First, we need to understand that it is imperative that we have a relationship with God/Jesus in order to be saved. This is not what I am trying to fault here. In this relationship theory we are told that as long as you study and pray and witness, you have the abiding relationship, even when you are yielding to known ongoing sin. If you stay in the relationship, someday you will have impulsive obedience. You cannot use your will to resist temptation, that would be legalism. You can only use your will to study and pray. Even if you are rebellious, you are still a child of God.

"Work out your own salvation with fear and trembling." What! must man do this work of himself unaided?--No, no. This is his part in the action, but hear the conclusion: "For it is God which worketh in you, both to will and to do of his good-pleasure." Your will must blend with the divine will, and you must submit to the divine working. Your energies are required to co-operate with God. Without this, if it were possible to force upon you with a hundred-fold greater intensity the influences of the Spirit of God, it would not make you a Christian, a fit subject for heaven. The stronghold of Satan would not be broken. There must be the willing and the doing on the part of the receiver. There must be an action, represented as coming out from the world and being separate. There must be a doing of the words of Christ. The soul must be emptied of self, that Christ may pour his Spirit into the vacuum. Christ must be chosen as the heavenly guest. The will must be placed on the side of God's will. Then there is a new heart, and new, holy resolves. It is Jesus enthroned in the soul that makes every action easy in his service. He is the fountain of all righteousness, the source of all happiness, the reservoir of all power. There must be a full trust in Christ's words, and Christ must be all in all to the receiver. Grace, truth, and joy will fill the soul." The Signs of the Times 12-28-91

The Will, Everything Depends on Its Right Action.
"The tempted one needs to understand the true force of the will. This is the governing power in the nature of man-- the power of decision, of choice. Everything depends on the right action of the will. Desires for goodness and purity are right, as far as they go; but if we stop here, they avail nothing. Many will go down to ruin while hoping and desiring to overcome their evil propensities. They do not yield the will to God. They do not choose to serve Him.--MH 176 (1905). Your will is the spring of all your actions. This will, that forms so important a factor in the character of man, was at the Fall given into the control of Satan; and he has ever since been working in man to will and to do of his own pleasure, but to the utter ruin and misery of man.

But the infinite sacrifice of God in giving Jesus, His beloved Son, to become a sacrifice for sin, enables Him to say, without violating one principle of His government: "Yield yourself up to Me; give Me that will; take it from the control of Satan, and I will take possession of it; then I can work in you to will and to do of My good pleasure." When He gives you the mind of Christ, your will becomes as His will, and your character is transformed to be like Christ's character." 5T p. 515 (1889). Mind, Character, and Personality Volume 2 p. 685

In 1 John 1:6 John tells us: “If we say that we have fellowship (a relationship) with him, and walk in darkness, we lie, and do not the truth:" then in 2:3 he says: "And hereby we do know that we know him, if we keep his commandments." We have no relationship without obedience.

For further study: Maranatha p. 237, S.D.A. Bible Commentary Vol. 6 p. 1101 Par. 2 - 6.

What if a person who is a good Christian and is living an exemplary righteous life were to get angry at someone in a weak moment and lose his temper and sin. Then, while still in a rage, he suffers a heart attack and dies instantly, he has had no time to ask God or anyone else for forgiveness. Will he not be saved when Jesus comes for the righteous? Wasn't he a righteous man who was simply caught up in sin? Wouldn't God understand this and let the sin slide and cover it with His righteousness?

"But when the righteous turneth away from his righteousness, and committeth iniquity, and doeth according to all the abominations that the wicked man doeth, shall he live? All his righteousness that he hath done shall not be mentioned: in his trespass that he hath trespassed, and in his sin that he hath sinned, in them shall he die. When a righteous man turneth away from his righteousness, and committeth iniquity, and dieth in them; for his iniquity that he hath done shall he die." Ezekiel 18:24, 26

"And the LORD said unto Moses, Whosoever hath sinned against me, him will I blot out of my book." Exodus 32:33

But aren't we told that "The character is revealed, not by occasional good deeds and occasional misdeeds, but by the tendency of the habitual words and acts." Steps to Christ 57. This quote is not saying that a little sin here and there is not a problem. It is telling us that our character is revealed by what we habitually do. In other words by what we are doing all the time. It goes on to say, "By what means, then, shall we determine whose side we are on?

Who has the heart? With whom are our thoughts? Of whom do we love to converse? Who has our warmest affections and our best energies? If we are Christ's, our thoughts are with Him, and our sweetest thoughts are of Him. All we have and are is consecrated to Him. We long to bear His image, breathe His spirit, do His will, and please Him in all things."

"Sins that have not been repented of and forsaken will not be pardoned and blotted out of the books of record, but will stand to witness against the sinner in the day of God. . . ." The Great Controversy p. 486.

"The righteousness of Christ is not a cloak to cover unconfessed and unforsaken sin; it is a principle of life that transforms the character and controls the conduct. Holiness is wholeness for God; it is the entire surrender of heart and life to the indwelling of the principles of heaven." The Desire of Ages 555

Do we have Christ's robe of righteousness covering us when there is unconfessed and unforsaken sin in our lives? No. Do we have any hope of getting to heaven without Christ's robe of righteousness covering us?

"Past faithfulness will not atone for one wrong act." PP 420 par. 3

"The only hope of any man lies through Jesus Christ, who brought the robe of His righteousness to put upon the sinner who would lay off his filthy garments. . . . The pure and holy garments are not prepared to be put on by any one after he has entered the gate of the city. All who enter will have on the robe of Christ's righteousness. . . . There will be no covering up of sins and faults to hide the deformity of character; no robes will be half washed; but all will be pure and spotless." Sons and Daughters of God 66.

"And when the king came in to see the guests, he saw there a man which had not on a wedding garment: And he saith unto him, Friend, how camest thou in hither not having a wedding garment? And he was speechless. Then said the king to the servants, Bind him hand and foot, and take him away, and cast him into outer darkness; there shall be weeping and gnashing of teeth. For many are called, but few are chosen." Matthew 22:11-14.

It is clear that we cannot enter heaven without Christ's robe of righteousness covering us. It is also clear that it is not covering us when there is unconfessed sin in our lives. So, can we be saved with unconfesed sin? Emphatically, No!

"But, But," you say, "what about the good person who is caught up in sin and dies before he has opportunity to make it right?" This has never happened and would never happen. Yes, you heard me right, It wouldn't happen! "But, But," you say again, "what if Satan killed him before he had a chance to make it right?" Let me ask you. Who is in control anyway? Is it Satan or God? Believe it or not, God is in control and He would never cut someone off nor allow Satan to cut someone off before they had ample time to make the sin right. If God were to do this, the lost would have every right to accuse Him of being unfair, and that simply won't happen. "But," you may say, "I knew someone who was a very good person and he was cut off." Well, you thought he was good just like the disciples thought Judas was good until he denied his Lord. What If he had died before his true character was revealed? Would you be shocked not to find him in heaven? God knows the heart and He wants to save us worse than we want to save ourselves and He will never allow anyone to be lost who could be saved if given the time.

"The Lord is not slack concerning his promise, as some men count slackness; but is longsuffering to us-ward, not willing that any should perish, but that all should come to repentance. 2 Peter 3:9. It is a marvel to me that God will bear with the perversity of the children of men so long, bearing with their disobedience and yet suffering them to live, abusing His mercies, bearing false witness against Him in most wicked statements. But God's ways are not as our ways, and we will not marvel at His loving forbearance and tender pity and infinite compassion, for He has given an unmistakable evidence that this is just like His character--slow to anger, showing mercy unto thousands of those who love Him and keep His commandments." This Day with God 187

What kind of a God would give the wicked every opportunity to change their ways and then turn around and cut off a righteous man? Would you call him just, good, righteous? I don't think so.

The life of King Saul is a good example of God's forbearance with the sinner. "God had borne long with Saul; and although his rebellion and obstinacy had well-nigh silenced the divine voice in the soul, there was still opportunity for repentance. But when in his peril he turned from God to obtain light from a confederate of Satan, he had cut the last tie that bound him to his Maker; he had placed himself fully under the control of that demoniac power which for years had been exercised upon him, and which had brought him to the verge of destruction." Patriarchs and Prophets 676.

The God we serve is loving and long-suffering and would not allow us to die without giving us ample opportunity to make our sin(s) right if we are so inclined, but he will not forgive sins that have not been confessed. So, this theory when put in the light of Gods long-suffering spirit towards us is totally irrelevant. How can we believe that we serve a long-suffering God yet at the same time believe that He would allow us to be cut off in our sins? Those who believe this theory, whether they want to acknowledge it or not, do not truly believe that we serve a loving long-suffering God who desperately wants to save us, and, or, they are simply wanting to excuse sin.

On the face of it, this theory would seem to support God's perfect unconditional love for us. Since God is "not willing that any should perish." This theory makes God's love for us so powerful that it causes God to set aside His justice in order to save us. But God's justice is also perfect and He will not, He can not set it aside. The wages of sin is death. That will never change. Yes, Jesus died for our sins, but He can only take the sins that we repent of and forsake. It would not be just of Him to take sins from us that we did not give Him. If He were to do that He would be taking away our free choice and forcing righteousness upon us.

The bottom line is that God will not share the heart with sin. One or the other will be there but never both. We can not serve two masters. Sin is rebellion against God and God will not force Himself upon us and abide in a rebellious heart. God is not the one who leaves, it is we who rebel and push him out. God cannot have a relationship with someone who is in rebellion against Him. Rebellion is the result of pride, which is the worst kind of sin in God's eyes.

This may be one of the most diabolical errors that Satan has come up with, because it causes one to believe that they are still saved, safe when they are lost. Also, Satan knows that the longer we put off making something right the less likely we are of making it right. Pride also becomes stronger and stronger making it harder and harder to confess our wrong and get back into a saving relationship with God. Please don’t let a moment pass before making a wrong right, your salvation is dependent on it.