AN EXTREMELY BRIEF PRIMER ON 7TH DAY ADVENTISTS
I’m writing this because last week a full-color flyer was mass-mailed in our area announcing a prophecy conference to be held at the local university. I had several people ask me about the conference so I did some research as to who is sponsoring it.
I’ve concluded it’s a function of the 7th Day Adventists. There’s nothing in the flyer that states this; I had to ‘google’ the name of the speaker, Mike Sady, to find out who he is. When I did, the links associated with his name consistently identified him with the 7th Day Adventists.
Which raises the question, who are the 7th Day Adventists and what to do they believe? What I’ve written here addresses one thing they believe, there are, I believe, serious issues with what they believe. I cannot recommend attending the conference for true Christ-exalting hope.
I have included links to other’s analysis of 7th Day Adventists as well as a link to their own website, but here’s what I believe is the main problem:
7th Day Adventism Has Altered the Basis for Justification Being By Faith Alone In Christ Alone
Their name comes from the fact they believe Christians are to be observing the Sabbath of the Old Testament – which is Saturday (7th day). This stems from their belief that dietary laws and the keeping of the Sabbath that were given to Moses at Mt. Sinai still are applicable today.
Their history begins back in the 1840s, when a man by the name of William Miller prophesied Christ would return sometime in 1843 or 1844. Thousands believed Miller (he based his prophesy on his study of the book of Daniel). When Christ didn’t return, a great number concluded Miller was wrong. However, a small group determined “Miller’s error was not in his mathematical calculations, but rather in what he expected to take place on that date. Consequently, they concluded something significant occurred in 1844, even if it was not Christ’s second coming” – Nathan Busenitz (see link below). Influenced by the ‘prophecies’ of Ellen G. White, these ‘Millerites’ began teaching that up until 1844, Christ had been in the holy place of heaven. But on Oct. 22, 1844, He entered the Holy of Holies in heaven. This, I believe, is the faulty root of Adventism; it is a faulty view of Christ’s atonment.
All true believers look forward to the physical, bodily return of Christ — His second advent – when those who have died in Christ will be raised bodily from the dead, and those still alive will also be changed and ‘caught up’ with Him (I Cor. 15; I Thess. 4:13-5:11; II Thess. 1, 2; Titus 2:11-14; I John 3:1-4). So there is a physical part of our salvation that is yet to happen – that part Christ has not yet finished.
However, the legal part is complete – forgiveness and right standing before God is based on something that’s already been done for sinners. The Bible does not teach Christ’s atoning work by which sinners are forgiven is a process, or that it occurred in stages. Rather, it was a one-time act. He was the perfect substitute who was sacrificed in the place of sinners one time on the cross. He was without sin and His perfect obedience fully satisfied God’s law (Rom. 8:1-4; Phil 2).
The proof God was completely satisfied with what Christ did is that on the third day after His death, God raised Jesus from the dead (Rom. 4:25). Our forgiveness occurs in full when we begin trusting in what Christ alone did on our behalf. When we do, the result is God declares, or counts us righteous. Our sins are credited to Christ; His perfection is credited to us when we trust in what Christ accomplished on the cross (Romans 3:21-28; II Cor. 5:21). The bumper sticker that summarizes this essential truth is: “Justification By Faith Alone In Christ Alone.”
Consider the following texts:
+ First, from the cross, Christ himself declared “It is finished” (John 19:30).
+ Second, when He did so, the veil in the temple in Jerusalem that separated the Holy of Holies – the meeting place of God where only the high priest could enter — was rent from top to bottom (Mark. 15:37,38) indicating access to God had been secured by Christ’s death.
+ Third, the writer of Hebrews goes to great lengths to state that because Christ fully atoned for the sins of those for whom He died, He sat down at the right hand of God (Hebrews. 10:11-14). In other words, Christ’s sitting down not only indicated His atoning work was completed, it also stated God the Father was fully appeased or satisfied with what Christ had accomplished.
+ Fourth, the work of Christ on the cross has placed those for whom He died positionally or legally, in a complete or perfect state. “For by one offering He has perfected for all time those who are being sanctified” – Heb. 10:14; see also Colossians 2:12-14). This takes us back to the matter of being considered righteous or justified by God. We are counted righteous by God by trusting wholly in what Christ actually accomplished in ‘one offering.’
So in conclusion, Adventists teach an altered Gospel. Further, their source of information for their Gospel isn’t the 66 books of the Bible; it’s based on ‘prophecies’ from outside the Bible. If they consider Mr. Miller’s and Ellen G White’s prophecies to be truly of God, then their claims of teaching prophecy only from the Bible is highly questionable.
+++
Here are the links for others’ analysis of 7th Day Adventism; I also include their own website.
https://carm.org/seventh-day-adventism
http://www.tms.edu/preachersandpreaching/evaluating-seventh-day-adventism/
https://www.adventist.org/en/beliefs/
That Christ might have first place in all things!
Pastor Tedd
October 3, 2016
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