“It was by associating with idolaters and joining in their festivities that the Hebrews were led to transgress God’s law and bring His judgments upon the nation. So now it is by leading the followers of Christ to associate with the ungodly and unite in their amusements that Satan is most successful in alluring them into sin” (Patriarchs and Prophets, p. 458).
Over the years, Adventists have embraced the ecumenical movement, evangelical theology, worldly standards of dress, and, more recently, the worship styles of the Sunday-keeping churches. In the video above, you will see our youth at both the Tamarind Avenue Seventh-day Adventist Church in California [1] and the Plantation Seventh-day Adventist Church in Florida [2], dancing to the gospel song called “Victory Live” by Tye Tribbett, a Sunday pastor known for his outrageous “go crazy” performances. [3]
This is what our young people try to imitate. These are the new standards of worship and praise for the next generation of Seventh-day Adventists as our youth are being seduced into imitating the Sunday-keeping churches. The apostle Paul warned the Christians of his day not to follow the customs of the pagan temples of Corinth: “Ye know that ye were Gentiles, carried away unto these dumb idols, even as ye were led.” 1 Cor. 12:2. He also reminded them that “the things which the Gentiles sacrifice, they sacrifice to devils, and not to God” (1 Cor. 10:20).
In other words, Paul taught that these pagan temples in his day were false churches with false worship styles. Later Paul warned them, “What agreement hath the temple of God with idols … Wherefore come out from among them, and be ye separate, saith the Lord” (2 Cor. 6:16–17).
He clearly warned against imitating the culture of his day. Moreover, Paul told Titus that elders must “be able by sound doctrine both to exhort and to convince the gainsayers [those who contradict]” (Titus 1:9), and that false teachers’ mouths “must be stopped” (Titus 1:11). Jude urged Christians to “contend for the faith which was once delivered unto the saints” (Jude 3).
When our message is similar to that of the popular churches, when our worship styles mirror those who constitute Babylon, when there is a spirit of affirmation to everything the world does, when there are no admonitions to moral reformation, and when all of these humanistic emphases become dominant in the church—then all this is an indication that we have truly been infiltrated by “heathen influences” and we have conformed ourselves to the culture of the world with its “customs, habits, and principles” (Patriarchs and Prophets, p. 458).
“God requires of His people now as great a distinction from the world, in customs, habits, and principles, as He required of Israel anciently. If they faithfully follow the teachings of His word, this distinction will exist; it cannot be otherwise. The warnings given to the Hebrews against assimilating with the heathen were not more direct or explicit than are those forbidding Christians to conform to the spirit and customs of the ungodly.” Patriarchs and Prophets, p. 458.
Sources
[1] https://www.youtube.com/live/7KTdiWamkQg?si=-TPndZ-AAu9fWkNR
[2] https://www.youtube.com/live/guHM0wrMTuQ?si=O_rKa4qoPCKI3w8j
[3] https://youtu.be/-NUjDtJteTg?si=QfNUAMvlvdvM91Fy
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“And they rose up early on the morrow, and offered burnt offerings, and brought peace offerings; and the people sat down to eat and to drink, and rose up to play. ”
Exodus 32:6 KJV
How often, in our own day, is the love of pleasure disguised by a “form of godliness”! A religion that permits men, while observing the rites of worship, to devote themselves to selfish or sensual gratification, is as pleasing to the multitudes now as in the days of Israel. And there are still pliant Aarons, who, while holding positions of authority in the church, will yield to the desires of the unconsecrated, and thus encourage them in sin. {PP 317}
“6 Now these things were our examples, to the intent we should not lust after evil things, as they also lusted. 7 Neither be ye idolaters, as were some of them; as it is written, The people sat down to eat and drink, and rose up to play. 8 Neither let us commit fornication, as some of them committed, and fell in one day three and twenty thousand. 9 Neither let us tempt Christ, as some of them also tempted, and were destroyed of serpents. 11 Now all these things happened unto them for ensamples: and they are written for our admonition, upon whom the ends of the world are come. ”
1 Corinthians 10:6-9, 11 KJV
God would have His people in these days review with a humble heart and teachable spirit the trials through which ancient Israel passed, that they may be instructed in their preparation for the heavenly Canaan. Many look back to the Israelites, and marvel at their unbelief and murmuring, feeling that they themselves would not have been so ungrateful; but when their faith is tested, even by little trials, they manifest no more faith or patience than did ancient Israel.{PP 293}
“126 It is time for thee, LORD, to work: for they have made void thy law. 127 Therefore I love thy commandments above gold; yea, above fine gold. 128 Therefore I esteem all thy precepts concerning all things to be right; and I hate every false way. ”
Psalms 119:126-128 KJV
When David in his day saw the departing from the law of God, he expected that a manifestation of divine displeasure would be seen. He looked for the Lord to show forth His righteous indignation. “It is time for thee, Lord, to work,” he exclaimed, “for they have made void thy law.” He supposed that in their lawlessness men had exceeded the bounds of God’s forbearance, and that the Lord would not longer restrain Himself (MS 15, 1906). – 3BC 1153.1
Time for God to Work—David was greatly tried in his day in seeing men pouring contempt upon God’s law. Men threw off restraint, and depravity was the result. The law of God had become a dead letter to those whom God had created. Men refused to receive the holy precepts as the rule of their life. Wickedness was so great that David feared lest God’s forbearance should cease, and he sent up a heart-felt prayer to heaven, saying, “It is time for thee, Lord, to work: for they have made void thy law. Therefore I love thy commandments above gold; yea, above fine gold.” 3BC 1152.8
If David thought in his day that men had exceeded the limits of God’s mercy, and that God would work to vindicate the honor of His law, and bring the wickedness of the wicked to an end, then what influence should the widespread iniquity of our day have upon those who love and fear God? When there is widespread disobedience, when iniquity is increasing to a swelling tide, will the professed Christian world be evil with the evil, unrighteous with the unrighteous? Shall we place our influence on the side of the great apostate, and shall universal scorn be heaped upon God’s law, the great standard of righteousness? Shall we be swept away by the strong tide of transgression and apostasy? Or shall the righteous search the Scriptures, and know for themselves the conditions upon which the salvation of their souls depend? Those who make the Word of God the man of their counsel will esteem the law of God, and their appreciation of it will rise in proportion as it is set aside and despised. Loyal subjects of Christ’s kingdom will re-echo the words of David and say, “It is time for thee, Lord, to work: for they have made void thy law. Therefore I love thy commandments above gold; yea, above fine gold.” This is the position those will occupy who love God sincerely and their neighbors as themselves. They will exalt the commandments in proportion as contempt increases (Undated Manuscript 145). 3BC 1152.9
Where Will the Church Stand?—It is possible for men to go so far in wickedness, under continual remonstrance, that God sees that He must arise and vindicate His honor. Thus it is at the present period of this earth’s history. Crime of every degree is becoming more and more strikingly manifest. The earth is filled with violence of men against their fellow-men. – 3BC 1153.2
What position will the church take? Will those who in the past have had respect for the law of God, be drawn into the current of evil? Will the almost universal transgression and contempt of the law of God, darken the spiritual atmosphere of the souls of all alike? Will the disrespect of the law of God sweep away the protecting barriers? Because wickedness and lawlessness prevail, is the law of God to be less highly esteemed? Because it is made void by the great majority of those living on the earth, shall the few loyal ones become like all the disloyal, and act as the wicked act? Shall they not rather offer up the prayer of David, “It is time for thee, Lord, to work: for they have made void thy law” (Manuscript 15, 1906)? – 3BC 1153.3