Believe and Be Saved Before Dying
I’m going to be heading out to visit my family in July. My mother and father are steeped deeply in Adventism, but my older sister just recently joined in the last couple of years.
I left quite a few years ago, but I found Proclamation! / FAF just a couple of years ago. I’m sure I have watched all the YouTube videos, and I listen to your podcasts over and over. I really enjoy them, and they are such a blessing to my understanding.
As you can imagine, I anticipate a challenge. I’ve been praying for years that God help them to see what Scripture says and for Him to lift that veil from their eyes. I know all I can do is plant a seed, and it’s up to the Holy Spirit to move on their heart. I’m sure you can relate when I say they sincerely believe they are following Jesus, but they’ve been brainwashed by EGW.
I want them to understand that the 10 Commandments are part of the whole law, and they were never intended to be a stand alone document. I’ve been searching the Scriptures and listened to Kaspars Ozolins when he explained 10 Words and Rules, but was wondering if you could point me to Scripture that would clear it up for them. I understand it, but from the Adventist confusion, I know they will try to convince me otherwise. I have Bible Hub & Precept Austin (thanks Nikki), but I don’t know if they would be patient enough to look at the Greek meanings—maybe my sister would.
From a Facebook post my mother recently shared, I can see that she doesn’t understand the covenants at all: “If The ’New Covenant’ is the Law in our hearts and written in our minds (Heb 10:6), how can it be ’Nailed To The Cross’?”
I am just at a loss for words—all I can think is, have you not read Scripture!?
She also made a statement that Jesus rose on Sunday as an excuse for Christians to go to church on Sunday instead of keeping the Sabbath.
As far as my father goes, he’s in the camp that he doesn’t care what Paul said; EGW said otherwise.
It’s almost to the point where I’m so frustrated because they aren’t understanding and seeing what the words are saying that I just want tell them that I love them very much, but I can’t discuss Scripture with them any longer. I feel like just refusing to debate it because it ends up in an argument.
I KNOW you are women of God, and I appreciate any council you have for me. I know you understand the heaviness I feel in my heart.
Please pray the Holy Spirit speaks through me and gives me the right things to say. My parents are older, and I would like them to experience the real Jesus and believe and be saved before they go.
—VIA EMAIL
Response: Thank you so much for writing! We understand the challenge you face with your family.
It’s not easy to give a short answer to the idea of the Ten not being a stand-alone document when a person is steeped in Adventism. It really requires understanding what Paul says in Galatians and what the book of Hebrews explains.
First, the word “law” is used many ways in Scripture, as are the words “commandments” and “precepts” and so forth. Law, however, is never defined in Scripture as the Ten Commandments. In fact the Ten are literally called the “words of the covenant” (meaning the Mosaic covenant) in Exodus 34:27-28. They are not the words of the new covenant nor of the Abrahamic covenant; they are the very words of the Mosaic covenant.
Adventists define “law” as the Ten, but this definition is never found in Scripture. Rather, “law” is generally inclusive of the entire counsel of God—all of Scripture.
I would also suggest that your mother read 2 Corinthians 3. Paul clearly articulates that the letters written in stone were a certificate of death; the covenant of the Spirit is what we have in Christ. Here is an article that explains 2 Corinthians 3 verse by verse: We Are Ministers of a New Covenant
Also, Hebrews 9 walks through the physical shadows of the tabernacle, including the ark of the covenant, and says that they have been fulfilled in Jesus. Hebrews 8–10 really explain that the old covenant is obsolete (Heb. 8:13), and the physical shadows have been fulfilled in Christ. Furthermore, Hebrews 7 explains that Jesus is a Priest of a different order than Levi, and the law was based on the levitical priesthood. Hebrews 7:12 says that when there is a change of the priesthood, of necessity there must be a change of the law. Here is a video that explains that Adventists have the wrong priest: this may help.
Finally, the Law given in the Mosaic covenant—the tables of stone—has been replaced by the Law of Christ, as Paul says in 1 Corinthians 9:20,21.
That being said, if they persist in arguing, I would do what you have suggested: refuse to have the discussions. When people refuse to deal with the words of Scripture and argue about God’s own words, they harden their hearts. Their ongoing arguing causes them to sin more—they build up increasing resistance to truth. I have become convinced this phenomenon is why Jesus said not to cast one’s pearls before swine lest they trample the pearls into the mud and turn and attack you (Mt. 7:6).
I am praying now that the Lord will open your parents’ hearts and speak through you to them.
Investigative Judgment Resources
Greetings from San Antonio! I trust this message finds you well.
I was referred to you by the Truth or Fables website. I understand you have a solid background in the writings of Ellen G. White.
I’m writing a booklet about the eight eschatological judgments mentioned in the Bible. We correspond with Adventist people from time to time, so I’d like to have a PDF or something I can use for Adventists who write and ask about EGW’s “investigative judgment” teaching.
Do you have something we could use? Or do you know someone who does? It doesn’t need to be anything fancy, just a summary of her teaching and why it’s unbiblical.
—VIA EMAIL
Response: I will send you some links that may be helpful to you.
Videos
I hope these help!
Do Adventists Believe Faith Is a Work?
I’m curious—the hardline Churches of Christ incorrectly teach that “Faith is a work, according to John 6:29.” This verse supposedly obliterates a distinction between faith and works, so one can believe in salvation by works. Pretty sneaky, huh? Hence they teach salvation by baptism and keeping other New Testament worship rules: tithing, attendance, Lord’s supper, having non-instrumental singing in worship, and so forth.
Does Adventism teach that faith is a work?
It seems like the Adventist church holds to a variation of this argument that one is not saved by “works of man’s devising” but by works that God has ordained: Saturday Sabbath, “the faith of Jesus”, or the three angels’ messages and the investigative judgment. Could you give me your thoughts on this please?
—VIA EMAIL
Response: Adventists will deny that they are saved by works, and I have never heard a definitive definition of whether they consider faith to be a work or a gift. In practice they insist that keeping the Sabbath is an INDICATION that one loves God and that their Sabbath-keeping flows out of one’s commitment to Him. Therefore, they argue, keeping Sabbath is not a work but a fruit of their love.
It’s all very sneaky and does not include the usual clear statements of the solas—yet if pressed, they will use words that do sound like they believe they are saved by grace through faith. This assertion, however, includes their hidden, private definitions: their faith is in Jesus, or is the “faith of Jesus”—the wording will not be consistent—and in practice means that they “have faith” to believe that if they pray enough and “trust Jesus” enough and depend on the Holy Spirit enough, they will receive power from Jesus to keep the Sabbath and the other laws they believe indicate their true obedience.
It’s a mish-mash of confusion that has morphed over the years as they have been questioned by Christians. All of it is deceptive. Bottom line: their unique works, especially Sabbath-keeping, are necessary indicators of their having a true knowledge of God’s will. The underlying fact is that they believe that accepting Jesus then points them to the law equipped with power to learn to keep it. Their formulation is exactly opposite of the gospel which says the law leads one to Christ, and He Himself replaces the law in a believer’s life. For the Adventist, Jesus makes the law accessible, and in keeping the law better and better, they will know God better and better.
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