it happen. John sees a scene in heaven where the redeemed of the earth stand before the throne crying out, “Salvation belongs to our God who sits on the throne, and to the Lamb (Rev 7:10)!”

Paul says, “For by grace you have been saved through faith, and that not of yourselves; it is the gift of God, not of works, lest anyone should boast (Eph 2:8).” It is an honour and a joy to strive for perfection, knowing that He will give us victory whether in this world or the new. How blessed we are when we are obedient to God’s law, for “he who looks into the perfect law of liberty and continues in it, and is not a forgetful hearer but a doer of the work, this one will be blessed in what he does (Jas 1:25).”

Though we might desire to be like Jesus, Mrs White says that until we are transformed after Jesus’ second coming, we cannot ever claim to be perfect: “We cannot say, ‘I am sinless,’ till this vile body is changed and fashioned like unto His glorious body.”^{90 (p355)} The apostle who said, “Whoever abides in Him does not sin. Whoever sins has neither seen Him nor known Him (1 Jn 3:6),” also said, “If we say that we have no sin, we deceive ourselves, and the truth is not in us. If we confess our sins, He is faithful and just to forgive us our sins and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness (1 Jn 1:8).” The one who said to pursue holiness, for no one will see the Lord without it (Heb 12:14), also admitted to being the chief of sinners (1 Tim 1:15). The Psalmist who said, “Depart from evil and do good (Ps 34:14),” also committed adultery with Bathsheba. Even the mightiest people have struggled with sin, yet they urged us to pursue holiness.

Likewise, Mrs White encouraged her readers to live holy lives, but she never claimed perfection in herself:

 “I wish that self should be hid in Jesus. I wish self to be crucified. I do not claim infallibility, or even perfection of Christian character. I am not free from mistakes and errors in my life. Had I followed my Saviour more closely, I should not have to mourn so much my unlikeness to His dear image.”^{91 (p34)}

Jesus said to the woman caught in adultery, “Neither do I condemn you; go and sin no more (Jn 8:11).” How can we continue in sin in the face of such mercy and love? We must not dwell on how perfect or imperfect we are but on the perfect life of Christ, as described by Mrs White:

“Your hope is not in yourself; it is in Christ. Your weakness is united to His strength, your ignorance to His wisdom, your frailty to His enduring might. So you are not to look to yourself, not to let the mind dwell upon self, but look to Christ. Let the mind dwell upon His love, upon the beauty, the perfection, of His character. Christ in His self-denial, Christ in His humiliation, Christ in His purity and holiness, Christ in His matchless love – this is the subject for the soul’s contemplation. It is by loving Him, copying Him, depending wholly upon Him, that you are to be transformed into His likeness…

… We should not make self the center and indulge anxiety and fear as to whether we shall be saved. All this turns the soul away from the Source of our strength. Commit the keeping of your soul to God, and trust in Him. Talk and think of Jesus. Let self be lost in Him. Put away all doubt; dismiss your fears. Say with the apostle Paul, ‘I live; yet not I, but Christ liveth in me: and the life which I now live in the flesh I live by the faith of the Son of God, who loved me, and gave Himself for me (Gal 2:20).’”^{92 (p70-71)}

Whether we lean more toward Luther’s teachings or Wesley’s teachings on grace and perfection, we are all dependent on God’s loving mercy. The good news is that even though Jesus did set a high standard for His people, He Himself gave a beautiful example of a person who was not perfect prior to His death, yet he sincerely repented and was promised salvation – this was, of course, the penitent thief on the cross. Though Mrs White challenges believers to put aside their sins, she repeatedly brings her readers back to the cross and God’s merciful love. James White sums it up well with the following admonition:

“Is your robe all washed clean in the blood of Christ? or have you been insulting him, by trying to patch up a robe out of the filthy rags of your own righteousness? Alas! I have thought that I could rest partly upon myself and partly on Christ. I now cast myself naked and helpless upon that mercy which saved the thief on the cross.”^{32 (p158)}