For those of you who ever had an opportunity to discuss theology with a Seventh-day Adventist, you'll immediately know what I'm talking about. There are two major answers that always come to the rescue of every good Adventist, that is when you give them enough bible verses to make them feel like they are on a slippery slope and their doctrine is this tiny branch they're holding, but it's now starting to slip through their white knuckles.
The first statement is "God's Law contains two parts, ceremonial and moral (the 10 commandments). When the bible says we're not under law we're under grace, it means the "ceremonial" law..." If you manage to show them more bible verses proving there's no ground to split the 613 commandments given to Israel on Mount Sinai and they are all considered "The Law" or "Torah", your Adventist friend will move to the next and final lifeline: "We should still keep the 10 commandments, because we are Spiritual Israel today, therefore I keep the Sabbath, which shows I love God." This is also known as "replacement theology" and it's a hard one to deal with. It's drilled deeply into every Adventist's head and there's no way you can convince them that the gospel puts an end to this separation and brings down all walls: there's no slave, no free..., no man, no woman..., no Jew no Gentile... Your Adventist friend (if you still have a friend) will walk away convinced in his own beliefs and will leave you with feeling of frustration and sadness. The truth is you and I cannot change anyone's heart, but the The Holy Spirit can. It happened to me, it happened to 4th generation Adventists, it happened to Adventist pastors who left the SDA church after years of service and faced unemployment and hardship, but you know what...? When God speaks to you, it's hard to play deaf.
I pray for all Adventists who might read this, so they don't shut the door on The Holy Spirit and let God speak to their hearts.
Below is a short article by former Adventist Dr. Philip Moreno, dealing with the topic of "Spiritual Israel." Hope you enjoy it.
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The SDA church – A true Biblical entity
It is of utmost importance that the Christian church is a true representation of the Kingdom of God . This could be determined by the scriptural soundness of its doctrines.
Some churches however, in their bid to be Biblical, have based the name of their denomination on some phrases in the Bible like Jehovah’s Witnesses, Church of Christ , etc.
The SDA church with a name far from any Biblical truth has resorted to using slogans to make it look like they have the ‘franchise’ of heaven. These slogans are the selling points in their proselyting activities.
“Spiritual Israel ,” “ Remnant Church ,” and “A Prophetic Church” are the titles that this church has gleaned from the Bible in a bid to sound like a true Biblical entity. But do these slogans really speak the truth regarding God’s Kingdom as taught in the Bible? Let’s check out the Bible.
Spiritual Israelites:
It was God who established the Israel Nation by a promise to Abraham regarding the “Seed” (Gen26). This nation is known in Christian circles as the Ancient Israelites.
Who established or gave the SDA church the name “Spiritual Israelites?” Ellen G. White, and is it found in the Bible? No. What you will find in the Bible is the truth that after the establishment of the gospel God no longer considers mankind in two separate entities of Jew or Gentile (Gal3:28).
This shows that by calling their church the Spiritual Israelites the SDA church have reestablished the wall that Jesus tore down with his death (Eph2:14,15), and which now separates them from the rest of Christianity who they consider as Gentiles. Any Adventist would vouch for this fact as they are taught that Sunday Christians are Gentiles.
This fact is proof that this church cannot be a Biblical entity by the use of such a slogan. Rather it stands out as a blatant contradiction to God’s Word.
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Published with the permission of Dr. Philip Moreno
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