PRINCIPAL POINTS OF FAITH OF SEVENTH-DAY ADVENTISTS

The S. D. A. people have no written creed, but the following are the main points of their faith, upon which there is a very general agreement. They believe,- I.-That there is one God, a personal, spiritual Being, the Creator of all things, omnipotent, omniscient, and eternal; infinite in wisdom, holiness, justice, goodness, truth, and mercy; unchangeable, and that be is everywhere present by his representative, the Holy Spirit.MBC90 8.1

II.-That there is one Lord Jesus Christ, the Son of the Eternal Father, the one by whom he created all things, and by whom they consist; that he took on him the nature of man, for the redemption of our fallen race; that he dwelt among men, full of grace and truth, lived our example, died our sacrifice, was raised for our justification, ascended on high to be our only mediator in the sanctuary in heaven, where, through the atoning merits of his blood, he secures the pardon and forgiveness of all who penitently come to God through him; and as the closing portion of his work as priest before he comes again as King of kings, he will make the final atonement for the sins of all believers, and blot them out, as foreshadowed and prefigured by the Levitical priesthood.MBC90 8.2

III.-That the Holy Scriptures of the Old and New Testaments were given by inspiration of God, and contain a full revelation of his will to man, and are an infallible rule of faith and practice.MBC90 8.3

IV.-That baptism is an ordinance of the Christian Church, to follow faith and repentance,-an ordinance by which we commemorate the burial and resurrection of Christ; and that no other mode fitly represents this except that which the Scriptures point out, namely immersion.MBC90 8.4

V.-That the new birth comprises the entire change necessary to fit us for the kingdom of God, and consists of two parts: First, a moral change wrought by conversion and a Christian life; second, a physical change at the second coming of Christ, whereby, if dead, we are raised incorruptible, and if living are changed to immortality in a moment, in the twinkling of an eye.MBC90 8.5

VI.-That prophecy is a part of God’s revelation to man; that a blessing is pronounced on those who study it; and, that as the Saviour himself has called attention to Daniel’s prophecy, it is but reasonable to suppose that the prophecies may be understood; that the world’s history, the rise and fall of empires, are outlined in numerous great chains of prophecy, and that these prophecies are now all fulfilled except the very closing scenes.MBC90 8.6

VII.-That the doctrine of the world’s conversion and a temporal millennium is a delusive fable of the last days, calculated to lull souls into a state of carnal security, and cause them to be overtaken by the great day of the Lord as by a thief in the night; that the wheat and the tares are to grow together until the end, and that wicked men and seducers are to wax worse and worse.MBC90 9.1

VIII.-That the Lord never brings judgments upon men without due warning; consequently the great second advent proclamation which has been stirring the world for the last half century, is in the order of God, and that the error of Adventists in 1844 pertained to the nature of the event then to transpire, and not to the time. The sanctuary was to be cleansed at the end of the 2300 days, but that cleansing was not the burning of the earth as the people supposed.MBC90 9.2

IX.-That the sanctuary of the new covenant is the tabernacle of God in heaven, the great antitype of the earthly tabernacle erected by Moses in the wilderness; and that the cleansing of the sanctuary corresponds to the investigative judgment in heaven, which immediately precedes the second coming of Christ.MBC90 9.3

X.-That God’s moral requirements are the same upon all men, in all dispensations (for “the Lord changeth not”); and that the law of God on tables of stone in the earthly sanctuary was but a transcript of the original in the archives of glory.MBC90 9.4

XI.-That the fourth commandment of God’s law requires that we devote the seventh day of each week, commonly called Saturday, to abstinence from our own labor, and to the performance of sacred and religious duties; and that this is the only weekly Sabbath recognized in the Bible, being the day that the Lord set apart in Paradise before man fell.MBC90 9.5

XII.-That the man of sin, the papal power, has thought to change times and laws (the law of God), and has misled almost all Christendom in regard to the fourth commandment; and that there are numerous prophecies of a great Sabbath reform to be wrought among believers just before the second coming of Christ.MBC90 9.6

XIII.-That the followers of Christ should be a “peculiar people,” not following the maxims and ways of the world, not loving its pleasures nor indulging in its follies, inasmuch as the apostle says “that whosoever will be a friend of the world is the enemy of God.”MBC90 9.7

XIV.-That the Scriptures insist upon plainness and modesty of attire as a mark of discipleship in those who profess to be followers of the Saviour; and therefore that the wearing of gold, pearls, and costly array, or anything merely for adornment, is contrary to the Holy Scriptures, and should not be indulged in by Christians.MBC90 10.1

XV.-That means for the support of the gospel among men should be contributed from love to God and love of souls, not raised by lotteries, fairs, or festivals; that the tithe of one’s earnings belongs wholly to God (see Leviticus 27:30), and we will be given to him by those who stand in the light.MBC90 10.2

XVI.-That no one can be a true child of God except by conversion, which is the work of the Holy Spirit, changing and renewing the carnal heart, which in its natural state is at enmity with God and his law.MBC90 10.3

XVII.-That all mankind have broken God’s law, and come short of his glory; and that we are wholly dependent upon Jesus Christ for justification from all past sins, and for strength to obey God’s law in time to come.MBC90 10.4

XVIII.-That Christians are constantly beset by three enemies; the world, the flesh, and the Devil; and that to be preserved from backsliding and being lost, we should take up our daily cross, watch unto prayer, have faith in God, read and study the Bible, attend meetings, bear a public testimony to the goodness of God, and work while the day lasts, in doing good to others.MBC90 10.5

XIX.-That temperance and purity are continually enjoined in both the Old and New Testaments; therefore the use of spirituous drinks and tobacco will IN NO WISE BE TOLERATED; also the indulgence of tea, coffee, and a free use of flesh as food, are discountenanced by those who walk in the light.MBC90 10.6

XX.-That there is a personal, wicked, malevolent spirit called the Devil and Satan, the enemy of God and his children, that old serpent who deceived our first parents, and who continually goeth about like a roaring lion seeking whom he may devour, whom we should resist steadfast in the faith, knowing that the God of peace shall finally bruise Satan under our feet.MBC90 10.7

XXI.-That the subject of spiritual gifts is a doctrine clearly taught in the Scriptures, being distinctly set forth in the books of Joel, Mark, Acts, First Corinthians, Ephesians, and Revelation; and we know from history that the gifts have continued all along the gospel dispensation; and there is the strongest evidence that the spirit of prophecy has been manifested among those who keeping the commandments of God and the faith of Jesus, during the past forty years.MBC90 10.8

XXII.-We believe and teach that for half a century God has been sending forth to the world the great second-advent proclamation concerning the soon-coming of his Son, and that this last phase of the gospel is symbolized by the three messages of Revelation 14, the last message bringing to view the reform on the law of God, that his children might obtain a complete readiness for the coming of Christ.MBC90 11.1

XXIII.-We believe that the cleansing of the sanctuary synchronizes with the time of the proclamation of the third message, and is a time of investigative judgment, first with reference to the righteous dead, and secondly, at the close of probation, with reference to the living saints, to determine who of the myriads now sleeping in the dust of the earth are worthy of a part in the first resurrection, and who of its living multitudes are worthy of translation.MBC90 11.2

XXIV.-S. D. Adventists hold that the grave, whither we all are tending, is, as the Bible says, a place or state in which there is no work, device, wisdom, or knowledge; that death is a condition of total unconsciousness, the believer’s life being hid with Christ in God.MBC90 11.3

XXV.-That out of this prison-house of the grace, mankind are to be brought by a bodily resurrection; the righteous having part in the first resurrection, which takes place at the second advent; the host of the wicked coming up a thousand years later, at the second resurrection.MBC90 11.4

XXVI.-That just prior to the coming of Christ, probation will end, when the seven vials of God’s wrath will be poured out upon the heads of the wicked who have hardened their hearts against the entreaties of God’s Spirit; then men will run to and fro through the earth, to seek the word of the Lord, and shall not find it.MBC90 11.5

XXVII.-That at the last trump, the living righteous are to be changed in a moment, in the twinkling of an eye, and with the resurrected righteous are to be caught up to meet the Lord in the air, and so forever to be with the Lord.MBC90 11.6

XXVIII.-That these immortalized ones, with Christ at their head, then ascend to heaven, to the New Jerusalem, in which there are many mansions, where they reign with Christ a thousand years, judging the world and fallen angels; that during this time the earth lies in a desolate and partially chaotic state, being the prison-house of Satan, where he is finally to be destroyed.MBC90 11.7

XXIX.-That at the end of the thousand years, Christ descends with the redeemed and the Holy City, the New Jerusalem; the wicked dead are raised, and come up on the surface of the unrenewed earth, and gather about the city, the camp of the saints, when fire descends from God out of heaven and devours them. This is the everlasting fire prepared for the Devil and his angels, the awful perdition of ungodly men.MBC90 12.1

XXX.-We hold that new heavens and a new earth shall spring, by the power of God, from the ashes of the old, and that this renewed and regenerated earth, with the new Jerusalem for its metropolis and capital, shall be the eternal inheritance of the saints, the final abode of the righteous, where they shall evermore dwell.MBC90 12.2