The following was written by Matthew Ullom and posted to his personal Facebook page. Addressed to his friends, family, and church, he explains why he’s departing the non-Christian cult for the true faith. Reprinted in full with permission.
Dear friends and family,
Ella and I want to share an update about our spiritual journey.
After a long season of deep study and prayer, we have decided to step away from the Seventh-day Adventist church.
Many times we have been told that people only leave because of church hurt, or because they want to just live in sin and leave God altogether.
That is not our story.
We love the Adventist community, there are many wonderful people in it, including many of our family and friends; this is not personal.
We also love God and are seeking to follow and serve Him with our lives in every way possible.
In our studies of God’s Word, we have encountered the gospel in a way we haven’t seen in SDA doctrine. We have found that many doctrines we learned in the SDA church do not align with what the contextual reading of the Bible shows us.
This has not been an easy journey, but the freedom we have found in Christ and the Gospel is so precious, and so worth it. The true Gospel is better than we could ever imagine.
God is infinitely holy and sovereign, and we are made in His image. Unfortunately, because of Adam’s sin, we are born into this world utterly dead in sin. Our sin is so evil and opposed to our just and holy God, there is nothing we could ever do to reconcile ourselves back to God.
Christ did what man could not do, in living a perfect life in our flesh, and suffering God’s full wrath towards sin on the cross, bearing our sin in His body. Jesus’s death paid the penalty for the sins of His people; He stood in our place so that we could be reconciled back to God. This atonement was completed at the cross.
When we repent of our sins and wholeheartedly trust in Christ by faith alone for our salvation, we are accounted as righteous, just as Christ is righteous, born again into a new eternal life, and are adopted into the family of God.
We want to encourage everyone to get into their Bibles, pray for the Holy Spirit’s guidance, and study contextually to see if the things you believe are actually supported with an honest reading of the Word, without reading it through the lens of any modern-day “prophet”. The gospel is truly life-changing, and we want everyone to know how good our God is!
We do not desire to debate with anyone. If you have questions and want to talk about this, please reach out privately. We love you all, and pray that you too will experience the incredible joy, peace, and freedom that comes from resting completely in the finished work of Christ.
In Christ,
Matthew & Ella
Editor’s Note.
The vast majority of Seventh-day Adventists (of which there are 18 million worldwide- a more significant presence than Southern Baptists or Mormons) are sub-orthodox and quasi-Christians at best, depending on how much of their cult theology and extra-biblical revelation they prioritize.
One of the four prominent cults that sprung up in the latter half of the 19th century (joining Jehovah’s Witnesses, Mormonism, and Christian Science, all of which were formed within a 250-mile radius of each other) following the Great Disappointment, the church’s beliefs and distinctions can be found in The 28 Fundamental Beliefs.
Listed below is a helpful summary by CARM outlining some of their aberrations, denials, and heresies, the majority of which were created and implemented based on the revelations and prophecies of founder Ellen G White. White claimed to receive thousands of dreams, visions, and direct revelation from God, all which form the basis of the cult’s distinctives.
- Our sins will ultimately be placed on Satan
- Jesus is Michael the Archangel.
- Worship must be done on Saturday (the Sabbath)
- On October 22, 1844, Jesus entered the second and last phase of His atoning work.
- Investigative Judgment – the fate of all people will be decided based upon this event in the future. (This is a major heresy)
- The dead do not exist anymore — soul sleep denies the immortality of the soul)
- The wicked are annihilated, (there is no etenral hell)
- There is a sanctuary in heaven where Jesus carries out his mediatorial work.
- Strange and legalistic dietary restrictions.
Section 18 of their Fundamental Beliefs, which must be affirmed at baptism (which they also believe is necessary for salvation), states, “(Ellen G, White’s) writings speak with prophetic authority and provide comfort, guidance, instruction, and correction to the church.”
In practicality, throughout SDA history her writings and teachings have long been elevated to be equal or above scripture, as well as the lens through which the bible should be interpreted.
Nathan Busenitz explains why her elevated status is so troubling: “By viewing the writings of Ellen G. White as inspired and authoritative, the SDA movement bases its doctrines on something more than Scripture alone. In practice, White’s teachings are actually placed over the Scripture because they become the lens through which the Bible is interpreted.”
This is exactly the same thing that Mormons, JW’s and Roman Catholics do, and we’re glad these two saw the light.
