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Our Beliefs

The Bible is God's Word to Us

The Bible, Old and New Testaments, are the written Word of God, given by divine inspiration. The inspired authors spoke and wrote as they were moved by the Holy Spirit. The Holy Scriptures are the supreme, authoritative, and the infallible revelation of His will. They are the standard of character, the test of experience, the definitive revealer of doctrines, and the trustworthy record of God’s acts in history.

Psalm 119:105; Prov. 30:5, 6; Isa. 8:20; John 17:17; 2 Pet. 1:20-21; Heb. 4:12; 1 Thess. 2:13; 2 Tim. 3:16-17.

God is Our Father

God the eternal Father is the Creator, Source, Sustainer, and Sovereign of all creation. He is just and holy, merciful and gracious, slow to anger, and abounding in steadfast love and faithfulness. 
The qualities and powers exhibited in the Son and the Holy Spirit are also those of the Father. 

Gen. 1:1; Deut. 4:35; Ps. 110:1, 4; John 3:16; 14:9; 1 Cor. 15:28; 1 Tim. 1:17; 1 John 4:8; Rev. 4:11.

Jesus is the Messiah, the Son of God

God the eternal Son became incarnate in Jesus Christ. Through Him all things were created, the character of God is revealed, the salvation of humanity is accomplished, and the world is judged. Forever truly God, He became also truly human, Jesus the Christ. He was conceived of the Holy Spirit and born of the virgin Mary. He lived and experienced temptation as a human being, but perfectly exemplified the righteousness and love of God. 

Isa. 53:4-6; Dan. 9:25-27; Luke 1:35; John 1:1-3, 14; 5:22; 10:30; 14:1–3, 9, 13; Rom. 6:23; 1 Cor. 15:3, 4; 2 Cor. 3:18; 5:17-19; Phil. 2:5–11; Col. 1:15-19; Heb. 2:9-18; 8:1, 2. 

The Holy Spirit Works With Us

God the eternal Spirit was active with the Father and the Son in Creation, incarnation, and redemption. He is as much a person as are the Father and the Son. He inspired the writers of Scripture. He filled Christ’s life with power. He draws and convicts human beings; and those who respond He renews and transforms into the image of God. Sent by the Father and the Son to be always with His children, He extends spiritual gifts to the church, empowers it to bear witness to Christ, and in harmony with the Scriptures leads it into all truth. 

Gen. 1:1, 2; 2 Sam. 23:2; Ps. 51:11; Isa. 61:1; Luke 1:35; 4:18; John 14:16-18, 26; John 15:26; 16:7-13; Acts 1:8; 5:3; 10:38; Rom. 5:5; 1 Cor. 12:7-11; 2 Cor. 3:18; 2 Peter 1:21.

People Are Made in the Image of God

Man and woman were made in the image of God with individuality, the power and freedom to think and to do. Although every person has tremendous potential for good, all of us are marred by an attitude of disobedience toward God called "sin." But God in Christ reconciled the world to Himself and by His Spirit restores in repentant people the image of their Maker. Created for the glory of God, they are called to love Him and one another, and to care for their environment. 
Genesis 1:26-28; 2:7; Ps. 8:4-8; Ps. 51; 5, 10; 58:3; Jer. 17:9Acts 17:24-28Rom. 5:12-172 Cor. 5:19Eph. 2:31 Thess. 5:23; 1 John 3:4; 1 John 4:7, 8, 11, 20.

Salvation is God's Free Gift to Us

We can never make up for our sin by self-improvement or good works. In Christ’s life of perfect obedience to God’s will, His suffering, death, and resurrection, God provided the only means of atonement for human sin, so that those who by faith accept this atonement may have eternal life. 

The death of Christ is substitutionary and expiatory, reconciling and transforming. The bodily resurrection of Christ proclaims God’s triumph over the forces of evil, and for those who accept the atonement, assures their final victory over sin and death. It declares the Lordship of Jesus Christ, before whom every knee in heaven and on earth will bow. 

Gen. 3:15; Ps. 22:1; Isa. 53; John 3:16; 14:30; Rom. 1:4; 3:25; 4:25; 8:3, 4; 1 Cor. 15:3, 4, 20-22; 2 Cor. 5:14, 15, 19-21; Phil. 2:6-11; Col. 2:15; 1 Peter 2:21, 22; 1 John 2:2; 4:10.

Baptism is a Symbol of Our Union With Christ

Once we have accepted Jesus as our Lord and Savior, baptism is a way for us to publicly declare our new life in Christ. Through baptism by immersion we confess our faith in the death and resurrection of Jesus Christ, and testify of our death to sin and of our purpose to walk in newness of life. 

Matt. 28:19, 20; Acts 2:38; 16:30-33; 22:16; Rom. 6:1-6; Gal. 3:27; Col. 2:12, 13.

The Sabbath is The Day of Rest, Worship, and Ministry

The Sabbath is a day of delightful communion with God and one another. It is a symbol of our redemption in Christ, a sign of our sanctification, a token of our allegiance, and a foretaste of our eternal future in God’s kingdom. 
The Sabbath is God’s perpetual sign of His eternal covenant between Him and His people. Joyful observance of this holy time from sunset Friday to sunset Saturday is a celebration of God’s creative and redemptive acts. 

The fourth commandment of God’s unchangeable law requires the observance of this seventh-day Sabbath (Saturday). 

Gen. 2:1-3; Exod. 20:8-11; 31:13-17; Lev. 23:32; Deut. 5:12-15; Ezek. 20:12, 20; Isaiah 56:5, 6; Isaiah 58:13, 14; Matt. 12:1-12; Mark 1:32; Luke 4:16; Heb. 4:1-11. 

Jesus is Coming Again

The second coming of Christ is the blessed hope of the church, the grand climax of the gospel. 
The Savior's coming will be literal, personal, visible, and worldwide. When He returns, the righteous dead will be resurrected, and together with the righteous living will be glorified and taken to heaven, but the unrighteous will die. The almost complete fulfillment of most lines of prophecy, together with the present condition of the world, indicates that Christ’s coming is near. The time of that event has not been revealed, and we are therefore exhorted to be ready at all times. 

Matt. 24; Mark 13; Luke 21; John 14:1-3; Acts 1:9-11; 1 Cor. 15:51-54; 1 Thess. 4:13-18; 5:1-6; 2 Thess. 1:7-10; 2:8; 2 Tim. 3:1-5; Titus 2:13; Heb. 9:28; Rev. 1:7; 14:14-20; 19:11-21.

Those Who Accept Salvation Are Given Eternal Life, Those Who do Not Will Face Eternal Separation from God

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, described in the Bible as a "sleep," for all people. When Christ, who is our life, appears, the resurrected righteous and the living righteous will be glorified and caught up to meet their Lord. 

Those who do not accept salvation through Jesus will face judgement. They will die a final death that lasts forever. Those who die without a faith in Jesus will face eternal separation from God –not eternal suffering. And when the lost receive their judgement and punishment, they will be like no more, like ash on the ground. They are destroyed forever, not forever burning. 

Job 19:25-27; Ps. 146:3, 4; Eccl. 9:5, 6, 10; Dan. 12:2, 13; Isa. 25:8; John 5:28, 29; John 11:11-14; Rom. 6:23; 16; 1 Cor. 15:51-54; Col. 3:4; 1 Thess. 4:13-17; 1 Tim. 6:15; Rev. 20:1-10. 

Bennington SDA Church is part of the Seventh-day Adventist Church. 

The Seventh-day Adventist church is a worldwide movement of over 20 million members all over the globe. It was established in 1863 by a group of passionate followers of Christ and students of the Bible. If you would like to learn more about this church, and for a more detailed outline of our 28 fundamental beliefs click the link below.

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