The Sabbath Question - Why the Sabbath by Doug Batchelor
The Trinity
There is one God, the Father, Son, and Holy Spirit, a unity of three co-eternal Persons usually called the Trinity. God the Father is the Creator, Source, Sustainer, and Sovereign of all creation. God the eternal Son became incarnate in Jesus Christ, through Whom all things were created; the character of God is revealed; the salvation of humanity is accomplished; and the world is judged. God the Holy Spirit draws men and women to Himself and gives spiritual gifts to the Church.
Christ our Hope
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 have eternal life.
Christ's Return
The second coming of Christ is the blessed hope of the Church, the grand climax of the Gospel. His coming will be literal, personal, visible, and world-wide. When He returns the righteous dead will be resurrected and together with the righteous living will be glorified and taken to heaven. The unrighteous - those who have rejected divine grace - will die.
The Church
The Church is the community of believers who confess Jesus Christ as Lord and Saviour. In it men and women join together for worship, fellowship, instruction in the Word, the celebration of the Lord's Supper, service to our neighbours, and the world-wide proclamation of the Gospel.
The Holy Scriptures
The Old and New Testaments are the written Word of God, given by divine inspiration through holy men of God who spoke and wrote by the Holy Spirit. The Scriptures are the infallible revelation of God's will.
Baptism
Baptism by immersion is a symbol of our union with Christ, the forgiveness of our sins, and our reception of the Holy Spirit.
The Ten Commandments
The Ten Commandments, the great principles of God's law, are exemplified in the life of Christ. They express God's love, will, and purposes concerning human conduct and relationships. Salvation is all of grace and not of works, but its fruitage is obedience to the Commandments, not in hopeless effort to earn salvation, but in grateful harmony with the life and will of Him whose perfect obedience has brought us confidence and acceptance as His sons and daughters.
The Sabbath
The seventh day of the week, Saturday, is observed 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 communion with God and one another. We joyfully observe this holy time from Friday evening to Saturday evening, from sunset to sunset, as a celebration of God's creative and redemptive acts.
The New Earth
On the new earth, in which righteousness dwells, God will provide a glorious home for the redeemed with a perfect environment for everlasting life, love, joy and learning. God Himself will dwell with His people, and suffering and death will exist no more.
Full Statement of Fundamental beliefs
A complete statement of the 28 fundamental beliefs of Seventh-day Adventists is available as a pdf file.
More on Adventist Beliefs
A series of answers to questions on Adventist beliefs are available on the the headquarters website of the Seventh-day Adventist church in the UK & Ireland. A free Bible Correspondence course that will help explain our beliefs more fully is available from the Adventist Discovery Centre.
Structure of the Seventh-day Adventist Church
With a membership of over 17 million world wide it is very important for the Seventh-day Adventist Church to have a sound working structure. At present this consists of four layers:
General Conference (split into 13 Divisions world-wide)
Union (usually following national boundaries)
Conference or Mission (subdivisions of Unions)
Local Church Congregation
Leadership in each of these four levels is elected on a democratic basis with representation from the local church being significant at every level.
This particular web-site is maintained at Union level. Within the British Union we have two Conferences, (the North England Conference and the South England Conference) and three Missions (the Irish Mission, the Scottish Mission, and theWelsh Mission). Conferences are financially self supporting whereas Missions receive additional support from the Union.
The British Union Conference is located within the territory of the Trans-European Division, which is part of the General Conference of Seventh-day Adventists.
Last update: May 15 2014 22:45
