When we are charmed by the beauty of the righteous character of Christ, so that we find ourselves staring at Him in admiration as if we were transfixed; then we are prepared to understand Ellen White's rather unusual explanation of justification by faith in Christ.
Less than a year after the meetings in Minneapolis she described the message of that time like this:
The present message--justification by faith--is a message from God; it bears the divine credentials, for its fruit is unto holiness. Some who greatly need the precious truth that was presented before them, we fear did not receive its benefit. They did not open the door of their hearts to welcome Jesus as a heavenly guest, and they have suffered great loss.[1]
Justification by faith as presented then is opening the door of the heart "to welcome Jesus as a heavenly guest." This is truly a much different understanding than we hear in all the discussion of the methods of justification. But it is surely harmonious with Righteousness by Faith in Christ, when one sees the righteous life of Christ as matchless charms. When our admiration of Him and His character is so great we quite naturally want to embrace Him, receive Him and be like Him. We love Him, adore Him, and worship Him; and He takes possession of our affections and lives in our heart.
She presents a similar concept in other quotations especially two based on Matthew 12:43-45:
When the unclean spirit is gone out of a man, he walketh through dry places, seeking rest, and findeth none. Then he saith, I will return into my house from whence I came out; and when he is come, he findeth it empty, swept, and garnished: Then goeth he, and taketh with himself seven other spirits more wicked than himself, and they enter in and dwell there: and the last state of that man is worse than the first.
After quoting this scripture she comments:
The parable of the man from whom an evil spirit had been cast out, who did not fill the soul with the love of Christ, illustrates the necessity of not only emptying the heart, but of supplying the vacuum with a divine occupant. The demon desired to return to the heart from which he had been expelled. He came, and though it was swept and garnished, he found it still empty, and entered in with seven other spirits more evil than himself, so that the last state of the man was worse than the first. The man in this parable refused to do the work of Satan; but the trouble with him was that after the heart was swept and garnished, he failed to invite the presence of the heavenly guests. It is not enough to make the heart empty; we must have the vacuum filled with the love of God. The soul must be furnished with the graces of the Spirit of God. We may leave off many bad habits, and yet not be truly sanctified, because we do not have a connection with God. We must unite with Christ.[2]
In this quotation, it (justification by faith) is "inviting the presence of the heavenly guests," "supplying the vacuum with a divine occupant," a uniting with Christ.
The second quotation on the same parable connects all of this with the righteousness of Christ:
... We must be emptied of self. But this is not all that is required; for when we have renounced our idols; the vacuum must be supplied. If the heart is left desolate, and the vacuum not supplied, it will be in the condition of him whose house was "empty, swept, and garnished," but without a guest to occupy it. The evil spirit took unto himself seven other spirits more wicked than himself, and they entered in and dwelt there; and the last state of that man was worse than the first.
As you empty the heart of self, you must accept the righteousness of Christ. Lay hold of it by faith; for you must have the mind and spirit of Christ, that you may work the works of Christ. If you open the door of the heart, Jesus will supply the vacuum by the gift of his Spirit, and then you can be a living preacher in your home, in the church, and in the world.[3]
Here she describes the filling of the vacuum as "accepting the righteousness of Christ." All of these explanations are based on the character of Jesus described as "matchless charms." It views justification as something much different than the intricate explanations which most of us use to describe the process or method by which Christ is our Substitute, Surety, and Example. While all of these need to be understood, they seem to neglect to some degree the person of Jesus and His perfect character. If we are not careful, we may inadvertently neglect the beauty of Jesus and present justification as some objective, cold, impersonal, strictly legal process, which by implication portrays Christ in a totally different manner than we may have intended. While Ellen White's description is so subjective, it does establish the relationship with Christ and divinity which is most necessary for our salvation.
Of course the idea of justification as a welcoming of Christ into my heart as a heavenly guest is quite natural when one approaches justification as pardon or forgiveness. What is it like to be pardoned by another person whom we have grievously wronged, especially when we are so guilty and undeserving. Such grace and mercy and love demonstrated by Christ in the act of forgiveness of the sinner, produces violent emotions and great questions. How can He forgive me when I have been so bad? How can He treat me so kindly and so graciously when I have done nothing to convey to Him any repentance on my part? What kind of a person is this who first loves me and leads in reconciliation when He is the one who has been wronged and I am the wrong doer? It is as I see Jesus in this act of pardon for me, individually, that I begin to view for the first time that beauty of character that has been termed "matchless charms." Then I am so attracted to Him, so happy, so satisfied, so peaceful, that I never want to leave Him. It is then that I gladly welcome Him as a heavenly guest into my heart. Most amazing is that He desires and wants to be with me. I can hardly believe it! But this is the message of justification which she presents.
Perhaps a few other comments on the empty house will answer the problems of some. So often we have thought that if only we could get rid of all of our sins, then we would be righteous -- or as some may think, perfect. But Jesus disagrees. When our lives and bodies are swept and garnished, cleaned up and spotless, then we are only empty and very vulnerable to the enemy. Our Bibles tell us that Jesus went about doing good. It is the doing of the positive acts and not the elimination of the sinful acts that is righteousness. While our Lord said "Go and sin no more," this does not make anyone righteous. It makes one empty. When our Lord cleans up our lives, He wants to move in and take possession of us. What a blessed and pleasant association is this.
Other quotations, while not directly connected with justification, present similar ideas in harmony with the previous quotations.
The religion of Christ means more than forgiveness of sin; it means taking away our sins, and filling the vacuum with the graces of the Holy Spirit. It means divine illumination, rejoicing in God. It means a heart emptied of self, and blessed with the abiding presence of Christ. When Christ reigns in the soul there is purity, freedom from sin. The glory, the fullness, the completeness of the gospel plan is fulfilled in the life. The acceptance of the Saviour brings a glow of perfect peace, perfect love, perfect assurance. The beauty and fragrance of the character of Christ revealed in the life testifies that God has indeed sent His Son into the world to be its Saviour.[4]
"The abiding presence of Christ" is the way she describes it here and she refers to the matchless charms in these words:
"The beauty and fragrance of the character of Christ," the empty house is a Christless person. He may not realize it, but Christ's righteousness is not his.
The garnished house represents the self-righteous soul. Satan is driven out by Christ. But he returned, in the hope of finding entrance. He finds the house empty, swept, and garnished. Only self-righteousness is abiding there.[5]
When justification by faith in the righteousness of Christ is the abiding presence of Jesus in the life, there is a divine power to prevent any entry by the evil one. Righteousness is enthroned in the indwelling of Christ, and sin is unwelcome in such a presence. This is surely a much different and more effective way to fight the enemy, for Christ has already defeated our foe and He can do the same for you and me. Perhaps the best quotation on this unique concept of justification is found in this quotation from Desire of Ages:
It is not necessary for us deliberately to choose the service of the kingdom of darkness in order to come under its dominion. We have only to neglect to ally ourselves with the kingdom of light. If we do not cooperate with the heavenly agencies, Satan will take possession of the heart, and will make it his abiding place. The only defense against evil is the indwelling of Christ in the heart through faith in His righteousness. Unless we become vitally connected with God, we can never resist the unhallowed effects of self-love, self-indulgence, and temptation to sin. We may leave off many bad habits, for the time we may part company with Satan; but without a vital connection with God, through the surrender of ourselves to Him moment by moment, we shall be overcome. Without a personal acquaintance with Christ, and a continual communion, we are at the mercy of the enemy, and shall do his bidding in the end.[6]
While the primary theme here is the protection against Satan and sin by the personal presence of Christ in our lives, the thought that we began with is repeated but in different words.
How does Christ indwell in our hearts? The answer: "through faith in His righteousness." Therefore the indwelling of Christ and righteousness by faith are again tied together and are presented here as an explanation of each other.
This will all seem rather mysterious and vague unless we remember that the righteous character of Jesus is "matchless charms" which has great appeal to our hearts and minds; and it is only as we are charmed by His internal beauty and are thus drawn to Him, that the desire awakens in our hearts to embrace and possess Him and to always want to be with Him. Like Mary who always chose to be sitting at His feet and the freed demoniacs who wanted to remain with Him constantly, so when one sees the beauty of the attractive loveliness of the life of Jesus, and receives pardon from Him, he will choose to be with Jesus constantly.
... When the sinner has a view of the matchless charms of Jesus, sin no longer looks attractive to him; for he beholds the Chiefest among ten thousand, the One altogether lovely.[7]
Christ and His righteousness will occupy his thoughts and mind, deep emotions will occupy his soul so that he appears as one charmed. This is justification by faith as Ellen White perceived it and described it.
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