The Christian teaching of the Seventh-day Adventist Church

[BobRyan]

The Seventh-day Adventist denomination is a decidedly Christian denomination with Bible-based Christian doctrines.

The Doctrines of the Seventh-day Adventist church are reviewed and voted on by representatives from the entire world wide denomination - every 5 years. And they have remained more or less unchanged from their form at the start of the 1900's.

ChristianityToday identifies the Seventh-day Adventist denomination as the 5th largest Christian denomination in the world - in its Feb 2015 article.

Central doctrines of the Seventh-day Adventist Church include
1. 66 books of the Bible - and Sola Scriptura testing of all doctrine and practice.
2. One Gospel - saved by grace through faith - for all of time in both OT and NT.
3. The Protestant day-for-year historicist method of interpreting prophecy
4. Bodily incarnation of God the Son as Jesus Christ, literal bodily resurrection of Christ, literal 2nd coming, literal hell , literal future resurrection of the saints, literal 1000 years millennium, literal lake of fire event after the 1000 years and literal great white throne judgment in Rev 20 as well as a literal New Earth in Rev 21-22.
5. God the Father, God the Son, God the Holy Spirit as the "Triune Godhead" -- all of them eternal, all knowing, all powerful, and all wise. Referred to as "The Trinity" and they alone are God in all the universe (and of course - only 1 universe).
6. Literal 7 day creation of the world less than 10,000 years ago. (Most Adventists believe the world is about 6000 years old).
7. The Atoning Sacrifice of Christ 1 John 2:2 full and complete 2000 years ago .. and it is for "our sins and not for our sins only but for the sins of the entire world" 1 John 2:2
8. The Bible doctrine of Atonement as we see it in Leviticus 16 includes both the "Atoning Sacrifice of Christ" on the cross as the "sin offering" - but also what Paul calls the "main point' in Hebrews 8:1-6 which is that Christ is now in heaven's Sanctuary as our High Priest "seated at the right hand of the Father"
9. The Gospel preached in all the world and then the end will come - the 2nd coming.. Matthew 24.
10. All Ten of God's Ten Commandments are included in the moral LAW of God written on the heart under the New Covenant of Jer 31:31-33 as almost all Christian denominations have affirmed. (including the "Baptist Confession of Faith", the "Westminster Confession of Faith", D.L. Moody, the Catholic Catechism, C.H. Spurgeon, R.C.Sproul etc).
11. All mankind are sinners, all have a fallen nature and all are enslaved to sin apart from the gospel. But the Gospel is offered to all mankind and enables the choice to accept salvation for all - so that "whosoever will" may come to Christ. "If anyone hears my voice AND opens the door - I will come in" Rev 3.
12. Spiritual gifts of 1 Cor 12 are still valid today - but what is popularly called "the gift of tongues" today is not what is found in scripture - not in Acts 2, 1 Cor 12, 1 Cor 14 etc, and so that popular form of it is not practiced in the Seventh-day Adventist church.
13. Assurance of Salvation in the form stated in scriptures such as Romans 8:16 "the Spirit bears witness with our spirit that we ARE the children of God" - and the many "by this we know" statements in 1 John.

So Adventists are saying that tongues ARE one of the gifts in 1 Cor 12 and ARE what we find in scripture and are still valid - but what we see popularly practiced today is not the Bible gift of tongues.

(BTW - thanks to everyone for their participation)

 

[Dave-W]

Point 12. If tongues are NOT as presented in scripture, does that not mean you are leaving sola scriptura on at least that point?

And just what constitutes that gift in today’s church? (And interpretation as well)

 

[BobRyan]

Point 12. If tongues are NOT as presented in scripture, does that not mean you are leaving sola scriptura on at least that point?

And just what constitutes that gift in today’s church? (And interpretation as well)

I may not have been clear - the statement is saying that tongues ARE one of the gifts in 1 Cor 12 and ARE what we find in scripture and are still valid - but what we see popularly practiced today is not the Bible gift of tongues. (Will add this for clarification)

 

[BobRyan]

as a point of context -- my claim is not that everyone will agree with everything posted in the OP.

I should've clarified, I hold to no other doctrines that are distinctly SDA. Most of the 12 tenets that you cited, are adhered to by most Christian groups. .

Thanks. I would be surprised if you did hold to more than one or two doctrines that are "distinctly SDA" -- so I think that is to be expected.

 

[BobRyan]

On another thread we find this --

I find it sad that a thread is used to make a long list of items which attack any religious body, but especially a Christian denomination. As far as vegetarianism goes, most of us would be a lot healthier if we became vegetarians and I doubt very much that the SDA Church actually demands such of their members. Also, there seems to be some evidence that the Essenes were vegetarians and many believe that Jesus associated closely with said group, as he never condemned them.

good points - all.

 

[BobRyan]

bbbbbbb said: ↑
His faith icon is Christian, not Catholic. At CF Catholic means Roman Catholic. He is not Roman Catholic, but Christian. His point is that the Seventh Day Adventist Church is a false religion based upon a false prophetess. I think you will agree with that, will you not?

No I would not.

Good point. "factless denomination bashing" is not even remotely the same thing as looking at facts, evaluating actual details".

ChristianityToday identifies the Seventh-day Adventist denomination as the 5th largest Christian denomination in the world - in its Feb 2015 article. But that is not the same thing as claiming that all Christians agree with all the doctrines of any one Christian denomination - not even the Adventist one.

 

[BobRyan]

Do you think he was trying to negate the ten commandments, which is God's law...nope..read it carefully and you will see..then read Romans 3.31 do we make void the law through faith? God forbid. We establish the law..and read 1st JOHN numerous sections on keeping God's law the ten commandments...for example this is the love of God that we keep His commandments and they are not burdensome.

Excellent point.

 

[BobRyan]

now faith said: ↑
No I would not.

Good point. "factless denomination bashing" is not even remotely the same thing as looking at facts, evaluating actual details".

ChristianityToday identifies the Seventh-day Adventist denomination as the 5th largest Christian denomination in the world - in its Feb 2015 article. But that is not the same thing as claiming that all Christians agree with all the doctrines of any one Christian denomination - not even the Adventist one.

Faith - you are right to say that simply bickering or as some folks say "name calling" is not productive.

As you can see in the OP on this thread - a lot of points are shared by almost every denomination.

 

[SeamusDelion]

Here are nine things you should know about that denomination:

1. Seventh-day Adventists compose one-half of 1 percent of the U.S. adult population, and 1.2 million people in the North America belong to the denomination. But around the world there are 18.1 million SDAs, making them a larger global presence than the Southern Baptist Convention (15.5 million), the United Methodist Church (12.8 million), or Mormonism (15.3 million).

2. Seventh-day Adventism (hereafter SDA) sprung up in upstate New York in the 1840s, an offshoot of the Millerite movement that arose during the religious revival known as the Second Great Awakening. At that time a Baptist preacher named William Miller predicted and preached that, based on his reading of Daniel 8:14, Christ would return sometime between March 21, 1843, and March 21, 1844. The failure of this prediction—known as the Great Disappointment—led many Millerites to become disillusioned. But Hiram Edson claimed to have seen a vision of Jesus standing at the altar of heaven and concluded that Miller had been right about the time but wrong about the place. As Matt Slick explains, “In other words, Jesus’s return was not to earth but a move into the heavenly sanctuary as is referenced in Hebrews 8:1-2.” The development of this doctrine, known as “Sanctuary/investigative judgment” (see below), influenced Joseph Bates and James and Ellen White, the founding pioneers of the SDA church.

3. SDAs claim the Bible as their “only creed” and consider the movement to be “the result of the Protestant conviction Sola Scriptura—the Bible as the only standard of faith and practice for Christians.” They hold “certain fundamental beliefs to be the teaching of Holy Scriptures,” doctrines known as the 28 Fundamental Beliefs, which are organized into six categories—the doctrines of God, man, salvation, the church, the Christian life, and last day events.

4. The 28 Fundamental Beliefs are considered descriptive of the church’s official position, but they are not prescriptive for membership. Baptism by immersion is the criteria for membership, which is predicated on a public examination of candidates either before the entire congregation, a church board, or elders. The minister or elder can give the candidate one of two sets of baptismal vows, one consisting of 13 vows or one consisting of the following three questions:

1. Do you accept Jesus Christ as your personal Savior and Lord, and do you desire to live your life in a saving relationship with him?

2. Do you accept the teachings of the Bible as expressed in the Statement of Fundamental Beliefs of the Seventh-day Adventist Church, and do you pledge by God’s grace to live your life in harmony with these teachings?

3. Do you desire to be baptized as a public expression of your belief in Jesus Christ, to be accepted into the fellowship of the Seventh-day Adventist Church, and to support the church and its mission as a faithful steward by your personal influence, tithes and offerings, and a life of service?

5. Most of the 28 Fundamental Beliefs are similar to doctrines professed by evangelical Protestant denominations. The three main SDA doctrines considered heterodox by evangelicals are Sabbatarianism (a required observance of the Sabbath, which they believe falls on Saturday), the gift of prophecy as “manifested in the ministry of Ellen G. White,” and the Sanctuary Doctrine.

6. The Sanctuary Doctrine is the most distinctive Adventist doctrine. Orthodox Christians commonly hold that Jesus, as our high priest, intercedes for us at God’s right hand (Heb 4:14-16; 6:20; 7:25). But SDAs also believe that Christ entered the “sanctuary in heaven” and after a “prophetic period of 2,300 days” (ending in 1844) he entered the second and last phase of his atoning ministry, a work of “blotting out” sin. As Kenneth R. Samples explains,

From his ascension until 1844, Jesus had been applying the forgiveness he purchased on the cross in the first compartment of the sanctuary, but in 1844, he entered the second compartment and began to investigate the lives of those who had received forgiveness to see if they were worthy of eternal life. Only those who passed this judgment could be assured of being translated at his coming. This doctrine gave rise to what later became known as the sinless perfection teaching (perfect commandment-keeping in order to find acceptance in the judgment). Following the investigative judgment, Christ would come out of the heavenly sanctuary and return to earth bringing to every man his reward, and ushering in the great and terrible day of the Lord. It is 1844, and the events described above, which mark the beginning of SDA.

7. The other unique belief of SDA is in the “prophetic” ministry of Ellen G. White (1827-1915). During her lifetime White produced more than 5,000 periodical articles and 40 books totaling some 25 million words. (SDAs claim, probably correctly, that White is the “most translated woman in literature.”) From the time she was 17 years old until she died 70 years later, she claimed to have had approximately 2,000 visions and dreams, ranging from less that a minute to four hours. The 27 Fundamental Beliefs states, “Her writings speak with prophetic authority and provide comfort, guidance, instruction, and correction to the church. They also make clear that the Bible is the standard by which all teaching and experience must be tested.” Some Adventist scholars claim that as much as 90 percent of White’s writings were plagiarized, though the White estate claims it is only about 2 percent.

8. For about a hundred years—1840s to 1950s—many evangelical denominations considered SDA to be a non-Christian cult (like the Jehovah’s Witnesses). But dialogue with SDA scholars and apologists in the 1950s led to a reconsideration of that position by some evangelicals. As Kenneth R. Samples says, the dialogue convinced many that “SDA was not an anti-Christian cult, but rather a somewhat heterodox (i.e., departing from accepted doctrine) Christian denomination.” The Christian Research Institute provides a key example of the rationale for this view:

Since SDA does accept the foundational doctrines of historic Christianity (the Trinity, Christ’s true deity, his bodily resurrection, etc.) we do not believe that it should be classified as a non-Christian cult. It is our conviction that one cannot be a true Jehovah’s Witness, Mormon, Christian Scientist, etc., and be a practicing Christian in the biblical sense of the word; but it is possible to be a Seventh-day Adventist and a true follower of Jesus, despite certain distinctive Adventist doctrines which we consider to be unbiblical.

Although few evangelicals today consider SDA a non-Christian cult, many still caution against embracing the denomination as an acceptable branch of Protestantism. As Nathan Busenitz says, “In spite of the ecumenical spirit that has pervaded evangelicalism over the last few decades, there are still major deficiencies within official SDA theology that ought to give evangelical Christians serious pause.”

9. The question and answer sessions between evangelical and SDA scholars in the 1950s led to the release of the Adventist publication Questions on Doctrine, a document considered to be the origin of “Evangelical Adventism.” However, not everyone in the SDA church agreed with this book or its positions. Some considered it a watering down of “traditional” Adventists teachings to appease evangelicals. Those who endorse this view are sometimes referred to as subscribing to “Traditional Adventism.” Kenneth R. Samples identifies five positions commonly held by Traditional Adventists:

1. Righteousness by faith: Righteousness by faith included both justification and sanctification. Our standing before God rests both in the imputed and imparted righteousness of Christ (God's work for me and in me). Justification is for sins committed in the past only.

2. The human nature of Christ: Jesus Christ possessed a human nature that not only was weakened by sin, but had propensities toward sin itself. His nature was like that of Adam after the fall. Because of his success in overcoming sin, Jesus is primarily our example.

3. The events of 1844: Jesus entered into the second compartment of the heavenly sanctuary for the first time on October 22, 1844, and began an investigative judgment. This judgment is the fulfillment of the second phase of Christ’s atoning work.

4. Assurance of salvation: Our standing before God rests in both the imputed and imparted righteousness of Christ; assurance of salvation before the judgment is presumptuous. As Jesus, our example, showed us, perfect commandment keeping is possible.

5. The authority of Ellen G. White: The spirit of prophecy was manifest in the ministry of Ellen White as a sign of the remnant church. Her writings are inspired counsel from the Lord and authoritative in doctrinal matters.

 

[BobRyan]

2018 -- Church Membership, December 31, 2018 21,414,779

Statistics – Seventh-day Adventist Church Official Web Site

 

[BobRyan]

However, not everyone in the SDA church agreed with this book or its positions. Some considered it a watering down

In what denomination could you not say "not everyone agrees..." and "Some consider...". Those sorts of loose statements are not indicative of anything "except" that what follows it " is not something the Adventist denomination endorses".

Those who endorse this view are sometimes referred to as subscribing to “Traditional Adventism.” Kenneth R. Samples identifies five positions commonly held by Traditional Adventists:
.

A good example of finding some undefined and small group of "some" and then coming up with their own list doctrines/distinctives as formulated and dictated for them by "Keneth R Samples" who does not even appear to BE a Seventh-day Adventist nor was he ever one from the looks of that link you gave.

Your statement is true that the SDA denomination is not a cult, and it is larger than the Southern Baptist denomination - and "5. Most of the 28 Fundamental Beliefs are similar to doctrines professed by evangelical Protestant denominations. "

But if you think that all non-SDA denominations are in full agreement on all their doctrines then I think you are missing some "details"

 

[SeamusDelion]

In what denomination could you not say "not everyone agrees..." and "Some consider...". Those sorts of loose statements are not indicative of anything "except" that what follows it " is not something the Adventist denomination endorses".



A good example of finding some undefined and small group of "some" and then coming up with their own list doctrines/distinctives as formulated and dictated for them by "Keneth R Samples" who does not even appear to BE a Seventh-day Adventist nor was he ever one from the looks of that link you gave.

So while your statement is true that the SDA denomination is not a cult, and it is larger than the Southern Baptist denominatinon - still you are not addressing the details in the OP at least enough to say something of the sort "yes those statements are true - but also there are some differences".

I'm Reformed, and do not advocate for 7th day Adventist. However I was just posting information about them that's soreced from the internet and this was not meant to offend anyone but be informative. I can say the same thing about people in my denomination, they claim to be Christian but are not.

Chill out please.

 

[BobRyan]

I'm Reformed, and do not advocate for 7th day Adventist.

I gathered that from the website where you may have taken that post from (Foundation Documents of The Gospel Coalition). Certainly it is true that Seventh-day Adventist are not Calvinists but a few other Christian denominations are also not Calvinist as I am sure we both agree.

However I was just posting information about them that's soreced from the internet

The source appears to be from a reformed web site... correct?

Anyone is free to differ - obviously in my view we all have free will and can choose as we like. Its just that any time I see "some say" or "not everyone agrees" as a way to setup a statement - it translates to "is always true of almost any statement you want to make" that: A "some say" and B "not everyone agrees".

I have had a few discussions with people holding to the reformed position and it is not clear to me that they are all of the same opinion on everything. I don't view that as an issue of salvation between them - just a fact of life that "there are always some differences" within any group you might select.

C.H. Spurgeon is an example of a Reformed theologian whose writings I like to read, for example in the case of the "Baptist Confession of Faith".

 

[faroukfarouk]

Here are nine things you should know about that denomination:

1. Seventh-day Adventists compose one-half of 1 percent of the U.S. adult population, and 1.2 million people in the North America belong to the denomination. But around the world there are 18.1 million SDAs, making them a larger global presence than the Southern Baptist Convention (15.5 million), the United Methodist Church (12.8 million), or Mormonism (15.3 million).

2. Seventh-day Adventism (hereafter SDA) sprung up in upstate New York in the 1840s, an offshoot of the Millerite movement that arose during the religious revival known as the Second Great Awakening. At that time a Baptist preacher named William Miller predicted and preached that, based on his reading of Daniel 8:14, Christ would return sometime between March 21, 1843, and March 21, 1844. The failure of this prediction—known as the Great Disappointment—led many Millerites to become disillusioned. But Hiram Edson claimed to have seen a vision of Jesus standing at the altar of heaven and concluded that Miller had been right about the time but wrong about the place. As Matt Slick explains, “In other words, Jesus’s return was not to earth but a move into the heavenly sanctuary as is referenced in Hebrews 8:1-2.” The development of this doctrine, known as “Sanctuary/investigative judgment” (see below), influenced Joseph Bates and James and Ellen White, the founding pioneers of the SDA church.

3. SDAs claim the Bible as their “only creed” and consider the movement to be “the result of the Protestant conviction Sola Scriptura—the Bible as the only standard of faith and practice for Christians.” They hold “certain fundamental beliefs to be the teaching of Holy Scriptures,” doctrines known as the 28 Fundamental Beliefs, which are organized into six categories—the doctrines of God, man, salvation, the church, the Christian life, and last day events.

4. The 28 Fundamental Beliefs are considered descriptive of the church’s official position, but they are not prescriptive for membership. Baptism by immersion is the criteria for membership, which is predicated on a public examination of candidates either before the entire congregation, a church board, or elders. The minister or elder can give the candidate one of two sets of baptismal vows, one consisting of 13 vows or one consisting of the following three questions:

1. Do you accept Jesus Christ as your personal Savior and Lord, and do you desire to live your life in a saving relationship with him?

2. Do you accept the teachings of the Bible as expressed in the Statement of Fundamental Beliefs of the Seventh-day Adventist Church, and do you pledge by God’s grace to live your life in harmony with these teachings?

3. Do you desire to be baptized as a public expression of your belief in Jesus Christ, to be accepted into the fellowship of the Seventh-day Adventist Church, and to support the church and its mission as a faithful steward by your personal influence, tithes and offerings, and a life of service?

5. Most of the 28 Fundamental Beliefs are similar to doctrines professed by evangelical Protestant denominations. The three main SDA doctrines considered heterodox by evangelicals are Sabbatarianism (a required observance of the Sabbath, which they believe falls on Saturday), the gift of prophecy as “manifested in the ministry of Ellen G. White,” and the Sanctuary Doctrine.

6. The Sanctuary Doctrine is the most distinctive Adventist doctrine. Orthodox Christians commonly hold that Jesus, as our high priest, intercedes for us at God’s right hand (Heb 4:14-16; 6:20; 7:25). But SDAs also believe that Christ entered the “sanctuary in heaven” and after a “prophetic period of 2,300 days” (ending in 1844) he entered the second and last phase of his atoning ministry, a work of “blotting out” sin. As Kenneth R. Samples explains,

From his ascension until 1844, Jesus had been applying the forgiveness he purchased on the cross in the first compartment of the sanctuary, but in 1844, he entered the second compartment and began to investigate the lives of those who had received forgiveness to see if they were worthy of eternal life. Only those who passed this judgment could be assured of being translated at his coming. This doctrine gave rise to what later became known as the sinless perfection teaching (perfect commandment-keeping in order to find acceptance in the judgment). Following the investigative judgment, Christ would come out of the heavenly sanctuary and return to earth bringing to every man his reward, and ushering in the great and terrible day of the Lord. It is 1844, and the events described above, which mark the beginning of SDA.

7. The other unique belief of SDA is in the “prophetic” ministry of Ellen G. White (1827-1915). During her lifetime White produced more than 5,000 periodical articles and 40 books totaling some 25 million words. (SDAs claim, probably correctly, that White is the “most translated woman in literature.”) From the time she was 17 years old until she died 70 years later, she claimed to have had approximately 2,000 visions and dreams, ranging from less that a minute to four hours. The 27 Fundamental Beliefs states, “Her writings speak with prophetic authority and provide comfort, guidance, instruction, and correction to the church. They also make clear that the Bible is the standard by which all teaching and experience must be tested.” Some Adventist scholars claim that as much as 90 percent of White’s writings were plagiarized, though the White estate claims it is only about 2 percent.

8. For about a hundred years—1840s to 1950s—many evangelical denominations considered SDA to be a non-Christian cult (like the Jehovah’s Witnesses). But dialogue with SDA scholars and apologists in the 1950s led to a reconsideration of that position by some evangelicals. As Kenneth R. Samples says, the dialogue convinced many that “SDA was not an anti-Christian cult, but rather a somewhat heterodox (i.e., departing from accepted doctrine) Christian denomination.” The Christian Research Institute provides a key example of the rationale for this view:

Since SDA does accept the foundational doctrines of historic Christianity (the Trinity, Christ’s true deity, his bodily resurrection, etc.) we do not believe that it should be classified as a non-Christian cult. It is our conviction that one cannot be a true Jehovah’s Witness, Mormon, Christian Scientist, etc., and be a practicing Christian in the biblical sense of the word; but it is possible to be a Seventh-day Adventist and a true follower of Jesus, despite certain distinctive Adventist doctrines which we consider to be unbiblical.

Although few evangelicals today consider SDA a non-Christian cult, many still caution against embracing the denomination as an acceptable branch of Protestantism. As Nathan Busenitz says, “In spite of the ecumenical spirit that has pervaded evangelicalism over the last few decades, there are still major deficiencies within official SDA theology that ought to give evangelical Christians serious pause.”

9. The question and answer sessions between evangelical and SDA scholars in the 1950s led to the release of the Adventist publication Questions on Doctrine, a document considered to be the origin of “Evangelical Adventism.” However, not everyone in the SDA church agreed with this book or its positions. Some considered it a watering down of “traditional” Adventists teachings to appease evangelicals. Those who endorse this view are sometimes referred to as subscribing to “Traditional Adventism.” Kenneth R. Samples identifies five positions commonly held by Traditional Adventists:

1. Righteousness by faith: Righteousness by faith included both justification and sanctification. Our standing before God rests both in the imputed and imparted righteousness of Christ (God's work for me and in me). Justification is for sins committed in the past only.

2. The human nature of Christ: Jesus Christ possessed a human nature that not only was weakened by sin, but had propensities toward sin itself. His nature was like that of Adam after the fall. Because of his success in overcoming sin, Jesus is primarily our example.

3. The events of 1844: Jesus entered into the second compartment of the heavenly sanctuary for the first time on October 22, 1844, and began an investigative judgment. This judgment is the fulfillment of the second phase of Christ’s atoning work.

4. Assurance of salvation: Our standing before God rests in both the imputed and imparted righteousness of Christ; assurance of salvation before the judgment is presumptuous. As Jesus, our example, showed us, perfect commandment keeping is possible.

5. The authority of Ellen G. White: The spirit of prophecy was manifest in the ministry of Ellen White as a sign of the remnant church. Her writings are inspired counsel from the Lord and authoritative in doctrinal matters.

It's good to remember some of the stuff that SDAs believe, or are supposed to.

More broadly - and this is not exclusively about SDA - I struggle with the idea of the New Testament believer still being under the law; I would go to Hebrews 7, which seems to show that the law was changed (7.12) and what we now have is better than the law (7.19).

 

[SeamusDelion]

I gathered that from the website where you may have taken that post from (Foundation Documents of The Gospel Coalition). Certainly it is true that Seventh-day Adventist are not Calvinists but a few other Christian denominations are also not Calvinist as I am sure we both agree.



The source appears to be from a reformed web site... correct?

Anyone is free to differ - obviously in my view we all have free will and can choose as we like. Its just that any time I see "some say" or "not everyone agrees" as a way to setup a statement - it translates to "is always true of almost any statement you want to make" that: A "some say" and B "not everyone agrees".

I have had a few discussions with people holding to the reformed position and it is not clear to me that they are all of the same opinion on everything. I don't view that as an issue of salvation between them - just a fact of life that "there are always some differences" within any group you might select.

C.H. Spurgeon is an example of a Reformed theologian whose writings I like to read, for example in the case of the "Baptist Confession of Faith".

The website is not reformed that I am aware of.

However, if you have free will, stop sinning completely against God..

I'll wait.

 

[SeamusDelion]

It's good to remember some of the stuff that SDAs believe, or are supposed to.

More broadly - and this is not exclusively about SDA - I struggle with the idea of the New Testament believer still being under the law; I would go to Hebrews 7, which seems to show that the law was changed (7.12) and what we now have is better than the law (7.19).

Exactly, look what Paul did to peter who was preaching the law.. he rebuked him openly and put him to "open shame" being a hypocrite. If we are under law then whats the point of Jesus? I believe this is crucial when it comes to salvation. Scripture says to Contend for the faith (Jude: 3)

Also,



Titus 1:11 They must be silenced, since they are upsetting whole families by teaching for shameful gain what they ought not to teach. - Jews preaching the law.

 

[Albion]

The fact is, though, that some of the 12 points are NOT accepted by most Christians; and it's also a deliberately selective list, meaning that some of the SDA beliefs which are the most controversial are not included.

 

[BobRyan]

The website is not reformed that I am aware of.

However, if you have free will, stop sinning completely against God..

I'll wait.

Romans 8:4-12 says only the lost are in the condition where they "do not submit to the law of God neither indeed CAN they" by direct contrast to the case of the saints.

And the web site says this

Foundation Documents of The Gospel Coalition

We are a fellowship of evangelical churches in the Reformed tradition deeply committed to renewing our faith in the gospel of Christ

 

[BobRyan]

Exactly, look what Paul did to peter who was preaching the law.. he rebuked him openly and put him to "open shame" being a hypocrite. If we are under law then whats the point of Jesus? I believe this is crucial when it comes to salvation. Scripture says to Contend for the faith (Jude: 3)

Also,

Titus 1:11 They must be silenced, since they are upsetting whole families by teaching for shameful gain what they ought not to teach. - Jews preaching the law.

ok... so we agree on that much. It is always good to find that common ground.

 

[BobRyan]

The fact is, though, that some of the 12 points are NOT accepted by most Christians; and it's also a deliberately selective list, meaning that some of the SDA beliefs which are the most controversial are not included.

indeed it is a deliberately selective list. My point was to introduce the common ground so that the picture has some perspective to it ... instead of just staying focused on distinctives.