Gospel Adventism: A Polished Name for Law-Based Righteousness?

In recent exchanges with Gospel Adventists, a recurring theme emerges: “We keep the Sabbath not to be saved, but because we are saved.” At first glance, this sounds like a balanced view—faith first, obedience second. But when examined through the lens of New Covenant theology, biblical exegesis, and sound hermeneutics, this claim begins to unravel. What we find is not gospel liberty, but a subtle return to the Old Covenant law-keeping system, dressed in grace-language.

The Old Covenant: Written in Stone, Bound to Death

Yes, the Sabbath was written in stone and placed inside the Ark of the Covenant (Exodus 31:18; Deuteronomy 10:2). But that’s precisely the issue. The stone tablets represented the Old Covenant—a covenant that Hebrews 8:13 says is “obsolete and growing old.” If the Sabbath command was part of that covenant, then its binding authority has likewise been fulfilled in Christ.

Paul makes this crystal clear in Romans 7:1–6. He compares the law to a husband: “The law has authority over a man only as long as he lives” (v.1). But through Christ’s death, we died to the law so that we might belong to another—Jesus Himself. To continue relating to God through the law after being joined to Christ is, in Paul’s words, spiritual adultery.

“So, my brothers and sisters, you also died to the law through the body of Christ… that we might bear fruit for God.” —Romans 7:4

The New Covenant: Rest in Christ, Not in a Day

Hebrews 4 teaches that the true Sabbath rest is found in Christ, not in a calendar day. The Old Covenant Sabbath was a shadow (Colossians 2:16-17), but Christ is the substance. To insist on literal Sabbath observance as a divine requirement—even if not for salvation—is to elevate the shadow above the reality.

Paul’s words in Romans 14:5 are striking: “One person esteems one day as better than another, while another esteems all days alike. Each one should be fully convinced in his own mind.” If Sabbath-keeping were a moral obligation under the New Covenant, Paul would never treat it as a matter of personal conviction.

Analogy: From Marriage to Mastery

Imagine a woman who was once married to a strict, demanding husband. Every day, she lived under his rules—what to wear, when to speak, how to behave. Then one day, he dies. She mourns, but eventually remarries a loving, gracious man who doesn’t impose rules but invites her into a relationship built on love and freedom.

Now imagine she still wakes up every morning trying to obey her former husband’s rules, fearing she’ll disappoint her new one. That’s not love—it’s bondage. That’s what Paul meant in Romans 7. The law was our former “husband.” In Christ, we’ve entered a new covenant. To keep living by the old rules is to dishonor the new relationship.

Gospel Adventism: A Contradiction in Terms?

Let’s be honest: Gospel Adventism is not simply “Jesus alone.” It’s Jesus plus Sabbath. And that addition changes everything. It reintroduces a covenantal framework that Christ fulfilled and replaced. Galatians 5:4 warns:

“You who are trying to be justified by the law have been alienated from Christ; you have fallen away from grace.”

Even if Gospel Adventists claim they’re not keeping the Sabbath to be saved, the system itself implies that Sabbath observance is a mark of true obedience and divine favor. That’s not gospel freedom—it’s law-based righteousness in disguise.

Reflection

• If the Sabbath was part of the Old Covenant, and that covenant is obsolete, why insist on keeping it?
  
  
• If Paul treats “days” as optional, why do Gospel Adventists treat the seventh day as mandatory?
  
  
• If righteousness comes apart from the law (Romans 3:28), why tether it to a command written in stone?
  
  
• If Christ is our rest, why return to the shadow?

Conclusion: The Greater Glory Is in Christ

The gospel is not Jesus plus law. It’s Jesus alone. The New Covenant invites us to rest—not in a day, but in a Person. To cling to the tablets is to miss the glory of the cross. Gospel Adventism may sound gracious, but it still binds believers to a system that Christ fulfilled and set aside.

“Now if the ministry that brought death, which was engraved in letters on stone, came with glory… will not the ministry of the Spirit be even more glorious?” —2 Corinthians 3:7–8

Let us not settle for shadows when the substance has come. Let us not return to the law when grace has made us free.

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Former Adventists Philippines

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