The day the Seventh-Day Adventist came to visit.

“Therefore, let no man act as your judge in regard to food or drink or in respect to a festival or a new moon or a Sabbath day–things which are a mere shadow of what is to come; but the substance belongs to Christ” (Colossians 2:16-17).

I’m not sure why some people want to fight over which day of the week to worship. Why not worship Him every day?

Let’s thank the Lord for every day of every week, praising Him that this one also is “the day He has made” and declare that “we will rejoice and be glad in it!”

But some people choose one day for special religious duties and insist that everyone else should too. Those who don’t are disobeying Scripture, disappointing God, and deserting their duty.  According to them, such backsliders are in big trouble.

People making an issue over the Sabbath need an answer.

When Bill and his wife came to see me about this, I prayed for humility and for the Lord’s presence. There is so much about my own faith I do not know, much less what he believes.

His wife was a member of our church and Bill said he was a Seventh-Day Adventist.  How active he was or how thoroughly his views represented that denomination’s theology, I have no idea.

They stayed two hours. It went well, as far as I could see, and Bill was appreciative.  He was strong on some points.

According to my notes, these were the points I tried to get across to Bill. (And yes, I do wish I’d jotted down the points he made. For that I apologize.)

Why we do not keep the 7th day as our Sabbath or day of worship.

1) Colossians 2:16-17 (the text quoted above) No one is to judge us regarding “sabbaths”–all of them. The text does not distinguish between various kinds of sabbaths.  Do not let anyone judge you–make determinations about your salvation or spirituality or orthodoxy–with regard to food and drink, festivals, new moons or Sabbath days.

I read that and smile and think how obeying this one text would have aborted ten thousand sermons from preachers over the centuries.

2) Matthew 5:17.  Jesus came to fulfill the law. We no longer offer sacrifices. We do not keep the Jewish holy days. We are not bound to the Sabbath. It’s fulfilled. No word in the Old Testament holds us other than God’s eternal truth which is repeated, echoed, and reinforced in the New Testament.

3) To prove that we are not bound by the Old Law, check Acts 15.  When church leaders convened in Jerusalem (called “The First Council of the Church”) to settle the issue of Gentiles, whether they could come straight into salvation and the Church from the outside world or must become Jews first, they were clear in their judgment. James, their leader, said, “Therefore, it is my judgment that we do not trouble those who are turning to God from among the Gentiles, but that we write to them that they abstain from things contaminated by idols and from fornication and from what is strangled and from blood” (vv.19-20).

No mention is made of the Sabbath. None.

4) In the Old Testament, one tribe was holy to God; in the New Testament, all the redeemed are holy.  In the Old Testament, one-tenth was God’s; in the New Testament, all is His. In the OT, one day is holy; in the NT, all of it.

5) The New Testament clearly allows liberty as to when to worship. Some worshiped on the seventh day, the Sabbath, and some the first day, and if anyone had a falling out over it, nothing is recorded in Scripture.

I think I know why the New Testament records no dissension among the believers over his issue: They were worshiping every day in every place. The idea that their worship activities should be confined to one day of the week would have struck them as ridiculous.

“Let no man judge you on this,” Paul said.  In Galatians 4, he rebukes some believers: “How is it that you turn back again to the weak and worthless elemental things, to which you desire to be enslaved all over again? You observe days and months and seasons and years. I fear for you, that perhaps I have labored over you in vain” (vv.9-11).

6) Those who conclude that to worship on any other day than the seventh means to be lost are misinterpreting Scripture and making the death of Jesus on the cross of no effect at all.  How and when we worship is a function of our new life, not a means of securing one.

7) The Seventh Day Adventist book says the context of Colossians 2:16-17 indicates “a ritual sabbath” and not the regular sabbath.  Bill and I read the entire chapter together and he admitted the context does no such thing.  (For Adventists who read this little article and wonder which book this was, I’m sorry. The event occurred some time ago and I’m going by notes in my journal.)

The visit with Bill the Adventist reminds us of some important facts concerning changing people’s convictions.

1) The notes concerning my visit with Bill are from some time ago. I was the new pastor of our present church and kept a daily journal for the decade of the 1990s. I remember nothing as to how this turned out.

2) After the above notes about our visit, I had added: “Bill came a long way. We prayed together. He promises to be in church with his wife Sunday. He invited us to come eat with them soon. He owns a local restaurant.”

3) Just as I would not want an Adventist or anyone else judging me about my non-observance of a holy day, I will not make a judgment concerning him either.  These are good people, the few I have met, and according to some things I’ve read, their doctrine is conservative and orthodox, although one would wonder about that.  Nevertheless, I will let it lie there.

4) Reaching people from other beliefs–or variations of our faith–is never just a matter of answering their arguments and satisfying their questions.  We can win the argument and lose the person.

5) We must reach out to them and befriend them. If I delayed going to Bill’s restaurant to accept his hospitality–or failed to go at all–it was a considerable failure on my part and responsible for our failing to bring Bill into this family.  Is that important? Having a husband and wife worshiping together in the same church is always best. I hope they did and continue to do so now, these many years later.

Perhaps this will be helpful to someone.

 

5 thoughts on “The day the Seventh-Day Adventist came to visit.

  1. Joe. your comments are helpful. I have used a similar approach when talking to a Mormon, but I threw away all my notes years ago. I do know telling the truth and loving others always goes together. Thanks for the report. I hope others will take note and do likewise.

  2. Brother Joe!
    As usual, I am proud to know you when I read your posts. This one is particularly apropos to the time in which we live. I can think of many applications for the overall principle you revealed. In fact, with a few changes, this essay could be used again and again.
    “The day the Republican came to visit”
    “The day the Democrat came to visit”
    “The day the Auburn fan came to visit”
    Okay…so maybe that last one wouldn’t work, but you get the idea!
    Love to your family,
    Andy

  3. The one Seventh Day Adventist preacher I knew actually tried to back it up by showing that not following the Sabbath on the specified day was to disobey God and not present an acceptible saccrifice. His backing on this was claiming that the reason Cain’s sacrifice was not accepted is because Cain didn’t offer a meat saccrifice. Now, we know that nothing in Scripture suggests even remotely that God expected a meat Saccrifice and, in fact, the contrast SEEMS to be evident that Abel gave the firsts and the best. It also seems prevalent (I’ve seen it among many though I don’t know if it is “official” doctrine) for the 7thDA to teach that the Pope is the Antichrist, the Catholic Church the false prophet, and the Protestant Church is the whore of Babylon. I guess since I have ties to the Catholic and Protestant Church I’m REALLY in for it.

  4. Thanks, guys. A pastor who posted this on his page drew in a comment from some lady who wanted to argue big time and fussed that his set-up refused to allow her lengthy answers. She said something like, “You should leave room for comments when you do denominational arguments.” Frankly, I was pleased her comments were not on this page. 🙂 My wife said,”You’re not doing denominational arguments.” That’s exactly what I was thinking, but I’m experienced enough to know that almost any subject we touch on like this is a sore spot with many and we’re bound to draw their ire like the outside light attracts the bugs. Now, where’s my can of “OFF”?

  5. let’s wait The Separation which is coming between God’s people (those who obey Him and keep His law) and satan worshipers (those who follow persnality-centerd ideologies) may God helps us to understand His Word!

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