Polemics, Seventh Day Adventists
Vern Peterman · May 21, 2006
Polemics, No. 08
Holly Hills Bible Church
https://hollyhillsbiblechurch.org/teaching/messages/4826235274815

Transcribed from the recording by SermonAudio, so expect the occasional misheard word.

Okay, Seventh Adventism is an offshoot of the Baptists. Huh? Yeah, it's an offshoot of the Baptists, and how it got that way was a fellow by the name of William Miller. He was originally a deist. which was a popular thing in the late 1700s, and became a Baptist. He was not a Baptist pastor per se, he was a Baptist lay leader. And Nancy and I just this last week met a friend that is a Baptist lay leader in Ukiah. Anyway, so William Miller was a lay leader, and he was real prophetically focused. Everything that he talked about quite a bit was focused on prophecy. And he set a date for the Lord's return, October 22nd, 1844.

People had sold all kinds of things, and they gathered together. Nothing happened. Huge disappointment. And so, from there, some people left the group. Then it splintered off and started various groups. And others, which became the Seventh-day Adventists, looked at it and said, the date's right, but that's not the date the Lord's coming. That's the date that the Lord goes in and begins you know, acting as sort of our assessor. You know, how are these people doing? He's checking you out. He's combing over everything you've done. He's combing over all your actions. He's completing the atonement.

So they determined that was the date. And so rather than make it a great disappointment, it was a day of great discovery, just through the back door. Now, a lot of Seventh-day Adventism was focused upon, and still the various splinter groups focused upon, when is the Lord coming? And so we quote here Matthew 24, 36. This is Jesus speaking to the disciples, speaking in a Jewish context.

But of that day and hour, the coming of the Son of Man, no one knows, not even the angels of heaven, not even the angels, nor the Son, but the Father alone. So, are you going to find it in Scripture? Are you going to find that day? Are you going to be able to figure it out? Pin a day? No. If you were able to walk up to Jesus Christ and say, When are you coming? He couldn't tell you. Okay? It is the Father's call. All right.

Now, the Bible and Ellen G. White. Ellen G. White looms large in the history of the Seventh-day Adventist Church. They consider her a prophet. There's a point of distinction here we need to make, and that is that if you ask the folks in the Seventh-day Adventist Church are the writings of Ellen G. White and the Bible exactly on par with one another. They will say what?

Yes or no? Yes and no. What they will say is they're equally inspired as to quality, but the Bible is the basis of authority. However, the distinction being that since the Bible is the basis of authority, Ellen G. White's writings are instead the interpretation, the clarification of the Bible. So really what it amounts to is Ellen G. White's writings are not explicitly the same as the Bible in the SDA teaching.

They are, however, considered to be inspired as to their understanding of what the Bible says. So, I'll let you figure out what the difference is. Because it becomes difficult when you put it on that level. It's not authoritative at the same level the scripture is, but it tells you what scripture says without fault, without failure, without error. Then that's a problem, right?

What are some other groups that will tell you that, you know, our group tells you what the Bible means? Pardon? The Adventists? The Mormons, right. The Mormons will say our group tells you what the Bible means. Others? Yeah, Jehovah's Witnesses. That's another group that says our group tells you what the Bible means. Okay, good. Any others? Pardon? Yeah, Roman Catholicism. Yeah. Matter of fact, they say exclusively, we're the only ones allowed to interpret this stuff. Yeah. So a number of groups. Yes, Nancy?

And then there are those groups that tell you that nobody can know what the Bible means. Yeah, there are a number of Christians of modern persuasion, postmodern and that kind of persuasion, who will say, well, yeah, nobody knows what the Bible means. So you've got that. But one of the characteristics we see here common to a lot of these different groups that we're looking at to discern what's true and what's not, a lot of them will have, you know, we're the one that's got the right interpretation, the right understanding. They'll put something, you know, founded in the Bible, but then put themselves in a position of telling you this is what it means. Okay, now, top of page two, okay? Let's take a gander there.

All of the above statements can fit into a model that would clearly subordinate Ellen White's authority to the authority of scripture. On the other hand, there are statements in which she appears to claim, by virtue of her inspiration, the right to define and specify the meaning of scripture. She says that her writings on doctrinal matters are essentially without error. This is a quote from her. There is one straight chain of truth without one heretical sentence in that which I have written. It's not claiming scriptural authority, but it comes pretty close.

So then we've got to ask the question, what do they teach? That's the next part. Here's one here. The blood of Christ, while it was to release the repentant sinner from the condemnation of the law, was not to cancel sin. How do you like that? Does that sound good to you? Hmm. It will stand in the sanctuary until the final atonement. What will stand? Your sin. Okay? It's not done yet. Okay.

Let's take another one. The Great Controversy. By the way, The Great Controversy is one of the primary books. I think, yeah, I even gave the reference so you can download it. Look at the whole thing. Not that you'd hold it near and dear to your heart, but you can download the whole thing if you want. Read any parts you want.

Now, while our great high priest is making atonement for us, we should seek to become perfect in Christ. He is making atonement, in process. Or, the next one, instead of coming to the earth at the termination of the 2300 days in 1844, Christ then entered the most holy place of the heavenly sanctuary to perform the closing work of atonement, preparatory to his coming. He's got to finish it up. He's not done yet.

Okay? Yeah, Tom? For those of you who are still trying to wake up, this book called The Great Controversy has nothing to do with five minutes, it has to do with a minute's countdown. Yeah, it is important to understand what the controversy is. This is a controversy between Christ and Satan. Now, let's take a look.

Here's John 19, 28-30. Here's Jesus who is on the cross. After this, Jesus knowing that all things had already been accomplished. And this is a perfect passive verb. It's a completed past action. Ongoing results of the future. To fulfill the scripture, I am thirsty, said, I am thirsty. A jar full of sour wine was standing there, so they put a sponge full of the sour wine upon a branch of hyssop and brought it up to his mouth. Therefore, when Jesus had received the sour wine, he said, it is finished.

It's also a perfect passive verb, completed past action, ongoing results into the future. So is he finished or not? He's finished. As a matter of fact, he didn't just say it's finished as some sort of a general statement. The perfect verb says it's a completed action, not incomplete.

Well, as if that weren't enough, how about Acts 13, 38 and 39? Therefore, let it be known to you, brethren, that through Him forgiveness of sins is proclaimed to you, and through Him everyone who believes is freed that is justified, redeemed, forgiven, and declared righteous from all things, from which you could not be freed, justified, redeemed, forgiven, and declared righteous through the law of Moses." So, the law is what the Seventh-day Adventist group tells you you've got to hold to. You're going to be held to that standard. What does this say? How do you get out from under the law? You've got to do any climbing? You've got to dig your way out. How do you get out from under the law? Believe, is that all? What a shocking thing to say. Heaven sakes. Alright, well let's take a look. Hebrews 7, 23, 28.

The former priests, on the one hand, existed in greater numbers because they were prevented by death from continuing. But Jesus, on the other hand, because he continues forever, holds his priesthood permanently. Therefore, he was able also to save forever those who draw near to God through him, since he always lives to make intercession for them. For it was fitting, on the next page, page 3, it was fitting for us to have such a high priest, holy, innocent, undefiled, separated from sinners, and exalted above the heavens, who does not need daily, like those priests, to offer up sacrifices, first for his own sins, and then for the sins of the people. That's what the priests in the Old Testament sacrifices had to do. Because he did this, he is doing this, He did this once for all. In order to make it clear, it's not just a past tense statement. He uses the word hapax, which means once done, perpetually valid.

It's completed. It's done. He is not atoning for us. It's a done deal. And not only is it a done deal, it was a done deal a long time ago. It was a done deal almost 2,000 years ago. It is not currently going on. Christ is not currently continuing or completing his atonement. It is finished.

Hebrews 10, 10 through 14, similar thing. By one offering, he has perfected, perfect passive verb, completed past action. Sanctified, present passive participle, ongoing process of the believer. You are being sanctified, but you are, he has perfected for all time, those who are being sanctified. That's the way that comes across. That perfection is done. He has done it. It is not a matter of weighing, seeing how are you going to do it, keeping the law. Did you eat meat this morning? You're in trouble. Did you have bacon? Oh, very bad. That's going to be a problem. That's going to leave a mark. Yes. Yes. Yes.

It is interesting because what this is telling us, Jesus is our mediator and advocate based on a completed action and that's the key. I'm glad you asked that because he is our mediator and advocate He does have a heavenly ministry on our behalf. And what does he do? He points to a completed past action.

It's finished. That word, it is finished, was used as an accounting term in those days. It means the debt is fully paid. Done deal. And it's a perfect tense verb. It is completely, fully paid with ongoing results on into the future. And I would add to that, on into the eternal future.

Okay? So, yeah, a very important point. Pardon me, it happens when I scratch. Okay. There is an ongoing ministry of the Lord, but that ongoing ministry of the Lord does not leave us hanging in the balance." I'll never scratch again. Promise. Okay. Page 3 there. Let's take a look at some more quotes.

At the time appointed for the judgment, all who have ever taken upon themselves the name of Christ must pass its searching scrutiny. How do you like that? Are you ready for that? Are you getting yourself prepared? Boy, every day you better be working on this. Okay? Both the living and the dead are to be judged out of those things which are written in the books according to their works. You're in trouble. You're in trouble. Now, where does it talk about books and works that are going to be looked at? Revelation chapter 20 verses 11 through 15. That's where books will be brought out. That's where works will be judged.

Will any believers be there? No. That is only for unbelievers. So what the mistake made here is that this is posed as if this was for believers. That's a problem. While good works will not save even one soul, yet it is impossible for even one soul to be saved without good works. Figure that one out. I'm not exactly sure how to explain that one, but I'll let you work on it.

The judgment is to set, the books are to be opened, and we are to be judged according to our deeds. Every case has been decided for life or death. While Jesus had been ministering in the sanctuary, the judgment had been going on for the righteous dead and then for the righteous living. So on the great day of final atonement and investigative judgment, the only cases considered are those that profess people of God. There is an ongoing investigation into your life. The Lord is continuing to consider it. and dig into the details. Yeah? Yeah. It completely ignores things that are already a done deal.

Ephesians 1.3 We're going to be blessed with every spiritual blessing. We might be blessed. We are possibly, conceivably going to be blessed, right? No. You have been blessed already. Justified is not a future tense thing, but declared righteous is a past tense deal. Why was Abraham declared, past tense, righteous? Faith. How are we declared past tense righteous? Okay. Does the law have anything to do with it? Nope. Okay. Alright. We're not done.

As the books of record are opened, this goes back to the idea of what you see in Revelation 20, the lives of all who have believed on Jesus come in review before God. Beginning with those who lived upon the earth, every name is mentioned, every case closely investigated. Oh boy, you better be shaking. Names are accepted, names rejected. When any have sins remaining upon the books of record, unrepented of and unforgiven, their names will be blotted out of the book of life, and the record of their good deeds will be erased from the book of God's remembrance.

How about that? Yes, Tom? Yeah, yeah. I mean, this is really bad because, boy, you better, you know, if you see that you're getting into an accident and you let out some expletive, you better hope you have a chance to say, Lord, forgive me before you hit. Okay? Or you're in deep trouble. How do you like that? How are you buying it so far? Okay? That's a head shaker, isn't it?

Okay, that's the great controversy, which is the prime book. The great controversy is something equivalent to the Book of Romans in the New Testament. This is the flagship. Okay, let's take a look at Romans, speaking. Page 4, Romans 3.28, For we maintain that a man is justified, which tense is that? Okay, done deal, by faith apart from The works of the law. Wow. Well, that just seems to be real different. Okay, Ephesians 2, 8 and 9. For by grace you have been saved. There's a perfect passive verb, right? A completed past action with ongoing results into the future. Passive indicates that it is God who does the saving.

Through faith, that not of yourselves, It is the gift of God, not as a result of works, so that no one may boast. So, is it your works or not? Huh? Winnie, you're shaking your head! What's the matter? It is amazing, isn't it, to read things out of Ellen G. White's writings and then read scripture. It's like, what was she thinking?

Okay, here's Philippians 3, 7-11. Here's Paul, and after he had just told how good he was at obeying the law, he says, I had everything right. He listed, and by the way, seven is a real special number in Scripture, a number of completeness. He listed seven qualifications. He says, I'm just, I'm full on, full out, you know, Pharisee, man, I'm of the right tribe, everything right. Alright, and here's what he says.

But whatever things were gained to me, those things I have counted as loss for the sake of Christ. More than that, I count all things to be loss in view of their surpassing value. knowing Christ Jesus my Lord for whom I have suffered the loss of all things and count them but rubbish the the English here says rubbish the Greek word actually communicates sewage okay sewage so that I may gain Christ and may be found in him not having a righteousness of my own derived from the law but but that which is through faith in Christ, the righteousness which comes from God on the basis of faith, that we may know Him and the power of His resurrection and the fellowship of His sufferings, being conformed to His death, in order that I may attain to the resurrection from the dead, by faith in Christ and not through the law." So make sure it's a veggie burger, right? Okay.

Regarding the future judgment of believers scripture says 1st Corinthians 3 10 through 15 According to the grace of God which was given to me like a wise master builder I laid a foundation and another is building on it But each man must be careful how he builds on it for no man can lay a foundation other than the one which is laid which is Jesus Christ Now if any man builds on the foundation with gold, silver, precious stones, wood, hay, straw, each man's work will become evident, for the day will show it because it will be revealed with fire, and the fire itself will test the quality of each man's work. If any man's work which he has built on it remains, he will receive a reward. But if any man's work is burned up, he will suffer loss, but he himself will be saved as yet through the fire.

There is a judgment of condemnation which is exclusively for unbelievers. There is a judgment of evaluation that he refers to here for believers. That judgment of evaluation is no longer asking the question, is this person saved? The only question is, what's of eternal value? What has been done based on the work of Jesus Christ? that is gold and silver and precious stones. What's eternally rewardable?

But notice, he will suffer loss even if all his work is burned up. He himself will be saved, yet is through fire. A friend of mine jokes and he says, some people get to heaven naked and smoking. And the bottom line there is that There is a judgment for believers, but the Lord isn't sitting there saying, boy, I just can't wait to fry you. For those who have been justified, past tense, for those who have been saved, past tense, it is not of works, not of law, it is by faith, it is entirely by grace.

And what He will reward believers for is that which is done through the believer by his own strength, by Christ's strength in his life, living through us. He'll reward that. How do you like that? You get to be rewarded for depending on him. That's cool. That's major cool.

But there is nothing in question as to our eternal salvation. The Lord is not sorting through our compliance with the law. Yeah? Our motivation still has to come to dependence upon Him. Notice that while the New Testament talks about rewards for believers, the focus is really upon the Lord, not looking at the crowns. Okay, future judgment of unbelievers.

This is the Revelation 20, 1-15 passage. Then I saw a great white throne, and him who sat upon it, from whose presence earth and heaven fled away, and no place was found to them. And I saw the dead, the great and the small, standing before the throne. The books were opened, and another book was opened, which is the book of life.

The dead were judged from the things which were written in the books according to their deeds. These are the unbelievers. They are judged according to their deeds. And also according to the Book of Life, the sea gave up the dead which were in it, and death and Hades gave up the dead which were in them. And they were judged, every one of them according to their deeds. Then death and Hades were thrown into the lake of fire. This is the second death, the lake of fire. And if anyone's name was not found written in the Book of Life, he was thrown into the lake of fire. Are believers going to be here at this judgment? No, not going to be there. We're already out of the picture. Okay, now it's time to look at the top of page five here.

It was seen also, and they were quoting from the great controversy again, again, the flagship book of Ellen G. White. It was seen also that while the sin offering pointed to Christ as a sacrifice, and the high priest represented Christ as a mediator, the scapegoat typified Satan, Satan the author of sin, upon whom the sins of the truly penitent will finally be placed.

Where are your sins going to be placed? Where does this say your sins are placed? On Satan. Satan takes your sins. That's the teaching of the SDA church. Your sins are upon Satan. Okay? Very simply, the sins are transferred to the originator of sin, who is Satan. Right? Let's see what Isaiah 53, 6 says, All of us like sheep have gone astray, each of us has turned to his own way, but the Lord has caused the iniquity of us all to fall on Him. Okay? And Him is not Satan. Okay?

The iniquity of us all, he takes upon himself the sins of the world. 1 Peter 2, 24 and 25, and he himself bore, this is an aorist indicative which is a statement of fact, that's the idea, our sins in his body on the cross. Who bore them? Christ, not Satan, okay? So that we might die to sin and live to righteousness, for by his wounds you are healed.

Aristindicative statement of fact. For you were continually straying like sheep, but now you have returned to the shepherd and guardian of your souls. Isn't this amazing? Profound misunderstanding. Christ is the one who took the sins of the world upon himself. He is the propitiation for our sins. Not for ours only, but for the sins of the whole world. 1 John 2. He is the full satisfaction for every person on the planet. Yes.

What they will tend to do is, rather than look at these passages that we're looking at, here's the way they've arrived at this. In the Old Testament, there is one of the sacrificial systems in which a goat is sacrificed, and they say, well, that goat, that must mean Satan, and therefore Satan takes our sins. There's the conclusion. It's not based on, you know, what does all of scripture say and clear statements like Isaiah 53 6. It's on him or here's Peter, you know, it's on him. Christ, Christ, Christ takes it. No, what they'll do is make this conclusion.

It must be Satan who takes our sins and then everything else gets shoved to the side. Yeah, Randy. I think that's a really good point, and I think that's a really good point. Yeah, this is something that Randy pointed out, the allegorical interpretation. We pointed it out with the Orthodox and the Roman Catholic Church. The Mormon Church uses it. I don't know if you pointed out last week. The Mormon Church uses it. Seventh-day Adventists use it. Jehovah's Witnesses use it. What's the magnet for these groups to use allegorical or allegorizing interpretation? What's the magnet? Why is it so drawing to these groups? Art?

It doesn't make a lot of sense, does it? There was an overlap in lifespan. She was pretty young at that time. So there was an overlap in lifespan, but she wrote later. Yeah. She wrote later. Yeah. Yeah. Here's the thing about allegorizing. Once you decide that this is an allegory for something, what controls the decision of what's an allegory for? Yeah, it's the person who does it. Therefore, what you do is you have some organization or person who's going to call it, we're a prophet or we're the ones who get to interpret. And so they pick the allegory. Yeah.

Well, in a way it does, because what you end up having is, once you go to allegorical interpretation, then you have one group, and then another group, and then another group, and then another group. Here's the Baptists, right? And some of the Baptists held to allegorical interpretation because they broke out of the Reformed group, which broke out of the Lutherans, which broke out of the Catholics, and all those groups up the line were allegorical interpreters. So then, what do you have coming out of the Seventh-day Adventist group? Jehovah's Witnesses. Branch Davidians, you know that Waco tragedy that happened during the Clinton administration? That's another SDA group. Similar group, okay?

Once you begin allegorizing, you lose any sense of objective interpretation. Now it's subjective, because you say, oh, this means this. Well, how do you know? Well, that's because I say so. It's subjective interpretation which is easily manipulated into false authority. It means this because I say so. It means this because our special prophet said.

And now you're getting control of people by this manipulative method of interpretation. Yes. Yes. Yeah, the allegory is the problem, but it allows them to maintain control. It allows them to say it means what we say it means. It allows them to put themselves in a position of having a degree of power. And then some will add to that saying, you know, you have to have the rituals that, you know, come with us. You have to stay a part of our group or else you're lost. So they have this control and some of them carry it even farther.

This is where you get in the doomsday cults and ones like that. Years ago there was a gal who was caught up in a cult group in the San Francisco Bay Area. I went with a friend of mine to try to get her out because I'd known her since high school. What they did is the people who ran the household where she was at, were called the household parents, and you're supposed to obey your parents in the Lord. Not your own parents, but your parents in the Lord. So they would take these young people and basically have these cult control leaders. It's the same principle, it's just how much control do you want to carry, but the allegorical interpretation is the key to maintaining control.

Yes? And in Christ, as part of God, he's the agent. And also, he's on mission as all aspects of God. And yet, in this statement here where it says, angels of heaven don't know whether the Son of God, the Father, the Holy Spirit, of his return, inferring that Christ is not totally Ah, here's the thing.

The way it's I think stated that'll make it clear is that the Trinity, the three persons of the Godhead, is three persons, one essence. And we're used to one person, one essence. That's where we have difficulty. But this understanding also is what makes it possible for Christ, who is God, to have died on the cross and to take his sins upon himself and the Father to pour out wrath upon the Son. It is because they are of one essence, but different persons.

So this I think is the thing, the father alone holds it. One other point in reference to your question, the father alone knows, this also goes to why in the Jewish marriage custom, the father tells the groom, go get your bride. So this fits with the pre-tribulation rapture when the father tells the son, okay, you haven't known the time, I'm telling you now, go get your bride.

Then the Lord will come for us. But yeah, that's a good point and a good clarification. Let's take a look at the next one down here. Those who are living upon the earth, when the intercession of Christ shall cease, Oh man. In the sanctuary above are to stand in the sight of the Holy God without a mediator. There's one mediator, right? between God and man, Jesus Christ. Okay, the next quote here. When Jesus ceases to plead for man, the cases of all are forever decided. This is the time of reckoning with his servants. So what's interesting is that the role that Christ has is this time of ceasing. Really strange, really odd. Let's look at Ephesians 2, 4 through 7. Let's see what's really going to happen.

Okay? But God being rich in mercy because of his great love with which he loved us, even when we were dead in our transgressions... When? Even when we were dead in them. Okay? When he made us alive together with Christ, by grace you have been saved, and that's also a perfect passive verb. Okay? Completed past action with ongoing results in the future.

Passive indicates God does the saving. six, and raised us up with Him, and seated us with Him in the heavenly places in Christ." Not is going to seat, but has done what? Has seated. You're not waiting to find out if you're going to be seated with Christ.

It's a done deal. And by the way, the people that he wrote this to, just hold on to this, a few chapters later, He's told them, he says, you've been blessed with every spiritual blessing, you've been seated with Christ in the heavenlies. By the way, stop stealing. By the way, quit lying. Does it sound like your behavior is a condition upon which you're seated? Does it sound like your behavior is a condition upon which you're blessed? No. It doesn't make any sense at all.

But that's what they hold over these people. 1 Timothy 2, 5-7. For there is one God and one mediator also between God and man, the man Christ Jesus, who gave himself as a ransom for all, the testimony given at the proper time. The next down there, next quote, says, Those only who through faith in Christ obey all commandments will reach the condition of sinlessness in which Adam lived before his transgressions. You got that figured out? Faith in Christ, obey all the commandments, then you reach a state of sinlessness, which Adam lived before his transgression. By the way, which Adam do you want to be in? Do I want to go back to the first one? No. I don't want to go back to the first one. I want to be in the second one. I want to be in Christ, and if I put my trust in Christ for salvation, I'm there.

Paul, in Ephesians, keeps harping, in Christ, in whom, in the Beloved, in Him, again and again and again, and he tells them all these things, past tense, past tense, done deal, already accomplished, that's where you are. Now stop stealing. So, he got it upside down here, got it wrong.

To be redeemed means to cease from sin. How many of you are redeemed on that basis? Got anybody here that's ceased from sin? No? Heaven's sakes! I thought we had a meeting of the redeemed here this morning. Isn't that something? Isn't that something? Let's take a look at the top of page 6 there.

For as many of the works of the law are under a curse, for it is written, Cursed is everyone who does not abide by all things written in the book of the law to perform them. Now that no one is justified by the law before God as evident, for the righteous man shall live by faith. However, the law is not of faith. On the contrary, he who practices them shall live by them.

Christ redeemed us from the curse of the law, having become a curse for us. For it is written, Cursed is everyone who hangs on a tree, in order that in Christ Jesus the blessing of Abraham might come to the Gentiles, so that we would receive the promise of Spirit through faith." Now, through faith in Christ you obey, or what did we just read here in Galatians?

Is the law of faith? The law is not of faith. How about that? Not of faith. Yeah? Hello, Art? Well, ultimately what happens is the law becomes irrelevant because it is the life of Christ which is lived out in the believer. And certainly, the way Paul puts it in Galatians chapter 5, he says, you know, there is no law against it. There's no law contrary to it. If we walk in the Spirit, we are living by the life of Christ. We are satisfying God's righteousness by living it out, His righteousness. Christ is our righteousness. Randy?

I'm sorry. We would honor our father and mother, for example, not for salvation, not to be, but because we are his child, he fulfilled it for us, therefore we want to do the same thing. What we'll see is that there are moral things that come out of the law that you look at it and you say, that's moral, that's right. Ultimately, the law is not the standard, though. It is the life of Christ. And what we have in the New Testament is not a series of church laws, but the description of this is what the life of Christ looks like. Randy? The problem with trying to embrace the law as a believer is that the laws are finite. There's no rules. Some are duties. Some are felons. Some of them you can't even fulfill because the temple is destroyed.

But also, This morning in the main message, we'll make brief reference to the parable of the Good Samaritan. That's one that's so well known, even though it's only recorded there in Luke. that will even have reference to it among people who don't know scripture at all. You may have heard of like Good Samaritan laws, laws that will help protect those who try to help others. So many people are at least aware of this term or the idea of Good Samaritan. Jesus told the parable of the Good Samaritan to a man who was an expert at the law, and he used the Samaritan as the good one because the Samaritan, by his genealogy, was absolutely unacceptable. So here's Jesus and he makes the Samaritan the good one.

And it was the Jews that came by first who said, I won't touch this guy because if I touch him and he's dead, then that's bad. And besides of which, if the guy is a priest, and one of them at least was, life gets real complicated. I can't go do my service for a while if I touch this guy and he's dead. So this is real problematic. I'll just go.

Because the law kept the Jews from doing the right thing. And the Samaritan, not under that, could help the man who was on the way. So here Jesus himself was showing them that the law by itself isn't even enough. Is it good? Yeah. Does it do everything that needs to be done? It still doesn't describe it all, and may in fact put us in a spot where, like Jesus posed, the quandary of the Good Samaritan. Okay, let's take a look down here. So what's the problem? The SDA holds that one must consistently observe SDA-selected portions of the law. Why do I say SDA-selected portions?

In other words, there are certain things that are not included. Obviously, everything that's in the temple, they don't do that. What else is not included? What would they exclude from the Mosaic Law? The sacrifices, yeah. What else? Pardon? The stonings. They would not carry out the stonings, good. All right, what else?

Were the Jews allowed to eat meat? Are the Seventh-day Adventists supposed to eat meat? No. So they would exclude further beyond the things that the Jews were not allowed to have. They would cut all the meat off the diet. They would also have additional rules about certain beverages and things of that sort. The seventh day, okay? So they stick to that seventh day. But the point being, you have this reduction from the Mosaic Law handpicked. Okay? Clip out. These are the ones we'll follow, and these others we're going to ignore. And even with that, they've made a modification on the seventh day, because for Jews, it was sundown to sundown, but for the SCAs, it's only Saturday.

Yeah, they have had different discussions over what exactly defines the Sabbath. And they get into a lot of the same things that the Pharisees did. What's work? So a lot of those issues. So they further restrict to vegetarianism, which of course we've got several examples that's a problem with scripture. Worshipping from sundown Friday, sundown Saturday, or some other thing, they've got various discussions on what they cover. Notice that the early church met on the first day of the week.

The SDA Church does accept Ellen G. White's writings as supplemental to Scripture, the means through which Scripture is to be interpreted. Supplemental, they would not claim that it is another Bible, or to be added to the Bible, but it is in fact the means through which the Bible is interpreted. So it ends up having the same effect. The SDA Church does not accept Christ's work on the cross as complete.

That's important, isn't it? It's not done. It's not done and you're not done. Nor God's final declaration of righteousness on the basis of faith as a completed past action for those who believe. The word justified in the past tense doesn't get applied to you. You don't get that if you're a Seventh-day Adventist.

The SDA Church teaches that Christ is still weighing the deeds of believers with respect to their salvation until their final day on earth. Still checking it out carefully. The investigative judgment. You're still having your works poured over. Not quite sure if you're going to be saved yet or not. So be good. Be careful. Don't do that. The grace of God, by God's accomplishment through Christ, has been set aside entirely in SDA teaching.

Here is 1 Corinthians 1-9. The church at Corinth was a goofed up church, right? People read through it and you pretty quickly get the idea that it was a messed up bunch of people. What does he say here? Paul, called an apostle of Jesus Christ by the will of God, and Sosthenes, our brother, to the church of God, which is at Corinth, to those who have been sanctified, perfect passive.

You who I'm about to tell, hey, quit going to the prostitutes at the pagan temple. You, who have been sanctified, completed past action. Done deal. Look at this. Saints by calling. How about that? with all who in every place call on the name of our Lord Jesus Christ, their Lord and ours.

Grace to you and peace from God our Father and Lord Jesus Christ. I thank my God always concerning you for the grace of God which was given you in Christ Jesus, that in everything you were enriched in Him, in all speech, all knowledge, even as the testimony concerning Christ was confirmed in you, so that you are not lacking in any gift, awaiting eagerly the revelation of... not fearfully, but eagerly. Okay? Eagerly. the revelation of our Lord Jesus Christ, who will also confirm you to the end. Who's going to confirm you? Christ. He's going to weigh you to the end. He's going to investigate you to the end, right? No. He'll be the one confirming you to the end. His job. Confirming, not investigating. Blameless. What are you going to be? Blameless. Blameless. You see, when they come, whether they give you something at some gathering, or whether they come to your door, or however you happen to cross paths with them, you've got something they don't understand.

You have absolute assurance. I'm not waiting to find out if I'm going to be seated in the heavenlies. I'm there. I'm not waiting to find out if I'm going to be blessed with every spiritual blessing. It's a done deal. I'm not waiting to find out, you know, am I going to be sanctified or burned? No. I'm faked. It's done. It's complete.

God did it. It's His job. And look at this, God is faithful through whom you were called into fellowship with the Son, Jesus Christ our Lord. Here's the most messed up church in a whole bunch of churches in the New Testament. He says, God's going to do it. You're going to be blameless. I know it. Isn't that cool? Isn't that neat? That's wonderful stuff.

Look at Hebrews 12, 1 and 2. Therefore, since we have so great a cloud of witnesses surrounding us, let us also lay aside every encumbrance and the sin which so easily entangles us, and let us run with endurance the race that is set before us, fixing our eyes on Jesus the author and perfecter. He's the one that perfects it, not me. A faith who for the joy set before him endured the cross, despising the shame, and has sat down at the right hand of the throne of God."

Where are you seated? Right there. Done deal. No questions, no anxiety, no wringing of hands, no pacing the floor, no lying awake at night wondering. I'm safe. I'm blessed. Scratched again. I'm blessed with every spiritual blessing. Done deal. No question about it. I can close my eyes at night and not worry a bit. Isn't that great? Isn't that wonderful?

Let's pray. Lord, as we think of these folks, Lord, there are some 11 million plus that are of this persuasion throughout the world. most of the countries of the world. We think, Lord, of what they have anxiety over. We think, Lord, of what they are looking to, their own righteousness. And we think of what they don't understand. We're so thankful for what we have. We pray that their hearts would be convicted of the ultimate and total need for the marvelous grace of Jesus Christ. And Lord, we pray, should you bring us in contact with these folks for wise words, gracious words, words which will overflow with your amazing grace. In Jesus' name, Amen.