Do Seventh-day Adventists Have “Rules”?

No, Seventh-day Adventists don’t have “rules” we have to follow.

That’s because we don’t believe we’re saved by works or following rules. Rather, we believe we’re saved by grace through faith in Jesus Christ (Ephesians 2:8-9).

And because we have this identity and assurance in Christ, Adventists (just like most Christians) strive to live out the unchanging principles expressed throughout the Bible. To help us do so, the Adventist Church has developed a set of biblical doctrines that help us interpret Scripture and apply these principles.

Becoming an Adventist means that an individual resonates with and commits to these doctrines, with the intent of reflecting a Christ-like character in their day-to-day life. However, the practical application of these principles may look a little different for each church member, depending on personal conviction, culture, time, and circumstance.

That’s the beauty of Adventism—it’s not about what we have to do but what we choose to do as an outflow of our personal relationship with God and the study of His Word.

Let’s explore this topic a little more to clear up any misunderstandings. We’ll cover:

• The heart of the matter
• Fundamental beliefs and principles, not rules
• Lifestyle principles we embrace
  • A healthy diet and lifestyle
  • Approaches to Sabbath-keeping
  • Upholding modesty
  • Conscientiousness in committed relationships
  • Godly behavior and entertainment
  • Learning from Ellen White’s counsel

First, a little more on the foundation of all of this.

The heart of the matter: following Jesus

Seventh-day Adventists’ greatest desire is to be followers of Jesus.

So what does that mean, exactly?

When Jesus called the 12 disciples, they lived with Him and learned from Him for three and a half years. This kind of discipleship wasn’t unusual since rabbis of that time often called students to follow them. These students had three main goals:¹

1. To be with their rabbi
2. To become like their rabbi
3. To do as their rabbi did

Though we can’t physically see Jesus today, we can still be His disciples, intentionally staying in His presence through prayer and His Word. In this way, we learn from Him and follow His guidance.

It begins with accepting Him as our Savior.

This means we recognize our true identity—that each human being is a unique and loved child of God. And we choose to live in a way that expresses this identity. All the while, the Holy Spirit guides us and transforms our character (Romans 12:2). So this inward change naturally leads to outward change.

The principles we follow and the changes that happen in our character aren’t about earning salvation. They are a result of already being His children and disciples. And just like the disciples in the first century, we want:

1. To be with Jesus
2. To become like Jesus
3. To do as Jesus did

All our doctrines, all our beliefs, and all our lifestyle principles stem from this desire.

Fundamental beliefs and principles, not rules

As we’ve pointed out, Seventh-day Adventism doesn’t have rules. What we do have are the 28 Fundamental Beliefs, a collection of statements that describe how we interpret and apply Scripture. In this way, they help to define and describe Adventism rather than dictate what we do.

When someone joins the Adventist Church, they are agreeing with these doctrines. Adventist baptismal vows involve accepting belief in the following biblical teachings:²

• The Godhead
• Salvation by faith in Jesus Christ
• Jesus’ ministry in the heavenly sanctuary as our high priest
• The inspiration of the Bible
• The Ten Commandments and the Sabbath
• The Second Coming of Jesus
• Spiritual gifts, including the gift of prophecy
• Support of the church organization
• The body as the temple of the Holy Spirit
• Baptism
• The remnant

But aside from our doctrines, the Bible also provides us with “principles.”

These are truths that remain the same even as time, culture, and circumstances change. Some examples could be loving our neighbor (Luke 10:25-37), caring for our bodies as temples of the Holy Spirit (1 Corinthians 6:19-20), or reflecting humility (Philippians 2:3-4).

What does change, though, is how these principles are applied. The application can look different depending on the person, situation, and culture. That means there is room for Bible study and coming to personal conclusions. Sometimes, it means differences of conviction (while still agreeing on the foundational doctrines).

So, how does this look?

Let’s take relationships as an example.

The Bible talks a lot about principles for healthy relationships—sacrificial love, honesty, respect, and patience, to name a few. These are all unchanging and timeless—there won’t come a time when they won’t be true anymore. They remain important for relationships regardless of circumstances, or culture.

But how they’re applied can vary.

For example, courtship methods in Old Testament times were much different than today’s (think Abraham sending his servant to pick a wife for Isaac or Jacob having to work seven years for his future father-in-law so he could marry Rachel). Yet, the principle of respect undergirded these situations.

Today, you might not operate in the same way.

You’re probably not going to marry someone you’ve never met. And it’s hard to imagine a situation where anyone would have to work seven years to prove themselves eligible to marry someone. We live in a much different time and culture—but the principle of respect still applies. As you date someone, you might look for ways to build a respectful relationship with their parents. Or you might seek counsel from your parents or people you trust as you consider marriage. And above all, you want to respect the needs and wishes of the one you’re dating.

This is a way of applying biblical principles in a culturally relevant way.

And Adventists do the same as they study the Bible.

Unfortunately, because some may not be aware of the distinction between principles and the application of those principles, they could misunderstand Adventism, seeing our lifestyle principles as “rules.” So let’s look closer at these principles and how they fit into our lives.

Lifestyle principles that Adventists embrace

The following topics are principles in Adventism that often get mistaken as “rules.” To be clear, these principles are not about what Adventists can or can’t do. Instead, they reflect how Adventists choose to live consistent with the Bible—not to be saved, but because they already have a loving relationship with Jesus.

We recognize God gave these principles to help us live the most fulfilling lives possible.

Let’s get into the details.

A healthy diet and lifestyle

We view our bodies as temples of the Holy Spirit, meaning they’re what God uses to speak to our hearts and minds (1 Corinthians 6:19-20). Because of this, we follow the principle of glorifying God in whatever we eat or drink—and in the way we care for our health (1 Corinthians 10:31).

When God gave Adam and Eve their diet in the Garden of Eden, He provided them with an abundance of fruit, nuts, and grains (Genesis 1:29). As a result of the Flood, though, much of the vegetation had washed away, so He permitted them to eat meat (Genesis 9:3).

At that time, God specified the eating of “clean” meat—as a way to protect people from eating unhealthy or “unclean” meat from scavenger-type animals, such as pigs, bottom feeders in the ocean, or carrion-eating birds.

He gave these guidelines in more detail in Leviticus 11.

For this reason, Adventists choose to avoid pork, shrimp, crab, and other meat listed as unclean—not because of any human “rule” but because they desire to care for their bodies.

Some even avoid caffeine or opt for a vegetarian or completely plant-based diet, though this will vary based on personal conviction, circumstances, or food availability.

From these principles of caring for health and glorifying God, Adventists also avoid alcoholic beverages and tobacco because we recognize they could harm our health and negatively influence others.

Approaches to Sabbath-keeping

Adventists keep the seventh-day Sabbath because God established it as a memorial of Creation and salvation (Genesis 2:2-3; Deuteronomy 5:12-15) and instructed us to keep it in the Ten Commandments (Exodus 20:8-11). We choose to obey this commandment out of love for Him and a recognition that doing so will help us thrive.

In a hectic world where our value often comes from what we do, God gave us this day of rest as a blessing (Mark 2:28). It’s about what God has done for us, not what we do. And it gives us the opportunity to connect with God and bless others.

Principles of Sabbath-keeping include resting from work (Exodus 20:8-11), doing good for others (Matthew 12:12), and delighting in God and what He’s provided for us (Isaiah 58:13-14).

It’s not about a list of rules, or dos and don’ts.

True, most Adventists won’t go shopping, eat out at a restaurant, or attend a sports game on the seventh day of the week. But these aren’t “rules” we’re required to follow. Rather, we make these decisions with our ultimate goal in mind: to set aside everyday business and activities so we intentionally focus on what God has done for us, spend time with Him, and connect with our loved ones.

 

Conscientiousness in committed relationships

God is a relational God who reflects the self-sacrifice and integrity He desires us to reveal in our relationships. For this reason, Adventists see relationships, particularly marriage, as sacred and beautiful. Marriage is intended to reflect the beautiful self-sacrificing love that Christ has for His people (Ephesians 5:25-26).

Now, you may have heard that Adventists don’t typically marry non-Adventists or that they’re discouraged from doing so.

It’s true that Adventists typically seek to marry other Adventists—but it’s not because of a “rule” of our denomination. Instead, it’s out of a genuine desire to join our lives with someone who has similar beliefs and values, and who equally supports putting God first (2 Corinthians 6:14).

The Seventh-day Adventist Church Manual makes this point:

“Marriages are more likely to endure, and family life to fulfill the divine plan, if husband and wife are united and are bound together by common spiritual values and lifestyles. For these reasons the Church strongly discourages marriage between a Seventh-day Adventist and a member of another religion and strongly urges its pastors not to perform such marriages.”⁴

Notice this important clarification, though:

“The Church recognizes that it is the prerogative of each individual member to make the final decision relative to the choice of a marriage partner.”⁵

Simply put, each Adventist makes their own decision on who to marry—based on personal conviction that comes from the Bible’s principles.

Godly behavior and entertainment

What about choosing movies, music, activities, entertainment, or the people we see or the places we go?

Again, Adventists don’t have rules that say what we can or can’t do with our discretionary time. But here are some underlying principles we keep in mind when making decisions.

We recognize that the Bible calls us to prioritize Jesus in our lives, seeking His kingdom above all else. Our entertainment choices often reflect these priorities (Matthew 6:21, 33). So, a big question we ask when deciding whether to do an activity is this:

Can I glorify God through this activity (1 Corinthians 10:31)?

Philippians 4:8 also provides simple criteria for evaluating entertainment. This verse encourages us to think about things that are true, honorable, just, pure, lovely, commendable, morally excellent, and praiseworthy.

At the same time, Adventists realize that “fun” is a subjective word, so even while considering the guidance of Philippians 4:8, activity and entertainment choices will naturally vary from person to person, or even from community to community.

But we know for sure that joy is a fruit of the Holy Spirit (Galatians 5:22-23), and Jesus wants this to be part of our lives (John 15:11). While He was on earth, He made time for fellowship and enjoyment in going to social gatherings and weddings (John 2:1-11) and hanging out with those close to Him (John 21:9-14).

Though Adventists may not participate in all activities that society considers “fun,” we find many ways to bring God-honoring enjoyment and laughter into our lives.

Learning from Ellen White’s counsel

Many Adventists read and put into practice counsel from the writings of Ellen G. White, one of Adventism’s founders who lived during the mid-to-late 1800s. We believe that she had the gift of prophecy, a spiritual gift mentioned in the New Testament (1 Corinthians 12:4-11).

She also meets the criteria for prophets that we find in the Bible, such as consistency with the Bible, uplifting Jesus, and reflecting a Christlike character.

The apostle Paul reminds us that prophets would exist in the world all the way up to the end of time, “edifying the body of Christ” and helping to guide people away from deception (Ephesians 4:11-16). This principle leads Adventists to carefully consider the counsels in Ellen White’s writings because we believe she had the biblical gift of prophecy.

To be clear, though, Adventists do not place her writings above the Bible. Instead, we use the Bible as a framework and a test for everything we learn outside of Scripture. And in doing so, we find that many of the things she’s written can be very helpful in showing us how to apply the Bible’s principles in our daily lives and in our interactions with others.

Ellen White herself was careful in making the distinction between her words and the Word of God. Since she saw that in her day, “little heed is given to the Bible,” so she served in a role of a “lesser light to lead men and women to the greater light,” or the Bible itself.⁶

And regarding the stewardship of individual health, she ultimately encouraged people to seek God for wisdom on how to care for themselves:

“I want you to stand in your individual dignity and in your individual consecration before God, the whole being dedicated to Him.”⁷

She didn’t want anyone to rely on her counsel, but on the Holy Spirit’s guidance in each of their lives.

Seventh-day Adventism is about seeking to follow Jesus

Seventh-day Adventists value God-given freedom of choice. Within biblical principles, we may sometimes make different decisions when it comes to health, clothing choices, entertainment, and so on.

And that’s okay!

We’re all different, and we apply principles differently based on circumstances, time, and place. No one in the Adventist Church should feel that it’s their role to enforce upon others a certain method of applying a principle. The Holy Spirit works with each of us differently, and the apostle Paul encourages us to act as we are truly convicted (Romans 14:5), and also to respect the convictions of others (Romans 8:4-13).

Above all, we desire to keep in focus the important things that unite us—the fundamental beliefs from God’s Word and the desire to be like Christ and share His love. So it’s always important to consider, as followers of Jesus, how our lifestyle decisions affect ourselves and others.

If you’re seeking to better understand what it means to follow Jesus,