These exhibits begin with a letter written within days of the publication of the final section of Prescott's talk "The Law in Christ." The other statements are given chronologically beginning in 1888. Emphasis in all is supplied. Bracketed sections are observations of the compiler.
June 6, 1896
(Letter 96, 1896 to Uriah Smith, in 1888, pp. 1574-1576)
[A highly significant correlation exists between the concepts in the last two paragraphs of the section above entitled "THE LAW OUT OF CHRIST AND THE LAW IN CHRIST," as well as the final text Prescott used, and a letter Ellen White wrote five days after these paragraphs were published. This letter to Uriah Smith shows further the endorsement by the Holy Spirit of the insights that Prescott was sharing. The letter in its entirety follows.]
"Sunnyside" Cooranbong, N.S.W., June 6, 1896.
Eld. U. Smith,
Battle Creek, Mich.
Dear Brother:
(The enclosed pages present a few points which were opened to Sister White last night, and which she wished sent to you. She has for some days been suffering from the effects of cold and overwork, and is to-day unable to read or write. The matter was written out as she presented it. We sent some copies of articles and letters by the S.F. mail, which Sister White desired you to read; but as we were not certain that you were in Battle Creek, they were addressed to Elder Tenney, with direction that he read and forward to you. Yours in the work, M. Davis)
"The law was our schoolmaster to bring us unto Christ, that we might be justified by faith." [Gal. 3:24.] In this scripture, the Holy Spirit through the apostle is speaking especially of the moral law. The law reveals sin to us, and causes us to feel our need of Christ, and to flee unto him for pardon and peace by exercising repentance toward God and faith toward our Lord Jesus Christ.
An unwillingness to yield up preconceived opinions, and to accept this truth, lay at the foundation of a large share of the opposition manifested at Minneapolis against the Lord's message through Brethren Waggoner and Jones. By exciting that opposition, Satan succeeded in shutting away from our people, in a great measure, the special power of the Holy Spirit that God longed to impart to them. The enemy prevented them from obtaining that efficiency which might have been their's in carrying the truth to the world, as the apostles proclaimed it after the day of Pentecost. The light that is to lighten the whole earth with its glory was resisted, and by the action of our own brethren has been in a great degree kept away from the world.
The law of ten commandments is not to be looked upon as much from the prohibitory side, as from the mercy side. Its prohibitions are the sure guarantee of happiness in obedience. As received in Christ, it works in us the purity of character that will bring joy to us through eternal ages. To the obedient it is a wall of protection. We behold in it the goodness of God, who by revealing to men the immutable principles of righteousness, seeks to shield them from the evils that result from transgression.
We are not to regard God as waiting to punish the sinner for his sin. The sinner brings the punishment upon himself. His own actions start a train of circumstances that bring the sure result. Every act of transgression reacts upon the sinner, works in him a change of character, and makes it more easy for him to transgress again. By choosing to sin, men separate themselves from God, cut themselves off from the channel of blessing, and the sure result is ruin and death.
The law is an expression of God's idea: when we receive it in Christ it becomes our idea; it lifts us above the power of natural desires and tendencies, above temptations that lead to sin. "Great peace have they that love thy law; and nothing shall offend them,"- cause them to stumble.
There is no peace in unrighteousness; the wicked are at war with God. But he who receives the righteousness of the law in Christ is in harmony with heaven. "Mercy and truth are met together; righteousness and peace have kissed each other."
November 1888
(MS 15, 1888, "To Brethren Assembled at GeneralConference", in 1888, pp 164-166)
[This manuscript was addressed to those in attendance at the Minneapolis Conference. Reference is made to the 1886 General Conference, which occurred while Ellen White was in Switzerland, and at which G. I. Butler distributed his booklet The Law in the Book of Galatians.]
I know it would be dangerous to denounce Dr. Waggoner's position as wholly erroneous. This would please the enemy. I see the beauty of truth in the presentation of the righteousness of Christ in relation to the law as the doctor has placed it before us. You say, many of you, it is light and truth. Yet you have not presented it in this light heretofore. Is it not possible that through earnest, prayerful searching of the Scriptures he has seen still greater light on some points? That which has been presented harmonizes perfectly with the light which God has been pleased to give me during all the years of my experience. If our ministering brethren would accept the doctrine which has been presented so clearly-the righteousness of Christ in connection with the law-and I know they need to accept this, their prejudices would not have a controlling power, and the people would be fed with their portion of meat in due season. Let us take our Bibles, and with humble prayer and a teachable spirit, come to the great Teacher of the world; let us pray as did David, "Open thou mine eyes, that I may behold wondrous things out of thy law" (Ps. 119:18).
... The truth must be presented as it is in Jesus; if there are any among us who become stirred up because ideas contrary from what they have believed are presented in this meeting, then stop your unsanctified criticisms and candidly investigate the subject, and it will sanctify the soul.
Two years ago, while in Switzerland, I was addressed in the night season by a voice which said, "Follow me." I thought I arose, and followed my guide. I seemed to be in the Tabernacle at Battle Creek, and my guide gave instructions in regard to many things at the conference. I will give in substance a few things that were said: "The Spirit of God has not had a controlling influence in this meeting. The spirit that controlled the Pharisees is coming in among this people, who have been greatly favored of God."
Many things were spoken which I will not now present to you. I was told that there was need of great spiritual revival among the men who bear responsibilities in the cause of God. There was not perfection in all points on either side of the question under discussion. We must search the Scriptures for evidences of truth. "There are but few, even of those who claim to believe it, that comprehend the third angel's message, and yet this is the message for this time. It is present truth. But how few take up this message in its true bearing, and present it to the people in its power! With many it has but little force."
Said my guide, "There is much light yet to shine forth from the law of God and the gospel of righteousness. This message, understood in its true character, and proclaimed in the Spirit, will lighten the earth with its glory. The great decisive question is to be brought before all nations, tongues, and peoples. The closing work of the third angel's message will be attended with a power that will send the rays of the Sun of Righteousness into all the highways and byways of life, and decisions will be made for God as supreme Governor; His law will be looked upon as the rule of His government."
May 27, 1890
(RH article, "Living Channels of Light," in 1888, p. 674)
There should be deep searching of the Scriptures that the ministers of God may declare the whole counsel of God. The relation of Christ to the law is but faintly comprehended. Some preach the law, and feel that their brethren are not doing their whole duty if they do not present the subject in the very same way in which they do. These brethren shrink from the presentation of justification by faith, but just as soon as Christ is discovered in his true position in relation to the law, the misconception that has existed on this important matter will be removed. The law and the gospel are so blended that the truth cannot be presented as it is in Jesus, without blending these subjects in perfect agreement. The law is the gospel of Christ veiled; the gospel of Jesus is nothing more or less than the law defined, showing its far-reaching principles. "Search the Scriptures," is the injunction of our Lord. Search to find out what is truth. God has given us a test whereby to prove doctrine: "To the law and to the testimony; if they speak not according to this word, it is because there is no light in them." Search the Scriptures diligently, earnestly, unweariedly, to find out what God has revealed concerning yourself, your duties, your work, your responsibilities, your future, that you may make no mistake in seeking for eternal life. You may, in searching the Scriptures, know the mind and the will of God; and although thetruth does not coincide with your ideas, you may have grace to lay down every prejudice in favor of your own customs and practices, and see what is truth, pure and unadulterated. Here is the word of the Lord. Obey it from the heart. Christ is full of pitying tenderness to all who repent. He will pardon the transgressor.
December 27, 1890
(Diary, Washington, D.C., in 1888, pp. 779, 783)
I feel the burden on my soul to present not only the law but the gospel. One is not complete without the other....
The law and the gospel go hand in hand. The one is the complement of the other. The law without faith in the gospel of Christ cannot save the transgressor of law. The gospel without the law is inefficient and powerless. The law and the gospel are a perfect whole. The Lord Jesus laid the foundation of the building, and He lays "the headstone thereof with shoutings, crying, Grace, grace unto it." Zech. 4:7. He is the Author and Finisher of our faith, the Alpha and Omega, the beginning and the end, the first and the last. The two blended-the gospel of Christ and the law of God-produce the love and faith unfeigned.
1890
(MS36, 1890, "Danger of False Ideas on Justification by Faith," in 1888, p. 822)
...On the one hand, religionists generally have divorced the law and the gospel, while we have, on the other hand, almost done the same from another standpoint. We have not held up before the people the righteousness of Christ and the full significance of His great plan of redemption. We have left out Christ and His matchless love, brought in theories and reasonings, and preached argumentative discourses.
February 27, 1891
(Diary, "Christ Our Righteousness," in 1888, p. 892)
The law and the gospel, revealed in the Word, are to be preached to the people; for the law and the gospel, blended, will convict of sin. ... Both the law and the gospel are blended. In no discourse are they to be divorced.
December 13, 1892
(RH article, "Let the Trumpet Give a Certain Sound," in 1888, p. 1079, 1080)
As the bow in the cloud is formed by the union of the sunlight and the shower, so the rainbow encircling the throne represents the combined power of mercy and justice. It is not justice alone that is to be maintained; for this would eclipse the glory of the rainbow of promise above the throne; men could see only the penalty of the law. Were there no justice, no penalty, there would be no stability to the government of God. It is the mingling of judgment and mercy that makes salvation complete. It is the blending of the two that leads us, as we view the world's Redeemer, and the law of Jehovah, to exclaim, "Thy gentleness hath made me great." We know that the gospel is a perfect and complete system, revealing the immutability of the law of God. It inspires the heart with hope, and with love to God. Mercy invites us to enter through the gates into the city of God, and justice is satisfied to accord to every obedient soul full privileges as a member of the royal family, a child of the heavenly King. If we were defective in character, we could not pass the gates that mercy has opened to the obedient; for justice stands at the entrance, and demands holiness in all who would see God. Were justice extinct, and were it possible for divine mercy to open the gates to the whole race, irrespective of character, there would be a worse condition of disaffection and rebellion in heaven than before Satan was expelled. The peace, happiness, and harmony of heaven would be broken. The change from earth to heaven will not change men's character; the happiness of the redeemed in heaven results from the character formed in this life after the image of Christ. The saints in heaven will first have been saints on earth.
March 20, 1894
(RH article, "Christ the Center of the Message," in 1888, p. 1225)
In the love of God has been opened the most marvelous vein of precious truth, and the treasures of the grace of Christ are laid open before the church and the world. "For God so loved the world, that he gave his only begotten Son, that whosoever believeth in him should not perish, but have everlasting life." What love is this,-what marvelous, unfathomable love!- that would lead Christ to die for us while we were yet sinners. What a loss it is to the soul who understands the strong claims of the law, and who yet fails to understand the grace of Christ which doth much more abound. It is true that the law of God reveals the love of God when it is preached as the truth in Jesus; for the gift of Christ to this guilty world must be largely dwelt upon in every discourse. It is no wonder that hearts have not been melted by the truth, when it has been presented in a cold and lifeless manner. No wonder faith has staggered at the promises of God, when ministers and workers have failed to present Jesus in his relation to the law of God. How often should they have assured the people that "He that spared not his own Son, but delivered him up for us all, how shall he not with him also freely give us all things?"
May 1, 1895
(Letter 57, 1895 to O. A. Olsen, in 1888, pp. 1338, 1339)
Unless he makes it his life business to behold the uplifted Saviour, and by faith accept the merits which it is his privilege to claim, the sinner can no more be saved than Peter could walk upon the water unless he kept his eyes fixed steadily upon Jesus. Now, it has been Satan's determined purpose to eclipse the view of Jesus, and lead man to look to man, and trust to man, and be educated to expect help from man. For years the church has been looking to man and expecting much from man, but not looking to Jesus, in whom our hopes of eternal life are centered. Therefore God gave to His servants a testimony that presented the truth as it is in Jesus, which is the third angel's message in clear, distinct lines.
John's words are [to be] sounded by God's people, that all may discern the light and walk in the light: "He that cometh from above is above all: he that is of the earth is earthly, and speaketh of the earth: He that cometh from heaven is above all. And what He hath seen and heard, that He testifieth; and no man receiveth His testimony. He that hath received His testimony hath set to his seal that God is true. For He whom God hath sent speaketh the words of God: for God giveth not the Spirit by measure unto Him. The Father loveth the Son, and hath given all things into His hands. He that believeth on the Son hath everlasting life: and he that believeth not the Son shall not see life; but the wrath of God abideth on him."
This is the testimony that must go throughout the length and breadth of the world. It presents the law and the gospel, binding up the two in a perfect whole. (See Romans 5, and 1 John 3:9 to the close of the chapter.) These precious scriptures will be impressed upon every heart that is opened to receive them. "The entrance of Thy words giveth light; it giveth understanding unto the simple"- those who are contrite in heart. "As many as received Him, to them gave He power to become the sons of God, even to them that believe on His name." These have not a mere nominal faith, a theory of truth, a legal religion, but they believe to a purpose, appropriating to themselves the richest gifts of God. They plead for the gift, that they may give to others. They can say, "Of His fullness have all we received, and grace for grace."
May 25, 1896 (The Bible Echo article, "Preaching the Law and the Gospel")
[This is another significant correlation between what Ellen White was writing on the law and the gospel, and Prescott's presentations. In a column immediately adjacent to the sixth section of Prescott's article on "The Law in Christ; Or, The Relation Between the Law and the Gospel" published May 25, 1896 in The Bible Echo is a two paragraph article by Ellen White entitled "Preaching the Law and the Gospel." Since The Bible Echo was a missionary journal addressed to non-Adventists, she clearly is writing to the "religionists" who "generally have divorced the law and the gospel" by leaving out the law. Her appeal to Seventh-day Adventists, "on the other hand," was to present the gospel, not just the law, as MS36, 1890 clearly stated. (See Section E.)]
...The gospel has been published to a large part of the human race; but the law of God, the foundation of His government, has been clouded by the superstitions and inventions of men....