Differences between Adventism and Christianity

It is important to understand theology well, because our understanding of God determines our morality and choices of behavior.

Here are some differences between Christianity and Adventism.

Christ’s Full atonement. Christianity says that Christ was the atoning sacrifice for God’s wrath against our sins. This was a full and complete atonement on the cross. We are saved if we believe this, which is “justification by faith.” However, Adventism says that Jesus’s death on the cross was only a partial atonement for sins before we became a believer and that we must confess each of our sins as Christ reviews our record in heaven. Christ’s death, according to Adventism, was to help us achieve sinlessness. Here’s another way to understand it (from this article, with permission): Adventists do not understand that the Lord Jesus is not primarily their example; He is their substitute. He did not come to demonstrate how to keep the law. Jesus did not come to demonstrate how to overcome temptation by leaning on the external power of the Holy Spirit for His victory. Adventists do not understand that the power of Jesus’ blood to pay for sin comes from the fact that He has intrinsic life—not from the fact that He perfectly obeyed. All of this this means that Adventism is a works-based religion, just like every other religion that is not Protestant Christianity. If you’re interested, this link reveals how each of the Adventism’s 28 Fundamental beliefs twist the Word of God and how that religion is actually based on the writings of its founder, not the Bible.

Old Covenant Law versus New Covenant. The Old Covenant law was a temporary law given to the children of Israel. It was temporary until the fulfillment of the promise: Christ the Messiah. The Old Covenant contained over 600 requirements, headed by 10 categories. These were written in Greek as the “decalogue,” or “ten sayings.” They are now known as the Ten Commandments. Christ came to fulfill the law and give his followers a New Covenant. Since his resurrection, the Apostles have gathered for worship and the Lord’s Supper on the Lord’s Day, Sunday. Ellen White claimed to have several visions in which the Old Covenant Sabbath was to be renewed because it had become a new end-time testing truth for all Christians after Christ entered the Most Holy Place on October 22, 1844. This is not biblical. She claimed that the Sabbath would divide true Christians from false Christians just before Christ comes, with those failing to keep the seventh-day Sabbath receiving the Mark of the Beast and persecuting those keeping the true Sabbath. She said the Sabbath was the seal of God. Again, none of this is not biblical. The Bible says the Holy Spirit is the seal of God. Paul said the Old Covenant was not faultless. Christians know they are now to follow Christ’s New Covenant, which he gave to his disciples at the Last Supper. The New Covenant is Christ’s blood shed for us, his teachings, and the writings of the Apostles in the New Testament (Covenant) Scriptures. Sabbath is a law that was fulfilled. We can rejoice and join all Christians in celebrating the Lord’s Day around the world every Sunday. You can read about this in 2 Corinthians chapter 3, Galatians chapter 3, and Hebrews chapters chapters 8 through 10.

Abortion. Christianity abhors murder, including abortion, because it imposes upon someone else’s body against their will. People are horrified to learn about child sacrifice to gods in the ancient world, but many people in today’s society practice child sacrifice to the gods of timing, finances, perfection, career, and reputation. None of these reasons justify murder of an unborn person. The Bible is clear that people are knitted by God in the womb. However, Adventism makes abortion an issue of choice due to religious freedom, which it promotes with zeal because teaches an unbiblical prediction fearing that one day all Christians will unite to persecute Sabbath-keepers. Also, Adventist hospitals make money performing abortions. Adventism is more about money than upholding the Word of God. Sadly, Adventists ignore this issue of infant murder while prioritizing Old Covenant Sabbath observance and healthy diet. The Bible is clear—abortion is against the will of God.

LGBT. Adventism lets some of its schools and hospitals make their own choices regarding this issue. Some of these institutions are openly affirming and promoting this behavior, with some churches even conducting gender-transition blessing ceremonies. The SDA headquarters may from time to time issue stern words for some of these entities but never does anything about it because these are located in wealthy areas, and, as stated above, the Adventist church is about money. But the Bible is clear that sexual behavior is to honor God in a covenant marriage relationship between a man and a woman. It is not ethical to affirm or endorse LGBT behavior in any way. Instead, Christians are to lovingly call people out of this behavior. (For more on this, click here and here.)

Male headship. The Bible is clear that churches and families are to be patriarchal. This is not chauvinistic. This means that men are called to lead as servants, just as Christ led the church by hanging from a cross. In the Adventist church, many women are unhappy that some regions of the world church won’t let them become ordained ministers or that their husbands should get more than an equal say in deciding matters. But the Bible is clear that a woman is to submit to her husband. This empowers him to step up and lead. This doesn’t mean a wife cannot have a career, earn more money than him, or develop her own skills and talents. A man’s wife is his helper, just as God was Adam’s helper before the arrival of Eve. In Christianity, women expect their husbands to step up and lead at home, at work, at church, and in taking responsibility for their children’s spiritual development. But in Adventism, many women are unhappy, frustrated, and unsatisfied without quite knowing why. It’s because they don’t feel supported by a strong leader who can take his wife’s wishes into account and then make the final decision on important matters and lead in the areas of home and society where he is supposed to. Men in Adventism don’t feel happy either, because they aren’t living as God created them to lead. Couples who convert from Adventism to Christianity and honor the biblical counsel of male headship say their marriage improved for both partners when they did so.

Nature of Man. There is a wide variety of belief in the Seventh-day Adventist religion, even on core issues. But all Adventists have one thing in common: an unbiblical view of the nature of man. All Adventists view humans as purely physical beings. But the Bible says we are spirit, and we worship God in spirit. This means that Adventists don’t understand that humans are born spiritually dead and must be born again by accepting Jesus’ substitutionary atonement on the cross for our sins. It is only by this are we born of the Holy Spirit and brought to life.

Deciphering prophets. The Adventist church says that Ellen White was a prophet, but an application of a few biblical tests of a prophet proves otherwise. She made many predictions about the Second Coming of Christ that turned out not to be true. Even from just the biblical test of Deuteronomy 18:22, she was not a prophet.

This link from TheThinkingCup.com is a good explanation of the side-by-side differences between Christianity and Adventism. This link from Life Assurance Ministries is also a good explanation of the differences.

Click on this post to learn suggestions of where to go after leaving a false religion.