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We Believe Seventh-day Adventists accept the Bible as their only creed and hold these fundamental beliefs to be the teaching of 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. 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.) 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. (Gen. 1; 2;
Ex. 20:8-11; Ps. 19:1-6; 33:6, 9; 104; Heb. 11:3.) 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. When our first parents disobeyed God, they
denied their dependence upon Him and fell from their high
position. 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.) 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.) Salvation in Jesus Christ. 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 righteous-ness 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 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.) 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.) 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, who by one Spirit has
bonded us into one fellowship with Him and with one another;
we are to serve and be served without partiality or
reservation. Through the revelation of Jesus Christ in the
Scriptures we share the same faith and hope, and reach out in
one witness to all. This unity has its source in the oneness
of the triune God, who has adopted us as His children. (Rom.
12:4, 5; 1 Cor. 12:12-14; Matt. 28:19, 20; Ps. 133:1; 2 Cor.
5:16, 17; Acts 17:26, 27; Gal. 3:27, 29; Col. 3:10-15; Eph.
4:14-16; 4:1-6; John 17:20-23.) 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 un-changeable law requires the observ-ance 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. The Sabbath is a
day of delightful commun-ion with God and one another. It is a
symbol of our redemption in Christ, a sign of our
sanctification, a token of our allegiance, and a foretaste of
our eternal future in God's kingdom. The Sabbath is God's
perpetual sign of His eternal covenant between Him and His
people. Joyful observance of this holy time from evening to
evening, sunset to sunset, is a celebration of God's creative
and redemptive acts. (Gen. 2:1-3; Ex. 20:8-11; Luke 4:16; Isa.
56:5, 6; 58:13, 14; Matt. 12:1-12; Ex. 31:13-17; Eze. 20:12,
20; Deut. 5:12-15; Heb. 4:1-11; Lev. 23:32; Mark 1:32.) We are called to be a godly people who
think, feel, and act in harmony with the principles of heaven.
For the Spirit to recreate in us the character of our Lord we
involve ourselves only in those things which will produce
Christlike purity, health, and joy in our lives. This means
that our amusement and entertainment should meet the highest
standards of Christian taste and beauty. While recognizing
cultural differences, our dress is to be simple, modest, and
neat, befitting those whose true beauty does not consist of
outward adornment but in the imperishable ornament of a gentle
and quiet spirit. It also means that because our bodies are
the temples of the Holy Spirit, we are to care for them
intelligently. Along with adequate exercise and rest, we are
to adopt the most healthful diet possible and abstain from the
unclean foods identified in the Scriptures. Since alcoholic
beverages, tobacco, and the irresponsible use of drugs and
narcotics are harmful to our bodies, we are to abstain from
them as well. Instead, we are to engage in whatever brings our
thoughts and bodies into the discipline of Christ, who desires
our wholesomeness, joy, and goodness. (Rom. 12:1, 2; 1 John
2:6; Eph. 5:1-21; Phil. 4:8; 2 Cor. 10:5; 6:14-7:1; 1 Peter
3:1-4; 1 Cor. 6:19, 20; 10:31; Lev. 11:1-47; 3 John 2.) Marriage was divinely established in Eden
and affirmed by Jesus to be a lifelong union between a man and
a woman in loving companionship. For the Christian a marriage
commitment is to God as well as to the spouse, and should be
entered into only between partners who share a common faith.
Mutual love, honor, respect, and responsibility are the fabric
of this relationship, which is to reflect the love, sanctity,
closeness, and permanence of the relationship between Christ
and His church. Regarding divorce, Jesus taught that the
person who divorces a spouse, except for fornication, and
marries another, commits adultery. Although some family
relationships may fall short of the ideal, marriage partners
who fully commit themselves to each other in Christ may
achieve loving unity through the guidance of the Spirit and
the nurture of the church. God blesses the family and intends
that its members shall assist each other toward complete
maturity. Parents are to bring up their children to love and
obey the Lord. By their example and their words they are to
teach them that Christ is a loving disciplinarian, ever tender
and caring, who wants them to become members of His body, the
family of God. Increasing family closeness is one of the
earmarks of the final gospel message. (Gen. 2:18-25; Matt.
19:3-9; John 2:1-11; 2 Cor. 6:14; Eph. 5:21-33; Matt. 5:31,
32; Mark 10:11, 12; Luke 16:18; 1 Cor. 7:10, 11; Ex. 20:12;
Eph. 6:1-4; Deut. 6:5-9; Prov. 22:6; Mal. 4:5, 6.) 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. (Rom. 6:23; 1 Tim. 6:15, 16; Eccl. 9:5, 6; Ps.
146:3, 4; John 11:11-14; Col. 3:4; 1 Cor. 15:51-54; 1 Thess.
4:13-17; John 5:28, 29; Rev. 20:1-10.) 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. (2 Peter 3:13; Isa. 35;
65:17-25; Matt. 5:5; Rev. 21:1-7; 22:1-5; 11:15.) 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.) 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.) 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.) 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.) 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, reconcil-ing 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.) 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.
Thus we acknowledge Christ as Lord and Saviour, become His
people, and are received as members by His church. Baptism is
a symbol of our union with Christ, the forgiveness of our
sins, and our reception of the Holy Spirit. It is by immersion
in water and is contingent on an affirmation of faith in Jesus
and evidence of repentance of sin. It follows instruction in
the Holy Scriptures and acceptance of their teachings. (Rom.
6:1-6; Col. 2:12, 13; Acts 16:30-33; 22:16; 2:38; Matt. 28:19,
20.) 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. In this experience of
communion Christ is present to meet and strengthen His people.
As we partake, we joyfully proclaim the Lord's death until He
comes again. Prepar-ation for the Supper includes
self-examination, repentance, and confes-sion. The Master
ordained the service of foot washing to signify renewed
cleans-ing, to express a willingness to serve one another in
Christlike humility, and to unite our hearts in love. The
communion service is open to all believing Christians. (1 Cor.
10:16, 17; 11:23-30; Matt. 26:17-30; Rev. 3:20; John 6:48-63;
13:1-17.) 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. Given by the agency of the Holy Spirit, who
apport-ions to each member as He wills, the gifts provide all
abilities and ministries needed by the church to fulfill its
divinely ordained functions. According to the Scriptures,
these gifts include such ministries as faith, healing,
prophecy, proclamation, teaching, administration,
reconciliation, compassion, and self-sacrificing service and
charity for the help and encouragement of people. Some members
are called of God and endowed by the Spirit for functions
recognized by the church in pastoral, evangelistic, apostolic,
and teaching ministries particularly needed to equip the
members for service, to build up the church to spiritual
maturity, and to foster unity of the faith and knowledge of
God. When members employ these spiritual gifts as faithful
stewards of God's varied grace, the church is protected from
the destructive influence of false doctrine, grows with a
growth that is from God, and is built up in faith and love.
(Rom. 12:4-8; 1 Cor. 12:9-11, 27, 28; Eph. 4:8, 11-16; Acts
6:1-7; 1 Tim. 3:1-13; 1 Peter 4:10, 11.) 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 authori-tative source of truth which provide for
the church comfort, guidance, instruct-ion, 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.) 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. These precepts are the basis of
God's covenant with His people and the standard in God's
judgment. Through the agency of the Holy Spirit they point out
sin and awaken a sense of need for a Saviour. Salvation is all
of grace and not of works, but its fruitage is obedience to
the Commandments. This obedience develops Christian character
and results in a sense of well-being. It is an evidence of our
love for the Lord and our concern for our fellow men. The
obedience of faith demonstrates the power of Christ to
transform lives, and therefore strengthens Christian witness.
(Ex. 20:1-17; Ps. 40:7, 8; Matt. 22:36-40; Deut. 28:1-14;
Matt. 5:17-20; Heb. 8:8-10; John 15:7-10; Eph. 2:8-10; 1 John
5:3; Rom. 8:3, 4; Ps. 19:7-14.) Stewardship is a privilege given to us by
God for nurture in love and the victory over selfishness and
covetousness. 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. The steward rejoices in the
blessings that come to others as a result of his faithfulness.
(Gen. 1:26-28; 2:15; 1 Chron. 29:14; Haggai 1:3-11; Mal.
3:8-12; 1 Cor. 9:9-14; Matt. 23:23; 2 Cor. 8:1-15; Rom. 15:26,
27.) 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
com-mandments 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.) 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. (Titus 2:13; Heb. 9:28; John 14:1-3; Acts
1:9-11; Matt. 24:14; Rev. 1:7; Matt. 24:43, 44; 1 Thess.
4:13-18; 1 Cor. 15:51-54; 2 Thess. 1:7-10; 2:8; Rev. 14:14-20;
19:11-21; Matt. 24; Mark 13; Luke 21; 2 Tim. 3:1-5; 1 Thess.
5:1-6.) The millennium is the thousand-year reign
of Christ with His saints in heaven between the first and
second resurrect-ions. 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. (Rev. 20; 1 Cor. 6:2, 3; Jer. 4:23-26; Rev. 21:1-5;
Mal. 4:1; Eze. 28:18,
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