Why are you a Seventh Day Adventist ?
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Seventh-day Adventists have been chosen by God to uplift His law and Sabbath. The document discusses how Adventists should identify as Seventh-day Adventists and take a stand for their faith and beliefs. It outlines standards for Sabbath observance, health, reading, speech, music, amusements and dress that Adventists should uphold to honor their name and faith.
Why are you a Seventh Day Adventist ?
- 3. Seventh-day Adventists have been chosen by God as a peculiar people, separate from the world. The great Cleaver of truth has cut them out of the quarry of the world, and brought them in connection with himself. He has made them his representatives, and has given them the work of exalting his down-trodden law. {1888 1679.2}
- 4. We have come to a time when God has been greatly dishonored. Those who have long known our belief, and what we teach, have been surprised by the statement that the Battle Creek Sanitarium is not denominational. No one has the right to make this statement. It does not bear the witness that God wishes His people to bear before men and angels. In the name of the Lord we are to identify ourselves as Seventh-day Adventists. If any one among us is ashamed of our colors, and wishes to stand under another banner, let him do so as a private individual, not as a representative of Seventh- day Adventist medical missionary work. {Battle Creek Letters 52.5} Let us take our position as Seventh-day Adventists. The name is a true expression of our faith. I am instructed to call upon God's people to bring their actions into harmony with their name, of which they have no need to be ashamed. The Seventh-day Adventist faith will bless whenever it is brought into the character-building.
- 5. I was shown in regard to the remnant people of God taking a name. Two classes were presented before me. One class embraced the great bodies of professed Christians. They were trampling upon God's law and bowing to a Papal institution. They were keeping the first day of the week as the Sabbath of the Lord. {4bSG 54.1} The other class were but few in number, and were bowing to the great Law- giver. They were keeping the fourth commandment. The peculiar and prominent features of their faith were the observance of the seventh day, and waiting for the appearing of our Lord from Heaven. {4bSG 54.2}
- 6. Why are you a th-day Adventist?
- 7. The Standard ‘The greatest want of the world is the want of men,—men who will not be bought or sold; men who in their inmost souls are true and honest; men who do not fear to call sin by its right name; men whose conscience is as true to duty as the needle to the pole; men who will stand for the right though the heavens fall.'—Education, p. 57. For such men and for such women God is calling today.
- 8. Seventh-day Adventist Church Standards on: SABBATH OBSERVANCE • Health • Reading • Pure Speech • Social Relations • Music • Amusement • Dress • Marriage
- 11. Sabbath Observance We appeal for wholehearted revival in true Sabbath observance. Greet the sacred hours with prayer and song; close the day with prayer and praise. Keep worldly music, worldly reading, worldly activities, worldly conversation, out of this day.
- 12. Sabbath Observance Lay aside all secular papers and refrain from the use of the radio (modern media) unless it be use in listening to a religious service or programme. Sacredly guard the beginning and ending of the Sabbath, especially having all the preparations fully made before the setting of the sun. Faithfully attend the services of the house of God.
- 13. Sabbath Observance Refrain from unnecessary automobile journeys, pleasure trips, social visiting, and from the purchase of gasoline, newspapers, or food supplies. Instead of our own pleasure, our own words, our own business, and our own thoughts, let us call the Sabbath a delight and employ its holy hours in prayer, Bible study, devotion, and spiritual ministry for others.
- 14. Health Our diet should be simple and nourishing; we should obtain sufficient sleep; our recreation should be found in uplifting physical labor, nature study, or ministry for others; while stimulants and luxuries should be avoided; and as Christ's loyal sons and daughters, let this be the motto and guiding principle of every life: 'Whether therefore ye eat, or drink, or whatsoever ye do, do all to the glory of God.' 1 Cor. 10:31.
- 18. Health It would hardly seem necessary to remind our people that the use of beer, wine, and other alcoholic beverages, as well as tobacco in any form, is a test of church fellowship among Seventh-day Adventists. Those who have been led of Satan to indulge in the use of these defilements of flesh and spirit, and persist in their use after faithful warning, should be dis-fellowshipped from the church. The good name of the church of Christ should not be brought into ill- repute by permitting any user of liquor or tobacco to remain in its membership.
- 19. Reading From the wealth of literature that floods our modern world, candidates for heaven will select only those books and periodicals that strengthen, elevate, and develop true character. Remembering that evil and vicious literature is often published in the most attractive guise, that tales of wild adventure and social laxness, whether fact or fiction, damage mind and morals, blight spiritual growth, and crowd out the nobler aspirations, all Christians should turn from these things as they would from the leprosy, of a deadly viper.
- 20. Pure Speech Speech is a God-given talent that should be used only to His glory; and both the Bible and the Spirit of prophecy caution against levity, cheapness in conversation, coarseness in language, and the use of slang, all of which are wholly at variance with the ideals of Christian attainment. Now is the time to become proficient in the court language of heaven.
- 21. Music We counsel the most careful discrimination in the selection of music; for here is an influence that may be employed to cultivate the finest qualities, or may be used to debase the soul and break down the morality. The jargon that comes over the radio, and too often into Adventist homes, is depraving the musical ear of the world. Any melody partaking of the nature of ragtime and jazz, any language expressing foolish, trivial, inane sentiments, should never be heard in a Christian home.
- 22. Music We commend the use of uplifting and ennobling music to the exclusion of all other, and place our special approval upon religious music and the selection of hymns which combine majestic harmony with divine truth.
- 24. Those who have seen the truth and felt its importance, and have had an experience in the things of God, are to teach sound doctrine to their children. They should make them acquainted with the great pillars of our faith, the reasons why we are Seventh-day Adventists--why we are called, as were the children of Israel, to be a peculiar people, a holy nation, separate and distinct from all other people on the face of the earth.
- 25. These things should be explained to the children in simple language, easy to be understood; and as they grow in years, the lessons imparted should be suited to their increasing capacity, until the foundations of truth have been laid broad and deep. {CG 495.1}
- 26. Amusements We entreat our dear people to guard well their social and recreational activities, remembering that mere amusement is the idle wasting of empty hours. Surely no one preparing for the coming of Jesus will be found at the theater, the carnival, the movie house, the opera, the circus, the dance, the card table, or in attendance at commercialized sports.
- 27. Amusements Public recreational activities, unless under careful Christian supervision, are frequently employed by Satan in destroying souls. We strongly urge separation from worldly associations at skating rinks 'and public bathing beaches. Friends, do not spend your precious hours in playing chess, checkers, or similar games that consume the time we should spend in missionary endeavor and helpful ministry, for such infatuating amusements are opposed to spiritual growth and have no place among us.
- 28. Amusements In cases where members of the churches hold bridge or similar card parties in their homes, or frequent such gatherings in other places; or have dances in their homes or attend them elsewhere; or frequent shows in theatre or movie houses, we recommend that faithful labour be put forth to reclaim such individuals from the errors of their way; but if this proves unsuccessful, that they be dismissed from church membership.
- 29. A Clear Declaration of Christian Principles If you truly belong to Christ, you will have opportunities for witnessing for Him. You will be invited to attend places of amusement, and then it will be that you will have an opportunity to testify to your Lord. If you are true to Christ then, you will not try to form excuses for your nonattendance, but will plainly and modestly declare that you are a child of God, and your principles would not allow you to be in a place, even for one occasion, where you could not invite the presence of your Lord. {AH 519.2}
- 30. A Clear Declaration of Christian Principles It is God's purpose to manifest through His people the principles of His kingdom. That in life and character they may reveal these principles, He desires to separate them from the customs, habits, and practices of the world. . . . {AH 519.3} Wonderful scenes are opening before us; and at this time a living testimony is to be borne in the lives of God's professed people so that the world may see that in this age, when evil reigns on every side, there is yet a people who are laying aside their will and are seeking to do God's will--a people in whose hearts and lives God's law is written. {AH 519.4}
- 31. A Clear Declaration of Christian Principles God expects those who bear the name of Christ to represent Him. Their thoughts are to be pure, their words noble and uplifting. The religion of Christ is to be interwoven with all that they do and say. . . . God desires His people to show by their lives the advantage of Christianity over worldliness, to show that they are working on a high, holy plane. {AH 519.5}
- 36. DRESS
- 37. DRESS
- 39. Dress In the choice of attire, we appeal to Christian manhood and womanhood for dignity, modesty, good taste, and simplicity, avoiding extravagance, flashiness, extreme fashions, and fads. Very low necks, short sleeves, and short skirts fail to accord with Christian standards. 'Satan is constantly devising some new style of dress, . . . and he exults when he sees professed Christians eagerly accepting the fashions he has invented. Testimonies, Vol. IV, pp. 634, 635.
- 41. Dress Remembering also that our bodies are temples for the indwelling of the Holy Spirit, let there be no artificial aids to change, detract, disfigure, or discolor the handiwork of the Creator. Neither will the true Christian desire to adorn the person with jewelry; and in lands where the custom is not obligatory, no 'circlet of gold' should be worn as a testimony to marriage vows. (Testimonies to Ministers, pp. 181, 182; Testimonies, Vol. IV, p. 630.)
- 42. Social Relations In an age of shattered social ideals and standards, let our young men and women stand forth as representatives of purity and virtue. Let the associations of all be characterized by Christian cordiality, reserve, and dignity, avoiding all levity, cheapness, and undue, familiarity. With demoralizing conditions about us that rival the orgies of Sodom and Gomorrah, let all the approaches to an untarnished character be sacredly guarded.
- 46. Marriage
- 47. Marriage God designs that every Christian home in its harmony, peace, and love should be a model of the home in heaven. In fulfillment of this ideal there can be no marriage with unbelievers, for in homes established under the unequal yoke, 'the shadows are never lifted.'
- 48. Marriage Our ministers will honor the divine counsel given by refusing to officiate at mixed marriages. Courtships should likewise be conducted in harmony with the highest Christian principles. 'Marriage has been perverted by sin; but it is the purpose of the gospel to restore its purity and beauty.'—Mount of Blessing, p. 100.
- 49. Marriage We deplore the tragic abandonment of the family altar in many an Adventist home and urgently appeal for its revival and faithful maintenance. In these days of lowered standards careful heed should also be given to the vital counsel from the Lord: 'Whosoever shall put away his wife, except it be for fornication, and shall marry another, committeth adultery; and whoso marrieth her that is put away doth commit adultery.' Matt. 19:8,9
- 51. Divorce is no light and trifling matter. A person who has passed through divorce proceedings has had a regrettable and unfortunate experience which will always leave a scar. If there should be any adequate reason for question about the Biblical cause for such divorce, or about guilt regarding the individual, such person should not be looked to for leadership in our churches.
- 52. Church Services We appeal to our ministers, our workers, our people everywhere, to keep their feet in the '' old paths,'' and not to remove the "ancient landmarks" of this message.
- 53. Church Services We ask our churches to give greater attention to good order, proper decorum, and reverence, while they set themselves against all excessive formalism and ritualism, including choir processionals and recessionals in the conduct of our Sabbath services. There is an apparent endeavor in some instances to bring the spirit of entertainment into church services, Sabbath school exercises, Missionary Volunteer meetings, and evangelistic meetings.
- 54. Church Services This should be guarded against, and the Bible given its rightful place as the centre of all our services and programmes. [Dramatisation and acting should have no place among us, pageants and playlets should be avoided, and save in the case of some dignified representation to make real what our missionaries are facing in mission lands, make-up and costuming should not be countenanced.
- 55. Church Services Let us hold to the plain and simple, and discard the elaborate, the exaggerated, the gaudy and showy. These principles of simplicity should also govern graduating exercises in our schools, as well as weddings in our churches. Let us not seek after the spectacular and the theatrical, but keep to the simplicity, the meekness, the plainness, which have characterised this movement from the beginning.