.png "28 Fundamental Beliefs of the Seventh Day Adventist Church")
Seventh-day Adventists have often been stereotyped as
“legalists” with strange requirements such as “eat no meat, wear no jewelry,
drink no alcohol,” giving many the idea that this denomination is a somber and
strict cult.
But my experience of growing up in this church has been
happy and meaningful, and I am thankful to my parents for teaching me the
church doctrines and the character of the God we serve in such a solidly loving
way. I believe that the doctrines/commandments are practical expressions of a
relationship with God, a benevolent and loving God.
An example of this was “Sabbath keeping.” To many of my
friends, “keeping the Sabbath holy” meant no television, no playing, no secular
music. It was a day of church and drudgery. For me, Sabbath was something to
look forward to. We would see our friends and cousins at church, and eat a big
lunch all together, prepared by my grandmother. And as often as possible, my
parents would take us to the beach or the mountains to hike, teaching us that the Sabbath was a time to spend with God, and being out in nature was one of the
best ways to do that. The observance for many was all about what they couldn’t do
on the day. For us, it was a special day.
The denomination name “Seventh-day Adventist” pronounces two
of the beliefs that are at the forefront of our doctrines: 1. The Seventh day
(Saturday / Sabbath) is God’s holy day. This is derived from the 4th of the 10
commandments (Exodus 20). 2. Advent - Jesus is coming back to receive all those
who have had a relationship with Him, to live eternally with Him in Heaven. The
world as we know it now will be destroyed. All sin and suffering will no longer
exist.
There are 28 fundamental beliefs of the Seventh-day
Adventist church. They are listed in detail at the official website: The
Official Site of the Seventh-day Adventist world church They are:
DOWNLOAD the 28 Fundamental Beliefs of the Seventh Day Adventist Church [PDF] below this article
1. 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.
2. Trinity: There is One God: Father, Son, and
Holy Spirit, a unity of three co-eternal Persons.
3–5. Father, Son, and Holy Spirit, each
described
6. Creation: God is the Creator of all things,
and “in six days, He made heavens and earth.”
7. Nature of Man: Man and woman were made in the
image of God with individuality, the power and freedom to think and to do.
8. 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.
9. 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.
10. 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.
11. Growing in Christ: By His death on the cross
Jesus triumphed over the forces of evil. He who subjugated the demonic spirits
during His earthly ministry has broken their power and made certain their
ultimate doom. Jesus' victory gives us victory over the evil forces that still
seek to control us, as we walk with Him in peace, joy, and assurance of His
love. Now the Holy Spirit dwells within us and empowers us.
12. Church: The church is the community of
believers who confess Jesus Christ as Lord and Saviour. The church is the body
of Christ, a community of faith of which Christ Himself is the Head.
13. Remnant and Its Mission: The universal
church is composed of all who truly believe in Christ, but in the last days, a
time of widespread apostasy, a remnant has been called out to keep the
commandments of God and the faith of Jesus. This remnant announces the arrival
of the judgment hour, proclaims salvation through Christ, and heralds the
approach of His second advent. This proclamation is symbolized by the three
angels of Revelation 14; it coincides with the work of judgment in heaven and
results in a work of repentance and reform on earth. Every believer is called
to have a personal part in this worldwide witness. (Rev. 12:17; 14:6-12;
18:1-4; 2 Cor. 5:10; Jude 3, 14; 1 Peter 1:16-19; 2 Peter 3:10-14; Rev.
21:1-14.)
14. Unity in the Body of Christ: The church is
one body with many members, called from every nation, kindred, tongue, and
people. In Christ we are a new creation; distinctions of race, culture,
learning, and nationality, and differences between high and low, rich and poor,
male and female, must not be divisive among us. We are all equal in Christ.
15. Baptism: By baptism we confess our faith in
the death and resurrection of Jesus Christ, and testify of our death to sin and
of our purpose to walk in newness of life. It is by immersion in water and is
contingent on an affirmation of faith in Jesus and evidence of repentance of
sin.
16. Lord's Supper: The Lord's Supper is a
participation in the emblems of the body and blood of Jesus as an expression of
faith in Him, our Lord and Saviour.
17. Spiritual Gifts and Ministries: God bestows
upon all members of His church in every age spiritual gifts which each member
is to employ in loving ministry for the common good of the church and of
humanity.
18. The Gift of Prophecy: One of the gifts of
the Holy Spirit is prophecy. This gift is an identifying mark of the remnant
church and was manifested in the ministry of Ellen. G. White . As the Lord's
messenger, her writings are a continuing and authoritative source of truth
which provide for the church comfort, guidance, instruction, and correction.
They also make clear that the Bible is the standard by which all teaching and
experience must be tested. (Joel 2:28, 29; Acts 2:14-21; Heb. 1:1-3; Rev.
12:17; 19:10.)
19. Law of God: The great principles of God's
law are embodied in the Ten Commandments and exemplified in the life of Christ.
They express God's love, will, and purposes concerning human conduct and
relationships and are binding upon all people in every age.
20. Sabbath: The beneficent Creator, after the
six days of Creation, rested on the seventh day and instituted the Sabbath for
all people as a memorial of Creation. The fourth commandment of God's
unchangeable law requires the observance of this seventh-day Sabbath as the day
of rest, worship, and ministry in harmony with the teaching and practice of
Jesus, the Lord of the Sabbath.
21. Stewardship: We are God's stewards,
entrusted by Him with time and opportunities, abilities and possessions, and
the blessings of the earth and its resources. We are responsible to Him for
their proper use. We acknowledge God's ownership by faithful service to Him and
our fellow men, and by returning tithes and giving offerings for the
proclamation of His gospel and the support and growth of His church.
22. Christian Behavior: We are called to be a
godly people who think, feel, and act in harmony with the principles of heaven.
23. Marriage and the Family: Marriage was
divinely established in Eden and affirmed by Jesus to be a lifelong union
between a man and a woman in loving companionship.
24. Christ's Ministry in the Heavenly Sanctuary:
There is a sanctuary in heaven, the true tabernacle which the Lord set up and
not man. In it Christ ministers on our behalf, making available to believers
the benefits of His atoning sacrifice offered once for all on the cross. He was
inaugurated as our great High Priest and began His intercessory ministry at the
time of His ascension. In 1844, at the end of the prophetic period of 2300
days, He entered the second and last phase of His atoning ministry. It is a
work of investigative judgment which is part of the ultimate disposition of all
sin, typified by the cleansing of the ancient Hebrew sanctuary on the Day of
Atonement. In that typical service, the sanctuary was cleansed with the blood of
animal sacrifices, but the heavenly things are purified with the perfect
sacrifice of the blood of Jesus. The investigative judgment reveals to heavenly
intelligences who among the dead are asleep in Christ and therefore, in Him,
are deemed worthy to have part in the first resurrection. It also makes
manifest who among the living are abiding in Christ, keeping the commandments
of God and the faith of Jesus, and in Him, therefore, are ready for translation
into His everlasting kingdom. This judgment vindicates the justice of God in
saving those who believe in Jesus. It declares that those who have remained
loyal to God shall receive the kingdom. The completion of this ministry of
Christ will mark the close of human probation before the Second Advent. (Heb.
8:1-5; 4:14-16; 9:11-28; 10:19-22; 1:3; 2:16, 17; Dan. 7:9-27; 8:13, 14;
9:24-27; Num. 14:34; Eze. 4:6; Lev. 16; Rev. 14:6, 7; 20:12; 14:12; 22:12.)
25. Second Coming of Christ: The second coming
of Christ is the blessed hope of the church, the grand climax of the gospel.
The Saviour's coming will be literal, personal, visible, and worldwide. When He
returns, the righteous dead will be resurrected, and together with the
righteous living will be glorified and taken to heaven, but the unrighteous
will die. The almost complete fulfillment of most lines of prophecy, together
with the present condition of the world, indicates that Christ's coming is
imminent. The time of that event has not been revealed, and we are therefore
exhorted to be ready at all times.
26. Death and Resurrection: The wages of sin is
death. But God, who alone is immortal, will grant eternal life to His redeemed.
Until that day death is an unconscious state for all people. When Christ, who
is our life, appears, the resurrected righteous and the living righteous will
be glorified and caught up to meet their Lord. The second resurrection, the
resurrection of the unrighteous, will take place a thousand years later.
27. Millennium and the End of Sin: The
millennium is the thousand-year reign of Christ with His saints in heaven
between the first and second resurrections. During this time the wicked dead
will be judged; the earth will be utterly desolate, without living human
inhabitants, but occupied by Satan and his angels. At its close Christ with His
saints and the Holy City will descend from heaven to earth. The unrighteous
dead will then be resurrected, and with Satan and his angels will surround the
city; but fire from God will consume them and cleanse the earth. The universe
will thus be freed of sin and sinners forever.
28. New Earth: On the new earth, in which righteousness dwells, God will provide an eternal home for the redeemed and a perfect environment for everlasting life, love, joy, and learning in His presence. For here God Himself will dwell with His people, and suffering and death will have passed away. The great controversy will be ended, and sin will be no more. All things, animate and inanimate, will declare that God is love; and He shall reign forever. Amen.
The 28 Fundamental Beliefs of the Seventh-Day Adventist Church [PDF]