WHAT ARE SEVENTH-DAY ADVENTISTS?
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Seventh-day Adventists are Christians who believe in a God who cares. His care for us can be seen in the many ways He has shown us His love. At the very beginning of this world's history, according to the Scriptures, God created us in His very own likeness. We are not products of chance or evolution but came from the hands of a loving Creator who wants to share His love and have a personal relationship with each of us. He entrusted a perfect world to our first parents, Adam and Eve.
Along with that gift He gave them the gift of freedom to choose Him or not. That was risky but He did not want mere robots nor does He want forced obedience. He will honor our free will and no matter what our choice is, He will always love us. This was proved in the Garden of Eden when our first parents chose to disobey God because they believed some lies that were told about Him. Even though they had to suffer the consequences of their sin and so do we (which is why our world is in such a mess today), God did not give up on them. In fact, He promised that one day a Savior would come. You can read all about this in Genesis 1-3.
As the years went by, Satan, a former angel named Lucifer, continued to attack the character of God and spread lies about Him. He claimed that God was arbitrary, unforgiving and a severe tyrant. To dispel these misconceptions, Jesus came to this earth a little more than 2,000 years ago to show us that the character of God is just like His character! The Bible says that "God so loved the world that He gave His only begotten Son, that whosoever believes in Him will not perish but have everlasting life." John 3:16. Jesus adds that "If you have seen Me, you have seen the Father." John 14:9 God is just as loving and trustworthy as His Son--just as willing to forgive, heal and save.
On the cross God proved His love for us by suffering the penalty for our sins. He did this even though He Himself was sinless. Willingly He gave His life that we might have the opportunity to accept Him and enjoy eternal life. He was treated as we deserve so that we could be treated as He deserves. This world has never seen such love!This same Jesus who came one as a baby will come again. John 14:1-3. Only this time, His second coming, He will come as "Lord of Lords and King of Kings" and He will come to take us to live with Him forever in the earth made new. Revelation 21:1-5.
Until then we want to speak well about our heavenly Father. This is why we have built so many centers of healing all around the world. This is why we talk so much about Christ's soon return (Advent) and why we remember His creative and re-creative work by choosing to keep the Bible Sabbath, which falls on Saturday (Seventh-day), holy.
Adventists believe a Trinity of three persons--the Father, the Son and the Holy Spirit--make up one God. They made salvation possible when Jesus, the Son, came to earth as a baby in Bethlehem and lived a sinless life in accordance with the Father's will. When Jesus was crucified for the sins of the people of the world and arose from the dead on the third day, victory was won for everyone. When He returned to heaven following the resurrection, Jesus left the Holy Spirit to serve as our Comforter and Counselor. He promised to return to earth a second time to complete His plan of salvation and take His people to heaven. Adventists are among the believers who look forward to that day.
Adventists believe that God is concerned with the quality of human life, and that everything--the way we live, eat, speak, think, treat each other, and care for the world around us--is a part of His plan. Our families, our children, our jobs, our talents, our money, and our time are all important to Him. As a Christian church, Seventh-day Adventists are a faith community rooted in the beliefs described by the Holy Scriptures. Adventists describe these beliefs in the following ways: More >>