|
|
|
Welcome!
These facts are pretty straightforward, but there's more to say about them. The first verses of the gospel of John make clear than the pre-existant Word of God, who would later be born into the world as a human Child, was present and active at creation. Speaking of Jesus John says, "Through him all things were made; without him nothing was made that has been made" (John 1:3, NIV). In order words, in union with the Father, Jesus made the world that He was later born into. He made the world He will soon return to as Lord of lords and King of kings. Notice two things about what we've said so far. First, Christ figures prominently in the beginning of all things. And second, He will figure prominently in the end of all things. So the history of planet earth both begins and ends with Christ. In the book of Revelation the glorified Christ tells us, "I am the Alpha and the Omega, the First and the Last, the Beginning and the End" (Revelation 22:13). And as a great fulcrum around which all else revolves we see Jesus, at the center of history as it were, being "obedient to death - even death on a cross!" (Philippians 2:8). If these things are true, and if Seventh-day Adventists believe them, then why don't we honor Christ's resurrection by worshiping on the day He rose from the dead? It's true that we don't worship on Sunday, but we certainly do honor the memory of Christ's resurrection. Seventh-day Adventists do this every week. What I means is, we prepare on the day Christ prepared (Friday), we rest on the day Christ rested (Saturday, i.e., the seventh day of the week, the Sabbath), and we resume our activity on the day Christ got up and resumed His activity (Sunday). We don't think it makes sense to try to honor Christ by doing the opposite of what He Himself did, i.e., by working on the day He rested, and by resting on the day He rose from the grave and took up His work again. This is all the more true when you realize that reversing the pattern He set would mean ignoring a direct command to the contrary (see Exodus 20:8-11). To us it makes a lot more sense to honor Christ by doing as He did, and by following His example. The first example of Sabbath keeping people received from the Son of God was in the garden of Eden, when He rested on the seventh day of the week after creating all things. Resting in the tomb after dying for our sins on the cross was a repetition of the example He gave originally at the creation of the world. So the cross ought to reinforce this instruction, rather than reversing or replacing it. The point to make is that Seventh-day Adventists do remain faithful to Jesus, just like other Christians. The difference, on the basis of passages such as Revelation 14:12, is that we believe obeying God's commandments is consistent with doing that. The above verse speaks of "saints who obey God's commandments and remain faithful to Jesus." This passage is an inspiration to us. It's the kind of people we want to be. In these few paragraphs I haven't tried to say everything about what Seventh-day Adventists believe, but rather to focus on one thing that might answer some questions people frequently have. For a fuller statement of our beliefs click the following web link. If you still have questions, and perhaps would like to discuss them with a living person instead of a web page, don't hesitate to contact us at the following e-mail address. And please, by all means, feel welcome to visit our services at any time. For information on our schedule, click Events, either here or on the menu bar. For directions, click About Us and then Directions. You don't need to wait for a good reason to come, just show up! We look forward to seeing you.
|
||