The Undercover Adventist

  How War, the Sabbath, and Military Service Divided Adventism The Seventh-day Adventist Church is often thought of as a single worldwide denomination, but its history contains a major and painful division that began during World War I . The controversy was not primarily about the Trinity, the Sabbath, Ellen G. White, or the Second Coming. It centered on a much more immediate question: Could a Seventh-day Adventist take part in war, carry a weapon, kill an enemy, and perform military duties on the Sabbath if the government required it? The answer given by some Adventist leaders in Europe in 1914 produced one of the most serious crises in Adventist history. Those who rejected that position were expelled from Adventist churches, and eventually a separate body emerged that became known as the Seventh Day Adventist Reform Movement . Today, both groups still exist. The mainstream Seventh-day Adventist Church has millions of members worldwide, while the Reform Movement is a much smal...

  Misunderstood, But Still Faithful Scripture: 2 Corinthians 1:18–22 Have you ever done something with the best intentions, only to have someone misunderstand your motives? You tried to help, but they thought you were being selfish. You tried to avoid making a situation worse, but they thought you did not care. Few things are more painful than having sincere motives questioned. Paul knew that pain. Paul had carefully planned his visits to Corinth, but circumstances changed. After receiving a troubling report about the church, he changed his plans. He eventually made a visit, but it was painful. Rather than immediately returning and risking making the situation worse, Paul went back to Ephesus and wrote them a letter. His decision was misunderstood by some Corinthians. They accused him of being unreliable and suggested that his changing plans meant he did not love them. But Paul explained that his intentions were not driven by selfishness or indifference. In fact, his decision not t...

  The resurrection is one of the central teachings of the Christian faith. In 1 Corinthians 15, the apostle Paul gives one of the clearest and most comprehensive explanations in the Bible of what the resurrection means, why it matters, and what believers can look forward to when Christ returns. Paul’s message is especially important because Christian hope is not based merely on the idea of life continuing after death. It is based on the promise that God will raise the dead and give His people immortal, transformed bodies. The Resurrection of Jesus Is the Foundation of Christian Faith Paul begins by reminding the Corinthians of the gospel he preached to them. At the heart of that gospel is the death, burial, and resurrection of Jesus Christ. Paul declares that Christ “was buried, and that he rose again the third day according to the scriptures” (1 Corinthians 15:4). The resurrection of Jesus is not presented as a minor part of Christianity. It is foundational. Paul explains that if ...

“For our rejoicing is this, the testimony of our conscience, that in simplicity and godly sincerity…we have had our conversation in the world.” — 2 Corinthians 1:12 Few things are more painful than having our motives questioned when we know our intentions were sincere. We may have tried to help, encourage, serve, or do what we believed was right, only to have someone interpret our actions in the worst possible way. Even when we can explain ourselves, the experience can leave us frustrated and wounded. Paul knew something about this. In 2 Corinthians 1, some of the believers in Corinth had apparently questioned his sincerity because he had changed his travel plans. What Paul intended as a decision made with care was interpreted by some as inconsistency or unreliability. Instead of responding with anger, Paul explained his heart and appealed to the integrity of his conscience. He wrote, “For our rejoicing is this, the testimony of our conscience, that in simplicity and godly sincerity…we...

Scripture: 2 Corinthians 1:8–11 There are moments in life when trouble becomes more than we believe we can handle. Paul knew what that felt like. Writing to the Corinthians, he described an experience in which he and his fellow workers were burdened by suffering “beyond measure, above strength.” The pressure was so severe that they feared they might not survive. In their own minds, the situation had reached the point where death seemed certain. Paul’s words are important because they remind us that faith does not mean we will never feel overwhelmed. Even faithful servants of God can reach moments when their strength is exhausted and their circumstances seem hopeless. Sometimes we pray, yet the situation does not immediately change. Sometimes we wonder how much more we can endure. Yet Paul discovered something powerful in that experience: when his own strength was no longer enough, God was still enough. For a moment, Paul and his companions apparently believed that death was near. Their...