Is There Such A Thing As A Pure Seventh-day Adventist?

[Live4Him]

Mat. 7:21 would appear to be what distinguishes God's children from satans. Do we love God enough to forsake all and follow Him?

[whbae]

Do you think God is looking for PURE ADVENTISTS?!  Why do we even bother with a such question!

[Gerr]

How do we decide whether someone is a Seventh-day Adventist?

Does saying so count?

Does going to church and paying tithe count?

Does agreeing with every word of the 28 Fundamentals count?

Is it necessary to complete avoid all caffeine (including in chocolate)?

Is it necessary to be vegetarian, or only to avoid unclean meats?

What about wedding rings? Expensive watches? Other jewelry?

 

Is it necessary to believe in the Investigative Judgement, and that Jesus is currently sitting marking our homework and has been since 1844?

And so on.

Is there any individual human being who can completely, exactly, 100% be said to be a Seventh-day Adventist? 

Who makes that judgement?

 

A pure Seventh=day Adventist?  You must be talking about me, of course!  :)

[JoeMo]

I really like this thread.  People pouring their hearts out about what spirituality means to them.  I love the posts that are putting a relationship with Christ ahead of a membership in a club.  While I am still a member, it is for the reasons that anto posted.  In general, I like SDAs - the culture, the diversity, the independence.  I've tried other churches as well; but they eventually grow stale and I find myself back at an SDA church.

 

We had a 3-hour church service today; and not one person was irritated or impatient.  Why?  Because the Holy Spirit was there; the sermon on Exodus 15 became an interactive dialog about how God was showing love to His children throughout scripture; and how He continues to do so today.  Admittedly, this isn't a typical liturgy at an SDA church; but it sure worked well today!

[lazarus]

Seventh-Day Adventists: People that belong to the last church in history, prior to the Second Coming of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ, also known in Revelation as Laodicea. Blessed with the presence and writings of a prophet they received instructions and a clear understanding of the Word and the Eternal Gospel to share them with a world that is running out of time. They are the target of the enemy's rage but in love with Christ and with the power of the Holy Spirit they will overcome and finish the work trusted to them.

 

That's how I understand what's to be a Seventh-Day Adventist.

 

Blessings to y'all.

AT  each stage of this growth  the plant is

That's quite a broad definition. Room for celebration churches, spiritual formation, praise dancers, LaSierra Biologists, clapping, women who wear pants, women pastors, women presidents, male praise dancers, a black GC president, the One project, wow!!!!

[JoeMo]

That's quite a broad definition. Room for celebration churches, spiritual formation, praise dancers, LaSierra Biologists, clapping, women who wear pants, women pastors, women presidents, male praise dancers, a black GC president, the One project, wow!!!!

Bring it on!  While we're at it, bring in the flag wavers and the people drawing and painting, being slain in the Spirit, and miraculously healed/delivered! 

 

Just because we are all united in our love for the Lord and our desire to spend eternity with Him doesn't mean we have to uniformly worship Him the same way.  I think Pam once stated that people have be be singing different notes to make harmony.  Someone else said that the only time we unite on our common points is in times of persecution.  Otherwise we focus on the differences - however trivial they may be.

 

I wonder if all true believers will unite under the common banner of Christ if and when persecution becomes universal?  Or will we stick with our individual clubs?  There are over 50,000 different Christian clubs around the world, you know ...

[Aliensanctuary]

In the scriptures, the only way to worship the LORD is flat on our faces in fear for our very lives lest we die because of some transgression we may have committed. True worship is the demonstration of our subservience to our Master and Owner, not the entertainment of the congregation.

[lazarus]

In the scriptures, the only way to worship the LORD is flat on our faces in fear for our very lives lest we die because of some transgression we may have committed. True worship is the demonstration of our subservience to our Master and Owner, not the entertainment of the congregation.

 

The only way? Perhaps there are certain sections of the bible you have not read.....

 

Praise his name with dancing, accompanied by tambourine and harp. Ps 149:3

Praise him with the tambourine and dancing; praise him with strings and flute  Ps 150:4

 

Seems like your advocating break-dancing in church because the only dancing i've seen that's flat on the face is break-dancing.

 

Lift up holy hands in prayer, and praise the LORD. Ps 134:2

 

And all the angels were standing around the throne and around the elders and the four living beings. And they fell before the throne with their faces to the ground and worshiped God. Revelation 7:11

[JoeMo]

Burt says:

"When there is a true and genuine understanding of the Word and the Eternal Gospel I think many of those groups you advocate for will have no place in this movement, especially after the "shaking."

 

And just who defines "true and genuine understanding of the Word and the Eternal Gospel"? You?  The SDA denomination? One of the other 55,000 Christian denominations?

 

You may be of a different opinion; but I think intimacy, love, and trust are more important to the Father and Son than having 100% "correct" doctrine, whatever that is.

[CoAspen]

Text splatter at it's best....we have others that string a series of texts or sentences together in order to totally obfuscate.   Where is the value??

[Woody]

I am late in coming here and have not read the comments.

But I fail to see why it is important to be labeled as a Seventh day Adventist.

IF you want to consider yourself one .... then that is fine.

 

But according to church teachings .... you are one if you believe in the 28 Fundamentals ... make a public declaration of such ... and are voted by 50% of those in attendance at church one particular Sabbath.

[rudywoofs (Pam)]

Text splatter at it's best....we have others that string a series of texts or sentences together in order to totally obfuscate.   Where is the value??

 

maybe it's some sort of virus...

[Woody]

The more important question is:
What is required to call yourself a Christian.

And is there such a thing as a pure Christian.
 

[rudywoofs (Pam)]

In response to the OP, I would submit that one could be known as a Seventh day Adventist if one's ethics and beliefs align to the predominant identifying essence of Adventism:  Belief that the 7th Day is the Sabbath and in the 2nd coming.  The other "rules of behavior" further define the denominational characteristics, i.e., no smoking, drinking, vegetarianism, etc.  However, it's interesting that belief in the 7th day Sabbath and 2nd coming isn't limited to the SDA denomination.  And neither are the other denominational characteristics.

[Woody]

I see no need to have beliefs that are totally unique.

[Bravus]

Thanks, all, for a very interesting and wide-ranging discussion. I've been dropping by and reading, but haven't kicked in a lot since most of the points I would have made have already been made more capably by others.

 

I particularly like Woody's question at the top of this page, about being a Christian. If we understand the term 'Christian' as being able to be directly interpreted as 'follower of (Jesus) Christ', then surely a 'pure' Christian is someone who follows Jesus most closely? I do think that's more central than any denominational label, and something on which there's value in reflecting.

 

Mensk asked:

 

 

 

Tell us Bravus, what makes you, just you specifically, a Seventh Day Adventist? 

 

It's a fair question in the context of the thread, and I'll answer it as best I can. I no longer identify as a Seventh-day Adventist. I acknowledge it as part of my background, have many SDA friends (including but not limited to here), think that SDAism on most issues is well grounded in the Bible and so on. But I see it as one variant within Christianity and Christianity as one variant within human religiosity and religiosity as one facet of humanity and humanity as one facet of life and... In all that, the SDA box is too small to hold the way I now see the world and my place within it. That simple statement is likely to attract charges of ego, but I do reflect on that and don't think it's that. It's knowledge and embracing knowledge that has brought me to where I am on my lifelong on-going learning journey. 

[CoAspen]

Interesting article and comments to it.

[Aliensanctuary]

I don't believe that there will be "worship" services in the next life.

 

The only way? Perhaps there are certain sections of the bible you have not read.....

 

Praise his name with dancing, accompanied by tambourine and harp. Ps 149:3

Praise him with the tambourine and dancing; praise him with strings and flute  Ps 150:4

 

I wouldn't classify dancing and playing musical instruments as "worship", but as "praise". Back in the days of kings and queens, those who "worshipped" them bowed down to acknowledge themselves as their servants.

 

Many seem to enjoy attending church services while others would never darken the doorway of a church. It's what we say and do in our daily lives that matters, according to Jesus Christ, not church attendance. Those who decline to attend church may be no farther from the Kingdom than those who do attend. Someday all of our religions will pass away, and then everything will be clear to us, including what is true worship.

 

That will be the great equalizer, when religion is no more.

[phkrause]

I don't believe that there will be "worship" services in the next life.

 

 

I wouldn't classify dancing and playing musical instruments as "worship", but as "praise". Back in the days of kings and queens, those who "worshipped" them bowed down to acknowledge themselves as their servants.

 

Many seem to enjoy attending church services while others would never darken the doorway of a church. It's what we say and do in our daily lives that matters, according to Jesus Christ, not church attendance. Those who decline to attend church may be no farther from the Kingdom than those who do attend. Someday all of our religions will pass away, and then everything will be clear to us, including what is true worship.

 

That will be the great equalizer, when religion is no more.

Let me get this straight, there will be no more worship, but we are still going to have animal sacrifice's!!!!! Makes no sense at all!!!!!

[CoAspen]

Thanks Bravus!!

[Aliensanctuary]

I don't believe that there will be "worship" services in the next life.

 

I don't believe that there will be the "stand-up, sit-down, offering-plate-passing, sit-in-the-pew-for-an-hour, special-music, preacher-preaching, public-prayer, etc." worship services that we are familiar with today. Maybe for some, these things are all that they have and want, for now.

 

We can see a moment of worship in the future by beings lying prostrate before the LORD after throwing their crowns at his feet. Now that would be a demonstration of subservience. In some religions, worshippers actually do lie prostrate before their God. Standing in the presence of the LORD may very well be a sign of deep disrespect.