Seventh-day Adventist was my religion. The church is distinguished by its observance of Saturday the seventh day of the week in the Christian (Gregorian) and the Hebrew calendar as the Sabbath. Research also shows that Adventist live longer up to 10+ years because of a good healthy lifestyle. I grew up thinking we had it right and other churches were wrong or they are partly right but incomplete… We have the complete teachings, making us superior to other churches. I’m thankful for them and they continue to be a part of me, as one of the group of people that God used to lead me into the truths of the Bible ( ref 1 Cor 3:5-9 ). After I got born again in May 2023. I kept on digging more about Christianity and found out that there is a Mainline Christian (Evangelicals) glory to God!
Now, when we talk about Adventism we should also consider Offshoots. These are splinter groups who still claim to be Seventh-day Adventist but carry beliefs not similar to the Main church. You will only know the real ones when you attend a local church regularly. There are also Historic Adventism and Progressive Adventism.
There are many sincere and loving people in the SDA denomination. I love the people, healthy food and lifestyle. I owe some of my Christian values to the Adventist community. But there is a clear confusion on the authority of Ellen G White ( see 2 Timothy 3:16-17 ) and the Investigative judgment / Sanctuary Doctrine ( see Hebrews 6:19-20, Hebrews 9:12, Hebrews 10:19-20 ). Is the Bible really the supreme authority? Do we also claim that we are the only true church? If yes, this is a red flag 🚩. Because of these reasons, I cannot fully proclaim Jesus Christ while inside the denomination.
HISTORY
What every Pastor, Elder, Church worker should know.
Below is a historical dialogue on Ankerberg Show in 1985 between Expert in Cults Walter Martin Jr and then Editor of Adventist Review William G. Johnson.
COPYRIGHT: This footage belongs to The John Ankerberg Show and is uploaded strictly for educational purposes with the intent of making sure this footage stays preserved and useful to the body of Christ.
https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sanctuary_Review_Committee
Dr Walter Martin founder of Evangelical Christian Apologetics ministry Christian Research Institute ( CRI ).
Pastor Vlad Savchuk summarizes the differences of Seventh-Day Adventist from Mainline Christians.
Same concerns still arise up to this day… Sadly, the clear victims on this unsolved clarifications are the good people and sincere SDA members who are faithful to God.
A statement from SDA Pastor Doug Batchelor.
See also: Are Seventh-day Adventist Christian?
More on:
https://www.gotquestions.org/Seventh-Day-Adventism.html
https://www.thegospelcoalition.org/article/9-things-you-should-know-about-seventh-day-adventism