What Do Seventh-day Adventists Believe About Salvation?

The Seventh-day Adventist Church believes that salvation is a gift that anyone can receive through faith in Jesus Christ, the Son of God. When we accept His sacrificial death in our place, He saves us from the penalty and power of sin (or evil), which prevents us from experiencing true freedom.

We’ll look at what this experience is like and what comes after making a decision for Christ or being “saved.” We’ll see how God helps us grow and mature in faith through the Holy Spirit so that we “may have life, and have it abundantly” (John 10:10, NKJV).

Here’s an overview:

• Why we need salvation
• How salvation is possible
• Why Jesus had to die
• What we need to do to receive and experience salvation
• The place of keeping the Law in experiencing salvation
• The kind of life we live after salvation

This statement from the Seventh-day Adventist Fundamental Beliefs explains just how foundational the doctrine of salvation is:

Because of the gift of salvation, we have everything to look forward to. But let’s get some details: why we need salvation and how we can experience it.

Why do we need salvation?

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We need salvation because we’re all sinners, and the Bible tells us that the “wages of sin is death” (Romans 6:23, NKJV). That means that the natural consequence of sin would ultimately mean death.

But thankfully, the verse continues: “The wages of sin is death, but the gift of God is eternal life” (Romans 6:23, NKJV). So while we cannot redeem ourselves from sin, a perfect being, our Savior Jesus Christ, can.

And in our predicament with sin, we also realize that if we don’t have salvation, we are doomed for eternal destruction. Therefore, our stakes are high. It’s a life and death situation with eternal proportions.

It’s like being in a school where you can only get one of two grades—either a pass or a fail.

Only one problem, though.

In order to pass, you must have a perfect score.

That is, you must get every question right on every exam—without exception. You might take ten tests and get a perfect score on the first nine, but on the last exam you get the last question wrong. Guess what? You fail. You fail just as surely as the kid next to you who got almost all the questions wrong on all the tests.

In fact, because you need a perfect score, it is mathematically impossible to get that perfect 100 percent after you miss even one question.

While dramatically simplified to make the point, this analogy helps reveal our situation as sinners.

We have all sinned and done wrong. We all have a tendency toward selfishness that we aren’t strong enough to fight 100 percent of the time.

As Paul puts it, “there is none righteous, no, not one” (Romans 3:10, NKJV). No matter how good we want to be, no matter how much we value the Law of God.

As sinners, we all face the condemnation of the Law because we have all broken it (Romans 7:7; James 2:10–11).

If we’re all sinners, how is salvation possible?

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The Bible says that God proves His love for us because even though we were sinners, Christ died for us (Romans 5:8). God has offered us a way to be saved through Jesus. Jesus lived a perfect life and died the death that we deserved. This means that we can put on the righteousness of Jesus.

This is all because of the love of God and His desire to see us saved in His eternal kingdom. He has offered us a way out—one at great expense to Himself.

It is known as the plan of salvation.

To understand it, let’s go back to the school analogy.

There is only one student who gets a perfect score. One student who gets every question right on every exam.

And instead of failing the rest of the class, the teacher offers them the perfect score of the one student.

So, instead of failing, they could choose to accept the kindness of the teacher and the student’s perfect score. Free of charge.

Wouldn’t that be good news?

Of course!

And that is what we see in the Gospel of Jesus Christ.

Jesus—the only human who never sinned—is the only human being to have a “perfect score.”

And at the heart of the plan of salvation is the offer for us to have His life in place of ours—His life of perfect righteousness and obedience.

“For He made Him who knew no sin to be sin for us, that we might become the righteousness of God in Him” (2 Corinthians 5:21, NKJV, emphasis added).

Yet even as helpful as that analogy is in explaining this, it still leaves out a crucial component in the plan of salvation.

And that is the death of Jesus on our behalf.

Why did Jesus choose to die and save us?

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Out of perfect love, Jesus freely gave His life for us. He chose to die to heal us from the corrupting power of sin, to exemplify God’s loving and just character, and, in turn, to demonstrate true selflessness.

First, Jesus died because sin is an infecting, corrupting disease, and He wanted to heal us from it.

After humankind was corrupted by sin by Adam and Eve in the Garden of Eden, death seemed like the only option because death is the natural consequence of sin. When we act in selfishness, we ultimately act to destroy ourselves.

But Jesus, who was tempted to act in self interest just as we are (Matthew 26), chose to die for us to conquer death and, therefore, heal us from sin and its inevitable consequence: eternal death.

At the Cross, Jesus took on our terminal sin condition—He became sin for us—so that we could become righteous (2 Corinthians 5:21). He showed us how destructive sin is, and He took this destruction upon Himself.

When we choose to believe that Jesus’ death on the Cross saves us, then we can actually substitute our sinfulness with the righteousness of Christ, and as we grow in our relationship with Him, we no longer desire to act in selfishness.

Jesus also died on the Cross to exemplify God’s loving and just character. When Jesus died on the Cross, He showed us that God’s Law, a law of perfect and selfless love, will always ultimately win.

Why did He choose to do this?

Well, behind the scenes of Jesus’s death was something that Adventists call the Great Controversy. This is the big picture conflict going on between good (God) and evil (Satan), and believe it or not, the whole universe is watching.

Satan wants everyone to believe that God is unjust and that His law of love is arbitrary. Satan wants everyone to wonder, “Is God really a God of love? And can humans ever really love God when given complete freedom of choice?”

When Jesus died on the Cross, He showed the universe that the answer is a resounding “Yes!” God is a God of love, He is not unjust, and humans can choose God’s path of love, even with complete freedom of choice. After all, Jesus—fully human—chose a life of selfless love over a life of selfishness.

Which brings us to the last point: Jesus chose to die because in doing so, He not only demonstrates His great love for us (Romans 5:8), but He also demonstrates what selfless love looks like.

The Bible tells us that “greater love has no one than this, than to lay down one’s life for his friends” (John 15:13, NKJV). Jesus truly lived this out. He was a living example of how to follow God’s Law.

He showed that God’s Law was not about self-centered rule-following, like the Pharisees of the time. Rather, God’s Law is about others-centered love.

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Jesus rejected the temptations towards selfishness, and in freely choosing to sacrifice Himself, He did the most selfless thing possible. Jesus’ perfect life, death, and resurrection, shows us that God’s law of love is not death-bringing but life-giving. Because of this, we can choose God’s healing love over the corruption of sin.

And God’s plan to heal us and restore us from sin wasn’t an accident. He planned to redeem us all along.

About 600 years before Jesus’ death, ministry, and even birth, the prophet Isaiah wrote this about Him, saying:

“Surely He has borne our griefs and carried our sorrows; yet we esteemed Him stricken, smitten by God, and afflicted. But He was wounded for our transgressions, He was bruised for our iniquities; the chastisement for our peace was upon Him, and by His stripes we are healed. All we like sheep have gone astray; we have turned, every one, to his own way; and the LORD has laid on Him the iniquity of us all…. He shall see the labor of His soul, and be satisfied. By His knowledge My righteous Servant shall justify many, for He shall bear their iniquities…. And He was numbered with the transgressors and He bore the sin of many” (Isaiah 53:4–6, 11–12, NKJV).

Notice the idea of substitution.

• He bore “our griefs” and “our sorrows.”
• He was “wounded for our transgressions.”
• The Lord put on Him “the iniquity of us all.”
• He was “bruised for our iniquities.”
• He will “bear our iniquities.”
• He “bore the sin of many.”

Read these verses again in Isaiah and put your own name in there.

• He bore [your name’s] sins.
• He carried [your name’s] iniquities.
• The Lord laid on Him [your name’s] transgressions.

You can do that because it is true.

Christ has already died for you, as He has died for all of us.

The only question, and the most important one, is—Will you accept it for yourself?

To learn more about what Christ has done for you, sign up for Bible studies!

What do we need to do to experience this promise of salvation?

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All you need to do to experience salvation is claim it by faith. And in terms of good deeds, you don’t need to “do” anything.

Seventh-day Adventist beliefs on this topic are similar to those of other Christian denominations: Salvation is a gift, and we can’t do anything to earn it.

To understand this concept further, let’s return yet again to the school analogy.

As we have seen, once you get one question wrong, you can’t earn that passing grade no matter how many more tests you take.

Instead, all you can do is accept what the student with the perfect score offers you.

It’s the same with salvation.

We cannot do anything in the sense of good works to earn salvation in Christ.

Instead, all we can do is claim Jesus’ sacrifice for ourselves by faith.

In fact, this is the famous Protestant idea of “salvation by faith” or sola fide (faith alone).

Some of the key texts in the New Testament that teach this idea are:

• “Therefore being justified by faith, we have peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ” (Romans 5:1, NKJV).

• “For by grace you have been saved through faith, and that not of yourselves; it is the gift of God, not of works, lest anyone should boast” (Ephesians 2:8–9, NKJV).

• “Knowing that a man is not justified by the works of the law, but by the faith of Jesus Christ, even we have believed in Jesus Christ, that we might be justified by the faith of Christ, and not by the works of the law: for by the works of the law shall no flesh be justified” (Galatians 2:16, NKJV).

• “Therefore by the deeds of the law there shall no flesh be justified in His sight: for by the law [is] the knowledge of sin” (Romans 3:20, NKJV).

• “And be found in Him, not having mine own righteousness, which is of the law, but that which is through the faith of Christ, the righteousness which is of God by faith” (Philippians 3:9, NKJV).

Jesus Christ is Lord and Creator (John 1:13). Yet He left the throne of heaven and became a human being (Philippians 2:5–8). Then He lived a perfect life, took on Himself the penalty for all our sins, and died as our substitute (Isaiah 53).

This was the Creator God who did this for us!

What more could we as humans possibly add to that?

Paul continues to explain this idea by referring to the Old Testament man named Abraham:

“What then shall we say that Abraham, our forefather according to the flesh, has found? For if Abraham was justified by works, he has something to boast about, but not before God. For what does the Scripture say? ‘Abraham believed God, and it was credited to him as righteousness.’ Now to the one who works, his wage is not credited as a favor, but as what is due. But to the one who does not work, but believes in Him who justifies the ungodly, his faith is credited as righteousness” (Romans 4:1–5, NASB).

The fact is, we cannot work hard enough or do enough good to earn salvation. If we could, God would owe us salvation because it would be a debt we paid off.

But because we can neither afford nor pay it off, Christ stepped in and paid it off for us.

And that’s the plan of salvation.

How do we accept Christ’s atoning sacrifice?

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Jesus Himself said that belief in Him is where it all begins (John 6:29). It’s the kind of belief that goes beyond the intellect to a daily, living acceptance of that gift.

After all, even the demons believe in God (James 2:19).

Instead, the kind of faith and belief that the Bible talks about in this context is a gift from God.

“For by grace you have been saved through faith, and that not of yourselves; it is the gift of God” (Ephesians 2:8, NKJV).

The gift is offered to everyone (1 Timothy 2:4–6). We are “justified freely by His grace through the redemption that is in Christ Jesus” (Romans 3:24, NKJV).

Our justification comes from our acceptance of Christ’s sacrifice.

When someone makes the choice to accept Christ as their Lord and Savior, they will begin to experience what salvation is all about.

To truly believe that God is a God of love and that He loves us enough to die in our place—that kind of belief is life-changing.

And the effect it has on us is called sanctification.

The whole experience, starting with justification, involves:

1. Repentance

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This is not work that brings salvation. Instead, repentance happens when a person who has already accepted Christ’s free gift of salvation feels true remorse for their sins.

The Greek word for “repentance” is metanoeo, which means “to feel remorse” or “to change one’s mind.” True repentance involves an intentional change in one’s attitude toward God and toward sin.

2. Confession

Directly linked to repentance is confession. Once people become aware of the sin in their lives, they confess those sins to God, who forgives them.

“If we confess our sins, He is faithful and just to forgive us our sins and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness” (1 John 1:9, NKJV).

And repentance and confession are not a one-time deal. They are consistently involved in the process of sanctification.

The Word of God points out that Christians must accept Jesus’ sacrifice and daily recommit their lives to the way of salvation (1 Corinthians 15:31). (This is because God neither forces you to believe in Him nor does He force you to keep believing in Him.)

A new believer is a new person in Christ, but the battle with sin and self remains. We are still living out what humanity asked for through Adam and Eve—to have the knowledge of both good and evil.

The apostle Paul struggled with this battle and tells us about his experience:

“For the good that I want, I do not do, but I practice the very evil that I do not want” (Romans 7:19, NASB).

Through daily repentance and confession, we experience the gift of salvation and begin to grow and mature overall.

Do Adventists teach that we should keep the Law of God even if we’re already saved by faith?

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Just because we aren’t saved by the Law doesn’t mean we should no longer keep it. As we receive the gift of salvation, our natural response is to want to obey God. Our actions begin to line up with our beliefs.

And He gives us the strength we need to do so. What we find is that His Law is for our good because it shows us what it means to love the way He does.

A simple analogy:

A cop pulls you over for speeding.

You are guilty. You have done it. The police officer, however, offers you grace. He lets you go with just a warning.

Though guilty of violating the speed limit, you are not going to face the punishment for it. You are set free.

Does that mean that as soon as the cop leaves, you will take off again, violating the speed limit law because you have been given grace?

Of course not.

It’s the same thing with God’s Law, the Ten Commandments (Exodus 20:1–17).

The fact that we are not saved by the Law does not mean we should disregard it. After all, God’s Law is a reflection of who He is. It reveals to humanity what it looks like to love God and to love our fellow humans.

“Do we then make void the law through faith? Certainly not! On the contrary, we establish the law” (Romans 3:31, NKJV).

First, the Law is how we know sin to begin with.

“Therefore by the deeds of the law no flesh will be justified in His sight, for by the law is the knowledge of sin” (Romans 3:20, NKJV).

The Law is what points out sins, points out our faults, and pinpoints our need for Christ.

Think of it like a mirror.

The mirror can point out the wrinkles and gray hair of a person who is aging. But the mirror, or staring in the mirror all day, will do nothing to reverse the aging.

That was never the purpose of the mirror.

It’s the same with God’s Law. It was established to point out sin but not to solve the problem of sin.

This is why Paul wrote:

“Knowing that a man is not justified by the works of the law, but by the faith of Jesus Christ, even we have believed in Jesus Christ, that we might be justified by the faith of Christ, and not by the works of the law: for by the works of the law shall no flesh be justified” (Galatians 2:16, NKJV).

Not being saved by the Law is something radically different from not being called by God to keep it.

And, yes, by the power of God we can keep God’s Law; we just can’t keep it to be saved by it.

That’s why Jesus lived a perfect life of Law-keeping so that we could receive it in place of our sinful lives.

What should life be like after we accept the gift of salvation?

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When a person receives Christ, that person is changed and has a new life that reveals this change (2 Corinthians 5:17).

When Jesus was on the Cross, He promised one of the thieves eternal life. This was a man who had absolutely nothing to offer Him in terms of works, obedience, or anything good.

Yet Jesus didn’t reject him.

Jesus didn’t bring up this criminal’s sinful past. He didn’t point out to him all the reasons he didn’t deserve salvation. Instead, Jesus looked at this sinful man and said, “You will be with me in paradise” (Luke 23:43, NKJV).

That is Isaiah 53 in a nutshell.

Because Jesus was bearing the man’s sins by paying for them Himself, the thief—certainly without the works of the Law—was given the promise of eternal life.

Suppose after Jesus promised salvation to him, the thief had been pardoned, brought down from the cross, and set free.

What kind of life would he have lived?

One thing is for sure, he would not have continued to be a thief. He would have lived the new life in Christ that had already been given him, no matter how short-lived, on the cross.

As Paul wrote:

“Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation; old things have passed away; behold, all things have become new” (2 Corinthians 5:17, NKJV).

 

“Or do you not know that as many of us as were baptized into Christ Jesus were baptized into His death? Therefore we were buried with Him through baptism into death, that just as Christ was raised from the dead by the glory of the Father, even so we also should walk in newness of life” (Romans 6:3–4, NKJV).

Talk about a new existence!

This is what is sometimes referred to as the “new birth” (John 3:3).

“As His divine power has given to us all things that pertain to life and godliness, through the knowledge of Him who called us by glory and virtue, by which have been given to us exceedingly great and precious promises, that through these you may be partakers of the divine nature, having escaped the corruption that is in the world through lust” (2 Peter 1:3-4, NKJV).

This is what the experience of having salvation, or having a new life in Christ, is. It’s having Christ work in you to make you a new person in Jesus, but only after you have already received salvation.

It’s what happens after you have been saved; it is not what saves you.

Does this mean that, once we become Christians, we no longer sin?

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If only. Wouldn’t that be nice?

Christians still have a daily struggle with sin and self.

Yes, if the thief had come down from the cross, he likely wouldn’t have been a thief any longer. But it’s hard to imagine that he would not have, at some point, struggled with sin.

Look at the words of Paul:

“But exhort one another daily, while it is called ‘Today,’ lest any of you be hardened through the deceitfulness of sin. For we have become partakers of Christ if we hold the beginning of our confidence steadfast to the end” (Hebrews 3:13–14, NKJV).

These words sound as if sin is a real temptation, even for believers. And so do these:

“My little children, these things I write to you, so that you may not sin. And if anyone sins, we have an Advocate with the Father, Jesus Christ the righteous” (1 John 2:1, NKJV).

Even so, Christians are given wonderful promises about the power of Christ to change their lives and give them victory over sin and self.

“No temptation has overtaken you except such as is common to man; but God is faithful, who will not allow you to be tempted beyond what you are able, but with the temptation will also make the way of escape, that you may be able to bear it” (1 Corinthians 10:13, NKJV).

 

“I can do all things through Christ who strengthens me” (Philippians 4:13, NKJV).¹

Christ will radically remake those who have given their hearts to Him—no question about it.

Christianity is filled with powerful stories of those whose lives have been radically changed by the power of God.

Even so, because of our tendency toward sin, we will still have to face the struggle with temptation—but not forever.

At the Second Coming of Christ, we will receive new bodies that will no longer have the weaknesses of fallen flesh (1 Corinthians 15:51–53).

The apostle Paul, a man who understood, taught, and experienced the gift of salvation himself, wrote near the end of his life:

“Not that I have already attained, or am already perfected; but I press on, that I may lay hold of that for which Christ Jesus has also laid hold of me” (Philippians 3:12, NKJV).

And in essence, that’s the experience of salvation. We press on in faith and claim for ourselves what Christ has done for us.

Christ offers us His perfect life—His perfect score.

All we must do is accept His gift. Then we can live our lives for Him.

1. See also Romans 6:14, 22 and Ephesians 6:10–18. [↵]

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