HOME / PROCLAMATION! MAGAZINE / 2014 / FALL / FAITH STORY JONATHAN WINN
“They have their own prophetess!”
That was the first fact I learned about the Seventh-day Adventist church from my formerly Seventh-day Adventist wife, Lisa. Having been raised in a mainstream American evangelical tradition, I didn’t have much of a reference point for, or opinion about, the Adventist church. I had never studied its history or its doctrine. I had never given a passing thought to the meaning of its name, although I could recall seeing a few Adventist church marquees as I drove by them.
Although Ellen G. White was apparently resistant to claiming the office of prophet for herself, and while the nature and authority of her writings are carefully nuanced by the Adventist church, what Lisa said spoke volumes to me, particularly when I learned that the Adventist church teaches that the gift of prophecy, which manifested itself in the ministry of Ellen G. White, is “an identifying mark of the remnant church” (quoted from Seventh-day Adventist Fundamental Belief # 18). Based on my own experience with a teacher who made claims of unique spiritual insight, I understood the danger of associating with an organization that could claim to enjoy an exclusive status above that of other congregations that confess Jesus Christ as Lord.
Hypocrite Finds New Life
Despite my parents’ faithful witness to Christ, I only developed a thin veneer of a Christian identity. Familiar with the church’s language, easily fitting into various programs, and at times showing great interest in learning more of the Bible, I nevertheless allowed worldly things to capture my attention and be treasured in my heart. I had no knowledge of God, much less a vision of His holiness.
“If you, O LORD, should mark iniquities, O Lord, who could stand?” (Ps. 130:3).
In His mercy, God did not let me remain satisfied with my idolatry—I frequently struggled with depression. I began recognizing the inherent transience of autonomous pursuits of pleasure and of productivity. Though my life was a molehill compared to the mountainous journeys of the writer of Ecclesiastes, I had a firm grasp on the truth contained in his book:
“Then I considered all that my hands had done and the toil I had expended in doing it, and behold, all was vanity and a striving after the wind, and there was nothing to be gained under the sun” (Ecc. 2:11).
By this time I was away from home, and after a particularly strong bout of depression, I decided to try and seek God. I fell into close company with a Christian group at my college. Sadly, the person and work of Jesus Christ was not the focus of the teaching of that group; rather, the focus was on outward conduct, and the gospel seemed to have been assumed instead of regularly heralded. To make matters worse, my friendship with the group’s unofficial mentor became quite codependent as I overlooked and explained away many “red flags” and uncritically accepted much of what he said. He fostered claims of having a unique wisdom that set him in a virtual class of his own, able to discern clearly the many problems in the church at large—not to mention his professing to have special insight into the spiritual world. He frequently spoke of suffering much as many past friends, family members, and acquaintances had betrayed or hurt him. It was hard for me to think of criticizing him, much less even to entertain a bad thought about him.
Several years later through a few providential events, I began to attend a church that was unlike any other I had ever experienced or even knew existed! The whole counsel of God’s word was preached unapologetically and forcefully, and always the teaching led to God’s gracious offer of salvation through faith in Jesus Christ.
I hated it! It sounded so proud, so prosaic—and it was positively deficient according to the perspective I had adopted during college (a perspective which happened to be broadly and angrily critical of all those hypocritical, unloving churches in America). But to my surprise, the people there loved me and were patient with me as the preaching wore my hypocrisy down.
“The Lord…is patient toward you, not wishing that any should perish, but that all should reach repentance” (2 Pet. 3:9).
As I learned more and more about the meaning of Jesus’ work on the cross and what His free offer of forgiveness entailed, as well as many other biblical teachings, I began to realize that those red flags I had overlooked in my college mentor were indicative of a deeper reality.
“You will recognize them by their fruit” (Mt. 7:16).
This was a hard truth to accept, and one that wrecked me emotionally with conflicting thoughts. I had a sense of being both betrayed and a betrayer; I felt regret over my own stupidity strongly coupled with fear that I was on a track towards being lost forever. On top of that, I felt as if an essential part of me had been razed to the ground; I felt very alone. I can remember being inwardly paralyzed with mute anxiety for several weeks, going about my daily business like an automaton.
“Stop regarding man in whose nostrils is breath, for of what account is he?” (Is. 2:22).
Finally confessing these thoughts to a friend, I began the process of repenting from my fear of man and from depression, totally laying hold of Jesus Christ as the only One who had a claim on me, for both my allegiance and my confidence in salvation. Those days were hard but valuable. The fogginess of my thoughts and feelings slowly lifted as I began to learn to renew my mind daily with the promises of God’s compassionate leading and continual presence (Rom. 12:1-2; Ps. 42:5; Rom. 8:32), as well as to repent of the sinful attitudes and thoughts which had encircled me and enslaved me until then.
“But with you there is forgiveness, that you may be feared” (Ps. 130:4).
Marrying Into (Former) Adventism
It was toward the end of this time of turmoil that I met Lisa. She was very patient with me as I was struggling with anxiety and conflicting thoughts and feelings. She had already gone through her own journey out of the Seventh-day Adventist organization by the time we met and had learned to find her rest in Jesus. It had been a few years since she overcame her ingrained fear of Sunday worship and had unlearned several other errant doctrines of the Adventist church which had left her confused about the true nature of God, sin, and the cross-work of Jesus Christ. She told me that, although she never felt like she was a particularly pious person, had never kept the Sabbath perfectly, and thought that there were problems with Ellen White’s writings, she still had felt a comfortable sense of privilege and exclusivity growing up in the Adventist church.
After Lisa and I were married, we began to attend a church which was home to a group of former Seventh-day Adventists. Lisa and I began to visit that group’s lunches after church. Even though I struggled to understand some of their language and conversational references which were simply artifacts of the commonly-held tradition they had all left behind, I was struck by how they described their experiences of leaving the Seventh-day Adventist organization. On the one hand, I could never appreciate the weight of changing one’s mind about an organization with a legacy that was over a century old and included many schools and prestigious medical institutions. Neither could I fully empathize with the loss of many family members or friends—much less with the experience of being shunned by loved ones as many of the former Adventists were and continue to be. I did, however, understand the numbness that comes from losing a part of one’s identity and the fear of ending up beyond the pale of God’s good graces. Additionally, I could understand how hearing certain Bible verses could trigger memories and feelings, unintentionally bringing up pain and a false sense of guilt.
What I most felt in common with the group was the radical understanding that Jesus Christ is all—that He is not only worth following, but also that He promises He will not lose any of His sheep (Jn. 10:28) and will always be present with His people (Mt. 28:30). I also identified with their desperate devotion to God’s word, for in order to overcome my own hypocrisy and fear of man, God had to speak new life into me (2 Cor. 4:5-6), and apply His word daily to my life (Jn. 17:17; Rom. 12:1-2; Col. 3:16).
“The law of the LORD is perfect, reviving the soul; the testimony of the LORD is sure, making wise the simple” (Ps. 19:7).
Going to the Source
During our lunches, I would occasionally ask former Adventists to explain particular Adventist doctrines to me and to tell me why they lacked biblical support. I quickly realized how little I understood about several important topics; I was unable to argue well for or against certain beliefs, such as the relationship between the Old Testament and the New, prophecy, law, the state of the dead, and the nature of the atonement. As a husband and father, I realized I had to face my lack of depth in these areas; I’m responsible, after all, for the guidance and spiritual leadership of my family (Eph. 5:25 – 6:4). I realized it behooved me to have my beliefs springing from God’s word rather than having them solely informed and shaped by my tradition or surroundings.
In order to understand some of these issues better, I began a personal project to read not only the material from Life Assurance Ministries but also Adventist writings, evaluating both against the Bible. Reading Adventist materials ranging from Ellen White’s Conflict of the Ages series to contemporary Sabbath School Study Guides, from Seventh-day Adventists Believe to contemporary Adventist writers such as the eminent Samuele Bacciochi, I saw common threads in many Adventist publications. From the multitudinous commandments related to healthy living to impassioned rhetoric about the importance of Sabbath-keeping in the last days and to what can only be described as tortured exegesis supporting the doctrine of Christ’s ministry in the heavenly sanctuary and the investigative judgment, I could see how totally alien Adventist doctrine was to a Biblical worldview. To be sure, one can generate strong-sounding rhetoric for certain Adventist teachings, especially those related to the state of the dead and Sabbath-keeping, but I did not find Adventist doctrine to fit the Biblical data. The most tragic and frustrating thing to read was the description of the “remnant church”. It would be marked, Adventist literature taught, by its adherence to the Ten Commandments (which are frequently described in language that seems more fitted to the person of Jesus Christ), the fourth one in particular. If one wandered outside its fold, that one would imperil his soul.
Now, it would be both disingenuous and irresponsible of me to say or imply that all members of the Adventist church hold to all 28 Fundamental Beliefs, or that all members believe that Ellen White’s writings do not suffer from problems. I know there are those that don’t believe and who also desire to reform the Adventist church. It would also be slanderous to say that there are no Christians in the Adventist church, or that no one could possibly be saved if they were either raised in the Adventist tradition or joined the Adventist church later in life. I believe that God is a compassionate Father, eager to receive back his prodigal children (Lk. 15:20-24). James Packer expresses this sentiment well:
“God is very gracious and truly gives himself to all who truly seek him…never mind whether their theology is good or not so good. The modern bureaucrat conscientiously withholds benefits till the application forms have been completely and correctly filled up, but our God is not like that!” (Keep in Step with the Spirit, p. 129-130).
However, to try to frame one’s evaluation of the Adventist church by questions such as, “are Seventh-day Adventists Christians?” is to miss the point. Given the fact that the Adventist doctrine of the Sabbath as well as the many rules on healthy living espoused by Ellen White are clearly unvarnished expressions of the Galatian and Colossian heresies, for anyone to be exposed to Adventist doctrine is to put one’s soul in danger. Furthermore, the Adventist church’s identification as the remnant based on the Spirit of Prophecy (Ellen White’s writings) only adds to this danger, because this identity creates a basis for one’s security, privilege, and well-being that derives not from one’s identity in Christ, by a confession of faith in His finished work, but rather on a single person’s writing and on a human organization (1 Cor. 1:10-15; Gal. 3:27-29).
To any member of the Adventist church who may be dissatisfied with the organization’s teaching, or to anyone who has left Adventism, I would say, follow Jesus according to His word, wherever He may lead you. His yoke is easy and His burden is light (Mt. 11:28-30). He has promised not to tempt or to try you beyond what you can handle, but rather to provide a way of escape that you may have endurance (1 Cor. 10:13).
To any current or former member of the Adventist church who may be hurting, I can say this: there are many people who have great compassion and empathy for you and would want to serve you by listening to your story and helping you understand the good news of Jesus Christ. Not only did He make you, but He is able to redeem you, and He will redeem your story as well. †
Copyright 2014 Life Assurance Ministries, Inc., Camp Verde, Arizona, USA. All rights reserved. Revised November 11, 2014. Contact email: proclamation@gmail.com
F A L L • 2 0 1 4
VOLUME 15, ISSUE 3
D E P A R T M E N T S
STORIES OF FAITH
JONATHAN WINN