Sabbatical observance does not apply to us today, we Christians abide by the law of the Spirit.
If you focus on Ellen G. White who is a false teacher, you would be able to debunk the Seventh-Day Adventist Church. By rejecting her writing, we would be debunking the entire movement.
Weird things that Ellen White believes in
#1. Wearing wigs can cause diseases
“Fashion loads that women wear with artificial braids and pads which do not add to their beauty, but give an unnatural shape to their head. The hair is strained and forced into unnatural positions and it is not possible for the heads of these fashionable ladies to be comfortable. The artificial hair and pads cover the base of the brain, heat, and excite the spinal nerve centering in the brain. The head should ever be kept cool. The heat caused by these artificial induces the blood to the brain. The action of the blood upon the lower or animal organs of the brain causes unnatural activity, tends to recklessness in morals, and the mind and heart are in danger of being corrupted. As the animal organs are excited and strengthened, the moral are enfeebled. The moral and intellectual power of the mind become servants to the animal.”
There’s some language of the evolution here, apart from the weirdness of women wearing wigs being immoral.
#2. Coffee and tea cause spiritual illness
“Diseases of every stripe and type have been brought upon human being by the use of tea and coffee and narcotics, opium, and tobacco. Tea and coffee drinking is a sin, an injurious indulgence which like other evils injures the soul.” Councils on Diet and Food, page 421, 425.
That’s why the Seventh-Day Adventism movement makes a huge issue about health and diet because their founder was like that.
#3. Lordship salvation
Despite the Seventh-Day Adventism is a cult religion, they may be saved and are evangelical but they believe in works for salvation. They are not very strict about following Ellen White and changed a lot through modern times. Christ will help you keep the works of the law until you go to heaven.
False Teachings of the Seventh Day Adventist Church
1. Obedience to the law is vital to our salvation
This is by Seventh Day Adventist Belief, “a Biblical Exposition of 27 Fundamental Doctrines” (page 237) which is the title of their whole creed.
“As the expression of God’s character and love the 10 commandments reveal his will and purpose for Humanity. They demand perfect obedience for whosoever shall keep the whole law and yet stumble in one point, he is guilty of all. James 2:10 obedience to the law as the rule of life is vital to our salvation.”
Obedience to the law is vital to our salvation is what they said. To debunk that, we can go to Galatians 5 and Romans 7 to see that it’s an everyday yielding to the Holy Spirit. We can choose to yield to sin or to the Holy Spirit.
2. Admission into heaven is a character built on the 10 commandments
One of their other books “Saved by grace” (pages 45-46):
“Matthew 18:17 In other words the standard for admission into heaven is a character built according to the 10 specifications.”
The 10 specifications refer to the 10 commandments. That is definitely not saved by grace. Remember that we all fall short of the grace of God (Romans 3:23) and that’s why we cannot keep the law and need grace for our salvation.
3. The law is a covenant of salvation
“Statement number 19, the Law of God” found in the book “In His Steps” by the General Conference of Seventh-day Adventists.
“God’s law is in the eternal expression of his love and will it is the basis both for his covenant of salvation with mankind and for the judgment so they believe the law is a covenant of salvation.”
That’s very tricky language there, but the law is not a covenant of salvation. Grace is.
4. You need to be baptized to be saved
Here is another one of their articles “What Adventists believe” by General Conference of Seventh-Day Adventists (2013, April 19th at their website www.adventist.org/beliefs/).
“To help us understand how God can transform us into his children, Jesus modeled the process of baptism for us. Through baptism, we are truly born again in Jesus.”
5. You need to bring fruits worthy of repentance to be baptized to be saved
Source: Seventh-Day Adventists Beliefs – A Biblical Exposition of 27 fundamental doctrines (1988) pages 183, 188 again by their Ministerial Association General Conference of Seventh-day Adventists.
“However while baptism is vitally linked to salvation, it does not guarantee salvation. But unless they also bring forth fruits worthy of repentance Matthew chapter 3 verse 8 they will not have met the biblical requirements for baptism their lives ought to demonstrate their commitment to the truth as it is in Jesus and express their love to God through obedience to His commandments in preparing for baptism they ought to have surrendered erroneous beliefs and practices.”
So baptism is required for salvation. But before they can get baptized, they are going to make sure that they keep the commandments. This is quite wrong!
6. You need to have truly repented of sin to be saved
Another quote from Ellen White, “The Great Controversy”, 2002, page 483.
“All who have truly repented of sin and by faith claim the blood of Christ as their atoning sacrifice have had pardon entered against their names in the books of heaven as they have become partakers of the righteousness of Christ and their character are found to be in harmony with the law of God. Their sins will be blotted out and they themselves will be accounted worthy of eternal life.”
What they are saying is unless you really repented of sin, you are not really saved. It is not possible for a Christian to be completely removed of sin.
7. Experimental faith, if you don’t bear fruit, you are not saved
Another article from Ellen G. White, titled “Jesus is knocking at the heart”, in “Signs of the Times” magazine, dated March 3rd, 1980.
“In order to let Jesus into our hearts, we must stop sinning. This should impress us all with the importance of having a living faith in Jesus as our personal Savior. Many say that all we have to do is believe, but they make the service of Christ altogether too superficial. They are satisfied with the nominal belief in Christ but it is not enough to merely assert that Jesus is the Son of God, we must abide in him as the branch abides in the vine. We must have an experimental faith, faith that works by love and purifies a soul. Then we have evidence that we bear fruit to the glory of God. What is it to bear fruit to the glory of God – it is to manifest the love of Jesus in our daily life. To be kind and courteous and forbearing to those around us and to try and lead them to the Savior.
The Bible says “Believe on the Lord Jesus Christ and thou shalt be saved,” (Acts 16:31) but Ellen White is saying the opposite.
“The divine light that shines in the face of Jesus shines also in the heart of the believers and they walk in the light as he is in the light now. That same Jesus represents himself as standing at the door of our hearts and knocking for entrance. Every one of us has a work to do, to open the door if we would have Jesus as our guest. The work of perfecting the soul through obedience to all God’s requirements must be constantly going on in our lives.”
Experimenting means works and action.
How many of us Christians fail the above today?
“All who are faithful in his service will become members of the royal family, children of the heavenly king. Is this not an exalted privilege? We should seek to increase in knowledge and wisdom for we are to take our talents of intellect into the future world. Our minds should become strengthened and our hearts refined and elevated that Jesus may take possession of them. We must imitate his character if we would find ourselves in the society of holy angels in the kingdom of glory.”
So, we are to act like Jesus if we want to enter into the Kingdom of God? Good luck with that!
8. If you trampled on God’s law, you are not going to heaven
“All who enter there will be obedient to the law of God, That law may be trampled underfoot here by those who are rebels to God’s government but Jesus said “Blessed are they that do His commandments” that they may have right to the Tree of Life and may enter in through the gates into the city.”
If there are times you have trampled on God’s law, you have become God’s rebel and you’re not going to heaven.
9. Parents who fail to bring their children up in God’s ways are not saved
Another article from Ellen White titled “To the reader” in “Child guidance” page 13.
“But all cannot enter, some are left outside with their children whose characters have not been transformed by submission to the will of God. A hand is raised and the words are spoken. You have neglected home duties. You have failed to do the work that would have fitted the soul for a home in heaven. You cannot enter. The gates are closed to the children because they have not learned to do the will of God and to the parents, because they have neglected the responsibilities resting upon them.”
Lots of Christian parents are going to hell then.
10. Works to put away sin, no mediator, no intercession of Christ
Another quote from her famous book “The Great Controversy”, dated 2002, page 425 by Ellen G. White herself.
“Those who are living upon the earth when the intercession of Christ shall cease in the sanctuary above to stand in the sight of a holy God without a mediator, their robes must be spotless, their characters must be purified from sin by the blood of sprinkling through the grace of God, through the grace of God and their own diligent effort. They must be conquerors in the battle with evil. While the investigative judgment is going forward in heaven, while the sins of penitent believers are being removed from the sanctuary, there is to be a special work, a purification of putting away of sin by Jesus Christ among God’s people upon earth.”
The intercession of Christ and without a mediator?
Works to put away sin.
As we can see from the above, they are false doctrines from the Seventh Day Adventist Church. Now, to debunk or give answers to objections by the Seventh Day Adventists, we have to show them the biblical teaching on views of salvation (salvation by grace through faith alone in the church age) and dispensationalism to not follow the Old Testament laws anymore.
Debunking Lordship salvation
We need to know all the verses that debunk Lordship salvation because it’s not just the Seventh-Day Adventism that believes in this.
Romans 11:6 And if by grace, then is it no more of works: otherwise grace is no more grace. But if it be of works, then it is no more grace: otherwise work is no more work.
“If you are saved by grace, there should be works coming out” is what Lordship salvationists say. No, the Bible says that grace is grace and works are works. As a Christian, we work by praying, reading the Bible, soul-winning. But, when it comes to salvation, there is absolutely nothing we can do in order to save ourselves. It’s only the blood of Jesus Christ that can save us.
Romans 4:4-5 Now to him that worketh is the reward not reckoned of grace, but of debt. But to him that worketh not, but believeth on him that justifieth the ungodly, his faith is counted for righteousness.
If Jesus Christ said “I paid it in full”, He meant it. There is no leftover bill.
Galatians 2:21 I do not frustrate the grace of God: for if righteousness come by the law, then Christ is dead in vain.
If you think that your works after salvation count towards your salvation, then why would Jesus Christ even need to die? Jesus would have died for nothing.
Seventh-Day Adventist Church arguments against Christian proof text
Colossians 2:13-14, 16 And you, being dead in your sins and the uncircumcision of your flesh, hath he quickened together with him, having forgiven you all trespasses; Blotting out the handwriting of ordinances that was against us, which was contrary to us, and took it out of the way, nailing it to his cross; Let no man therefore judge you in meat, or in drink, or in respect of an holyday, or of the new moon, or of the sabbath days:
Because Jesus died at the cross, He blotted out the law. Paul was referring to the Levitical law.
Meat – Seventh-Day Adventism vegetarian
Drink – Seventh-Day Adventism no coffee and tea
Sabbath day – Seventh-Day Adventism observance
Argument A: The Seventh-Day Adventist Church will say that this is not about blotting out the law, but it’s about your sin. That is not true because “handwriting of ordinances” refers to the law of commandments.
Ephesians 2:15-16 Having abolished in his flesh the enmity,even the law of commandments contained in ordinances; for to make in himself of twain one new man, so making peace; And that he might reconcile both unto God in one body by the cross, having slain the enmity thereby:
Argument B: Paul is not talking about weekly Sabbath day, but it’s about the annual Sabbath day. This is debunked easily because of “Sabbath” days, not day in verse 16.
Hosea 2:11 I will also cause all her mirth to cease, her feast days, her new moons, and her sabbaths, and all her solemn feasts.
The above passage seems to show that there are annual feasts, Sabbath days. But that’s not true because, in the following passage, it was very clear that there are six days denoting that it’s a weekly practice.
Leviticus 23:2-3 Speak unto the children of Israel, and say unto them, Concerning the feasts of the Lord, which ye shall proclaim to be holy convocations, even these are my feasts. Six days shall work be done: but the seventh day is the sabbath of rest, an holy convocation; ye shall do no work therein: it is the sabbath of the Lord in all your dwellings.
Look up the term “Sabbath” in the Bible. It is always a weekly thing, not an annual thing. Some references:
- Matthew 12:5,10,12
- Mark 3:4
- Luke 4:31, 6:2,9
- Acts 17:2
For further reading,
– Christian answers for a Seventh Day Adventist
– What is wrong with Seventh Day Adventists?