Our Beliefs

Seventh-day Adventists accept the Bible as the only source of our beliefs. We consider our movement to be the result of the Protestant conviction Sola Scriptura—the Bible as the only standard of faith and practice for Christians.

Currently, Adventists hold 28 fundamental beliefs that can be organized into six categories—the doctrines of God, man, salvation, the church, the Christian life and last day events. In each teaching, God is the architect, who in wisdom, grace and infinite love, is restoring a relationship with humanity that will last for eternity.

GOD

Who is God? – We believe that God loves

God is love, power, and splendor—and God is a mystery. His ways are far beyond us, but He still reaches out to us. God is infinite yet intimate, three yet one, all-knowing yet all-forgiving. We will spend eternity cherishing an ever-deepening relationship with God the Father, Son and Holy Spirit.

Despite the distance sin demands, God has revealed Himself in countless ways. The Bible is the story of God striving to reconnect with His children, and is a major method God uses to reach us. A mosaic of authors, styles and perspectives, the Bible reveals a God who is ever-creative, ever-patient and ever-seeking to restore our relationship with Him. Though written by ordinary people, through the Spirit it pierces our hearts, opens our eyes and convicts us to live for Him.

HUMANITY

A Broken Beauty – We believe that God creates

From neurons to nebulae, DNA to distant galaxies, we are surrounded by wonder. Yet the beauty is broken.

Genesis tells us that a loving God split light from darkness and land from water, setting life in motion and sculpting the first human from clay. Genesis describes God’s joy and satisfaction in His work, again and again delighting that each new feature is “good.” Earth flourished in perfect harmony, cared for by humanity.

SALVATION

Disrupted harmony – We believe that God redeems

Love. Harmony. Perfection. Once, all creation sang the same glorious song.

Disharmony erupted when a once-perfect being abused his God-given freedom. Satan “the accuser” chose self-centeredness and slander over truth and love. Satan claimed that God is not fair, that He’s harsh and controlling, depriving others of what they deserve.

CHURCH

We are one body – We believe that God inhabits

Jesus left His followers with an epic mission: to tell the world of His love and His promise to return. They should also love people the way He loved them. Entrusting humans with His message was a bold and risky move. But even though God knew people would often fail Him and even distort His truth, He wanted to work with us.

The risk was worth the reward. As followers of Jesus, the church is called and inspired to act like Him: selflessly serving others, relying on God for strength, absorbing God’s Word and telling the world about God’s love. Male and female, rich and poor, people from all backgrounds or ethnicities are all equal in Jesus.

LIVING

Created for a whole life – We believe that God transforms

God’s law in the Ten Commandments show us how to live and make clear our need for Jesus. Though the law shows us the path to follow and convicts us of sin, it’s about far more than just toeing the line. The commandment’s principles outline a holistic relationship with God, self and others.

Because God shows rather than just tells us how to live, Jesus came as an example of God’s law brought to life. In contrast to the Sabbath observance of His day, Jesus emphasized the seventh-day Sabbath as both a day of rest and restoration. We observe the weekly Sabbath by pausing our self-striving, day-to-day business and seeking to serve and blessing others and doing good. The Sabbath is God’s gift of freedom to us. It gives us time to restore ourselves, our families and our relationship with God.

RESTORATION

Love restored – We believe that God triumphs

From the Garden of Eden to the Tower of Babel, the destruction of Sodom to the Exodus from Egypt, God has always investigated before taking action. Now, before His return, Jesus is investigating the lives of everyone who ever lived, revealing the choices that led to salvation or destruction. God wants to make clear and transparent to the watching universe that no one reaps a fate they did not choose.

The ancient Hebrew sanctuary rituals were merely a reflection of Jesus’ work in heaven, and every offering a foreshadowing of Jesus’ ultimate sacrifice. Now, Jesus, our true high priest, offers the merits of His sacrifice to all who accept His grace. Because He endured every temptation we face, we can trust Jesus to understand our struggles and strengthen us when we need help. Jesus is our mediator, forgiving our sins and restoring our sin-shattered relationship with God. The first covenant condemned us to death, yet Jesus is the mediator of a new covenant whose sacrifice set us free.