We Can’t Stay To Make a Difference

NICOLE STEVENSON |

I have been thinking a lot lately about those of you who are new to leaving Seventh-day Adventism to follow Jesus. I remember those early days and the many decisions we faced after the veil fell and the gospel saved. The road ahead looked long, but the hope born in our hearts was (and is) real. There were many things my husband and I had yet to learn about the world we were leaving behind, and all that we would still need to deconstruct and replace with Scripture. Had we not been in a Christian church I have no idea how we would have come to trust the Word or the Lord of the Word in the ways we have. 

You new believers (because that’s what we are when we trust the gospel of Scripture and repent of our false worldview) were especially on my mind as the Former Adventist Fellowship Conference approached. Each year we at Life Assurance Ministries (LAM) and Former Adventist Fellowship (FAF) know that we’ll need to have difficult conversations with those who are just beginning to see the nature of Adventism. Among the many difficult topics we cover, we know that we will inevitably need to answer those who are tempted to remain in Adventism to “change the church from within”. It is precisely this issue I want to address in this article because I believe it is one of the most critical issues to address for new believers. 

Since we at LAM and FAF know this road of leaving so well, we approach each conference with a great deal of prayer and compassion for those we will serve. When we hear the temptation to remain inside Adventism for the sake of the Adventists come up, we recognize that this response usually comes from concern for those trapped inside or from fear of personal loss. While we have compassion for what drives the temptation, it’s our prayer that we can help these people see that this is not a wise or faithful option. 

Each one of us at LAM and FAF knows personally the price of walking away. Many have lost jobs; some have lost marriages, and most have lost the respect of their families and friends. Some have even lost their family completely. We know in deeply personal ways the losses that come with leaving. For this reason, while we greatly rejoice in knowing people are learning the gospel, we also mourn with those who are mourning as they face the reality of what they’ve been deceived by and what they stand to lose as they follow Jesus out.

Contrary to the accusation that LAM merely has an axe to grind, the work we do here is not to satisfy an itch. It is a work that comes with frequent persecutions and trials of its own as we walk in obedience to our Lord who has called us to care for His sheep as He calls them out and to Himself. It has been God’s mercy to us as we persevere that we are allowed to share in the suffering of others and to offer them the comfort that God Himself gives to us (2 Cor. 1:3-5).

One of the goals of LAM is to urge new believers on to obedience to the Lord Jesus. Due to the nature of what Adventism is, this means we often have to tackle difficult topics that call believers to make decisions that can come with certain risk of loss. This issue of choosing to leave Seventh-day Adventism physically is one of those difficult topics. Since I know that the Holy Spirit convicts believers through the Word of God I want to spend some time thinking about this topic in light of various passages of Scripture that have been helpful to me in my walk away from Adventism. 

The Testimony of Scripture

This article presupposes that a person has already learned the truth about the nature of Seventh-day Adventism and that they have had their eyes opened by the Holy Spirit to the gospel according to Scripture and have believed it and been born again (Eph 1:13,14). If this is not where you find yourself, than perhaps this particular article is one to save for later as you work to figure out these matters of first importance. 

However, if this describes you and you find yourself in a kind of valley of decision regarding whether you’ll leave with your feet to join a Christian church, or continue attending and participating in Adventist institutions (worship services or schools), then I pray you will consider the testimony of Scripture and ask the Lord to show you how to honor and obey Him. 

I will mostly reference texts and will share some larger portions of Scripture. I do hope that if you are truly struggling with this issue that you will take the time to look up the references and read around their contexts and consider carefully what the word teaches about these things. 

First we’ll notice what the Bible says about the wrath of God against liars and how He speaks about those who lie. We’ll look at some of the central passages that describe false teachers and what their end is. Then we’ll look at how Seventh-day Adventism mirrors the behaviors of the many antichrists that have gone out from among the church to teach false doctrines. Next we’ll look at just some of the commands to believers that can only be obeyed in the context of the true church. We’ll also look at the significance of what it means to offer the right hand of fellowship in ministry and the message it conveys to other believers. Last, we will see how in light of that reality, giving even the slightest impression of agreement or greeting to false teachers in the context of the church gathered incriminates us in their work. 

One last word as we approach the Scriptures. When we leave a mind control group that has used Scripture to control us, it is not enough to learn what a passage doesn’t mean. We have to learn what it does mean, understanding that it was written for those of us who are truly born again. Surely it is a wonderful thing to loose a text from the grip of deception, but we must also place it in its rightful place of authority over us as God’s people. 

And so, as we “take back the text”, we also must submit ourselves to its true meaning. I pray that as you read the Lord will guide you to trust Him and that you will not simply trust my understand of these passages without thought but that you will prayerfully study them on your own and seek the Lord for His leading. 

The Wrath of God Against Liars, False Teachers

Beginning in the Old Testament, we know that God hates liars and says they are an abomination to Him and He will not allow them entry into His Kingdom (Pr. 5:6; 6:16-19; 12:2; Psalm 5:6;101:7 etc.). Furthermore, He makes clear that those who listen to liars are themselves evil doers, and those who practice deceit will not dwell in His house (Pr. 17:4; Ps. 101:7). 

In a list of descriptions of evil in the last day, Paul tells us in 2 Timothy 3:5 that among those who sneak into homes to capture people with false teaching will be those who have the appearance of godliness but who deny its power (Amazing Facts and Adventist colporteurs come to mind). Paul also wrote, “For such men are false apostles, deceitful workmen, disguising themselves as apostles of Christ. And no wonder, for even Satan disguises himself as an angel of light. So it is no surprise if his servants, also, disguise themselves as servants of righteousness. Their end will correspond to their deeds.” (2 Cor 11:13-15). 

Do you see what I see? Even if their deeds reflect the deeds of servants of righteousness, it is these very counterfeit deeds that will correspond to their end. Counterfeiters may do righteous deeds but they are held accountable as liars and counterfeiters nonetheless. Jesus told us that not everyone who says to Him, “Lord, Lord,” will enter the Kingdom of Heaven but only those whom He knew. The fact that they are such good people, does not resolve the judgement that stands against counterfeit righteousness. They must repent and be reconciled to God, or the wrath of God remains on them. How can they repent if they are made comfortable in their deception by those who should be calling them to repentance? 

In Galatians, Paul, directed by the Holy Spirit, cursed to hell any human or angel that would bring a counterfeit or distorted gospel into the church. (Gal 1:6-9). This wasn’t because Paul was bitter or had an axe to grind. It’s because God led Him to write it! False religion is an abomination to God. God also told us through Jude that, “the gloom of utter darkness has been reserved forever” for false teachers (Jude 13). 

Seventh-day Adventism Described

In 1 Timothy 4:1-2 we read, “Now the Spirit expressly says that in later times some will depart from the faith by devoting themselves to deceitful spirits and teachings of demons, through the insincerity of liars whose consciences are seared.” 

What does the Spirit mean that some will depart from the faith in this way? Well, it doesn’t mean they had been saved and then lost their salvation, because the Spirit doesn’t contradict Himself, and He has made the security of the believer clear in other parts of Scripture. 

I’d like to submit to you that the entire history of Seventh-day Adventism reads as an example of what the Spirit described above. For this, let’s look at John. The apostle John sheds light on this issue as it had already occurred during his ministry. In the second chapter of his first epistle he wrote about the many antichrists (which simply means “against-Christ” or “instead-of-Christ”) that had gone out from among the church, “Children, it is the last hour, and as you have heard that antichrist is coming, so now many antichrists have come…They went out from us, but they were not of us; for if they had been of us, they would have continued with us. But they went out, that it might become plain that they all are not of us,” (1 Jn 2:18-19). 

These people John was writing about were gnostics who had once been among the church, but they separated from the body of Christ, breaking fellowship with them for the purpose of gathering around and teaching gnostic doctrines about God (1 Jn 1:6,7). After explaining what they did, John showed the severe mercy in their leaving, saying it was purposed, “that it might become plain that they all are not of us”.

John went on to encourage the church by telling them they didn’t need private or new knowledge because they had trusted the gospel and been born again and given all they needed. “But you have been anointed by the Holy One, and you all have knowledge.I write to you, not because you do not know the truth, but because you know it, and because no lie is of the truth. Who is the liar but he who denies that Jesus is the Christ? This is the antichrist, he who denies the Father and the Son,” (1 Jn 2:20-22).

Now let’s consider the origins and foundations of the Seventh-day Adventist organization. What would quickly give birth to Seventh-day Adventism began with William Miller’s date setting for the return of Christ. We know from history that this movement began as Miller published his interpretations of Daniel in newspapers which steadily impacted Christian churches all over. As excitement grew over his “discovery”, it separated professing Christians who would gather around the special knowledge William Miller professed to have, isolating them from the body of Christ. 

While some Christians ultimately repented and returned to the body of Christ, those who were not truly among the body (who proudly upheld Arianism, Pelagianism, and other heresies) built their organizational foundation upon the lie, holding it together with gnostic doctrines of demons generated by the visions of a woman given to trances and occult practices (a matter of documented history). Some have said that there is some truth in Adventism, but Scripture is clear, “no lie is of the truth”, “…they were not of us”. 

Seventh-day Adventism is a building built from a foundation not laid by the Apostles with Christ as the cornerstone. It is a system that went out from among the church to teach “instead-of-Christ” doctrines. 

Before John wrote about these antichrists, he told his readers how to discern those who belong to God. “And by this we know that we have come to know him, if we keep his commandments. Whoever says ‘I know him’ but does not keep his commandments is a liar, and the truth is not in him, but whoever keeps his word, in him truly the love of God is perfected. By this we may know that we are in him: whoever says he abides in him ought to walk in the same way in which he walked,” (1 John 2:3-4). 

Let’s just get the Adventist proof-text problem out of the way here. John is not referring to the decalogue here when he used the word “commandments”. We know this from examining the Greek and the pattern of writing John used across all his writings. In this passage the word for “commandments” isentolas, which in John’s writings never refers to the Mosaic Law. When John uses entolé in all its forms, he is referring to “authoritative instructions”. The context determines whose instructions they are. Here, John is speaking of the teachings and instructions of Jesus. In all of John’s writings, including his gospel, epistles, and the book of Revelation, John uses the greek word nomos when he is referring to the old covenant law. 

So what does it mean to “keep His commandments”? Jesus taught and commanded His apostles and disciples many things and promised them that the Holy Spirit would help them understand and remember it all (John 14:25,26). Then He commissioned them to go into the world and teach all He had commanded (Matt 28:18-20). This is the Law of Christ, the commandments of Christ.

John made clear that those who say they know God but do not keep His commandments are liars. By its very nature Adventism is a form of gnostic idolatry that warps every single Christian doctrine and practice, rendering it a system of lawlessness  (1 Jn 3:4). Since this article presupposes that this issue is already clear, I won’t say more here, but there are many resources on the ProclamationMagazine.com website that will supply an abundance of evidence for these claims. 

In the final book of the Bible we read what God has planned for liars, “But as for the cowardly, the faithless, the detestable, as for murderers, the sexually immoral, sorcerers, idolaters, and all liars, their portion will be in the lake that burns with fire and sulfur, which is the second death,” (Rev, 21:8). This is terrifying. This is why we must separate from any impression of partnership with false religious systems and give no appearance of approval to them. There is far too much at stake for those who are trapped inside— and make no mistake, our presence is a testimony of approval. If we are saved we are secure, but how can we cut others off from salvation by leading them to believe they are fine where they are—in the den of robbers? 

Please notice as you read Scriptures about deception that God doesn’t seem to speak of deception as being an external entity that will be punished. When God confronts deception He directly confronts people and calls them liars. We saw in the gospel of John that Jesus referred to religious leaders who did not recognize who He was, as liars and children of Satan, the father of lies (John 8:44). Jesus held the religious leaders— not Satan who had blinded them (2 Cor. 4:4)— accountable for their commitment to false religion. Make no mistake, if we make our home inside of a lie— no matter the motive—then we, too, are liars.

In Romans Paul writes about the unrighteousness of men. At the end of the first chapter, directed by the Holy Spirit, Paul wrote, “Though they know God’s righteous decree that those who practice such things deserve to die, they not only do them but give approval to those who practice them,” (Romans 1:32). God’s people have no business joining in the congregation of false religion, offering passive approval with their presence. So I ask with Paul, “…What partnership has righteousness with lawlessness? Or what fellowship has light with darkness?” (2 Cor 6:14).

Purpose of the Church and the Commands to Believers

One of the many benefits of being in the body of Christ is the protection it provides us. Significantly, it’s also the only context in which we are able to walk in a manner worthy of the calling, “I therefore, a prisoner for the Lord, urge you to walk in a manner worthy of the calling to which you have been called, with all humility and gentleness, with patience, bearing with one another in love, eager to maintain the unity of the Spirit in the bond of peace. There is one body and one Spirit—just as you were called to the one hope that belongs to your call— one Lord, one faith, one baptism, one God and Father of all, who is over all and through all and in all,” (Eph. 4:1-6).

 We cannot find our fellowship in false religion and then define that as loving the body of Christ. Do not miss it, the text says there is only one Father, Spirit, and Son; there is only one faith, one baptism, and one body of Christ. That doesn’t mean that all who claim to be a part of the body are. It’s only those who are born again who make up the body of Christ, and we are only born again and placed in Christ when we hear the word of truth, the gospel according to Scripture and believe (1 Cor 15:1-5; Eph. 1:13-14; Eph 2:13-22; Col 1:13-14). 

A quick read through Romans 12 will reveal that one cannot obey the imperatives of Christ given through the Apostles unless they are living life in and among other true believers. While the church is not a nation like Israel was, we are still commanded to gather wherever we are, so far as we can, and within that gathering we are called to be separate from the world in holiness. This is evidenced in the commands to discipline believers who are in unrepentant sin and to put out false teachers and false brothers. We scatter among the nations in our lives, and we love and do good to our neighbors there, but in the gathering of the saints we are set apart as holy from the rest of the world.  

A note here for the homebound. Certainly there are times and seasons when we are providentially hindered from attending a church in person. For those in this place it is the responsibility of the church to pray for, love, and serve you with greater intention. A providential hindrance does not remove a true believer from the body of Christ or the fellowship of the church!

So how does Paul call us to walk worthy of the calling? What does that look like in the context of the body of Christ? We read on, “But grace was given to each one of us according to the measure of Christ’s gift. …And he gave the apostles, the prophets, the evangelists, the shepherdsand teachers,to equip the saints for the work of ministry, for building up the body of Christ, until we all attain to the unity of the faith and of the knowledge of the Son of God, to mature manhood, to the measure of the stature of the fullness of Christ, so that we may no longer be children, tossed to and fro by the waves and carried about by every wind of doctrine, by human cunning, by craftiness in deceitful schemes. Rather, speaking the truth in love, we are to grow up in every way into him who is the head, into Christ, from whom the whole body, joined and held together by every joint with which it is equipped, when each part is working properly, makes the body grow so that it builds itself up in love.” (Eph 4:7,11-16).

Did you catch the “so that”  in the passage? The gifts are given to the church for the protection and growth of the body of Christ. Protection from “every wind of doctrine, by human cunning, by craftiness in deceitful schemes.” To equip whom? “…the saints for the work of ministry, for the building up of the body of Christ…” 

The fellowship we choose matters. We cannot go into a false church and hope to accomplish there what God has called us to do in His body. We cannot think that we have a better plan than God has for us. If God is Lord of our life, then we have to submit to His revealed will in the pages of Scripture.

One of the greatest concerns of the Apostles in their letters to the church was that they not be deceived. Again and again they encouraged the church to hold fast to the gospel they’d been given; to guard it, to handle it rightly, to entrust it to men able to teach it rightly, to remember it, and to defend it (1 Cor 15:1, 2; Heb 6:18; Phil 4:1; 2 Thes 2:15; 2 Tim 2:15; Heb 10:23; Col 2:5-7; 2 Tim 1:14; 2:2; 2 Pt.3:15; Rev 3:11) .

God has commanded His people to be careful with His message and with His people. We guard the gospel, we protect and serve the church, and we speak the truth in clarity and love, calling sin what it is and putting out those who would deceive God’s people, both to protect His people and to guard our gospel witness. 

Right Hand of Fellowship Vs. Partakers of Evil Deeds 

So, what does it mean to offer the “right hand of fellowship”? For this we go back to Galatians where Paul explained how he handled the Judaizers and how that situation led him to go to Jerusalem to see the other apostles and make known to them the gospel that he taught. In doing this Paul received  the right hand of fellowship from the other apostles of Jesus who had walked with Him.

As Paul explained the situation, he wrote about false brothers who crept in to spy out their freedom and who were seeking to put gentiles under the law. Paul wrote in 2:5 “—to them we did not yield in submission even for a moment, so that the truth of the gospel might be preserved for you.” Notice that Paul does not say that he attempted to win over the false teachers. He said he did not yield to them “even for a moment”. He publicly stood against them for the preservation of the gospel among God’s true people.

“And from those who seemed to be influential (what they were makes no difference to me; God shows no partiality)—those, I say, who seemed influential added nothing to me.” Paul isn’t making the point here that these men didn’t make him feel self-important (though, I’m sure that’s also true). When he says they added nothing to him, he is saying they didn’t alter or add anything to the message that he was preaching. We know this because of how he starts his next sentence, “On the contrary, when they saw that I had been entrusted with the gospel to the uncircumcised, just as Peter had been entrusted with the gospel to the circumcised (for he who worked through Peter for his apostolic ministry to the circumcised worked also through me for mine to the Gentiles), and when James and Cephas and John, who seemed to be pillars, perceived the grace that was given to me, they gave the right hand of fellowship to Barnabas and me, that we should go to the Gentiles and they to the circumcised.” (Gal. 2:6-9)

When the apostles gave approval of Paul’s message they were making the statement that they had the same message. This is why you will often hear apologists say that when you give the right hand of fellowship to the cults, you cut them off from the gospel. To share in ministry with the cults is to give the public appearance of approval to their message. This is dangerous for believers looking on, and it’s dangerous for those inside who need to be freed from the deception. 

Let’s go back to John’s epistles. “Everyone who goes on ahead and does not abide in the teaching of Christ, does not have God. Whoever abides in the teaching has both the Father and the Son. If anyone comes to you and does not bring this teaching, do not receive him into your house or give him any greeting, for whoever greets him takes part in his wicked works,” (2 John 1:9-11). It’s important to remember that John is writing to a church that is gathering in a house. In this letter John makes clear that receiving a false teacher into the church or even giving him a greeting “takes part in his wicked works.” 

If I’m reading this correctly, giving any place for—or even friendly recognition of—false teachers in the gathering of believers is a sin. It would be as dangerous as bringing a pedophile around your children and treating him with hospitably in their presence. It is exposing those you have charge over to a dangerous predator and giving the impression that all is OK. 

The body of Christ must take this warning in 2 John seriously when they consider partnering with any organization, and former Adventists must take this seriously when they consider where they’ll bring their family to church or enroll them in school. If exposing God’s gathered people to false teachers is as serious as John says, how much more dangerous is it when a sheep is separated from the herd and surrounded by false teaching week by week or day by day? If our greatest call is to hold fast to the truth, why would put ourselves or our loved ones in the most dangerous place we could— among false teachers and false teaching? 

The Call to be Separate And to Run the Race

I know what’s on the line for those who leave Adventism for the gospel, but so does Jesus. In Mark 10:28 Peter said to Him, “See, we have left everything and followed you.” And in verses 29, 30 Jesus responded to Peter with a promise that is still true today, “Truly, I say to you, there is no one who has left house or brothers or sisters or mother or father or children or lands, for my sake and for the gospel, who will not receive a hundredfold now in this time, houses and brothers and sisters and mothers and children and lands, with persecutions, and in the age to come eternal life.”

 If you find yourself at this crossroads trying to decide if it’s OK to stay in the fellowship of Seventh-day Adventism or if you should leave and join a Christian church, I hope that you will consider spending time on your own in the passages I’ve shared with you above. Consider the implications of your ongoing participation. Consider the testimony your presence gives to onlookers in your life, whether at home, in your personal circle, or those Christians outside of Adventism who don’t fully know it’s dangers. 

More than any of that, consider what God says in His word as He calls His people to come out of the deceptions of Babylon and to come out of idolatry and to come to Him with their whole heart and full loyalty no matter the cost. Trusting God’s leading is new after Adventism, but I hope that you know you can trust Him to keep His promises no matter where He leads you. God knows what He’s asking of you. He knows what your struggle is. In His sovereignty and providence He has brought you to this very place. Trust Him with it and abide in His word knowing that if you have truly been born of Him it will lead you in accordance with His will. 

Remember that you’re not alone. If you’re a new believer, you have come to a long legacy of those who have given up earthly treasures to follow the Lord. “Therefore, since we are surrounded by so great a cloud of witnesses, let us also lay aside every weight, and sin which clings so closely, and let us run with endurance the race that is set before us, looking to Jesus, the founder and perfecter of our faith, who for the joy that was set before him endured the cross, despising the shame, and is seated at the right hand of the throne of God. Consider him who endured from sinners such hostility against himself, so that you may not grow weary or fainthearted” (Heb. 12:1-3). †

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Nicole Stevenson

Nicole Stevenson lives in Southern California with her husband Carel and her two children, Joshua and Abigail. Nicole graduated from La Sierra University with a degree in social work and is currently staying home to raise their kids. Nicole, with her husband Carel, was on the launch team of Redeemer Fellowship, an evangelical church in Loma Linda, California.

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