Why do 7th Day Adventists keep the Sabbath?
Question:
I’ve been wondering with regards to the Sabbath. Why do the 7th day Adventists still keep the Sabbath? I had an encounter with one of them and found that they practice Christianity much like I do. The only thing was that of the Sabbath. I then wanted to do a study but couldn’t wrap my finger around it. Would you kindly explain this to me and what do the scriptures say about this
Answer:
The chief reason the 7th Day Adventists "keep the Sabbath" is that their prophetess Ellen G. White told them to do this back in the 1800s. Seventh Day believers accept her has a modern-day prophet whose words are more or less inspired. By the way, they do not keep the Sabbath. Or at least, the Jews will say that they do not keep the Sabbath. The Sabbath is not just about worshipping on Saturday. In fact it is not chiefly about worshipping on Saturday, but it is about not working on Saturday. Those in this group cite a verse in the Old Testament. Exodus 31:17 says that the Sabbath will be a sign between God and Israel "forever." The problem with this teaching is that it ignores the fact that Jesus "fulfilled" the requirements of the Law and that Christians under the New Covenant are not required to keep the requirements of the Law of Moses as can be shown by reading Galatians or Colossians for example.
By the way, I do not believe that observing the Sabbath is wrong per se. It is the teaching that it is required which is wrong. Even with that, this is almost certainly not a salvation issue. However, as long as a 7th Day Adventist is convinced of this false doctrine, it is extremely unlikely that one will become part of your church there. You can try to teach correct doctrine on this, but you may have to let your friend go. Try using Colossians 2:13-23 and the whole book of Galatians for that matter.
John Oakes
