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Who Are Seventh-day Adventists?
Seventh-day Adventists are a faith group inviting people of all nations to prepare for Jesus' return to this earth, the judgment day and the end of this earth as we know it.
Jesus Christ is coming to this earth again very soon! According to the New Testament Jesus will return with mighty angels in flaming fire (2 Thessalonians 1:7, 8) and every eye will see him (Revelation 1:7). Jesus will take his followers with him to heaven where He has prepared a place for them to live (John 14:1-3). But not everyone will be ready and they mourn because of His coming (Matthew 24:30). There are certain signs that indicate his coming is near (Matthew 24:33). There is a preparation to be made for this event (Revelation 6:17). The Seventh-day Adventist faith fellowship invites all people to prepare to meet Jesus when He comes.
Jesus Christ is coming to this earth again very soon! According to the New Testament Jesus will return with mighty angels in flaming fire (2 Thessalonians 1:7, 8) and every eye will see him (Revelation 1:7). Jesus will take his followers with him to heaven where He has prepared a place for them to live (John 14:1-3). But not everyone will be ready and they mourn because of His coming (Matthew 24:30). There are certain signs that indicate his coming is near (Matthew 24:33). There is a preparation to be made for this event (Revelation 6:17). The Seventh-day Adventist faith fellowship invites all people to prepare to meet Jesus when He comes.
What kind of preparation is necessary?
If mankind could solve its own problems through governments and politics, there would not be a judgment day and the end of the world. Jesus never commanded his followers to change the world through war and fighting, government or politics. Jesus said to love our enemies (Matthew 5:44). How can you love your enemies? Politics cannot change the human heart from hate to love. Jesus said to forgive those who have wronged us (Mathew 6:12, 14-15). A new form of government cannot make us forgive from our hearts those who have wronged us. This change of the heart requires a miracle from God. For this reason Jesus said, "Except a man be born again, he cannot see the kingdom of God (John 3:3). He said that the kingdom of God is within you (Luke 17:21). Thus the preparation for Jesus' return, the judgment and the end of the world is a spiritual one. It is a spiritual preparation that has real impact on ourselves and our world.
As each believer receives power from God through the Holy Spirit they are able to overcome sin in their lives whereas once they were powerless against it. With the new birth experience we can love as Jesus loved, live as Jesus lived. As we love others unselfishly, our influence makes positive change in the world. Others decide to follow Jesus in self-sacrificing love. Our world is not impacted then through politics but through the love of Jesus living in us. Our religion is not then simply another set of doctrines or beliefs, but a demonstration of the power of God to change the human heart from evil to good.
When Jesus comes again, He will save those whose character is patterned after the sinless Jesus. But those who reject the transforming power of God through the new birth experience will be unprepared to be taken to heaven. This life has been given to us to afford an opportunity to accept the principle of unselfish love into our hearts and make it manifest in our lives. Jesus is coming to put an end to sin and evil in this world. Those who cling to sin will be destroyed with it. But God will save the believers and wipe all tears from the eyes and there will be no more death nor pain (Revelation 21:4).
How can a person have this new birth experience and be saved from condemnation?
Human history and the Bible demonstrate that the heart of man is selfish and evil from the time Adam rebelled against the Creator in the garden of Eden (Romans 3:10-12: 5:12). Death passed from Adam to all men, so that all die (Romans 5:12). We cannot change our evil hearts (Jeremiah 13:23) and we don't even realize how sinful we are (Jeremiah 17:9). Even our good deeds are mixed with selfish motivations so that the prophet Isaiah says that even our righteousness is unclean before God (Isaiah 64:6). Thus by making prayers or pilgrimages or trying to do good deeds, we cannot change the underlying selfishness in our hearts and our deeds are unclean before God. We cannot make ourselves good enough to be accepted by God.
The New Testament says that sin is the transgression of God's law (1 John 3:4). The New Testament says that all have sinned (Romans 3:23) and the wages of sin is eternal death (Romans 6:23). God is just and every sin must meet its punishment. If God forgives the sins of someone when the penalty has not been met then the law has no meaning and God is not just. But God is just.
Nothing a finite human being can do can pay the penalty of eternal death and earn the value of eternal life. Thus no human being can earn salvation by doing good things. It is impossible. We are unclean before God and we cannot change it.
But God offers a to solution to the sin problem in Jesus. When Jesus came to live in a human body He became the head and representative of the human race. God put the penalty of all sin on Jesus. Jesus became a sacrifice for the whole human race. When we accept Jesus as our sacrifice for sin by faith, God puts the Spirit of Jesus in us by means of the Holy Spirit. Thus we are united spiritually to Jesus and His sacrifice counts in our behalf. He paid the penalty for sin and the law is satisfied. But God does more than cancel our penalty. He changes our lives as the Spirit of Jesus lives in our hearts. The sinless Spirit of Jesus is in our hearts conforming us to be like Jesus.
The new birth happens by faith when we believe and accept Jesus as our sacrifice for sin and let Him be the ruler of our lives. The new birth is the essential aspect of the belief of Seventh-day Adventists.
What is baptism?
Baptism is a sign between Jesus and His followers. It is symbolic. The believer is lowered into the water as his old sinful life is buried in the grave. Then the believer is raised up from the water as he enters a new life in Jesus. Thus baptism symbolizes a death and burial to sin and a resurrection to new life. Jesus said, "I tell you the truth, no one can enter the kingdom of God unless he is born of water and the Spirit (John 3:5).
Do Seventh-day Adventists believe that God is one?
Yes. In the New Testament, it is written, "The most important one [commandment]," answered Jesus, "is this: 'Hear, O Israel, the Lord our God, the Lord is one" (Mark 12:29). The apostle Paul said, "... there is no God but one" (1 Corinthians 8:4). The prophet James wrote, "You believe that there is one God. Good! Even the demons believe that-- and shudder (James 2:19). These are just a few of many texts that relate this truth.
What does the expression "Seventh-day" mean in the name "Seventh-day Adventists"?
Sin is the transgression of God's law. What is God's law? It is the ten commandments. In the Pentateuch God says, "Abraham obeyed me and kept my requirements, my commands, my decrees and my laws" (Genesis 26:5). In the ten commandments is the commandment to keep the seventh day holy, that is Saturday. Abraham kept it. The seventh day is called the Sabbath and was given at creation before there was any other religion in the world (Genesis 2:1-3). The Sabbath is a sign between God and His people (Exodus 31:13). Just before Jesus comes again, God's people will be carrying the sign of the Sabbath but those who reject God's salvation will carry the mark of the beast (Revelation 12:17; 13:16-17).
What does "Adventist" mean?
Adventist comes from a word that means "coming." The name Seventh-day Adventist refers to the ideas that Jesus is returning to this earth again and the seventh-day Sabbath is a sign between God and His believers.
Do Adventists eat pork or drink wine?
No. The Old and New Testaments do not condone these things. Why? The mind and the body are closely connected. If the body is in poor health it makes it more difficult to make good, moral decisions. In our struggle to overcome sin in our lives we need every advantage. Therefore we encourage those who are preparing for Jesus' coming to live healthy and morally upright lives. Jesus did more healing than preaching. This shows the great importance that God places on health so that human beings once again reflect God's moral image.
Where did sin come from?
Sin originated with Lucifer, who is later called Satan in the holy scriptures. Lucifer was a highly exalted angel. God is love and the foundation of His kingdom is love. For all intelligent creatures to be able to love they must have the capacity to choose between good and evil. Otherwise they would be robots, unable to appreciate God's character. Lucifer was created perfect (Ezekiel 28:15) but became proud of the abilities that God gave to him (Ezekiel 28:17). Lucifer rebelled against God and was cast out of heaven (Revelation 12:7-9). Had God destroyed Satan immediately, the spirit of rebellion would not have died because intelligent beings would have served God from fear and not love. So a time is given for everyone to understand the character of Satan and selfishness and rebellion and to choose God's kingdom of self-sacrificing love. This is why evil exists in the world, but a time will come when God will overthrow the rebellion and Satan and sin will exist no more. "And God will wipe away every tear from their eyes; there shall be no more death, nor sorrow, nor crying. There shall be no more pain, for the former things have passed away" (Revelation 21:4), "And I heard, as it were, the voice of a great multitude, as the sound of many waters and as the sound of mighty thunderings, saying, "Alleluia! For the Lord God Omnipotent reigns!" (Revelation 19:6).
If mankind could solve its own problems through governments and politics, there would not be a judgment day and the end of the world. Jesus never commanded his followers to change the world through war and fighting, government or politics. Jesus said to love our enemies (Matthew 5:44). How can you love your enemies? Politics cannot change the human heart from hate to love. Jesus said to forgive those who have wronged us (Mathew 6:12, 14-15). A new form of government cannot make us forgive from our hearts those who have wronged us. This change of the heart requires a miracle from God. For this reason Jesus said, "Except a man be born again, he cannot see the kingdom of God (John 3:3). He said that the kingdom of God is within you (Luke 17:21). Thus the preparation for Jesus' return, the judgment and the end of the world is a spiritual one. It is a spiritual preparation that has real impact on ourselves and our world.
As each believer receives power from God through the Holy Spirit they are able to overcome sin in their lives whereas once they were powerless against it. With the new birth experience we can love as Jesus loved, live as Jesus lived. As we love others unselfishly, our influence makes positive change in the world. Others decide to follow Jesus in self-sacrificing love. Our world is not impacted then through politics but through the love of Jesus living in us. Our religion is not then simply another set of doctrines or beliefs, but a demonstration of the power of God to change the human heart from evil to good.
When Jesus comes again, He will save those whose character is patterned after the sinless Jesus. But those who reject the transforming power of God through the new birth experience will be unprepared to be taken to heaven. This life has been given to us to afford an opportunity to accept the principle of unselfish love into our hearts and make it manifest in our lives. Jesus is coming to put an end to sin and evil in this world. Those who cling to sin will be destroyed with it. But God will save the believers and wipe all tears from the eyes and there will be no more death nor pain (Revelation 21:4).
How can a person have this new birth experience and be saved from condemnation?
Human history and the Bible demonstrate that the heart of man is selfish and evil from the time Adam rebelled against the Creator in the garden of Eden (Romans 3:10-12: 5:12). Death passed from Adam to all men, so that all die (Romans 5:12). We cannot change our evil hearts (Jeremiah 13:23) and we don't even realize how sinful we are (Jeremiah 17:9). Even our good deeds are mixed with selfish motivations so that the prophet Isaiah says that even our righteousness is unclean before God (Isaiah 64:6). Thus by making prayers or pilgrimages or trying to do good deeds, we cannot change the underlying selfishness in our hearts and our deeds are unclean before God. We cannot make ourselves good enough to be accepted by God.
The New Testament says that sin is the transgression of God's law (1 John 3:4). The New Testament says that all have sinned (Romans 3:23) and the wages of sin is eternal death (Romans 6:23). God is just and every sin must meet its punishment. If God forgives the sins of someone when the penalty has not been met then the law has no meaning and God is not just. But God is just.
Nothing a finite human being can do can pay the penalty of eternal death and earn the value of eternal life. Thus no human being can earn salvation by doing good things. It is impossible. We are unclean before God and we cannot change it.
But God offers a to solution to the sin problem in Jesus. When Jesus came to live in a human body He became the head and representative of the human race. God put the penalty of all sin on Jesus. Jesus became a sacrifice for the whole human race. When we accept Jesus as our sacrifice for sin by faith, God puts the Spirit of Jesus in us by means of the Holy Spirit. Thus we are united spiritually to Jesus and His sacrifice counts in our behalf. He paid the penalty for sin and the law is satisfied. But God does more than cancel our penalty. He changes our lives as the Spirit of Jesus lives in our hearts. The sinless Spirit of Jesus is in our hearts conforming us to be like Jesus.
The new birth happens by faith when we believe and accept Jesus as our sacrifice for sin and let Him be the ruler of our lives. The new birth is the essential aspect of the belief of Seventh-day Adventists.
What is baptism?
Baptism is a sign between Jesus and His followers. It is symbolic. The believer is lowered into the water as his old sinful life is buried in the grave. Then the believer is raised up from the water as he enters a new life in Jesus. Thus baptism symbolizes a death and burial to sin and a resurrection to new life. Jesus said, "I tell you the truth, no one can enter the kingdom of God unless he is born of water and the Spirit (John 3:5).
Do Seventh-day Adventists believe that God is one?
Yes. In the New Testament, it is written, "The most important one [commandment]," answered Jesus, "is this: 'Hear, O Israel, the Lord our God, the Lord is one" (Mark 12:29). The apostle Paul said, "... there is no God but one" (1 Corinthians 8:4). The prophet James wrote, "You believe that there is one God. Good! Even the demons believe that-- and shudder (James 2:19). These are just a few of many texts that relate this truth.
What does the expression "Seventh-day" mean in the name "Seventh-day Adventists"?
Sin is the transgression of God's law. What is God's law? It is the ten commandments. In the Pentateuch God says, "Abraham obeyed me and kept my requirements, my commands, my decrees and my laws" (Genesis 26:5). In the ten commandments is the commandment to keep the seventh day holy, that is Saturday. Abraham kept it. The seventh day is called the Sabbath and was given at creation before there was any other religion in the world (Genesis 2:1-3). The Sabbath is a sign between God and His people (Exodus 31:13). Just before Jesus comes again, God's people will be carrying the sign of the Sabbath but those who reject God's salvation will carry the mark of the beast (Revelation 12:17; 13:16-17).
What does "Adventist" mean?
Adventist comes from a word that means "coming." The name Seventh-day Adventist refers to the ideas that Jesus is returning to this earth again and the seventh-day Sabbath is a sign between God and His believers.
Do Adventists eat pork or drink wine?
No. The Old and New Testaments do not condone these things. Why? The mind and the body are closely connected. If the body is in poor health it makes it more difficult to make good, moral decisions. In our struggle to overcome sin in our lives we need every advantage. Therefore we encourage those who are preparing for Jesus' coming to live healthy and morally upright lives. Jesus did more healing than preaching. This shows the great importance that God places on health so that human beings once again reflect God's moral image.
Where did sin come from?
Sin originated with Lucifer, who is later called Satan in the holy scriptures. Lucifer was a highly exalted angel. God is love and the foundation of His kingdom is love. For all intelligent creatures to be able to love they must have the capacity to choose between good and evil. Otherwise they would be robots, unable to appreciate God's character. Lucifer was created perfect (Ezekiel 28:15) but became proud of the abilities that God gave to him (Ezekiel 28:17). Lucifer rebelled against God and was cast out of heaven (Revelation 12:7-9). Had God destroyed Satan immediately, the spirit of rebellion would not have died because intelligent beings would have served God from fear and not love. So a time is given for everyone to understand the character of Satan and selfishness and rebellion and to choose God's kingdom of self-sacrificing love. This is why evil exists in the world, but a time will come when God will overthrow the rebellion and Satan and sin will exist no more. "And God will wipe away every tear from their eyes; there shall be no more death, nor sorrow, nor crying. There shall be no more pain, for the former things have passed away" (Revelation 21:4), "And I heard, as it were, the voice of a great multitude, as the sound of many waters and as the sound of mighty thunderings, saying, "Alleluia! For the Lord God Omnipotent reigns!" (Revelation 19:6).