Are Seventh-day Adventists Protestants?

Since its organization in 1863, the Seventh-day Adventist Church has identified as a Protestant denomination of Christianity.

Our beliefs are founded upon the original principles of the Protestant Reformation—the five solas, or five solae: sola scriptura (Scripture alone), sola fide (faith alone), solus Christus (Christ alone), sola gratia (grace alone), and soli Deo gloria (glory to God alone).

While Adventists do have some distinctive beliefs from other mainstream Protestant denominations, such as the seventh-day Sabbath, the majority of our beliefs are shared across Protestantism.

Let’s get an overview:

• Review: What is Protestantism?
• The role of Protestantism in Adventist history
• How Protestantism is reflected in Adventist beliefs

First, let’s go over what makes a person or church “Protestant” to begin with.

Defining Protestantism

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Protestantism began in northern Europe in the early 16th century, when the Roman Catholic Church “had become deeply involved in the political life” of various parts of Europe.¹ It started as a Christian movement that opposed several doctrines and practices of the medieval Roman Catholic Church.²

But long before the “Protestant” label was used, its ideals started emerging as early as the 12th century. This was when Peter Waldo (Pierre Valdes), the leader of the Waldenses, criticized the extravagant wealth of the Roman Catholic Church leaders and advocated for the laity to be able to read and teach Scripture, not just the clergy.³

We also find this sentiment in the 14th century from people like John Wycliffe, and later Jan Hus, who spoke out against how much wealth and political power the church held. They also advocated for translating Scripture from Latin into common languages, and they emphasized that the papacy and church tradition should be subject to the Bible, not equal to it.

These foundational ideas slowly spread under the radar for several decades. Then, when Martin Luther came to similar conclusions in the early 1500s, he brought his concerns directly to the church when he nailed the 95 Theses on the door of the Castle Church in Wittenberg, Germany.⁴ And that’s generally considered the beginning of the Protestant Reformation.

The word “Protestant,” however, was first used in 1529 at the Diet of Speyer, when followers of Luther formally protested the Edict of Worms, which banned all of Luther’s writings.⁵ That label has since been used for churches or belief systems that emerged from the Protestant Reformation, and to denote specific fundamental differences from the Roman Catholic Church.

These key differences in doctrine can be summarized as the five solae:

• Sola scriptura—Scripture alone
• Sola fide—faith alone
• Sola gratia—grace alone
• Solus Christus—Christ alone
• Soli Deo Gloria—glory to God alone

Sola scriptura declares that only the Bible is the ultimate standard of spiritual authority, revealing God and His will for us. No one can add to it, take away from it, or take its place. Everything else we read, hear, say, or do is meant to reflect it, lead to it, or help us understand and apply it.

The other four solas have to do with salvation:

• Faith in God alone is what saves us—nothing additional is needed from anything or anyone else. We receive His salvation not by any of our own merits, not by the influence of others’ prayers or petitions, not by gaining favor of a religious institution…but by the sincere individual decision to follow Him (John 3:16-18; Romans 10:9-10; Ephesians 2:8-9).
• Because “all have sinned” (Romans 3:23, ESV), it’s only because of God’s grace that we can be saved.
• This is made available to us through Jesus Christ and His sacrifice. He is our High Priest (Hebrews 4:14-16).
• And all of this is offered to us because of God’s goodness, power, and unfailing love—to Him be all the glory.

And while Scripture, faith, God’s grace, God’s glory, and Christ as our Savior are certainly among the beliefs of Catholicism, the difference is in the “sola”—alone. The five solae remind us that nothing else needs to be added to the process God established to save us.

And these five principles were exemplified in the Advent Movement of the 1800s, which eventually led to the establishment of the Seventh-day Adventist Church.

How the Advent movement embraced Protestantism

James and Ellen White Portraits

The Advent Movement began in the United States in the early 19th century. At first, it was known as the Millerite Movement, named after William Miller, who began studying Bible prophecy after surviving a close call in the War of 1812. While studying the 2300-day prophecy in Daniel, he concluded that Jesus’ Second Coming (or the Second Advent) would be literal, and it would be very soon.

The Millerite Movement ended in 1844 with what is now known as the Great Disappointment. One of Miller’s followers suggested a specific date for Christ’s return, based on the timing of the Old Testament’s Day of Atonement. When that day came and went, many Millerites lost hope.

But there were also several believers whose faith remained strong. They went back to their Bibles to see where they may have gone wrong in determining the timing of Christ’s return.

Collectively, they still found that Scripture supported a literal and imminent second advent. But they also agreed that setting a date had been the wrong move, and that the exact timing of Jesus’ return was determined by God alone (Matthew 24:36).

And they kept studying together and sharing what they found. So the Advent Movement continued.

Most of these Christians who kept meeting together—including founders of Adventism like Ellen G. White, James White, and Joseph Bates—were already part of Protestant Christian congregations in their respective areas. And like Luther when he became convicted about reform, they had no intent on leaving their faith communities behind. They hoped that sharing what they’d learned would benefit and grow their churches.

However, as they discovered more and more things about prophecy, God’s Law, and His Second Coming that differed from what many preachers were teaching from the pulpit, they found themselves at odds with their local churches.

But that didn’t stop them. They were intent on upholding biblical principles—which, as part of their religious background, already included the five solae of the Protestant Reformation. None of the beliefs that differed from their former churches had to do with those foundational truths.

In fact, those in the Advent Movement were exemplifying sola scriptura. The Bible alone should be the basis of our beliefs, not church tradition. So if we learn things from Scripture that differ from what we understood before, it makes sense to embrace it and encourage further study.

That’s why Bible study was, and continues to be, such an emphasis within Seventh-day Adventism. This drive to keep learning is what led early Adventists to discover buried truths about the Second Coming of Christ, the Sabbath, Christ’s ministry in the heavenly sanctuary, and what happens after death.

All in all, we realize that there will always be more to learn about the infinite God we serve.

And along with this historical emphasis on sola scriptura, let’s look at the other ways Adventist beliefs reflect the principles of Protestantism and share commonalities with other Protestant denominations.

The principles of Protestantism in Adventist beliefs

The 28 Fundamental Beliefs of the Adventist Church, which sum up how we interpret and apply Scripture, collectively lift up the Bible’s authority, salvation by faith, the grace of God, Jesus as our Savior, and God’s unsurpassable glory. Let’s look at how each of these beliefs reflects the five solae.

The Bible’s ultimate authority

As expressed in the first belief in the list, Adventists regard the Bible, the Word of God, as the standard of truth. We believe that both the Old and New Testaments make up the Holy Scriptures, revealing God’s power, His love, and His will for humanity. And its principles will always be relevant for spiritual guidance on doctrine, morals, and lifestyle (2 Timothy 3:16).

This also means that anything else we read, watch, or hear, while it may be helpful and important, will never supersede the Bible. Just like reformer John Calvin put it, we regard the Bible as “superior to all human opinion.”⁶

The Bible also reveals to us God’s character, and His ultimate sacrifice in His Son, Jesus. Throughout the Bible, we see that the only way to salvation is through Jesus and His sacrifice.

The Godhead

The Seventh-day Adventist Church is a Trinitarian denomination, and the concept of the Godhead is explored in our next four beliefs: the Trinity, God the Father, God the Son, and God the Holy Spirit.

Together, these statements declare the glory and power of our triune God, as well as the roles of each member of the Godhead. This includes upholding the divinity of Jesus Christ, and how faith in Him alone is what links us to God’s plan of salvation.

Trinity

Adventists uphold the same views about the Trinity that many Protestants do: that three distinct entities (Father, Son, Holy Spirit) make up one single God.

Calvin had a fitting way of describing the Trinity that resonates with how Adventists understand it:

“. . . [T]he Father, Son, and Holy Spirit, are the one God; and that nevertheless the Son is not the Father, nor the Spirit the Son, but that they are distinguished from each other by some peculiar property.”⁷

And their titles indicate their roles as part of the Godhead and help us understand them:

• God the Father is the Creator and overseer of everything (1 Corinthians 8:6).
• Jesus came to the earth as a human to be “God with us” and to show us God’s character. He saved us from our sins by dying on the Cross, and He lovingly serves humanity as our mediator, or high priest, in heaven (Hebrews 7:25, Romans 5:8).
• The Holy Spirit is the power that influences and guides us when we allow Him to. It’s how God speaks to us and dwells within us (John 14:16-17, 26; Romans 8:11; 1 Corinthians 3:16; 6:19).

Jesus’ divinity

Stemming from the belief of the Trinity, Adventists and the majority of other Protestant churches uphold that Jesus is fully divine, even though He gave up all His divine abilities, advantages, and privileges while He lived as a human among us (2 Peter 1:1, John 8:58, John 20:24-28).

He has the power to forgive us of our sins (Matthew 9:2-6; Mark 2:5-10, Luke 7:47-50), to save us by His death on the Cross (John 3:16; Romans 5:9; 1 Peter 2:24; 1 Corinthians 15:3-4; Ephesians 1:7; Colossians 1:20), and to serve humanity as our High Priest in heaven (Hebrews 3:1; 4:14-15; 7:24-25; 8:1-2).

And that’s why it is through Christ alone that we have the chance to be saved and redeemed.

Creation

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Adventists believe in the biblical account of Creation—that God Himself formed our world, and that all its life came from Him.

According to Genesis 1, He took a “formless and empty” (verse 2, CSB) conglomeration of matter and over the course of six days, turned it into a perfect home that was “very good indeed” (verse 31, CSB) for humans, plants, and animals.

The Nature of Humanity

While we believe that God created humanity “in His own image” (Genesis 1:27, CSB), we also acknowledge that by using the freedom of choice God gave us, we were enticed into exploring our own ways, thus allowing sin to enter our world and our existence (Genesis 3:7, 14-19, 22-24).

Because of this, we need a Savior—or we’d be lost to sin’s ultimate consequences. So it is only by faith alone (Philippians 3:9) in Christ alone (John 3:16) that we can be redeemed from this fallen nature and receive salvation.

The Great Controversy

The “Great Controversy” is a phrase Adventists use to describe the all-encompassing spiritual conflict of good vs. evil that the Bible reveals to us. It’s about considering the origin and implications of sin (Revelation 12:7-13), how this spiritual warfare has affected humanity throughout history, God’s plan to save us from it, and how the Bible’s prophecy can give us hope in Christ’s ultimate victory over Satan (Revelation 20).

We feel it’s important to understand this big picture and to be keenly aware that our true “struggle is not against flesh and blood, but against…the cosmic powers of this darkness, against evil, spiritual forces in heaven” (Ephesians 6:12, CSB).

And our only hope for victory over this epic battle is through faith, which is like our armor (Ephesians 6:13-18), in Jesus Christ, who shared in our human experience, “so that through His death He might destroy the one holding the power of death—that is, the devil” (Hebrews 2:14, CSB).

The Life, Death, and Resurrection of Christ

The Bible reveals the love of God to us in the Gospel story of Jesus as our Messiah. We can find the Messianic prophecies in the Old Testament, which point forward to the New Testament’s records of Jesus’ earthly ministry.

Born into our sinful world, Jesus lived the perfect life we failed at. And He did this through a constantly-nurtured faith in God, His Father. We see this as an example of the kind of faith we are to strive toward.

And though Jesus succeeded where we failed, He died the death we deserve—then conquered death through His resurrection. And this, as the apostle Paul reinforces, is the foundation of our faith (1 Corinthians 15:14).

The Experience of Salvation

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Ultimately, it’s God’s grace and mercy that make salvation available to us by faith alone in Christ alone (Romans 3:24; Ephesians 2:8-9). Since we already failed at staying loyal to our Creator, breaking God’s perfect Law of love, we condemned ourselves to the destruction sin causes. If it weren’t for the grace of God, we’d be lost forever.

This core concept of Protestant doctrine allows us to live with the assurance that if we sincerely choose Jesus as our Savior and place our faith in Him, He can save us and will save us. And He’s the only one who can.

“This is eternal life: that they may know You, the only true God, and the one You have sent—Jesus Christ” (John 17:3, CSB).

There is no way to save ourselves by our own efforts (Romans 3:20-23, 27; Galatians 2:16). And apart from personally deciding to not to follow Him, there is nothing anyone can do to take away our salvation (John 10:28-29; Romans 8:38-39; 1 Peter 1:3-5).

Growing in Christ

And a sincere faith in the saving grace of God and the sacrifice of Christ has an effect on our lives. That’s why—because we are saved—we allow ourselves to be led and changed by the Holy Spirit.

So we aim to glorify God in all aspects of our lives (1 Corinthians 10:31). As Colossians 3 describes, because of our faith in Christ, we “have been raised with Christ” and want to “set [our] minds on things above, where Christ is” and “not on earthly things” (verses 1-2, CSB).

That’s why we make an effort to “put to death what belongs to [our] earthly nature” (verse 5, CSB). And instead, we aspire to “put on the new self,” opening ourselves up to be “renewed in knowledge according to the image of [our] Creator” (verse 10, CSB).

The Church

As the Bible tells us, the body of Christ includes all believers in Jesus—the Christian church as a whole, no matter the denomination (1 Corinthians 12:12-14, 27; Colossians 3:11).

Adventists believe that, despite any differences in doctrines or practices, we are all united by our faith in Jesus Christ, and in accepting the grace of God and acknowledging His glory, as we continue to learn about Him through Scripture.

The Remnant and Its Mission

Throughout the Bible, the idea of a “remnant” of believers is a recurring theme (Isaiah 10:20-21; 27:31-32; Zephaniah 3:12-13; Romans 11:5; Revelation 12:17; 14:12). This refers to a group of people who remain faithful to God, even when the rest of the world does otherwise.

The characteristics attributed to remnant believers in the last days are that they will “keep the commandments of God and have the testimony of Jesus Christ” (Revelation 12:17, NKJV).

Collectively, alongside all believers, Adventists aspire to reflect these remnant characteristics and to cling to their faith in Christ alone, even in the face of persecution.

Unity in the Body of Christ

As part of His Church on earth, Adventists uphold Scripture’s description of how the “body of Christ” should function.

Just because our faith in Christ and His Word unites us in belief, that doesn’t mean we don’t celebrate our diversity of cultures, personalities, perspectives, ages, or talents. Though we are “baptized by one Spirit into one body,” we are to find strength in our differences—because each part of the body has a different yet equal role (1 Corinthians 12:12-27, see also Romans 12:4-5).

Baptism

Among many other Protestant denominations, Adventists practice baptism by immersion and do not practice infant baptism.

We believe baptism should be the result of an informed, individual choice—just as it was done in the Bible. That’s why we encourage those who wish to be baptized to participate in a pre-baptismal study with a pastor beforehand.

We see baptism as a person’s testimony of both sola fide and solus Christus. Baptism by immersion symbolizes dying to sin and accepting the power of Christ’s resurrection to free us from sin’s eternal consequences (Romans 6:3-6; Colossians 2:12).

The Lord’s Supper

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Communion, or the Lord’s Supper, is a special ceremony that commemorates Jesus’ meal with the disciples before He went to the Cross. It’s an act of solemn appreciation for what Jesus went through for us, also acknowledging that it is through Him alone that we can be saved.

As we eat bread and drink grape juice, we remember how Jesus said that the bread represents His body, and the drink represents His blood (Matthew 26:26-30; Mark 14:22-26; Luke 22:14-20).

Like other Protestants, Adventists don’t believe in transubstantiation, which is the belief that the bread and juice physically become the body and blood of Jesus.

Spiritual Gifts and Ministries

As members of the body of Christ, Adventists recognize that the Holy Spirit empowers each individual with different gifts that can be used for the glory of God, which in turn will nurture, strengthen, and grow the body of Christ (1 Corinthians 12:4-11).

These Spirit-endowed gifts, or talents, can be things like wisdom, teaching, discerning, leading, helping, encouraging, and many more (Romans 12:6-8; 1 Corinthians 12:8-10).

The Gift of Prophecy

Adventists recognize Scripture’s emphasis on one spiritual gift, the gift of prophecy, as something that will be especially needed and utilized as we draw nearer to the end times (Joel 2:28-29; Acts 2:17-18; 1 Corinthians 14:1-5, 39).

It will be one of the Holy Spirit’s ways of glorifying God and uplifting Jesus as the Christ, our Savior and only hope (1 Corinthians 12:3; 1 John 4:1-2; Revelation 19:10).

The Law of God

Though we believe that salvation is only possible through faith in Jesus Christ, the Law of God, as the Bible lays out for us, is for our growth, benefit, and enrichment (Psalm 19:7-11; Romans 13:10; 1 John 5:3). It teaches us how to love and glorify God, and also how to love and live in harmony with others (Matthew 22:37-40).

The Sabbath

Adventists emphasize and uphold the biblical Sabbath God established right after He created the world (Genesis 2:2-3). We aim to keep this weekly Sabbath just as the Bible instructs us to in the fourth commandment (Exodus 20:8-11).

The whole purpose of the Sabbath is to pause from our weekly obligations so we can contemplate and enjoy the glory of God and appreciate what Jesus has done for us (Exodus 20:11; 31:17; Isaiah 58:13-14; Hebrews 4:4). It was meant to be a blessing for humanity (Matthew 12:1-8; Mark 2:27).

Stewardship

We draw attention to the biblical principle of stewardship that God introduced to humanity shortly after creating the world (Genesis 2:15). By being good stewards, we show appreciation and gratitude for what God has provided for us, and we can glorify Him through managing our lives in a balanced manner (Proverbs 3:9-10; Matthew 25:14-28; 1 Peter 4:10-11; Colossians 3:23-24).

Christian Behavior

There are many ways to bring glory to God. Even the way we go about our daily lives can honor Him and show appreciation for the “newness of life” we can experience as baptized Christians (Romans 6:4, CSB).

And what better example in deed and character than Jesus Christ Himself? So Adventists aspire to emulate His love, compassion, and selfless service for others (John 13:34-35; Romans 15:1-3; Ephesians 5:1-2; Philippians 2:5-8; 1 Peter 2:21; 1 John 2:6).

For ideas or instructions on how to behave in a Christ-like manner, the Bible is full of verses that talk about how to be good neighbors and demonstrate the love of God in everything we do (Matthew 5:16; Proverbs 3:5-6; Micah 6:8; 1 Corinthians 10:31; Colossians 3:5-17; Galatians 5:12, 16-17, 22-26; Ephesians 4:1-3; Philippians 2:3-4; 1 Thessalonians 5:14-15; James 1:19-20; 1 Peter 2:12; 5:5; 1 John 3:18).

Marriage and the Family

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Adventists uphold the biblical model of marriage, in which “a man leaves his father and mother and bonds with his wife, and they become one flesh” (Genesis 2:24, CSB).

We also consider a healthy marriage as a way to glorify God, since many passages of Scripture use marriage as a metaphor of the relationship between Jesus Christ and His Church of believers (Isaiah 54:5; 62:5; Matthew 25:1-13; Ephesians 5:25-32; Revelation 19:7-9; 21:2, 9).

Christ’s Ministry in the Heavenly Sanctuary

By emphasizing Jesus’ current divine role as our high priest in the heavenly sanctuary (Hebrews 3:1; 4:14; 6:19-20), it helps understand why and how, by the grace and love of God, salvation is only possible through faith in Christ and His sacrifice.

The Second Coming of Christ

Part of having faith in Jesus means looking forward to His Second Coming (Titus 2:13), which is prophesied many times throughout Scripture (Daniel 7:13-14; Matthew 24:30-31; John 14:2-3; Acts 1:10-11; 1 Thessalonians 4:16; Revelation 1:7).

This event will be the culmination of our faith in Him, and we will finally get to behold the glory of God as Jesus draws all His believers to Him (John 12:32; 1 Thessalonians 4:17).

“For the grace of God has appeared, bringing salvation for all people … while we wait for the blessed hope, the appearing of the glory of our great God and Savior, Jesus Christ” (Titus 2:11, 13, CSB).

Death and Resurrection

Our belief about human death and resurrection is taken solely from Scripture, which tells us that though we are subject to death, it will be as if we are “asleep” in the grave (a state of unawareness or unconsciousness) until Jesus returns at His Second Coming (Ecclesiastes 9:5; 2 Samuel 7:12; Psalm 146:4). At that time, He will resurrect those who have accepted Him (1 Thessalonians 4:16, Revelation 20:6). Those who have rejected Christ, however, will be resurrected after the Millennium (Revelation 20:5).

This reinforces that salvation is through the transformative power of God’s grace, and we receive this grace through faith in Christ alone—the One who has power over death and sin (John 11:25-26; Romans 6:9-10; 1 Corinthians 15:20-22; 1 Peter 2:24).

The Millennium and the End of Sin

The Bible’s prophecy tells us that after Jesus takes His believers to heaven after His Second Coming, they will take part in His 1000-year reign in heaven for 1000 years (Revelation 20:1-6; 1 Corinthians 6:3). During this time, Satan is bound on earth, and after the 1000 years, Christ will confront Satan (Revelation 20:7) and all who side with him, and destroy them forever (Revelation 20:7-10).

This reinforces how God alone is our judge, and it is only through faith in Christ that we can be saved. He is the one who will put an end to all evil, pain, and sadness (1 Corinthians 15:24-26).

The New Earth

Just as the Bible describes, the New Earth is what we look forward to as our eternal home (Isaiah 65:17; 66:22; 1 Peter 3:13; Revelation 21:1-4) after the destruction of sin and the devil. This entire planet will reflect God’s glory in its sinless perfection (Revelation 21:22-27), and it is only through the grace and mercy of God, because of the sacrifice of Jesus Christ, that we have this chance to live with our Savior forever.

Still going strong—lifting up Jesus and the Bible

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The Protestant Reformation happened over 500 years ago, but the principles that inspired it are timeless. As Seventh-day Adventist Christians, we base our beliefs on the Bible alone, instead of other laws or doctrines laid out by human, earthly powers.

And we will always “protest” any human-made powers that would try to change, downplay, or replace the five core principles of the Reformation because they express the foundation of our faith. We will forever proclaim:

1. The Bible is our ultimate authority.
2. We can be saved by placing our faith in God alone—nothing else can save us.
3. It is only by God’s grace that we, as sinners, are given the opportunity to be saved.
4. Salvation is possible because of Jesus’ sacrificial death on the Cross.
5. To God be all the glory, for He is the reason for our existence and our salvation. There is nothing more powerful or more loving than Him.

These five beliefs may seem simple, but they make up the basis for Christianity as a whole. We know Who we can trust, why we can trust Him, and how to get to know Him through His Word.

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