| Author | Message | ||
| JOY BROWN |
WENT SDA TWO MONTHS. MADE ME FEEL IF I DID NOT STAY THERE, I WAS GOING TO HELL; THEY WANT PEOPLE TO COME OUT OF BABYLON; SO WHY AREN'T THEY ON THE FIVE O'CLOCK NEWS TELLING THE WORLD THIS? FELT LIKE A ROBOT INSTEAD OF A MEMBER. FELT THEY UPLIFT THE CHURCH INSTEAD OF JESUS AND THE HOLY SPIRIT.THEY WEREN;T FRIENDLY ANYMORE AFTER I BECAME A MEMBER. THE BIBLE VERSE OF BEING IN THE WILDERNESS AND GOD PROTECTED THEM,SO THEY COULD BECOME SDA;S.???1798-1844' WHY WOULD GOD GIVE THE BOOK OF ACTS ONLY TO THEIR CHURCH.REPLY BACK SOON. | ||
| Ernie |
Joy: I understand your confusion. Adventism has been built upon the premise that it is the only response to the spiritual problems of the world. However, in doing so the SDA church considers the rest of Christianity as apostate and ready for God's last punishments. First, the theological method they use to prove they are the God's last church on Earth, it is not correct. Texts are taken out of their context. The Apocalyptic nature of the literature of Daniel and Revelation is ignored, and many of those passages are not compared with the rest of Scriptures. Second, Adventism is the result of a 19th century heresy called Millerism. The millerites had predicted the Christ would come to the world in 1844. When that did not take place, some millerites came up with idea that Christ had begun some kind of judgement in Heaven to determine who was going to be saved. In order to promote this heresy, a new religious group was founded: the SDA church. Third, the SDA church has a message that is unique to their so-called "mission"-the Third Angel's message. Fourth, Adventism is founded on an extra-canonical source of authority: the writings of Mrs. Ellen G. White. These writings promote an understanding of Chrsitianity which is totally foreign to Biblical Christianity. The Gospel preached by Paul, Peter, John, and over all Jesus is not what Adventism preaches (Please consider Matthew 5-7; Galatians, Ephesians, Acts 15, 1 John 5, etc.). If you read the New Testament carefully, you will discover that Adventism is contrary to the revelation of God in Christ, and God's salvation by grace alone (Ephesians 2:8-10; Col. 2:8-16). My only advise to you is to pray and seek God's guidance for your life. Once you consider the Biblical evidence regarding Adventism, you will see God's will for your life. In Christ, Ernie | ||
| Susan |
Joy, Praise God for your heartfelt message. My prayers are with you tonight. I also want to let you know you're not alone. We've all struggled with these same feelings. The lack of love in the sda church is unbelieveable. I'm so sorry you had to experience it. There isn't a perfect church. But when you are with sincere Christians in a bible believing church, the peace and love of God is always evident. Sure there will be problems big and small. But the grace of almighty God and the work of Jesus on the cross, will be the emphasis of their message. If it's not, then you may need to look elsewhere for a church family. Ernie has done a great job of explaining things. I just wanted to pass on my love and prayers. In Christ alone! Susan | ||
| Colleentinker |
Joy, I just want to add my prayers and support to Susan's and Ernie's. True Christians live in the love of the Holy Spirit, and if you are searching for truth, you will feel supported and loved in their presence. Cling to the message of Jesus and his death and resurrection, and pray that God will reveal truth to you. He will! And He will also guide you to people who can support you and offer true fellowship. In Jesus' love, Colleen | ||
| Jude the Obscure |
Dear Joy, You are a precious baby, born again, in the arms of Jesus! The Adventists had no cause to treat you the way they did. Know that Jesus too felt the sting of the ěAdventistsî -- called the Pharisees -- of his own days on planet earth. You can understand how he felt by reading Matthew 23. In fact, to make that chapter more available to our twenty-first century minds, I have gone through it, changing ěPhariseeî to ěAdventistî and making a few other updates which will become obvious to you when you read it. After you read these words of Jesus, you will be able to consider yourself blessed that you were able to break away from Adventism after only two months! THEN JESUS SAID TO THE ADVENTISTS The Adventist teachers of the law speak with the authority of Moses. So you must obey them and do everything they tell you. But do not do what they do, for they do not practice what they preach. They tie up heavy loads and put them on peopleís shoulders, but they themselves are not willing to lift a finger to move them. Everything they do is done for others to see: They wear expensive clothing to church and prominently display their leather-bound Bibles and their Quarterlies. They love the places of honor at banquets and seats on the platform during divine worship services. They love to be greeted downtown and to have everybody call them ěpresident,î ěchairman,î ědoctor,î ěprofessor,î ěpastor,î ěelderî or ěteacher.î But you are not to be called ěpresident,î ěchairman,î ědoctor,î ěprofessor,î ěpastor,î ěelderî or ěteacher,î for you have only one President, only one Chairman, only one Doctor, only one Professor, only one Pastor and only one Teacher. And he is in heaven! The greatest among you will be your servant. The truth is, whoever exalts himself will be humbled, and whoever humbles himself will be exalted. Anguish to you, teachers of the law and Adventists! You shut the kingdomís door in peopleís faces. You yourselves to not want to enter, nor will you open the door for those who do. Grief to you, teachers of the law and Adventists! You blanket the globe with satellite television network broadcasts to win a single convert, and after he is baptized, you make him twice as much a child of hell as you are. Misery to you, blind guides! You say, ěIf anyone pledges to serve Godís church, it means nothing; but if anyone legally commits a large sum of money, he must pay off the debt in full or be sued in court!î You blind fools! Which is greater: The money? Or Godís church that makes the money sacred? You also say, ěIf anyone bases his testimony on the spiritual integrity of Godís church, it means nothing; but if anyone secures his testimony with substantial assets, his testimony will be accepted as true.î You blind people! Which is greater: The assets? Or the spiritual integrity that makes the assets sacred? Therefore, he who testifies by the spiritual integrity of Godís church, testifies by it and by all its assets. He who pledges to serve God's church, bases his pledge on it and on the God who dwells in it. And he who secures his testimony by heaven secures it by Godís throne and by the one who sits on it. Agony to you, teachers of the law and Adventists, you hypocrites! You give a tenth of your income, down to the last penny. But you have neglected the more important matters of he law ń justice, mercy and faithfulness. You should have practiced the latter, without neglecting the former. You blind guides! You strain a bit of grit out of your morning orange juice but swallow a Lincoln Town Car. Distress to you, teachers of the law and Adventist leaders, you hypocrites! You put your dirty Tupperware containers in the dishwasher with the lids still tightly closed; their outsides are washed clean, that's for sure, but their insides are full of greed and self-indulgence. Blind Adventists! Remove the lids from the containers before you put them in the dishwasher, and then both the insides and the outsides will be clean. Suffering to you, teachers of the law and Adventists, you hypocrites! You are like whitewashed tombs, which look beautiful on the outside but on the inside are full of dead peopleís bones and everything unclean. In the same way, on the outside you appear to other people as righteous but on the inside you are full of hypocrisy and wickedness. Wretchedness to you, teachers of the law and Adventists, you hypocrites! In your sermons and Bible studies you drop the names of the righteous and the faithful who wait, silent in their graves, for me to appear. And you say, "If we had lived in the days of the righteous and the faithful -- people such as Abel, Joseph, Jeremiah, Isaiah, Ezekiel, Zechariah, John the Baptist or Stephen ń we would not have taken part in their persecution or in the shedding of their blood.î Thus do you testify against yourselves that you are indeed the descendants of those who murdered them. Fill up for yourselves, then, the full measure of the sin of your forebears. You snakes! You brood of vipers! How can you possibly escape the hungry fires of hell? Therefore I am sending you people of integrity and vision. Some of them you will terminate from denominational employment, others you will silence with threats, still others you will defrock and disfellowship. And so upon you will come all the righteous blood that has been shed on earth ń from the blood of righteous Abel to the blood of Zechariah son of Berekiah, whom you murdered between the temple and the altar. I tell you the truth, all this will come upon this generation of Adventists and teachers of fundamental beliefs. O my Seventh-day Adventist people! You who fire the prophets and disfellowship those sent to you, how often have I longed to gather your children together, as a hen gathers her chicks under her wings, but you were not willing. Look, your house is left to you desolate. For I tell you, you will not see me again until you say, ěBlessed is he who comes in the name of the Lord.î May the Lord add his blessing to this rendition of his word. Sincerely, Jude the Obscure | ||
| Ernie |
Jude: Thanks a lot; your adaptation of Matthew 23 was great. I have thought about that passage many times regarding SDAs. God bless you, Ernie | ||
| Jude the Obscure |
Ernie, Thanks for the affirmation. It's tough for people like us to face our SDA past (I'm assuming you have one) and to continue to deal with our SDA present, which we can continue by helping to free others caught in the spider web. Tough, and sometimes dangerous, for the spider still lives and hungers. Tough, but also full of promise. Thank God we're able to witness to people like Joy Brown. I appreciated very much the Christian first aid that you were able to administer to this hurting person. You helped her with the Biblical and historical context of Adventism, while Susan and Colleen helped her with more emotional and psychological support. It seems to me that this is the way that the early church related. And this in truth is what our "work on earth" it still all about: "They will know we are Christians by our love." The work we do remains the work of love: For each other, for hurting people, even for our enemies! It's so good it's actually exciting, full of mystery and promise. For the future remains secure in the soverign hands of a loving God. And may He bless you more and more, my friend-in-Christ Ernie, Jude the Obscure |
