Let me qualify
this incorrect statement, ( forgive me )
Yes—We Can Know That We Are Saved (Present Assurance Through Christ)
Believers
can and should have the joyful assurance of present salvation while they abide in Christ by faith. This assurance is not a once-for-all declaration of final security that removes the need for daily surrender, but a living, daily confidence based on God’s promises and the transforming work of the Holy Spirit. True assurance comes only through complete heart-surrender and continual abiding in Jesus, the same path that breaks the cycle and prepares us for the Pre-Advent Judgment.
She encourages every struggling soul: Do not doubt God’s mercy. By living faith, lay hold of His promise, and you may know you are forgiven and accepted.
At the same time, she gives a strong warning against
presumption. In
Christ’s Object Lessons (p. 155) she writes:
This is not a denial of assurance—it is a safeguard against the “I am saved, so I can relax” attitude that leads back into the very sin cycle she describes elsewhere. Assurance is real and present, but it is
conditional on daily abiding in Christ, not on a past decision or feeling.
White explains the true basis of assurance in
Steps to Christ and other works: it rests on (1) justification through Christ’s atoning blood received by faith, (2) the renewing power of the Holy Spirit producing a new heart, and (3) the outward evidence of obedience and fruit-bearing. When these are present, we may rejoice and say, “I know whom I have believed” (2 Timothy 1:12).
How This Fits the Broader Picture
This teaching harmonizes perfectly with the Pre-Advent Judgment and moral accountability. In the investigative judgment, the books are opened to reveal whether our faith was genuine—whether it produced a life of full surrender and commandment-keeping by grace. Yet even now, before the books close, Ellen White says we do not need to live in fearful uncertainty. We can have the calm, joyful assurance that we are “in Christ” today if we come to Him just as we are, claim His promises, and let Him keep us from falling.
She ties this directly to the Ephesians 2. we are “saved by grace through faith”
now, raised to new life
now, and seated with Christ in heavenly places
by faith now—while still walking on earth as His workmanship, doing the good works He prepared.
Practical Counsel from Ellen White
- Come to Christ exactly as you are—no waiting to feel saved.
- Cling to His promises (John 6:37; 1 John 1:9; Isaiah 1:18).
- Examine the fruit: Is there hatred for sin? Is there daily surrender? Are you walking in obedience through His power?
- Do not trust feelings or past experience alone—abide in Him moment by moment.
Ellen White’s consistent message is full of hope:
Yes, you can know you are saved today—not because of your perfection, but because Christ is your perfect Saviour and you are resting in Him.
( The Sabbath )The same abiding faith that gives you assurance now is the faith that will stand in the judgment and break the sin cycle forever.
If you are struggling with doubt, her counsel is simple and biblical: “Look to the cross. Behold the Lamb of God… and you will have the assurance of salvation.” Start today—come to Jesus, claim His word, and let Him give you the peace of present salvation.
**************************************************
I'm sure yours says the same...