This is a little difference from the content for me here, and I've been really enjoying the creation of the bible reviews. I've got a big one coming up very soon. So bear with me lol :)
However I wanted to tackle a topic, that has popped up because of some misinformation that's circulating...
I was baptized in the Seventh Day Adventist church about 5 years ago. And when you hear that, some people have a lot of questions...Seventh Day Adventists (SDA's) are a movement that came out of the Millerites in the 1800's. It was a Protestant faith that grew their beliefs out of some long nights, weeks and months of serious bible study.
I've done quite a bit of research into church history over the past few years, mainly for a few reasons. The first, some of the rumors that have been popular when it comes to the church. And second, because if I'm going to 'brand' myself into any denomination, I want to be sure their doctrine is solid and I can grow in faith with the church.
That being said, I'm hardly an expert. I'm still a baby Christian in many aspects, and my journey to get to know Jesus is a life long process. So this is most definitely not an exhaustive overview of the church...Just my experience so far of being a member for half a decade.
Let's Talk About Ellen White
Here's where most people start labelling Adventists as a suspect denomination. Because we believe, one of the church founders was inspired by God. When I was first introduced to Ellen, red flags started to show up. I believed what others seemed to be saying...
'Adventists put her books above the bible'
That's the number one misconception about Adventists. Here's the truth, and it's coming from reading about a dozen of her books including the entire Conflict of the Ages series. Not a single thing she ever writes, takes anyone away from the bible.
She literally says, read the bible only. All of her writings, point to Jesus. Nothing and trust me, I've looked, has gone against what the bible says. It's just not there. Mainly people that seem to have these opinions of her, have never read her books. Sorry to disappoint, she just doesn't have her own doctrine, it's all bible.
Nugget: Desire of Ages is absolutely a must read regardless of your denomination. I can't recommend it enough!
Let's Talk About The SDA 'Bible'
I was in a local Christian book store the other day, and there was a pamphlet from Rose Publishing that went over all the largest denominations in Christianity. The SDA church was included and then what I read made me laugh...
According to this pamphlet, SDA's read the 'Clear Word' as their bible of choice.
What is the Clear Word?
It's a paraphrase and devotional piece of literature by an Adventist, Jack Blanco. He wrote it a few decades ago, as a devotional exercise.
While there is no official 'bible' for SDA's, here's what I have noticed....It's mostly KJV and NKJV.
Not once have even looked into the Clear Word. And everyone in my church goes by the KJV, NKJV or a more modern translation. You don't hear the Clear Word referenced in any sermons, ever. I actually didn't even know it was a thing until more recently.
And as for me, just look at my bible reviews lol I read the KJV and NKJV.
Let's Talk About The Sabbath
This is going to take a while lol
We believe in all 10 commandments, including the 4th. The one that begins with the word 'Remember'.
We don't keep the Sabbath to be saved, we keep it because we are. We fully believe that we are saved by grace and not of works. I think this sums it up perfectly: Justification is the root and sanctification is the fruit.
We aren't 'working' to be saved, that makes no sense. We literally take the Seventh Day and rest, worship and spend time with our Saviour.
There is no scripture that says Sabbath was changed from Saturday to Sunday. So we believe that God never changes. There are 9 mentions of the 'first day' of the week in Scripture, but it does not mention anywhere, Sabbath has been done away with.
We don't think salvation comes from keeping Sabbath. In fact, we believe most of the Christians that will be saved in the second coming, will be from other churches.
I can go on lol And always love talking about Sabbath truth. However the biggest misconception is that we think the only way to be saved is by keeping the 7th day. No, we believe it's through faith in Jesus. Period.
Here's what it comes down to...
If you want to learn about Adventists, ask an Adventist. Don't go online and find the shock and awe pieces, there is always an agenda with everything. Go to the source, ask a member of the church.
Are there crazy parts of Adventism? Absolutely! Are there crazy parts of every denomination and religion? Absolutely.
And just to wrap this brief piece up...
I was raised in a secular environment. My family was Anglican, but I could count the number of times on one hand that I went to church. I was very anti-religion growing up, almost an anger towards it all. I saw what religion did to society, and wanted no part in it.
I always did believe in God. But felt, organized religion just wasn't for me. The Lord works in ways we will never understand....
And then I discovered my faith, or better yet, God put it on my heart. He led me to truth, to His Word. And because of that I saw world history. Church history. And everything just made sense to me.
Being an Adventist, has challenged me to become a better human being. Not because I can work my way into heaven, not at all. It's challenged me to put my ego and pride aside, and look to glorify God every chance I can.
Adventism just makes sense to me.