Characteristics of the Righteous

At the beginning of this year I was moving to a new town in New South Wales. In preparation for this, I decided to visit the local Seventh-day Adventist church. I arrived early but since no-one else was there yet, I spent a few minutes reading in my car. Unfortunately the content of the book was upsetting. Also, I got some dark looks from people when they saw my number plate (I still had Victorian registration plates on my car at that stage and Victoria had had a lot of trouble with COVID-19 infection control). As a result I needed to calm down before I could go in to the church and ended up walking in late. I slipped into a pew near the back. No-one greeted me, no-one smiled at me, no-one even acknowledged my presence. As I sat there I came ever closer to bursting into tears. Tears of anger and frustration. The comments of the leader contributed to my distressed state. Suddenly I got up and walked out. No-one followed me, no-one looked at me. I never went back. A few weeks later I received a leaflet in my letter box about Bible studies. What a joke. The impression that church had left on me was far from favourable. There was no way I was going back there, let alone study the Bible with someone from there. That was the coldest church that I ever experienced.

That experience along with similar experiences has caused me to think about Adventists. In general, Adventists pride themselves with having "the truth", with "keeping the commandments of God and the faith of Jesus", with "keeping the Sabbath" and with "looking forward to Jesus' second coming" among other things. They think they are doing the right thing and yet they lack love.

When the Son of Man comes as King and all the angels with him, he will sit on his royal throne, and the people of all the nations will be gathered before him. Then he will divide them into two groups, just as a shepherd separates the sheep from the goats. He will put the righteous people on his right and the others on his left. Then the King will say to the people on his right, 'Come, you that are blessed by my Father! Come and possess the kingdom which has been prepared for you ever since the creation of the world. I was hungry and you fed me, thirsty and you gave me a drink; I was a stranger and you received me in your homes, naked and you clothed me; I was sick and you took care of me, in prison and you visited me.'

The righteous will then answer him, 'When, Lord, did we ever see you hungry and feed you, or thirsty and give you a drink? When did we ever see you a stranger and welcome you in our homes, or naked and clothe you? When did we ever see you sick or in prison, and visit you?' The King will reply, 'I tell you, whenever you did this for one of the least important of these members of my family, you did it for me!'

Then he will say to those on his left, 'Away from me, you that are under God's curse! Away to the eternal fire which has been prepared for the Devil and his angels! I was hungry but you would not feed me, thirsty but you would not give me a drink; I was a stranger but you would not welcome me in your homes, naked but you would not clothe me; I was sick and in prison but you would not take care of me.'

Then they will answer him, 'When, Lord, did we ever see you hungry or thirsty or a stranger or naked or sick or in prison, and would not help you? The King will reply, 'I tell you, whenever you refused to help one of these least important ones, you refused to help me.' These then, will be sent off to eternal punishment, but the righteous will go to eternal life." Matthew 25:31-46 GNT. 

God's people, the righteous, the ones who receive the reward of eternal life, are those who cared for the people who were in need.  How does this fit in with the verse often quoted by Adventists from Revelation about God's people?

This calls for endurance on the part of God's people, those who obey God's commandments and are faithful to Jesus. Revelation 14:12 GNT. 

Adventists often apply these characteristics to themselves because they "keep ALL of God's commandments" including the seventh day as the Sabbath. However, what does it mean to obey God's commandments? What are God's commandments? This question has been answered by Jesus himself.

When the Pharisees heard that Jesus had silenced the Sadducees, they came together, and one of them, a teacher of the Law, tried to trap him with a question. "Teacher," he asked, "which is the greatest commandment in the Law?"

Jesus answered, "'Love the Lord your God with all your heart, with all your soul, and with all your mind.' This is the greatest and most important commandment. The second most important commandment is like it: 'Love your neighbour as you love yourself.' The whole Law of Moses and the teachings of the prophets depend on these two commandments." Matthew 22:34-40 GNT.

So, to obey the commandments of God means to love God with all your heart, soul and mind and to love your neighbour as yourself and you demonstrate this love by the way you treat other people.  Truth without love is not truth.

Now I don't want to leave you with the impression that all "Christians" or all "Adventists" are unkind and unloving.  I have encountered some who have shown genuine love and care towards those who were in need.  I have been a recipient of some of that love and care myself.  I have also encountered people outside of the church who have demonstrated a lot of love and care towards me and my family when we were in need.  God doesn't need us to judge each other.  He needs us to be His hands on this earth to show love and care to all around us.  

Help to carry one another's burdens, and in this way you will obey the law of Christ. Galatians 6:2 GNT.