INTRODUCTION

In presenting to the public this synopsis of our faith, we wish to have it distinctly understood that we have no articles of faith, creed, or discipline, aside from the Bible. We do not present this synopsis as an authoritative system designed to produce a uniformity of faith. It is, however, a brief statement of what is, and has been, a consensus understanding of the key themes of the Bible as held by our community. In these key themes we find a mutual foundation for the deeper exploration of the Bible and our lives within our community, yet this cannot substitute for the individual work of exploring the Bible and having a personal faith.

As we are often asked what we believe as a community, and as we sometimes have to correct false statements circulated against us and to remove false impressions obtained by those that have not had an opportunity to become acquainted with our faith and practice, we present this synopsis of our faith. As Seventh-day Adventists we desire simply that our position will be understood; and we long for this because there are many who call themselves Adventist who hold views with which we can have no sympathy, some of which, we think, are subversive of the plainest and most important principles set forth in the word of God.

(Updated language taken from the 1873 Introduction to the “Fundamental Principles”–now referred to as “Fundamental Beliefs”–as held by the world Seventh-day Adventist Church.)

GOD

God is love. Both His nature and His character are perfectly other-centered, selfless, and giving. These qualities flow naturally from His essential plurality and unity as Father, Son and Holy Spirit. He possesses qualities that are uniquely His own including omniscience, omnipotence, and omnipresence. By virtue of His uniqueness and otherness He is necessarily shrouded in mystery, and yet His self-revelation in nature, humankind, and Scripture gives us compelling and beautiful glimpses of Who and What He is. Jesus Christ of Nazareth is the fullest expression of His nature and His character as seen by humankind. God alone is worthy of worship.

CHRIST

Jesus Christ of Nazareth was who He said He was: both God and man. This is a profound mystery. Jesus, in His First Advent, lived and died as a man. His life was simultaneously ordinary and extraordinary. It was ordinary in the sense that He was truly a man, not unlike any other man in terms of his essential nature and development; it was extraordinary in the sense of His perfect, love-centered, Godward and sinless life and subsequent bodily resurrection. Not only was His life sinless, His death and life were substitutionary. His death reconciled us to God, and the life that He lived saves us. Salvation can come only through the faithfulness of Jesus Christ as our covenant keeper, the “last Adam” and the “true Israel” of God. He is the Living Word of God.

WORD

The Bible is God’s Written Word to mankind. Its claims, content, and consistency are without peer on the vast historical landscape of literature. It is inspired and guided, not dictated. It is also inspiring, and inerrant. It is also historically, scientifically, philosophically, and experientially sound. One of the most-self-evident things about love is that it requires communication in order to exist and flourish. We would therefore expect a God of love–with deep, stirring passions–to naturally want to be known by those He has made. The Bible is proof that God is both knowable and approachable. We affirm the Protestant axiom of sola Scriptura, “by Scripture alone,” as the basis of our faith and the standard by which all teaching and experience must be tested.

SABBATH

The Bible contains, among many other useful and essential counsels, the Ten Commandment moral law of God. We affirm God’s perfect law of love including the Sabbath (Hebrew for “rest”) of the fourth commandment, which, tragically, has been largely forgotten, ignored, or otherwise neglected by both the world and the church. It is the natural inclination of fallen human beings to trust in ourselves and labor under the anxiety of trying to earn God’s favor. The Sabbath, rooted and modeled in Creation by God Himself, was not given as a memorial of creation only, but rather a memorial of deliverance from slavery for Israel, and of redemption for all. Just as creation was achieved by God’s power alone and we are recipients of the gift of that love, so salvation is achieved by God’s power alone and we are recipients of the gift of that love. The Sabbath freely comes to all and allows the world a period of time to continually contemplate, fellowship together in, serve one another in, and take pleasure in the existence of love through community. It is a countercultural “temple of time” allowing for the creation of and nurturing of abiding relationships. In the Sabbath, we intentionally seek God’s presence, enjoy a weekly freedom from that which enslaves us, seek to free others in the same ways, seek to free ourselves from the tyranny of ourselves, and seek to do good to others by bringing healing and true joy to all. 

MAN

Humankind, both male and female, were created in the image of God. As such, we were created out of love, for love and to love. We do not possess innate immortality, but can receive eternal life as a gift from God. There is a multi-dimensionality to our personhood; we are physical, intellectual, spiritual and social beings. We were made to create, not to control or be controlled. Our greatest happiness is found in fulfilling our creational purpose: to love God supremely and our fellow man genuinely. By physical birth we are fallen and self-centered; by spiritual rebirth we are redeemed, redirected, and restored. This restoration is chaperoned by the Holy Spirit and leads to the “abundant life” found in physical health, emotional wellbeing, intellectual honesty, and relational purity. 

WORLD

God made the world in six literal, continuous and contiguous days. Over and against the prevailing long-ages evolutionary view of earth and life, we affirm, with Jesus, the historicity and accuracy of the biblical creation account found in the opening chapters of Genesis. We reject as unbiblical and unscientific the various permutations of the evolutionary hypothesis. We recognize and grieve the fallen condition of this world, and look forward to its full recreation and restoration commencing at the Second Coming/Advent of Jesus Christ. We affirm and anticipate the nearness of His return to earth. In the interim, and by God’s enabling grace, we are committed to bettering ourselves, our relationships and communities, and our planet.

(A condensed summary of the 28 fundamental beliefs held by the world Seventh-day Adventist Church. For more detailed explanations on these or any other point of interest, along with Scriptural references for the same, please feel free to Contact Us.)