Seventh-day Adventist

The 28 Fundamental Beliefs

Seventh-day Adventists accept the Bible as their only creed. The 28 Fundamental Beliefs are not a creed but a description — the church's current understanding of what Scripture teaches, grouped under six headings. Revision is expected as the Holy Spirit leads the church into fuller understanding.

Doctrines of God

  1. 1. The Holy Scriptures

    The Bible — Old and New Testaments — is the written Word of God, given by divine inspiration. It is the supreme, authoritative, and trustworthy revelation of God's will, the standard of character, and the test of experience.

  2. 2. The Trinity

    There is one God: Father, Son, and Holy Spirit — a unity of three coeternal Persons. God is immortal, all-powerful, all-knowing, above all, and ever present.

  3. 3. The Father

    God the eternal Father is the Creator, Source, Sustainer, and Sovereign of all creation — just and holy, merciful and gracious, slow to anger, abounding in steadfast love and faithfulness.

  4. 4. The Son

    God the eternal Son became incarnate in Jesus Christ. Through Him all things were created. He lived a sinless life, died for our sins, rose bodily, ascended to heaven, and ministers in the heavenly sanctuary on our behalf. He will return to gather His people.

  5. 5. The Holy Spirit

    The Holy Spirit, equal with the Father and the Son, was active in creation, inspired the Bible writers, empowered Christ's life, draws sinners, renews and forms believers into Christ's image, and bestows spiritual gifts to the church.

Doctrines of Humanity

  1. 6. Creation

    God is Creator of all things, and has revealed in Scripture the authentic account of His creative activity. In six days He made "the heavens and the earth, the sea, and all that is in them" and rested on the seventh day. The seven-day week is a memorial of that completed work.

  2. 7. The Nature of Humanity

    Man and woman were made in the image of God — body, mind, and soul an indivisible unity. By disobedience our first parents fell, and that fallen nature is passed to all their descendants. We are accountable to God, dependent on Him, and made for His glory.

  3. 8. The Great Controversy

    All humanity is involved in a cosmic conflict between Christ and Satan, regarding the character of God, His law, and His sovereignty over the universe. The conflict originated in heaven when a created being chose self-exaltation, became Satan, and led part of the angels into rebellion. He introduced sin into our world.

Doctrines of Salvation

  1. 9. The Life, Death, and Resurrection of Christ

    Christ's perfect life, atoning death, and bodily resurrection are the only means of our reconciliation with God. Whoever accepts this atonement by faith may have eternal life. By His death He revealed God's love and condemned sin in the flesh.

  2. 10. The Experience of Salvation

    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 righteousness of God. Drawn by the Spirit, we sense our need, acknowledge sinfulness, repent, and believe in Jesus as Savior, Lord, and Substitute. Our salvation is wholly by grace, through faith, not by works.

  3. 11. Growing in Christ

    By His death on the cross, Jesus triumphed over evil powers. As we abide in Him through prayer, Scripture, worship, and service, we grow into the likeness of Christ. The Holy Spirit dwells within and equips us to overcome.

Doctrines of the Church

  1. 12. The Church

    The church is the community of believers who confess Jesus Christ as Lord and Savior. We come together for worship, fellowship, instruction in the Word, the celebration of the Lord's Supper, service to all humanity, and the worldwide proclamation of the gospel.

  2. 13. The Remnant and Its Mission

    The universal church is composed of all who truly believe in Christ. In the last days God calls out a remnant who keep the commandments of God and have the faith of Jesus. This remnant proclaims the hour of judgment, salvation in Christ, and the approach of His Second Coming — the Three Angels' Messages of Revelation 14.

  3. 14. Unity in the Body of Christ

    The church is one body with many members called from every nation, tribe, and tongue. In Christ we are a new creation; distinctions of race, culture, and social standing must not divide us. We share one Lord, one faith, one baptism.

  4. 15. Baptism

    By baptism we confess our faith in the death and resurrection of Jesus Christ and testify that we have died to sin and risen to walk in newness of life. Baptism is by immersion, follows repentance and instruction in Scripture, and is administered by those duly authorized.

  5. 16. The Lord's Supper

    The Lord's Supper is a participation in the emblems of the body and blood of Jesus, declaring His death until He comes. Preparation includes self-examination, repentance, and confession. The ordinance of foot-washing precedes the Supper, signifying humility and renewed cleansing.

  6. 17. Spiritual Gifts and Ministries

    God bestows upon every member of His church spiritual gifts which each is to use in loving ministry for the common good of the church and humanity. Some are called to specific functions — pastors, evangelists, teachers — to equip the members for service.

  7. 18. The Gift of Prophecy

    The Scriptures testify that the gift of prophecy is one of the gifts of the Spirit. As an identifying mark of the remnant church, this gift was manifested in the ministry of Ellen G. White, whose writings speak with prophetic authority and provide comfort, guidance, instruction, and correction to the church. They also make clear that the Bible is the standard by which all teaching and experience must be tested.

Doctrines of the Christian Life

  1. 19. The Law of God

    The great principles of God's law are embodied in the Ten Commandments. They are the standard of His judgment. They are summed up in the love of God and the love of neighbor. The law's requirement is fulfilled in those who walk by the Spirit and accept Christ's grace.

  2. 20. The Sabbath

    The gracious Creator, after the six days of creation, rested on the seventh day and instituted the Sabbath as a memorial of creation. The fourth commandment requires the observance of this seventh-day Sabbath as the day of rest, worship, and ministry — from Friday sunset to Saturday sunset. Jesus is Lord of the Sabbath.

  3. 21. Stewardship

    We are God's stewards, entrusted by Him with time, opportunities, abilities, possessions, blessings, and the earth itself. We acknowledge God's ownership by faithful service to Him and our fellow humans, and by returning tithes and giving offerings.

  4. 22. Christian Behavior

    We are called to be a godly people whose thoughts, feelings, and actions are in harmony with biblical principles. The Holy Spirit recreates in us our Lord's character. Our bodies are temples of the Holy Spirit, so we care for them — eating wholesome food, abstaining from unclean foods named in Scripture, and avoiding alcohol, tobacco, and the irresponsible use of drugs and narcotics.

  5. 23. Marriage and the Family

    Marriage was divinely established in Eden as a lifelong union between one man and one woman. For the Christian, marriage is a commitment to God as well as to the spouse. Parents are to raise their children to love and obey the Lord. Mutual love, honor, respect, and responsibility are the fabric of the Christian family.

Doctrines of Last Day Events

  1. 24. Christ's Ministry in the Heavenly Sanctuary

    There is a sanctuary in heaven, the true tabernacle set up by the Lord. In it Christ ministers on our behalf. In 1844, at the end of the prophetic period of 2,300 days (Daniel 8:14), He entered the second and last phase of His atoning ministry — the investigative judgment — which reveals who among the dead are asleep in Christ and worthy of the first resurrection, and which of the living are abiding in Him.

  2. 25. The Second Coming of Christ

    The second coming of Christ is the blessed hope of the church, the grand climax of the gospel. The Savior's return will be literal, personal, visible, and worldwide. When He returns, the righteous dead will be raised, the righteous living will be glorified, and together they will be taken to heaven.

  3. 26. Death and Resurrection

    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 — our life — appears, the resurrected righteous and the living righteous will be glorified and caught up to meet their Lord. The second resurrection, of the unrighteous, will take place a thousand years later.

  4. 27. The Millennium and the End of Sin

    The millennium is the thousand-year reign of Christ with His saints in heaven, between the first and second resurrections. During this time the wicked dead will be judged; the earth will be utterly desolate; Satan will be confined to it. At its close, Christ with His saints and the Holy City will descend, the unrighteous dead will be resurrected, and after the final judgment fire will purify the earth.

  5. 28. The New Earth

    On the new earth, where 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. Here God Himself will dwell with His people, and suffering and death will have passed away.