Introduction: Fundamental Beliefs
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Companion book to this quarter’s lessons available from the Adventist Book Center online. (Click on image.)
Everyone believes in something. Even those who claim to believe in nothing, or in nothing absolute, still believe in something (in this case, their relativism). Beliefs are important because they greatly impact how we live. For some Christians, however, more important than belief, or behavior, is belonging, a sense of community. Yet, community must be based on shared beliefs, shared goals, and common concerns.
For Seventh-day Adventists—people from almost every conceivable manifestation of humanity—what holds us together as a community are our “fundamental beliefs,” all 28, which are foundational for growing in Christ and living as a community of faith in the light of eternity.
Some argue that what matters is our love of Christ, not doctrine. This sounds nice, but the Bible never separates a love for Christ from a love for the truth. We are told that by “speaking the truth in love,” we may grow into Christ (Eph. 4:15-16). Knowing doctrine is not mere accumulation of correct data; rather, knowing doctrine results in love for God (2 John 6–10). Furthermore, the Bible is concerned about “sound doctrine” because, among other things, it affects the ethical life (1 Tim. 1:9, 10; Titus 2:1–5).
The Seventh-day Adventist Church has a statement of 28 fundamental beliefs. These are not a creed, in the sense that one could not expect any further development of the truths expressed in them (or that even more teachings could be added). And though we must always be open to more light, a firm consensus on these beliefs is crucial to the unity and mission of the church. What has brought together millions of
people from all over the world into a unified movement other than our shared doctrines?
Growing in Christ (SSQ 4Q12) (Adult Sabbath School Bible Study Guide) Kindle Edition also available. (Click on image.)
This quarter, then, we are going to focus on some of those teachings. Though we believe that all 28 are foundational and fundamental to our identity as Seventh-day Adventists, we cannot study them all in one quarter. But we do hope to present a systematic and coherent guide to some of these beliefs. Special attention will be given to belief Number 11, “Growing in Christ,” accepted by the General Conference Session in St. Louis, Missouri, in 2005 (see lessons 5–7). This belief, in and of itself, didn’t add new or previously unknown teaching; rather, in response to needs in certain parts of the world, it helps to clarify the church’s understanding of God’s power to give believers in Christ victory over the forces of evil. In fact, all the lessons this quarter will be framed within the context of the struggle between Christ and those forces of evil. It’s what we call “the great controversy.”
Within the great controversy motif, and directly related to it, salvation in Christ is the thread that runs through all our doctrines. The great controversy, and the issues it has generated, sets the stage for the plan of redemption, which underlies and permeates all 28 of our fundamental beliefs.
Doctrines, then, are not an end in and of themselves. They are a means to an end, and that end is Jesus and knowing Jesus for ourselves and growing in Him. Or, more subjectively, all 28 of our doctrines should lead us to a deeper understanding of what Jesus has done for us through the plan of salvation, which, in turn, should lead
us to a deeper love of God and a life more committed to the revealing of that love to the world and to “principalities and powers in heavenly places” (Eph 3:10).
Yes, everyone believes in something. The goal of the quarter is to help us to not just believe in Truth (John 14:6), but to love Him even more and to grow in His grace.
Kwabena Donkor, native of Ghana, is an associate director of the Biblical Research Institute at the General Conference headquarters, in Silver Spring, Maryland.
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References other than from the King James Version quoted by permission in this Bible Study Guide, for Standard Edition Fourth Quarter 2012, are as follows:
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