I appeal to you therefore, brothers and sisters, by the mercies of God, to present your bodies as a living sacrifice, holy and acceptable to God, which is your spiritual worship.  Do not be conformed to this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your minds, so that you may discern what is the will of God-what is good and acceptable and perfect (Rom. 12:1,2, NRSV).

HEN I WAS 12 YEARS OLD Mr. Silva visited our family for 10 days. He was slender, vigorous of mind and body, walked as straight as a soldier--and was 97 years old.

Every morning by the time we served breakfast, Mr. Silva had spent time with God in private devotions and taken a seven-mile walk. At mealtimes he ate small portions of fruit, vegetables, grains, legumes, and nuts. He avoided fatty and cholesterol-laden foods.

I worried that he was not eating adequately, so I asked him, "Mr. Silva, why do you eat so funny?"

With a twinkle in his eye he explained that at the age of 47 he was so ill that his physician had sent him home to die. "Instead of dying," he said, "I gave my heart to Christ, became a Seventh-day Adventist, and changed my lifestyle. I quit smoking and drinking, developed good health habits, and trusted God to supply my needs. My health improved immediately, and I've felt energetic ever since. It's a lifestyle I've maintained for 50 years. That's why I eat so funny."

I became a believer in Mr. Silva's lifestyle when he accompanied me to the orchard to help me pick apples. Although skeptical that anyone at the age of 97 would be of any help, I welcomed his company. Instead of using a ladder, he shimmied up the tree freestyle. I was shocked. When he filled his bag with apples before I did I was speechless.

Mr. Silva died peacefully in his sleep at the age of 103. Until his death he attended Sabbath services weekly, prayed and read his Bible daily, and had excellent mental, physical, and spiritual health.

One newly baptized woman, when I told her about Mr. Silva, said, "It's a great story, but it raises more questions than it answers."

"It raises something else," she said. "Mr. Silva has raised the bar so high I'll never get over it. Why, with my combination of appetite and lack of self-discipline I go for the calories and the cholesterol every time. Does this mean that I won't be saved?"

"Salvation is a gift," I assured her, "not compensation for healthful living."

We Seventh-day Adventists neither believe nor teach that Christ saves us on the basis of what we do or do not do. We teach and believe that Christ saves us by grace through faith and that our salvation is a gift, not a wage for good behavior. We teach that the Christian's lifestyle "arises as a grateful response to God's magnificent salvation through Christ" (Seventh-day Adventists Believe, p. 279).

God's Love: Our Response
Responding to God's grace is a privilege befitting our status as sons and daughters of God. Sometimes these privileges come as commands and sometimes as prohibitions. When God delivered the children of Israel from Egyptian slavery He gave them the Ten Commandments as their bill of rights, thereby stating that the Israelites were now free.

Stated as a command, the Sabbath commandment freed Israel from having to work as slaves from sunup to sundown seven days a week. It freed them from slavery and gave them the right to set priorities and worship God.

The eighth commandment--"You shall not steal"--is an example of a benefit stated as a prohibition. As slaves in Egypt the Israelites could not own property, but the commandment prohibiting stealing gave them the double right of owning property and having their possessions respected by others.

As a new Adventist, perhaps as a new Christian, you also have been bequeathed with many perks, including the value-added benefits of the Adventist lifestyle.

The Abundant Life
As you transition into the Adventist lifestyle, here are some principles to keep in mind to apply to issues of spiritual, physical, and mental health to your relationships, recreation, dress, and diet.

1. Pray for wisdom and strength. When God gives us principles to follow, He empowers us to obey.

2. Be balanced in your approach. If you overemphasize one vital thing at the expense of others, you will have an unbalanced lifestyle and you could tend toward fanaticism. One person learned that it was beneficial to drink eight glasses of water daily. Reasoning that if eight glasses were good, then 16 glasses were better, he increased his consumption of water until he was drinking several gallons of water a day. Unlike Jesus, he took a fanatical approach to health.

Jesus was balanced in His lifestyle, not fanatical. He "increased in wisdom and stature, and in favor with God and man" (Luke 2:52).

3. Be educated in your approach. The prophet Hosea lamented, "My people are destroyed for lack of knowledge" (Hosea 4:6). An uninformed approach could lead to fanaticism. Perhaps, like Mr. Silva, you are making a radical change in your lifestyle. There is an abundance of helpful material in the areas of physical, mental, social, and spiritual health to study. It comes in the forms of books, magazines, cassettes, videos, and resource people. Make an appointment with your pastor and the health professionals in your church and interview them. By being informed in these vital areas you can avoid the pitfalls befalling those who lack knowledge.

4. Be guided by principles, not rules. When confronted with a decision, apply these principles stated as questions: 1. Does this behavior glorify God? 2. Will this behavior enhance my Christian experience? 3. Will my choice make me a more credible witness to my family and friends?

5. When you blow it, do not get discouraged and quit. Rome was not built in a day, and growing as a disciple of Christ is a lifelong process. Becoming like Jesus is the work of a lifetime. We are usually harder on ourselves when we fail than God is. Sometimes we learn more from our failures than from our successes. Remember, the trend of your lifetime is more important than your episodic failure or success.

As a new Adventist you're in for an exciting adventure. The perks are value-added benefits.

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Arthur R. Torres is senior pastor of the Seventh-day Adventist church in Garden Grove, California.