N ANCIENT ISRAEL NAMES DESCRIBED THE character and revealed the essence of a person, place, or thing. And even in contemporary Western society names are still more than labels of identification.

The decision of delegates at an organizational meeting in the fall of 1860 to take the name Seventh-day Adventist was intended to communicate two things: our belief in the binding relevance of the seventh-day Sabbath, and our hope in the imminent and literal return of Jesus Christ. R. W. Schwarz, in his book Light Bearers to the Remnant, wrote, �What better name than Seventh-day Adventist? It had been applied to them as much as any other and had the virtue of clearly identifying the chief biblical truths they proclaimed.�¹

Ellen White wholeheartedly endorsed the choice of this term for the increasing number of Sabbatarians who still anxiously anticipated the second advent of Christ after the great disappointment of 1844. �No name which we can take will be appropriate but that which accords with our profession and expresses our faith and marks us as a peculiar people,� she said. �The name Seventh-day Adventist carries the true features of our faith in front, and will convict the inquiring mind. Like an arrow from the Lord�s quiver, it will wound the transgressors of God�s law, and will lead toward repentance toward God and faith in our Lord Jesus Christ.�²

What�s in a Name?
In a bold departure from traditions inherited from the Protestant community, Adventists developed, rather than creeds, �fundamental beliefs� as their rule of faith and practice. These �beliefs,� currently numbering 27, clarify the church�s understanding, expressions, and teachings from Scripture about the doctrines of God, humanity, salvation, church, Christian life, and the last things.

For most of the early years of our existence Adventists have struggled to maintain a distinct and peculiar character and identification, particularly through the prophetic teachings of Ellen White. Isaiah 8:20��To the law and to the testimony: if they speak not according to this word, it is because there is no light in them��became an Adventist challenge to those who neglect the 10 principles of God�s revealed will for His people, especially the fourth (see Ex. 20:3-17).

Yet at the same time some of our opponents noted that references to salvation through Christ alone were conspicuously missing from our presentations, even though this paramount truth was undeniably believed by our founders. In the past, regrettably, too much emphasis was placed on the observance of the law, while there appeared to be a gross neglect of the gospel of grace, especially in connection with having a personal relationship with Christ. This caused our doctrines to seem like heavy-handed legalism, often producing a toxic reaction among those raised under its strict religious regulations.

To survive, some abandoned the faith of their parents as soon as they were independent enough to disengage themselves. The church also received harsh public criticism for its extreme focus on the writings and prophetic gift of Ellen White, seemingly to the exclusion of the Word of God. Then there were battles for such unpopular doctrinal truths as soul sleep of the dead and the heavenly sanctuary. Our neglect in publicly stressing the imperatives of personal regeneration and justification by faith also left us vulnerable to attack and earned us the label �legalist.�

These events could have paralyzed us. But instead they strengthened our resolve to live up to our high calling. As obedient Sabbathkeeping Adventists, we continue studying to show ourselves approved unto God; men and women that need not be ashamed of our testimonies (2 Tim. 2:15).

Ellen White directed a great deal of her ministry toward establishing a prophetic foundation rooted in the gospel. Her books The Desire of Ages and Steps to Christ are Christian classics that extol grace and underscore the necessity of a personal relationship with Jesus Christ.

With the publication of Questions on Doctrine in the 1950s Adventist beliefs eventually won the respect�and later the admiration�of other Christians who recognized our scriptural diligence and inspiring interpretations of biblical prophecy.

Our name, Seventh-day Adventist, reminds us of our heritage to proclaim the gospel, draw attention to the significance of God�s 10 principles, and announce the second coming of Christ. If we are to use our past effectively to build a strong future as a church that glorifies God while benefiting humanity in the new century, we cannot forget our divinely appointed mission embodied in our name.

A Certain Message
Because of our prophetic foundation, God�s gifts of proclamation and prediction, and our devotion to God�s Word, Adventists are uniquely equipped to provide coherent, meaningful answers to the questions that produce the surging restlessness in this generation, from which it seems so helpless to escape.

Secular �prophets� have published hundreds of books and articles describing and denouncing the impending moral and cultural collapse of America and the world. And while other Christian churches may be handicapped in addressing these issues because of their participation in lifestyles that contribute to this decline, our history of insisting on practices commensurate with a regenerated life in Christ (i.e., consistent Bible study, worship, service, and healthful living) allows us to confidently address them.

Encroaching secularization (promulgated through television, movies, and other perverted media fantasies) causes religious ideas, institutions, interpretations, and spokespersons to lose their spiritual and social significance among the ever-expanding numbers of unregenerate populations. The result is an unprecedented loss of a sense of shame. This breeds cynicism, confusion, and ultimately spiritual death as godliness is rejected for lawlessness by secular postmodernists who are no longer able to distinguish between that which is necessary for nourishment of mind and soul and that which must be discarded as garbage.

Adventists� historical commitment to God�s law and grace, by faith, plus a wholistic approach to the human experience exemplified in our medical ministry, are keys to any future hope of healing the world�s moral and cultural wounds.

Another mighty force creating social change and moral decline has been identified as privatization: a cleavage in modern experience between private actions and public life, causing a crystallization of meaning in private that may have no connection to or impact on what one preaches or practices in public. This process is largely a result of today�s technological explosion. Personal computers and such methods of communication as the Internet provide unlimited, uninterrupted opportunities to be influenced by promoters and practitioners of debauchery, pornography, and other secret vices.

Privatization creates a division between personal conviction and public action so that some religious and political leaders can publicly denounce immorality while privately practicing forms of it. This mountain of darkness overshadows our future, influencing our actions as our world hurtles headlong on a collision course with the imminent second advent of our Lord. The result is the loss of a sense of meaning, social connectedness, dignity, and honor among people who partake of these unsavory provisions in the privacy of their homes and offices and then boldly participate in public worship without a tinge of conscience.

Adventists� commitment to a daily, balanced diet of law and grace and authoritative proclamation of the gospel empowers us to minister in the world while escaping its addictions and loose morals.

Our legacy of Christian education provides a powerful weapon against pluralization, the competing number of worldviews in which none is dominant. Pluralization, promoted primarily through secular schools and universities, produces and spreads skepticism among a generation that already protests the existence of absolutes. Religion is treated, not as an object of hostility, but more as a hobby that has no influence on moral and political decisions. The permissiveness of pluralism is producing a revolution promoted by a variety of civil libertarians who threaten legal action against anything that emphasizes Christian faith. Christianity has been weakened, while �civil religions� make it increasingly difficult to communicate the true gospel of Jesus Christ without ridicule from these �watchdogs.�

Pluralistic, postmodern, secular humanism is one of the fastest-growing religions in the Western world. It is quick to offer moral counsel while disclaiming any religious preference or conviction. Pluralization has even expanded its divisive tentacles into our community of faith, where it sometimes causes the proclamation of the gospel to be watered down or lose its distinctiveness.

But our legacy of obeying the simple truths of God�s Word, fostered by an unswerving commitment to Christian education in worship and schools, is a major factor in countering the evil of pluralization.

We are facing a future with people living with a tremendous sense of disappointment by governments and institutions. Seventh-day Adventists offer people hope and rest in Christ, whose love, forgiveness, and acceptance will keep us all until His triumphant return. We must preserve our prophetic foundation by seizing every opportunity to promote the gospel within our church with as much zeal as we proclaim the second coming of Christ to the world.

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¹ R. W. Schwarz, Light Bearers to the Remnant, (Mountain View, Calif.: Pacific Press Pub. Assn., 2000) p. 95.
² Ellen G. White, Testimonies for the Church, vol. 1, pp. 223, 224.

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Hyveth Williams is senior pastor of the Campus Hill Seventh-day Adventist Church in Loma Linda, California.