Seventh-Day Adventism
There is so much to tell and so little space. There are 27 basic beliefs in all! I don't want to scare anyone with a long list so I'll be adding to it every week. Read the verses that are given for a better understanding. If you still have questions, let us know.
The Beliefs
Seventh-day Adventists accept the Bible as their only creed and hold certain fundamental beliefs to
be the teaching of the Holy Scriptures. These beliefs, as set forth here, constitute the church's
understanding and expression of the teaching of Scripture. Revision of these statements may be expected
at a General Conference session when the church is led by the Holy Spirit to a fuller understanding of
Bible truth or finds better language in which to express the teachings of God's Holy Word.
The Holy Scriptures
The Trinity
The Father
The Son
The Holy Spirit
Creation
The Nature of Man
The Great Controversy
The Life, Death, and Resurrection of Christ
The Experience of Salvation
The Church
The Holy Scriptures
The Holy Scriptures, Old and
New Testaments, are the written Word of God, given by
divine inspiration through holy men of God who spoke
and wrote as they were moved by the Holy Spirit. In this
Word, God has committed to man the knowledge
necessary for salvation. The Holy Scriptures are the
infallible revelation of His will. They are the standard of
character, the test of experience, the authoritative revealer
of doctrines, and the trustworthy record of God's acts in
history.
(2 Peter 1:20, 21; 2 Tim. 3:16, 17; Ps. 119:105;
Prov. 30:5, 6; Isa. 8:20; John 17:17; 1 Thess. 2:13; Heb.
4:12.)
The Trinity
There is one God: Father, Son, and Holy
Spirit, a unity of three co-eternal Persons. God is
immortal, all-powerful, all-knowing, above all, and ever
present. He is infinite and beyond human comprehension,
yet known through His self-revelation. He is forever
worthy of worship, adoration, and service by the whole
creation.
(Deut. 6:4; Matt. 28:19; 2 Cor. 13:14; Eph.
4:4-6; 1 Peter 1:2; 1 Tim. 1:17; Rev. 14:7.)
The Father
God the eternal Father is the Creator,
Source, Sustainer, and Sovereign of all creation. He is
just and holy, merciful and gracious, slow to anger, and
abounding in steadfast love and faithfulness. The qualities
and powers exhibited in the Son and the Holy Spirit are
also revelations of the Father.
(Gen. 1:1; Rev. 4:11; 1
Cor. 15:28; John 3:16; 1 John 4:8; 1 Tim. 1:17; Ex. 34:6,
7; John 14:9.)
The Son
God the eternal Son became incarnate in Jesus Christ.
Through Him all things were created, the character of God is revealed,
the salvation of humanity is accomplished, and the world is judged.
Forever truly God, He became also truly man, Jesus the Christ. He was
conceived of the Holy Spirit and born of the virgin Mary. He lived and
experienced temptation as a human being, but perfectly exemplified the
righteousness and love of God. By His miracles He manifested God's
power and was attested as God's promised Messiah. He suffered and died
voluntarily on the cross for our sins and in our place, was raised from
the dead, and ascended to minister in the heavenly sanctuary in our
behalf. He will come again in glory for the final deliverance of His
people and the restoration of all things.
(John 1:1-3, 14; Col. 1:15-19;
John 10:30; 14:9; Rom. 6:23; 2 Cor. 5:17-19; John 5:22; Luke 1:35;
Phil. 2:5-11; Heb. 2:9-18; 1 Cor. 15:3, 4; Heb. 8:1, 2; John 14:1-3.)
The Holy Spirit
God the eternal Spirit was active with
the Father and the Son in Creation, incarnation, and
redemption. He inspired the writers of Scripture. He filled
Christ's life with power. He draws and convicts human
beings; and those who respond He renews and transforms
into the image of God. Sent by the Father and the Son to
be always with His children, He extends spiritual gifts to
the church, empowers it to bear witness to Christ, and in
harmony with the Scriptures leads it into all truth.
(Gen.1:1, 2; Luke 1:35; 4:18; Acts 10:38; 2 Peter 1:21; 2 Cor.
3:18; Eph. 4:11, 12; Acts 1:8; John 14:16-18, 26; 15:26,
27; 16:7-13.)
Creation
God is Creator of all things, and has revealed
in Scripture the authentic account of His creative activity.
In six days the Lord made "the heaven and the earth" and
all living things upon the earth, and rested on the seventh
day of that first week. Thus He established the Sabbath
as a perpetual memorial of His completed creative work.
The first man and woman were made in the image of
God as the crowning work of Creation, given dominion
over the world, and charged with responsibility to care for
it. When the world was finished it was ``very good,''
declaring the glory of God.
(Gen. 1; 2; Ex. 20:8-11; Ps.
19:1-6; 33:6, 9; 104; Heb. 11:3.)
The Nature of Man
Man and woman were made in
the image of God with individuality, the power and
freedom to think and to do. Though created free beings,
each is an indivisible unity of body, mind, and spirit,
dependent upon God for life and breath and all else.
When our first parents disobeyed God, they denied their
dependence upon Him and fell from their high position
under God. The image of God in them was marred and
they became subject to death. Their descendants share
this fallen nature and its consequences. They are born
with weaknesses and tendencies to evil. But God in Christ
reconciled the world to Himself and by His Spirit restores
in penitent mortals the image of their Maker. Created for
the glory of God, they are called to love Him and one
another, and to care for their environment.
(Gen. 1:26-28;
2:7; Ps. 8:4-8; Acts 17:24-28; Gen. 3; Ps. 51:5; Rom.
5:12-17; 2 Cor. 5:19, 20; Ps. 51:10; 1 John 4:7, 8, 11, 20;
Gen. 2:15.)
The Great Controversy
All humanity is now involved
in a great controversy between Christ and Satan regarding
the character of God, His law, and His sovereignty over
the universe. This conflict originated in heaven when a
created being, endowed with freedom of choice, in
self-exaltation became Satan, God's adversary, and led
into rebellion a portion of the angels. He introduced the
spirit of rebellion into this world when he led Adam and
Eve into sin. This human sin resulted in the distortion of
the image of God in humanity, the disordering of the
created world, and its eventual devastation at the time of
the worldwide flood. Observed by the whole creation, this
world became the arena of the universal conflict, out of
which the God of love will ultimately be vindicated. To
assist His people in this controversy, Christ sends the
Holy Spirit and the loyal angels to guide, protect, and
sustain them in the way of salvation.
(Rev. 12:4-9; Isa.
14:12-14; Eze. 28:12-18; Gen. 3; Rom. 1:19-32; 5:12-21;
8:19-22; Gen. 6-8; 2 Peter 3:6; 1 Cor. 4:9; Heb. 1:14.)
The Life, Death, and Resurrection of Christ
In Christ's
life of perfect obedience to God's will, His suffering,
death, and resurrection, God provided the only means of
atonement for human sin, so that those who by faith
accept this atonement may have eternal life, and the
whole creation may better understand the infinite and
holy love of the Creator. This perfect atonement
vindicates the righteousness of God's law and the
graciousness of His character; for it both condemns our
sin and provides for our forgiveness. The death of Christ
is substitutionary and expiatory, reconciling and
transforming. The resurrection of Christ proclaims God's
triumph over the forces of evil, and for those who accept
the atonement assures their final victory over sin and
death. It declares the Lordship of Jesus Christ, before
whom every knee in heaven and on earth will bow.
(John
3:16; Isa. 53; 1 Peter 2:21, 22; 1 Cor. 15:3, 4, 20-22; 2
Cor. 5:14, 15, 19-21; Rom. 1:4; 3:25; 4:25; 8:3, 4; 1 John
2:2; 4:10; Col. 2:15; Phil. 2:6-11.)
The Experience of Salvation
In infinite love and
mercy God made Christ, who knew no sin, to be sin for
us, so that in Him we might be made the righteousness of
God. Led by the Holy Spirit we sense our need,
acknowledge our sinfulness, repent of our transgressions,
and exercise faith in Jesus as Lord and Christ, as
Substitute and Example. This faith which receives
salvation comes through the divine power of the Word
and is the gift of God's grace. Through Christ we are
justified, adopted as God's sons and daughters, and
delivered from the lordship of sin. Through the Spirit we
are born again and sanctified; the Spirit renews our
minds, writes God's law of love in our hearts, and we are
given the power to live a holy life. Abiding in Him we
become partakers of the divine nature and have the
assurance of salvation now and in the judgment.
(2 Cor.
5:17-21; John 3:16; Gal. 1:4; 4:4-7; Titus 3:3-7; John
16:8; Gal. 3:13, 14; 1 Peter 2:21, 22; Rom. 10:17; Luke
17:5; Mark 9:23, 24; Eph. 2:5-10; Rom. 3:21-26; Col.
1:13, 14; Rom. 8:14-17; Gal. 3:26; John 3:3-8; 1 Peter
1:23; Rom. 12:2; Heb. 8:7-12; Eze. 36:25-27; 2 Peter 1:3,
4; Rom. 8:1-4; 5:6-10.)
The Church
The church is the community of believers
who confess Jesus Christ as Lord and Saviour. In
continuity with the people of God in Old Testament times,
we are called out from the world; and we join together for
worship, for fellowship, for instruction in the Word, for the
celebration of the Lord's Supper, for service to all
mankind, and for the worldwide proclamation of the
gospel. The church derives its authority from Christ, who is
the incarnate Word, and from the Scriptures, which are the
written Word. The church is God's family; adopted by Him
as children, its members live on the basis of the new
covenant. The church is the body of Christ, a community
of faith of which Christ Himself is the Head. The church is
the bride for whom Christ died that He might sanctify and
cleanse her. At His return in triumph, He will present her to
Himself a glorious church, the faithful of all the ages, the
purchase of His blood, not having spot or wrinkle, but holy
and without blemish.
(Gen. 12:3; Acts 7:38; Eph. 4:11-15;
3:8-11; Matt. 28:19, 20; 16:13-20; 18:18; Eph. 2:19-22;
1:22, 23; 5:23-27; Col. 1:17, 18.)