Grace vs. Works: A Plea Against Keeping Them in Balance

3 April 2025  |

Not long ago someone told me that shortly after she had become a Seventh-day Adventist, she decided to start using her maiden name again rather than the name of her husband. She had learned about the investigative judgment and was told that everything we do is meticulously recorded in God’s books. She had also been told that since 1844 we are being scrutinized to determine whether we are worthy of eternal life. It made her extremely scared. She thought: In case the judgment follows an alphabetical order, at least my maiden name comes later in the alphabet than my married name! 

Many have told me of their fear of the investigative judgment and end-time tribulations. They have heard sermons about the time of trouble, read books about future Sunday laws, and attended Revelation Seminars where they were told about the close of probation, after which we must all live without a mediator. They anxiously wonder: Am I going to make it? 

Of course, they have also heard sermons about grace, and have listened to preachers who argued that even the investigative judgment is good news, since we can rely on Jesus as our high priest to pull us through. But they have also been warned not to forget to confess any sins, however minor these might appear on the scale of evil. And did Ellen White not say that only one in twenty of the Adventist believers will be saved? (Christian Service, p. 41)

The judgment

When we read the 28 Fundamental Beliefs we find more details about the ministry of Jesus Christ and salvation through grace than about the judgment and the risk of eternal loss. But for many Adventists, the teachings about the law, sin, the various stages of the judgment, the remnant, the fearful end-time events, and the second death weigh heavy on their minds. The joy of salvation and the certainty of being a child of God remain only dim realities. 

We cannot deny that, however worrisome the idea of a coming judgment may be, it is a biblical reality. It is possible to be eternally lost. Fortunately, the Adventist Church recognized quite early that the doctrine of eternal torment has no solid biblical basis, and that the concept of total annihilation in a future of eternal nothingness has more solid theological papers.

For most other Christians, God’s judgment is a lot simpler than it is for Seventh-day Adventists. Most Christians believe that when a person dies, his/her soul either goes to heaven to be with God, or goes to hell. For those who are saved there will be a resurrection of the body when Christ returns to this earth. Admittedly, this view leaves us with some unanswered questions, such as: Does the soul that is enjoying God’s presence, and experiences the glory of eternal life, still long for the moment when it is reunited with a body? Surely, the view of Adventists (and of more and more others) of death as a kind of sleep that precedes the resurrection morning makes more sense.

The Adventist teachings about the judgment have left many Adventists wondering about two important elements.  

1. Is the traditional teaching of an investigative judgment defensible, or did Desmond Ford (and many others before and after him) provide us with enough arguments to put it with the doctrines that have been “weighed but found wanting”? Official church-organized surveys indicate that there is still significant support for this doctrine, but significantly less than for other church teachings. It should be kept in mind that such surveys are often conducted among the members who regularly attend church and thus do not include the vast group that finds itself on the fringes. I would add that in recent years I have not heard any sermons on the topic, while many colleagues in the ministry have expressed their doubts to me about the biblical grounds for the pre-Advent judgment, as the investigative judgment is now often called. 
2. Is the Adventist interpretation correct of what happens during the thousand years, when, according to Revelation 20, “the dead, great and small” are “standing before the throne and the books were opened”? Must this text be linked to the somewhat vague statement by the apostle Paul that “the Lord’s people will judge the world”? (1 Corinthians 6:2,3). Adventists have maintained that during the millennium the saints will have a chance to investigate the heavenly books and will forever be assured that God’s judgment has been fair. I wonder: Will those who are saved really need this activity to alleviate their doubts whether God was just, and, if so, does this process take a thousand years? 

I admit that I also have serious misgivings about the notion of a close of probation. This belief is mostly based on Ellen G. White’s comments rather than the result of Bible exegesis. I have decided I will trust in the promise of Christ when He said: “I am with you always, to the end of the age” (Matthew 28:20). He did not promise to be with us until the end of probation, but until the very end of earth’s history!

Our church is being plagued by the seditious Last Generation Theology (LGT). I use this strong term because of its joyless perversion of the gospel message. I know that those who defend LGT vehemently deny that it encourages legalism, but the ugly reality shows that this is precisely what it does. I have never seen evidence that perfection is possible without the accompaniment of legalism, while I have seen much to the contrary.

According to the LGT teachings only a small “remnant” of the last generation will make it into the kingdom. This message is at odds with the good news of the gospel. It creates anxiety and utter uncertainty about our salvation and having been adopted as a child of God.

A great multitude

Thus, for many the Adventist message has become one of fear, because of the emphasis on the judgment in its various phases and the constant talk about a shaking, with a small remnant that will eventually receive eternal life. 

However, this is a misrepresentation of the gospel. 

From very early on in the history of the Christian church some leaders have asserted that all people will be saved. This view carries the name “universalism.” Origen (ca. 184-253) believed that even the devil will eventually be reconciled to God and be restored to his original divine state. Through the centuries the so-called universalists have defended that in the end all people will be accepted by God and receive eternal life.

I had a very intense look at the universalist position when, in the late 1990s, I translated a book into English that was written by Jan Bonda, a Dutch Reformed universalist. (It was published by Eerdmans Publishing Company with the title The One Purpose of God.) In a thorough review of all biblical passages that have a bearing on the topic, the author made a strong case for the theory of universalism. 

At the end of the almost 300 pages I, however, concluded that he did not quite succeed in his argument. The fact that Bonda needed many different Bible versions (some of them quite unknown) to prove his points, made me somewhat skeptical. I could not suppress the conviction that there are too many places in the Bible where we are told that there will be a judgment and that at least some who have turned against God will be lost.

I had a similar feeling when I recently read another book that offers a robust defense of universalism: That All Shall Be Saved: Heaven, Hell, and Universal Salvation, by David Bentley Hart, an American Eastern Orthodox theologian. I saw a recommendation of this book on the Facebook page of Dr. David Larson, emeritus professor of ethics at the Loma Linda University School of Religion. I greatly respect his opinions, and his endorsement made me order the book and read it. The author contends that ultimately all people will be saved. To allow people to be lost, Hart says, is totally incompatible with the nature of a loving and omnipotent God. It is a very positive and agreeable book, but, in this case also, the conclusion ignores relevant data which, it seems to me, do not allow for universalism.

Universalism may be a bridge too far, but the idea that only a small remnant will make it is no bridge at all. The gospel message is abundantly clear: it is difficult not to be saved. God does everything possible to reconcile as many people as possible to Himself. The vision of the apostle John in Revelation 7:9 does not point to a small remnant: 

“After this I looked, and behold, a great multitude that no one could number, from every nation, from all tribes and peoples and languages, standing before the throne and before the Lamb, clothed in white robes, with palm branches in their hands.” 

And Jesus clearly indicated that He is not thinking small: 

“When I am lifted up from the earth, [I] will draw all people to myself” (John 12:32). 

Paul echoed the same sentiment: 

“This is good, and it is pleasing in the sight of God our Savior, who desires all people to be saved and to come to the knowledge of the truth” (1 Timothy 2:3-4).

Sola Gratia

“Amazing grace, how sweet the sound, that saved a wretch like me.” In spite of its antique language, I have heard it sung in many Adventist churches. Adventists do believe in grace. 

But when “the One project” emphasized this grace, church leaders worried that there was too much talk of grace, and that the doctrines of the church were not given enough attention. 

In discussions about faith and works, church members will usually acknowledge that our salvation is entirely dependent on God’s grace. However, having said that, there usually follows a “but.” We are saved by grace, but we must show our gratitude by keeping God’s commandments! It is not by our works that we can earn salvation, of course, but doesn’t the apostle James tell us that we must show our faith in our actions? Few books have made such a lasting impression on me as Philip Yancey’s What’s So Amazing About Grace? He makes it abundantly clear that there is no ”but” when we really believe what Paul tells us in Ephesians 2:8-9: 

“For it is by grace you have been saved, through faith—and this is not from yourselves, it is the gift of God—not by works, so that no one can boast.”

I have often heard it said: what we need is balance. Christian obedience and belief in divine grace must go together. Trust and obey. If we fail to keep the two elements in balance, we either end up with cheap grace or with dry legalism. 

Let’s stop this talk about balance and intentionally opt for imbalance—individually and as a church—and unreservedly embrace God’s grace as the overarching principle in our Adventist experience. If we do, it will refresh our soul.