Why I left the Seventh-day Adventist Church

I’ve written this article to address why I made the personal decision to dissociate myself from Seventh-day Adventism. My intention is to shed light on one of the main false doctrines of this group and to encourage truth-seekers to pursue sound biblical teaching.

Seventh-day Adventism is a religious movement that claims to be a Protestant Christian denomination. Its members are known for what they call "observing the Sabbath" on Saturdays, their chosen day of worship. The group places great emphasis on the second coming of Jesus, holistic living, and the writings of one of their key founders Ellen G. White.

On the surface, it may appear that the beliefs of Seventh-day Adventists are the same as other Christian denominations, but when you dive deeper into their beliefs, you’ll find that this is not entirely true.

My introduction to Seventh-day Adventism was in 2022 when I wasn’t a born again believer. During this period, I was depressed and in desperate need of help. Because of this, my mom invited me to her church at the time, so I went. When I got saved in 2023, and began attending church regularly, I continued visiting her church. After a few visits, I decided to find a church that was closer to where I lived, so I specifically searched for another SDA church because of my familiarity with it. From April 2023 until May 2025, I was a visitor and member of this church.

Before my first visit to a SDA church, I never heard of Seventh-Day Adventism. Even after joining them, I didn’t know much about them and how they differed from other denominations.

In my naivety, I didn’t understand that being baptised in the SDA church also made me an official member. Now, I understand that the decision to make a public declaration of my faith in this church was also a public declaration of my agreement with it. This was an unwise decision. Thank God for grace!

My comfortability in the SDA church was a result of feeling welcomed and appreciated by members of the congregation. I remember the lovely greeting I received the first time I visited which motivated me to keep visiting. After months of being a visitor, I decided to get baptised in the church after responding to the pastor’s altar call for those who were seeking baptism. The positive response I received from members of the church encouraged me and made me feel accepted.

The desire to be a part of a community is God given because He did not create us to live by ourselves. He said it’s not good for man to be alone (Genesis 2:18). This was in the context of Adam being without a helper, but we know from the entire context of the Bible that God’s will is for His people to be one with Him as well as one another. “Just as a body, though one, has many parts, but all its many parts form one body, so it is with Christ” (1 Corinthians 12:12). With this being said, it’s equally important for us to recognise that God wants us to be a part of the right community.

Throughout Scripture, we see that God has an expectation of His people to be in fellowship with others who are also pursuing Him and His righteousness. This does not mean that we should live isolated from those who aren't Christians, but rather we should prioritise walking closely with other believers. “Do not be unequally yoked with unbelievers. For what partnership has righteousness with lawlessness? Or what fellowship has light with darkness? What accord has Christ with Belial? Or what portion does a believer share with an unbeliever?” (2 Corinthians 6:14-15). It is imperative that we, as followers of Christ, have fellowship with others who are also following Christ because through doing so we have the opportunity to build one another up, just as God desires. How can our faith be encouraged by those who have no faith?

My next question is: how can we grow in the knowledge and love of our Lord and Saviour without interpreting the Bible correctly? I know that in the body of Christ there are often doctrinal disputes on various topics and some of them we may consider less significant than others. It is my belief that there are some doctrinal disputes that are too significant to dismiss or minimise as small disagreements.

During my time in the SDA church, I didn’t address my concerns with their teachings. However, as time went on and I studied the Bible more closely, I began questioning whether they were preaching a false gospel. There were many times I sat in service raising an eyebrow at the words of the preacher because they contradicted God’s Word.

Being eager to grow spiritually, I searched the Scriptures for deeper understanding of the truth and to my surprise, I realised that some SDA doctrines were not aligned with sound biblical teaching. Concerned about my own and my family’s spiritual growth, I began to grow weary about my association with Seventh-day Adventism.

As I stated in the beginning, I will only address one of the predominant false teachings of Seventh-day Adventism.

The Sabbath

Seventh-day Adventists teach that we have a moral obligation to observe the Sabbath day, which they believe was established at creation (Genesis 2:2-3) and reaffirmed in the Ten Commandments (Exodus 20:8-11). They hold that the Sabbath day falls on Saturday, and therefore reject Sunday as a biblically valid day to worship. They also teach that Sabbath-keeping will be a test of loyalty in the end time, asserting that Sunday worship will be associated with the mark of the beast.

This doctrine is both false and spiritually harmful because it promotes a works-based view of salvation. When we are told that we must keep the law, including the Sabbath, it shifts the foundation of our salvation away from Christ’s finished work and onto our own performance. That is not the gospel.

Although Seventh-day Adventists say they do not believe salvation comes through works, their insistence on keeping the Ten Commandments effectively turns the Christian life into a works-centered system. Their own official website states, “These precepts are the basis of God’s covenant with His people and the standard in God’s judgment.” While I agree that this was true for ancient Israel under the Old Covenant, I do not believe it applies to God’s people after the cross who live under the New Covenant established by Christ .

The claim that the Sabbath was instituted at Creation is false because even though Genesis 2:2-3 tells us that God rested from his work on the seventh day and made it holy, there is no command given to any human to observe the Sabbath day during that period. The first time people are commanded to keep the Sabbath in the Bible is in Exodus 16:23, and it was the Israelites who were given the commandment. The Sabbath is later included in the Ten Commandments, with reference to the Creation narrative, and given to the Israelites again.

What I find grossly dishonest about Seventh-day Adventists' assertion of the commandment to observe the Sabbath is the teaching that it was given to all people, rather than just Israel.

Based on Scripture, I do not believe Christians are commanded to keep the Sabbath under the New Covenant because this commandment is never reaffirmed in the New Testament after Christ establishes the New Covenant. The Sabbath was originally given to ancient Israel as a sign between them and God, demonstrating that He was the one who made them holy (Ezekiel 20:12). In Christ, that sign finds its fulfilment because it is through Him—not a day—that God sanctifies His people. This is why Colossians 2:17 explains that the Sabbath, along with other observances, was only a shadow of what was to come, with the true substance and reality found in Christ Himself.

Even though I am convinced that God has not commanded Christians to observe the Sabbath, I do not believe that keeping the Sabbath itself is wrong. What is wrong is teaching that Sabbath-keeping is necessary for righteousness because righteousness comes only through faith in the finished work of Christ. Jesus said He did not come to abolish the law but to fulfil it (Matthew 5:17), showing that the law is not bad—rather, it serves as a sign that ultimately points to Him.

From my experience, I can say that the Seventh-day Adventist doctrine of Sabbath-keeping is genuinely harmful because it can easily lead to legalism. I remember having a conversation with a member of my former church who rebuked my husband and me for going grocery shopping on the Sabbath. After that conversation, we stopped going grocery shopping on Saturdays and even found ourselves being more cautious about doing anything that could be considered “work”. Over time, I felt as though a heavy yoke had been placed on me, which I couldn’t carry. The peace I had found in Christ began to fade under the weight of that pressure.

I am truly grateful that, through studying God’s Word, the truth of the gospel became clear and I came to understand the real meaning and fulfilment of the Sabbath in Christ. He is the one who gives us true rest and reminds us of the sovereignty of God.

My prayer is that anyone who is a part of Seventh-day Adventism or holds to the belief that Christians must keep the law will seek the truth of this matter. It is my hope and desire for all Christians to experience true freedom in Christ by understanding that it is by His work alone that we are saved and sanctified. Amen.