Has anyone ever challenged what you believe? When I was a new Christian, I joined a non-denominational bible study. In this study group of Christian men there was one concerned brother who thought that I had naively joined a religious cult.
My dear brother shared with me a book he had recently read about religious cults which labeled Seventh-day Adventism as a cult. All too often, Seventh-day Adventists are grouped together with other religious sects (i.e. Latter-day Saints and Jehovah’s Witnesses) whose beliefs and practices are considered to be outside the norm of mainstream Christianity.
Is Seventh-day Adventism a religious cult? The short answer is definitively No, but I can see where some may think so based on what they have read, heard or even experienced inside or outside the Seventh-day Adventist Church. Unfortunately for many people today, they either don’t or won’t take the time needed to thoroughly discern the facts from fallacy. This blog isn’t meant to convince you one way or the other, but presents some questions and answers about Seventh-day Adventists that all Christians should take into account before passing judgment on the Seventh-day Adventists or any other religious sect.
What is a religious cult?
There are varying interpretations on what defines a religious cult. The online dictionary, Brittanica.com had this to say:
“In the context of religion, a cult is typically a small group devoted to a person, idea, or philosophy that exists in tension with the dominant religious or cultural norms of a society. The term has become a pejorative for religious groups outside the mainstream, implying questionable activities, and is often controversially applied to new religions.”
With this definition in mind, we can now begin to explore Seventh-day Adventism.
Do the doctrines (28 fundamental beliefs) of the Seventh-day Adventist Church (SDA) align with the Bible?
Seventh-day Adventists believe in sola Scriptura (The Bible only) as the standard by which all church doctrine is to be established. In other words, no SDA doctrine is a result of prophetic revelations, unlike the Mormons (Latter-day Saints) who have a whole book titled Doctrine and Covenants which is a compilation of Joseph Smith’s revelations.
Some of the SDA Church’s doctrines which some may consider to be unorthodox, include:
- The observance of the Seventh-day Sabbath, which for Seventh-day Adventists is a weekly memorial and covenant with God as the creator and sustainer of all life, as opposed to the apostolic authority of the Roman Catholic Church or Protestant tradition in keeping Sunday (a Sabbath day not sanctified in the Bible).
- The State of the Dead or belief that once someone physically dies, their spirit (ruach or breath of life) returns to God (Ecclesiastes 12:6-7) leaving the makeup of the human soul (The body + breath of life) no longer existent. This is in opposition to spiritualism’s fundamental teaching that the human soul is immortal.
- The investigative judgment of God’s people. The Bible states that judgment begins with the house of God (1 Peter 4:17). Seventh-day Adventists believe that before Jesus’ return a pre-advent judgment of God’s people is to take place (Revelation 14:7). Those who profess to be a member of God’s family yet who lived a life of unrighteousness are to be blotted out of the Lamb’s book of life. “He who is unjust, let him be unjust still; he who is filthy, let him be filthy still; he who is righteous, let him be righteous still; he who is holy, let him be holy still” (Revelation 22:11).
What is the purpose of prophecy within the SDA church today?
Seventh-day Adventists see themselves as prophetic movement which came out of the Great Disappointment of Millerism in 1844. The prophetic gift is believed to be have been laid upon Ellen Harmon-White at the age of 17 and continued until her death 70 years later. Mrs. White’s councils and writings continue to direct and shed light on the SDA Church’s direction and mission within the world today. When it comes to Mrs. White’s Spirit of Prophecy writings, they do not have the same authority, supersede or replace the Bible, but shed further light on the Bible itself.
In contrast, the councils and revelations of the Mormon prophets, past and present, are seen by the Latter-Day Saints as having the same authority as the Bible.
Do SDA’s believe they are saved by their good works or by keeping God’s Ten Commandments?
Seventh-day Adventists believe that everyone is saved by God’s grace alone apart from works (Ephesians 2:7-9) and that one’s good works including following God’s commandments are the result of one’s love for God and His Son Jesus, who said, “If you keep My commandments, you will abide in My love, just as I have kept My Father’s commandments and abide in His love” (John 15:10).
In contrast, the Mormons (Latter-day Saints) believe you are saved by God’s grace after all that you have done and that your good works earn for you a reward and place in heaven.
The Great Controversy between Christ and Satan and the Three Angels’ Message
Seventh-day Adventists believe the war which began in heaven (Revelation 12) and great controversy surrounding it continues on the earth today with Satan’s wrath towards the woman (Revelation 12:12-13) and the remnant of her seed (Revelation 12:17).
The SDA Church sees itself in these latter-days as being the remnant of the woman’s seed which the book of Revelation defines as “keeping the commandments of God and having the testimony of Jesus” (Revelation 12:17), which is further defined as having the “spirit of prophecy” (Revelation 19:10). As God’s prophetic movement on the earth today, the SDA Church sees itself in the throes of the great controversy in proclaiming to the world God’s message of warning (the three angels’ message of Revelation 14:6-12) before Jesus Christ comes again to gather up his own (both the righteous living and resurrected saints).
The Mormons (Latter-day Saints) also see themselves as a prophetic movement and claim some of the same Bible verses in the book of Revelation, yet their church’s practices and teachings hold to the defining principles of spiritualism, which reveal it to be a false prophetic movement.
Making an informed and unbiased decision
When it comes to what constitutes a religious cult, we need to first acknowledge and set aside any inherent biases which have shaped our understanding of what we believe. Second, we need to be willing to make the Bible (The Word of God) the standard by which we test everything—not church doctrine or authority, prophecy, personal feelings, others’ beliefs, customs or the longstanding traditions of the church. And finally, we need to diligently study for ourselves and to allow the Holy Spirit the time needed to guide us into all truth. Then and only then can we come to see and know the truth!