I Can’t Find Evidence That Sabbath Was Changed
I am so glad I came across your website. I come from the Russian Orthodox background, and I ended up attending a Christian school overseas as a teen. I attended Protestant churches, most recently more Reformed. But a few years ago I met a friend who was very knowledgeable about the Bible, and she invited me for weekly Bible studies.
We have been reading the Bible on and off for a year or so. I have been struggling with some of the things that I am learning—more specifically that we sleep when we die—and also that I am attending church on the wrong day of the week, a belief which is actually one of the commandments. My friend actually pointed to many passages in the Bible that confirm that Sabbath was never changed.
While I can find passages that actually do say that we die and go before the Lord, I can’t find anything to contradict the Saturday worship. At this point, I feel like I am breaking God’s commandment and Sunday was an idea of the Catholic Church.
Are there any supporting text in the Bible to help me with the Saturday vs Sunday.. is my friend right about the Saturday, all other Adventist idea aside?
Any information is helpful and appreciated. Thank you!
—VIA EMAIL
Response: Thank you so much for writing!
The Adventist arguments are extremely confusing and compelling, all at once. They use proof-texts out of context to make their points, and they misuse Scripture. Importantly, they interpret Scripture not by simply reading the words and applying the normal rules of context, grammar, and vocabulary, but they apply their unique worldview as a “lens” through which to understand Scripture.
In short, they are wrong about the Sabbath. The New Testament clearly reveals that the Lord Jesus fulfilled the Sabbath and has instituted a new covenant in His blood, not a covenant on the basis of the levitical priesthood and the Mosaic law. I will attach some links for you to read about the new covenant and Jesus’ fulfillment of it.
Further, I recommend the Former Adventist Podcast to you. We have a series on the biblical covenants. If you scroll back to podcast numbers 26, 27, 29, 31, 33, 35, and then continue in the series through the book of Hebrews beginning with #37, you will begin to understand how the biblical covenants work and how the New Covenant is based on a new basis: Jesus” shed blood and His new priesthood. The Old Covenant law is now obsolete (Hebrews 8:13), and we now worship in spirit and in truth (Jn. 4:24).
To be sure: the Sabbath was never changed: it was FULFILLED, as Jesus said He came to fulfill the law (see the article linked below: “The Law Fulfilled”). The Lord Jesus is our rest, as He proclaimed when He said, “Come Unto Me, and I will give you rest…” (Mt. 11:28–30).
Here is a link to the Former Adventist Podcast:
Here are some articles that will help:
Finally, Although we are not currently publishing a printed version of Proclamation! magazine, all our back issues are online here: ProclamationMagazine.com.
We have also added your name to our weekly Proclamation! email updates. You may need to add the email address mail@LifeAssuranceMinistries.org to your contacts in order for the email not to be directed toward your Spam folder. These emails will arrive every Friday. Archived articles are available at https://blog.lifeassuranceministries.org/magazine-archive/.
You might also enjoy our YouTube channel here: https://www.youtube.com/user/FormerAdventist/featured
In addition, we have another podcast called Former Adventist Fact Check in which we talk through the misinformation contained in the weekly Sabbath School lessons. You can find them here: https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/adventist-fact-check-with-colleen-tinker/id1721662293
Both podcasts are also on our YouTube channel above.
Help Finding A Church
I just stumbled upon your podcast episodes with Cultish and started going through your Former Adventists Podcast episodes all within the last week.
My wife and I both grew up Adventist and currently attend [a Adventist church on the campus of an Adventist university]. We previously had fallen away from church/religion and had gotten into the busyness of life, but we had an encounter with the gospel that shifted our view from what we had experienced growing up within Adventism. We started attending church again, and over the last year or so, I have realized the difference between the encounter we had and what the traditional Adventist understanding of the gospel is.
I can’t thank you enough for the work that you have done, as over this last week listening to your podcast episodes, I am beginning to put the difference that I have seen into clearer words and better understand the disconnect that I am experiencing within my Adventist circle.
All of this to say, I am still green behind the ears with exploring this new-found faith. Do you have any podcast episodes, articles, or other material that helps explain how to find a new Christian church? As I am starting on this journey I want to avoid any pitfalls while I am still examining the lens that I see the bible through and make sure I am stepping in the right direction to see the truth of what God has for me.
—VIA EMAIL
Response: Thank you so much for writing! I am thanking God for His work in your lives!
Finding a good church is truly a hard task when one first leaves, but there are some very helpful main points that can assist you. I will link you to an article which we recently published in our weekly Proclamation! email magazine that addresses this question and also provides links to a couple of resources including our pastor Gary Inrig’s teaching at an early FAF Conference about how to find a good church.
I would encourage you to stay immersed in Scripture. There are different interpretations leading to different doctrinal practices that derive from different hermetical principles. The Lord has graciously placed us under the teaching, first of our ministry founder Dale Ratzlaff and then, long-term, under the careful exposition of our pastor Gary Inrig who is a graduate from Dallas Seminary. In short, the Bible is a book, meant to be read in the normal way one would read any book. Context is everything; the first order of business is to observe the text and determine the audience, the purpose, and ask oneself questions about the actual words: what are the verbs? Are they present tense or future or past? What are the propositions? And what is the author actually saying?
Comparing the text with other texts comes AFTER reading it in a straightforward way: Context is everything; the words mean what they say and use normal rules of vocabulary. Unless a passage is clearly a figure of speech used to illustrate a truth, don’t assume that the passage is a metaphor or symbolic of something not clearly stated. As you read, and as you begin comparing the words with related passages by the same author in the same testament and then with related passages in the other testament, related ideas become more and more clear. (A good Bible translation with marginal references is a help.)
Meanwhile, I will link you to an article Nikki Stevenson wrote outlining her rules for reading the Bible. Studying carefully and contextually will reveal the treasure of the new covenant and the completed atonement of the Lord Jesus, and knowing biblical truth becomes a great source of protection and discernment as you visit churches and evaluate them.
Here is a recent article we published on finding a good church which includes links to a couple of further sources:
Meanwhile, although we are not currently publishing a printed version of Proclamation! magazine, all our back issues are online here: ProclamationMagazine.com.
You might also enjoy our YouTube channel here: https://www.youtube.com/user/FormerAdventist/featured
In addition, we have another podcast called Former Adventist Fact Check in which we talk through the misinformation contained in the weekly Sabbath School lessons. You can find them here: https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/adventist-fact-check-with-colleen-tinker/id1721662293
If you would like to join our weekly Bible study by Zoom on Friday evenings at 7:00 PM Pacific Time, just email this address, FormerAdventist@gmail.com, and request a zoom link for Bible study. †
- November 23–29, 2024 - November 21, 2024
- We Got Mail - November 21, 2024
- How can I be born again? - November 14, 2024