Contents
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Who are the Seventh Day Baptists?
What we Believe
Like other Baptists, Seventh Day Baptists believe in:
- the saving love of Jesus Christ.
- the Bible as the inspired word of God and a
record of God's will for man. The Bible is our
authority both for our faith and our daily
conduct.
- freedom of thought under the guidance of the
Holy Spirit.
- the congregation form of church government.
Every member of the church has the right to
participate in the decisio making process of the
church.
So why are Seventh Day Baptist different?
Seventh Day Baptists observe the Biblical seventh
day Sabbath, the day established and blessed by
God at earth's creation. The Sabbath was given to
mankind long before any distinctions between Jew
and Gentile.
God commanded that the seventh day(Saturday) be
kept holy. Jesus agreed by keeping it a day of worship.
We observe the seventh day of the week (Saturday) as
God's Holy Day as an act of loving obedience--not as a
means of salvation. Salvation is the free gift of God
through Jesus Christ.
The Sabbath provides believers with a specific
time to honor and worship the Creator. It is the joy
of the Sabbath that makes Seventh Day Baptists just a
little bit different.
What do Seventh Day Baptists Believe?
2 Corinthians 3:17-18; 2 Timothy 2:15; Romans
12:2; Ephesians 4:3-6, 15; Romans 10:17; 2 Timothy
3:16-17.
Seventh Day Baptist consider liberty of thought
under the guidance of the Holy Spirit to be essential
to Christian belief and practice. Therefore we
encourage the unhindered study and open discussion of
Scripture. We uphold the individual's freedom of
conscience in seeking to determine and obey the will of
God.
The following statement is not intended to be
exhaustive, but is an expression of our common belief,
which is derived from our understanding of Scripture.
1 Timothy 1:17; Deuteronomy 6:4; 1 Kings 8:27; 1
John 1:5; Genesis 1:1-2; Acts 17:24-25, 28; Psalm
90:1-2; Matthew 28:19;
John 3:16; Isaiah 57:15; 2 Peter 3:9.
We believe in one God, infinite and perfect, the
Creator and Sustainer of the universe who exists
eternally in three persons--Father, Son and Holy
Spirit--and desires to share His love in a
personal relationship with everyone.
--The Father
1 Corinthians 8:6; Ephesians 4:6; Ezekiel 33:11; 2
Thessalonians 1:6-8; John 5:24; John 3:16-18.
We believe in God the Father, who is sovereign
over all, and is loving and just as He forgives the
repentant and condemns the unrepentant.
--The Son
John 1:34; Hebrews 1:3; John 1:14-18; Romans
1:3-4; 1 John 3:16; 1 Peter 2:24; Hebrews 10:10-14; 1
Corinthians 15:20-21; 1 Timothy 2:5; John 14:6; 1 John
2:1-2.
We believe in God the Son, who became incarnate in
Jesus Christ, our Lord and Savior. He gave Himself on
the cross as the complete and final sacrifice for sin.
As our Risen Lord, He is the mediator between God the
Father and mankind.
--The Holy Spirit
John 14:16; 3:5-8; 14:17; Romans 5:5; 1
Corinthians 12:4-7; 2 Peter 1:20-21; John 16:7-11.
We believe in God the Holy Spirit, the Comforter,
who gives spiritual birth to believers, lives within
them, and empowers them for witnessing and service. We
believe the Holy Spirit inspired the Scriptures,
convicts of sin and instructs in righteousness.
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2 Peter 1:20-21; Romans 3:2; 2 Peter 3:1-2, 15-16;
2 Timothy 3:14-17; Matthew 5:17-19; Psalm 119:105; John
20:30-31 Hebrews 1:1-2.
We believe that the Bible is the inspired Word of
God and is our final authority in matters of faith and
practice. We believe that Jesus Christ, in His life
and teachings as recorded in the Bible, is the supreme
interpreter of God's will for mankind.
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Genesis 1:26-27; Psalm 8:3-9; Micah 6:8; Matthew
5:44-48; 1 John 1:3; John 1:12.
We believe that mankind was created in the image
of God and is therefore the noblest work of creation.
We believe that human beings have moral responsibility
and are created to enjoy both divine and human
fellowship as children of God.
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1 John 3:4-5; Romans 3:23-25; Isaiah 59:2; 1 John
1:8-10; Romans 5:6-8; 6:23; Hebrews 10:10-14; 1 Peter
1:3; John 3:16-18, 36; Ephesians 2:8-9; John 14:6;
Matthew 25:41-46; Romans 5:10.
We believe that sin is disobedience to God and
failure to live according to His will. Because of sin
all people have separated themselves from God. We
believe that because we are sinners, we are in need of
a Savior.
We believe that salvation from sin and death is
the gift of God by redeeming love accomplished by
Christ's death an resurrection, and is received only by
repentance and faith in Him. We believe that all who
repent of their sin and receive Christ as Savior will
not be punished at the final judgment but enjoy eternal
life.
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1 Corinthians 15:3-4, 20-23; John 14:1-3; Matthew
24:30; Titus 2:13; John 17:3; 1 John 5:11-13; 1
Corinthians 15:42-44; John 10:27-28; John 6:40.
We believe that Jesus rose from the dead and lives
eternally with the Father, and that He will come again
with power and great glory. We believe that eternal
life begins in knowing God through a commitment to
Jesus Christ. We believe that because He died and
lives again, resurrection with spiritual and
imperishable bodies is the gift of God to believers.
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Acts 20:28; 1 Corinthians 12:13, 14, 27; Romans
12:4-5; Colossians 1:18; Acts 2:42; Ephesians 2:19-22;
Romans 15:5-7; Ephesians 4:11-16; 2 Peter 3:18; 1 Peter
2:4-10; Matthew 18:20; Hebrews 10:24-25.
We believe that the church of God is all believers
gathered by the Holy Spirit and joined into one body,
of which Christ is the Head. We believe that the local
church is a community of believers organizied in
covenant relationship for worship, fellowship and
service, practicing and proclaiming common
convictions, while growing in grace and in the
knowledge of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ.
We believe in the priesthood of all believers and
practice the autonomy of the local congregation, as we
seek to work in association with others for more
effective witness.
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Romans 6:3-4; Matthew 28:19-20; Acts 2:41;
Colossians 2:12; Romans 6:11; Galatians 3:26-27.
We believe that baptism of believers in obedience
to Christ's command is a witness to the acceptance of
Jesus Christ as Savior and Lord. We believe in baptism
by immersion as a symbol of death to sin, a pledge to a
new life in Him.
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Mark 14:22-25; Matthew 26:26-29; 1 Corinthians
10:16-17, 11:23-30.
We believe that the Lord's Supper commemorates the
suffering and death of our Redeemer until He comes, and
is a symbol of union in Christ and a pledge of renewed
allegiance to our risen Lord.
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Genesis 2:2-3; Exodus 16:23-30; Exodus 20:8-11;
Matthew 5:17-19; Mark 2:27-28; Luke 4:16; Acts 13:14;
42-44; 16:11-13; 17:2-3; 18:4-11 Ezekiel 20:19-20;
Hebrews 4:9-10; John 14:15; Isaiah 58:13-14; Luke
23:56.
We believe that the Sabbath of the Bible, the
seventh day of the week, is sacred time, a gift of God
to all people, instituted at creation, affirmed in the
Ten Commandments and reaffirmed in the teaching and example
of Jesus and the apostles.
We believe that the gift of Sabbath rest is an
experience of God's eternal presence with His people.
We believe that in obedience to God and in loving
response to His grace in Christ, the Sabbath should be
faithfully observed as a day of rest, worship, and
celebration.
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Matthew 24:14; Acts 1:8; Matthew 28:18-20; 2
Corinthians 4:1-2, 5-6; 1 Peter 3:15; 2 Corinthians
5:17-20; Ephesians 6:14-20.
We believe that Jesus Christ commissions us to
proclaim the Gospel, to make disciples, to baptize and
to teach observance of all that He has commanded. We
are called to be witnesses for Christ throughout the
world and in all human relationships.
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Who are the Seventh Day Baptists?
Copyright © 1998-2000 Kyle Pratt - The Chehalis Group
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