Day 17: Why be a Seventh-day Adventist?

Day 17: Why be a Seventh-day Adventist?

So you’re convinced that being a Christian, one who loves and follows Jesus Christ, is a good thing in your life. Besides giving you hope, peace, joy, and assurance of eternal life, it is the most intellectually satisfying philosophy and world religion there is. Like Blaise Pascal, the famous mathematician and philosopher, you have discovered the Wager. You have come to believe that if God exists and you believe in him you have an infinite reward to receive, Heaven and eternal life. Furthermore, in this life you will enjoy peace, joy, forgiveness, and happiness by believing in God and accepting His Gift of eternal life. You also have come to believe that is God does not exist but you believe in Him throughout your life, you really haven’t loss anything in the end. However, if God does exist and you don’t believe in Him or reject Him, in the end, you have loss eternity and Heaven. That is the Wager. From a strictly philosophical point of view, it makes more sense to believe in a personal God than to be an atheist. Hands down! The odds are in your favor as a believer!

The real reason “why you are a Christian” I am suspecting is not because of the Wager or Apologetics, but instead because of God’s relentless pursuit in your life. He is, once again, the “Hound of Heaven.” He came seeking to save that which was lost. In the end, we are and shall be Christians because of what God has done to find us, His lost and wandering earthly children, and not because of what we have done. Salvation, faith, and eternal life truly all are a free gift of God.

So, why be Adventist? George Knight raises that question, and proposes that the dues are pretty steep for becoming a Seventh-day Adventist “just because”. To join the club, one needs to give one-tenth of your income (Tithe=10%), and one seventh of your time (The observance of the Seventh-day Sabbath or Saturday). Those are pretty steep dues compared to just joining any other church and just going to church on Sunday morning and scratching it off of your to do list. Maybe you were raised or born Adventist, and there is nothing wrong with that. But those are not satisfying reasons why someone should become an Adventist today. That is like someone who is a Buddhist or Hindu because he or she was born into a Buddhist or Hindu family. If you weren’t a Seventh-day Adventist or are not a Seventh-day Adventist today, why should you be? And does it make any difference in the end? Won’t Jesus accept all Christians into Heaven no matter what their denomination or church affiliation as long as they believe and follow Him?

Why be Adventist?

The first reason why I want to suggest to you “why someone should be Adventist” is because Seventh-day Adventists are a people of the Book. Maybe you are shirking or smiling. Let me clarify the statement: “Seventh-day Adventists WERE and HAVE BEEN a people of the Book.” There, is that better? Simply stated, Seventh-day Adventists believe and follow what the Bible says. Of all Christians in the world, Seventh-day Adventist follow what the Bible actually teaches. Their teachings and beliefs are the closest of all Christians to what is found in the Bible. For instance, Seventh-day Adventists believe in the Seventh-day Sabbath (Saturday) as opposed to Sunday Keeping, The Heavenly Sanctuary (as a real place in Heaven from which God issues forth His commands) instead of denying the existence of a Heavenly Sanctuary (See Desmond Ford), The Second Coming of Christ (literal, visible, audible) instead of the Secret Rapture, The unconscious State of the Dead (also known as Soul Sleep) instead of the Immortality of the Soul, and in the Spirit of Prophecy (the ongoing gift of prophecy through the ministry of Ellen G. White) instead of the cessation of the gift of prophecy. There are only three groups of people in the world that keep and teach the validity of Seventh-day Sabbath observance: Jews, Seventh-day Baptists, and Seventh-day Adventists. So that your choice? If you are going to follow God and keep His commandments out of a grace orientation in you life, you now have narrowed all of the commandment keeping people in the world into three valid groups. So take your choice? Jew? Seventh-day Baptist? Or Seventh-day Adventists?

Like George Knight, I am a Seventh-day Adventist out of conviction rather than conversion. I was not born into a Seventh-day Adventist family, nor were my parents Seventh-day Adventist. My mother converted to Adventism out of Roman Catholicism. At age seventeen, I chose to become a Christ follower and a member of the Seventh-day Adventist Church. I chose to become a Christian, not because I was raised a Seventh-day Adventist or because my parents were Seventh-day Adventist, but because I was convicted that it was the denomination and church that follows the Bible most closely than any other church or denomination or religion in the world. Period. So I am a Christian out of ‘conviction’ rather than conversion.

When I attended the evangelistic meetings on Archaeology and Bible prophecy by John Carter and the Carter Report in Pasadena, CA in 1994, I discovered that Seventh-day Adventist truly do teach and believe in the Bible. I couldn’t be intellectually honest with myself and keep living as a Hedonistic Ganster Rap hearing thug who fought people on the streets, and stole purses from Grannies. My life was changed, and I don’t look back on making that life altering and life changing decision. I would like to suggest to you that you also should consider becoming a Christian who is a Seventh-day Adventist. Don’t just be a Seventh-day Adventist, but be a Christian who is a Seventh-day Adventist. Of all Christians, I believe Seventh-day Adventists are the very best. And here’s why.

The Great Controversy – Why it all makes sense

In the progression of truth and of rediscovering the biblical truths that were lost during the Dark Ages, Seventh-day Adventist stand on the shoulders of the Protestant Reformers. All that they were, Seventh-day Adventists are. Martin Luther discovered the truth of justification by faith, Seventh-day Adventists believe and teach justification by faith. The Anabaptists discovered and taught Baptism my immersion, Seventh-day Adventists believe and teach in Baptism my immersion. John Wesley discovered and taught the truth of Sanctification (becoming holy in ones life), Seventh-day Adventists believe and teach in Bible Sanctification also. Seventh-day Adventists stand on the shoulders of those that went before them who God used to rediscover lost Biblical truths that had been lost sight of through the Dark Ages.

The Greatest chapter in the Bible that traces the progression of the Great Controversy between Christ and Satan is Revelation 12. The Great Controversy begins in Heaven and continues on Earth. John, the Revelator shows how Satan, the Devil, began the Great Controversy in Heaven.

“And war broke out in heaven: Michael and his angels fought with the dragon; and the dragon and his angels fought, ⁸ but they did not prevail, nor was a place found for them^[a] in heaven any longer. ⁹ So the great dragon was cast out, that serpent of old, called the Devil and Satan, who deceives the whole world; he was cast to the earth, and his angels were cast out with him.” Revelation 12:7-9

The great controversy continues throughout the history of the Christian church, culminating with the Devil’s attacks and war against God’s remnant church.

“Now when the dragon saw that he had been cast to the earth, he persecuted the woman who gave birth to the male Child.” Rev. 12:13

“And the dragon was enraged with the woman, and he went to make war with the rest of her offspring, who keep the commandments of God and have the testimony of Jesus Christ.” Rev. 12:17

Why be Adventist? The answer is really simple. Bible prophecy says that at the end time there will be a group of Christians who will keep the commandments of God and have the testimony of Jesus Christ. Do you remember the three groups I mentioned earlier? Jews, Seventh-day Baptists, and Seventh-day Adventists? Of all religious groups living on earth, they are the only ones that teach that all of the commandments of God, including the Seventh-day Sabbath should be kept. Seventh-day Adventists are a part of this group. They see themselves as having been raised by God to give a specific message to warn and prepare people for the second coming of Christ. Their message is found in Revelation 14:6-13.

“Then I saw another angel flying in the midst of heaven, having the everlasting gospel to preach to those who dwell on the earth—to every nation, tribe, tongue, and people— ⁷ saying with a loud voice, “Fear God and give glory to Him, for the hour of His judgment has come; and worship Him who made heaven and earth, the sea and springs of water.” 

⁸ And another angel followed, saying, “Babylon is fallen, is fallen, that great city, because she has made all nations drink of the wine of the wrath of her fornication.” 

⁹ Then a third angel followed them, saying with a loud voice, “If anyone worships the beast and his image, and receives his mark on his forehead or on his hand, ¹⁰ he himself shall also drink of the wine of the wrath of God, which is poured out full strength into the cup of His indignation. He shall be tormented with fire and brimstone in the presence of the holy angels and in the presence of the Lamb. ¹¹ And the smoke of their torment ascends forever and ever; and they have no rest day or night, who worship the beast and his image, and whoever receives the mark of his name.”

¹² Here is the patience of the saints; here are those who keep the commandments of God and the faith of Jesus.

¹³ Then I heard a voice from heaven saying to me, “Write: ‘Blessed are the dead who die in the Lord from now on.’”

“Yes,” says the Spirit, “that they may rest from their labors, and their works follow them.”

Here is a people with a message for the last days which we are now living in. In case you have forgotten, since the first coming of Jesus at His Incarnation and Earthly ministry, we have been living in what the Bible calls the last days (See Hebrews 1:1-3). Soon, we will enter the period the Bible calls the End Time, or “Eschaton”. Do you see it? Seventh-day Adventists believe they are a people raised by God to prepare the world for Christ’s Soon Coming!

The second and final characteristic of God’s Remnant Church as found in Revelation 12:17 is “having the testimony of Jesus Christ.” Since all Christian believe in life and teachings of Jesus Christ, this special characteristic cannot mean just faith in Jesus Christ. Instead Revelation 19:10 says, “For the testimony of Jesus is the spirit of prophecy”. In other words, this end time commandment keeping church will also have the spirit of prophecy, or the testimony of Jesus. In the Bible, the testimony of Jesus is always the Holy Spirit, but in a marked way, the testimony of Jesus also refers to the gift of the spirit of prophecy. When God needs to give a special message to His people, He raises up a prophet and messenger to give that special message. Of the three groups, Jews, Seventh-day Baptists, and Seventh-day Adventists, only Seventh-day Adventists believe and teach in the ongoing Gift of the Spirit Prophecy. In other words, only Seventh-day Adventists have a non-canonical (not in the Bible or Canon of Scripture) prophet, who God raised to lead this movement safely through the end time so that it would stay on course. The person that God raised and gave the gift of the Spirit of Prophecy was a young girl named Ellen G. White. She had over 2000 visions and wrote over sixty books and over 100,000 pages in her life. Furthermore, she passes all four of the Biblical tests for prophets. She is the read deal. (For more on Ellen G. White, go to ellenwhite.com)

Conclusion

So you see, the real reason to be Adventist is out of conviction rather than conversion. I believe God is inviting you today to consider joining this Sabbath-keeping Movement to help proclaim His Truth for this time. If you desire to follow God’s will, He will definitely show you! Be blessed as you walk in the light of God’s Truth!

Practical Steps

1. Know your Bible better. 2 Timothy 3:16, 1 Peter 1:21. Start learning to memorize key passages of Scripture to support your faith (i.e., the Sabbath, Sanctuary, etc.)

2. Be a Christian first, a Protestant second, and a Seventh-day Adventist third. Otherwise, you may end up with an unbalanced faith. No church will ever save you, only Jesus will.

3. Read up on the History of how God has led the Seventh-day Adventist Church from its beginning in the early 1840s. A great place to start is the Book, the History of Seventh-day Adventists by George Knight. If you want to go deeper and discover the over 800 off-shoot movements that have tried to derail God’s Commandment Keeping Church, read “A light to the Remnant” by Schwartz.

4. Start going to church more regularly, and help disciple and win a friend to Jesus first. After he is a Christian, invite him or her to become a Seventh-day Adventist.

 ~ Pastor Sal Garcia