Twenty years ago when I left the Adventist church, it was a conservative church. Many Adventist refrained from politics but of those who identified with a political party, the vast majority of those sided with conservative politics according to an Andrew University polling from the late 1990’s.

Much of what’s shared from inside Adventism to the outside world today points to a denomination that has shifted toward liberal support of politicians and policies that also threaten religious liberty, not uphold religious liberty, and that is confusing to me. I would think that religious liberty would still be important to a church whose eschatology teaches a religious discrimination against Sabbath-keepers.

Granted, this is all just my perception from the outside as a former member, but I am assuming that some of my Adventist friends who are aware of the social justice trends invading other denominations recognize it in their own.

I recently wrote an article for my parishioners at CrossHope Chapel titled “Christians, Politics, and Satan’s Work” where I delved a little deeper into my take on politics, but here I want to share two principles from the writings of Ellen White, that I personally find guidance from.

The first one is from the Great Controversy and it reminds us that the conflict between Christ and Satan is being waged in our current political climate in America and that ought to give us pause before we blindly jump on the band wagon with those who are enacting laws and regulations that impede our constitutional religious liberty.

“While many of our rulers are active agents of Satan, God also has His agents among the leading men of the nation. The enemy moves upon his servants to propose measures that would greatly impede the work of God; but statesmen who fear the Lord are influenced by holy angels to oppose such propositions with unanswerable arguments. Thus a few men will hold in check a powerful current of evil. The opposition of the enemies of truth will be restrained that the third angel’s message may do its work. When the final warning shall be given, it will arrest the attention of these leading men through whom the Lord is now working, and some of them will accept it, and will stand with the people of God through the time of trouble.” (Great Controversy, The Final Warning, p. 610)

The second one is from the Testimonies and it reminds us to pray for a political time of grace, which in America means constitutional religious liberty.

“A vast responsibility is devolving upon men and women of prayer throughout the land to petition that God will sweep back the cloud of evil and give a few more years of grace in which to work for the Master. Let us cry to God that the angels may hold the four winds until missionaries shall be sent to all parts of the world and shall proclaim the warning against disobeying the law of Jehovah.” (Testimonies for the Church, vol. 5, p. 718.

It seems that we all — Adventist or not — ought to be doing what we can to support candidates and policies who will actually vote in congress, promote in actions, and do everything in their power to uphold constitutional religious liberty for Bible believing Christians.

If you are part of the SDA church, it’s not just yours that is sliding into liberalism, it’s also happening in a few other denominations that I closely follow, all of which who have histories as conservative denominations but are now giving voice to liberal politicians and policies.