What is the #1 Most Important SDA doctrine?

[LynnDel]

What is the #1 Most Important SDA doctrine?

This is not an opinion question; it's a quiz. Can you get it right?

LD

[Woody]

Love your neighbor as yourself.

[LynnDel]

That's an important one, Redwood, but not the #1 Most Important. Try again!

LD

[Robert]

What is the #1 Most Important SDA doctrine?

This is not an opinion question; it's a quiz. Can you get it right?

LD

The gospel - the "in christ" motif. The Bible says, "And this gospel of the kingdom will be preached in the whole world as a testimony to all nations, and then the end will come."

It doesn't say take the Sabbath to the world...or take the sanctuary message...or the state of the dead to the world (as important as these may be). It clearly says we are to take the gospel to the world. So that is the most important doctrine.

[LynnDel]

You got it, dgrimm - and how wonderful to daily remember that Jesus died for our sins, was buried, rose, and is coming again!

LD

[phkrause]

Good for you dgrimm. Praise the Lord for coming and dying for us. I know that I personally didn't deserve that.

pk

[Woody]

How Cool.

Happy Easter all ...

[True-believer]

How Cool.

Happy Easter all ...

I prefer saying... Happy Resurrection everyone... instead of happy easter.

[Woody]

[John317]

What is the #1 Most Important SDA doctrine?

This is not an opinion question; it's a quiz. Can you get it right?

LD

The Sanctuary-- All of our doctrines are tied into our understanding of the heavenly sanctuary and the Investigative, or Pre-Advent, Judgment.

It is why Satan and those who work for him (whether they know it or not), are out to attack the sanctuary message.

[John317]

You got it, dgrimm - and how wonderful to daily remember that Jesus died for our sins, was buried, rose, and is coming again!

LD

That is an essential teaching and right at the center, but that is not the most important SDA doctrine. Almost all Christian churches believe that he died for our sins and is coming back.

His coming back and His dying for our sins is tied directly to our understanding of the heavenly sanctuary and of what He is doing there now.

His dying for our sins 2000 years ago was only the first part of the atonement. If all Christ did was die for our sins, we would still be lost.

This is where our churches message is so essential.

It is absolutely necessary for Christ to be our High Priest and finish His work in the heavenly sanctuary before He comes back. He won't return until He finishes the Pre-Advent Judgment.

That has to do with the Sabbath, the state of the dead, the health message. and the Three Angels Messages.

[olger]

There is no most important SDA doctrine. All of them form a chain of truth woven throughout the Good Book. Each link is vital.

og

[John317]

I'm thinking of the history of the Advent Movement and of some specific statements by Ellen White. Such as, "The subject of the sanctuary was the key which unlocked the mystery of the disappointment of 1844. It opened to view a complete system of truth, connected and harmonious, showing that God's hand had directed the great advent movement and revealing present duty as it brought to light the position and work of His people." GC 423.

She said, "The Sanctuary is the foundation of our faith." (Ms. 20, 1906)

[Robert]

His dying for our sins 2000 years ago was only the first part of the atonement. If all Christ did was die for our sins, we would still be lost.

Of course I disagree....In fact EGW states that the third angel's message is justification by faith or the gospel received by faith. So the gospel is the most important doctrine. Not just any gospel, but the gospel restored. Rob

[olger]

I think I agree, John. (In context).

Although, I was asked that question after a presentation in Chicago in 2002 by a long time adventist. He asked me which doctrine I thought was best. I said all of them were needed to form the beautiful chain that makes up Adventism. If I pull a link out of the chain and hand it to somebody, they might look it over and say "Yeah that's nice" and hand it back. But as a chain it has power and divine attraction.

og

[Woody]

Originally Posted By: John317

His dying for our sins 2000 years ago was only the first part of the atonement. If all Christ did was die for our sins, we would still be lost.

Of course I disagree....In fact EGW states that the third angel's message is justification by faith or the gospel received by faith. So the gospel is the most important doctrine. Not just any gospel, but the gospel restored. Rob

I agree Rob. If you were to take away all the other doctrines ... you could still be saved just by knowing that Jesus died to save you. Period. The matter of when and how he judges ... would not make any difference to the saved person.

I am sure the thief on the cross didn't say ... oh wait ... but when are you going to judge me again?

[John317]

Originally Posted By: John317

His dying for our sins 2000 years ago was only the first part of the atonement. If all Christ did was die for our sins, we would still be lost.

Of course I disagree....In fact EGW states that the third angel's message is justification by faith or the gospel received by faith. So the gospel is the most important doctrine. Not just any gospel, but the gospel restored. Rob

What do you think Ellen White meant when she said, "The Sanctuary is the foundation of our faith"?

Was she contrasting the "sanctuary truth" with the gospel?

In my understanding, she was including the gospel in the sanctuary.

But the sanctuary is much more than Christ dying on the cross. That is why I said that if all that had happened is that Christ died for us, it wouldn't have saved us.

What else is needed beyond the death of Christ?

1 Cor. 15 says that His resurrection was also necessary for our salvation. And so is His work in the heavenly sanctuary.

Ellen White said that Christ's work in the heavenly sanctuary is just as necessary for our salvation as His death on the cross.

"The intercession of Christ in man's behalf in the sanctuary above is as essential to the plan of salvation as was His death upon the cross. By His death He began the work which after His resurrection He ascended to complete in heaven." GC 489.

[LifeHiscost]

There is no most important SDA doctrine. All of them form a chain of truth woven throughout the Good Book. Each link is vital.

og

"Hear, O Israel: The LORD our God is one LORD:"Deuteronomy 6:4 KJV

"The most important one," answered Jesus, "is this: 'Hear, O Israel, the Lord our God, the Lord is one."Mark 12:29 NIV

Maybe it isn't but maybe it should be.

Regards!

[Robert]

"The intercession of Christ in man's behalf in the sanctuary above is as essential to the plan of salvation as was His death upon the cross. By His death He began the work which after His resurrection He ascended to complete in heaven." GC 489.

Gospel Issues in Adventism

by E.H. “Jack” Sequeira

#9 – The Sanctuary Message

(John 2:18-22)

Introduction

One of the major doctrines of the Seventh-day Adventist Church is the sanctuary message. This is how the main thrust of this fundamental doctrine is described:

There is a sanctuary in heaven, the true tabernacle which the Lord set up and not man. In it, Christ ministers on our behalf, making available to believers the benefits of His atoning sacrifice offered once for all on the cross. He was inaugurated as our great High Priest and began His intercessory ministry at the time of His ascension. In 1844, at the end of the prophetic period of 2,300 days, He entered the second and last phase of His atoning ministry. It is a work of investigative judgment which is part of the ultimate disposition of all sin, typified by the cleansing of the ancient Hebrew sanctuary on the Day of Atonement. ...The investigative judgment reveals to heavenly intelligences who among the dead are asleep in Christ and, therefore, in Him, are deemed worthy to have part in the first resurrection. It also makes manifest who among the living are abiding in Christ, keeping the commandments of God and the faith of Jesus, and in Him, therefore, are ready for translation into His everlasting kingdom. This judgment vindicates the justice of God in saving those who believe in Jesus.

Not only has this unique doctrine of our church made no positive impact on the Christian church at large, but it has come under fire, first from non-Adventist scholars and, more recently, from some of our own scholars. Does this mean we have been following cunningly devised fables?

My honest belief is that our pioneers who first formulated this doctrine from their study of the Bible, and which was later endorsed by Ellen G. White, were lead by God, in spite of their limitations.

Therefore, what we are going to do in the next four studies, as part of this series on the gospel issues in Adventism, is to carefully and honestly examine this doctrine on the sanctuary. In this study, we will consider the sanctuary message itself and then, in the next three studies, examine [the events of] 1844 and the investigative judgment.

After the death of the apostles, the leadership of the church fell into the hands of the Gentile believers (Church Fathers). They saw very little value in the sanctuary doctrine; to them it belonged to the Jewish dispensation. Consequently, the sanctuary truth became obsolete until the mid-19th Century when the Seventh-day Adventist Church brought it to the forefront. It is our major theological contribution to Christendom.

Yet, as I already mentioned, its impact on has been both negative and controversial. Why is this so? Could it be that we have repeated the same mistake as the Jewish nation did? [Read Acts 7:44-51.]

God’s purpose through the Sanctuary was not to point to buildings and furniture, even though there is a literal sanctuary in heaven, but to reveal His plan of salvation in Christ. The Sanctuary is God’s master model plan of redemption. Through it, He has revealed the whole plan of salvation from beginning to end — His earthly mission as well as His heavenly ministry. It is His visual aid to clearly show mankind the various stages of our redemption, in and through His Son Jesus Christ. It is His “show and tell.”

In the incarnation, God united the divinity of Christ to our corporate humanity that needed redeeming. This qualified Him to be our Substitute and Representative. Then, by His perfect life and sacrificial death, He fully redeemed mankind. In the resurrection, Christ raised our humanity cleansed and glorified, which He took to heaven to represent us in His priestly ministry.

He will continue this High Priestly ministry in the heavenly Sanctuary until the Great Controversy is brought to an end, when sin will be eradicated and everlasting righteousness will be ushered in. This, in a nutshell, is the whole purpose of the sanctuary message. It is to give us humans a clear picture of the whole plan of salvation so that our faith in God and our future hope becomes fully established.

1. The Sanctuary was God’s Master Model Plan of Salvation

* Compare Exodus 25:8 with John 1:14.

* Hebews 9:1-5, 10 describes the earthly sanctuary and its ceremonies. This was the old or first covenant: salvation in type.

* Hebrews 10:5-10 describes the anti-type of the sanctuary message. This is the new covenant: salvation in reality.

Unfortunately, the Jewish nation failed to see the real significance of the sanctuary model and, therefore, placed their emphasis on buildings and rituals rather then what these things pointed to. This is the whole point Stephen made and which led to his martyrdom. Christ tried to correct them [read Jn. 2:19-22.] We must not repeat their mistake.

2. Everything in the Sanctuary Pointed to Christ

* Christ is the Lamb of God that took away the sins of the world [John 1:29].

* Christ is the light of the world that lightens every man [John 1:9-12; 8:12].

* Christ is the living bread who came down from heaven to give us eternal life [John 6:32-51].

* Christ is the mercy seat (propitiation), through whose redemption we have salvation full and complete [Romans 3:24, 25].

* Christ is our intercessor against the accusations of Satan [Hebrews 7:25].

* Christ is the veil that bore our sins in His flesh [Hebrews 10:19,20].

3. The Sanctuary Revealed the Fall and Restoration of Man

* In Adam, humanity sinned, was defiled, and condemned to death.

* In Christ, the same humanity was reconciled to God, cleansed from all defilement, and justified to life [read Romans 5:18].

* Through faith in Christ, sinners experience salvation.

This is the good news of the gospel and the truth of righteousness by faith. All this was revealed in the Sanctuary model given to Moses:

1. The Sanctuary was where God met sinners [read Ex. 25:22; 29:42, 43].

Today He meets us in Christ [read 2 Cor. 5:19].

2. The Sanctuary was where God revealed Himself to sinners [read Ex. 29:46].

Today He reveals Himself to us in Christ [read John 14:7-9].

3. The Sanctuary was where God dwelt with sinners [read Ex. 25:8; 29:45, 46].

Today He dwells with us in Christ [read Matthew 1:23; John 14:23].

4. The Sanctuary was where God spoke to sinners [read Ex. 29:42; Lev. 1:1].

Today He speaks to us in Christ [read Hebrews 1:2; John 8:43, 47].

5. The Sanctuary was where God accepted sinners [read Lev. 1:4].

Today He accepts us in Christ [read Ephesians 1:6].

6. The Sanctuary was where God forgave sinners [read Lev. 4:20, 26, 31, 35].

Today He forgives us in Christ [read Ephesians 1:7].

Conclusion

Too often our emphasis on the sanctuary message is our own subjective experience, whereas its main purpose is to point to the truth as it is in Christ.

Because of the sanctuary message, we have a total picture of the plan of redemption, from beginning to end. Hence, we can be absolutely sure of the future. This, in turn, gives us everlasting hope.

part 2

part 3

part 4

[Gerr]

Yep. The sanctuary doctrine says it ALL.

[John317]

Originally Posted By: John317

"The intercession of Christ in man's behalf in the sanctuary above is as essential to the plan of salvation as was His death upon the cross. By His death He began the work which after His resurrection He ascended to complete in heaven." GC 489.

Gospel Issues in Adventism

by E.H. “Jack” Sequeira

#9 – The Sanctuary Message

(John 2:18-22)

Introduction

One of the major doctrines of the Seventh-day Adventist Church is the sanctuary message. ......

.... My honest belief is that our pioneers who first formulated this doctrine from their study of the Bible, and which was later endorsed by Ellen G. White, were lead by God, in spite of their limitations.

.....God’s purpose through the Sanctuary was not to point to buildings and furniture, even though there is a literal sanctuary in heaven, but to reveal His plan of salvation in Christ. The Sanctuary is God’s master model plan of redemption. Through it, He has revealed the whole plan of salvation from beginning to end —

...... It is His “show and tell.”

..... In the resurrection, Christ raised our humanity cleansed and glorified, which He took to heaven to represent us in His priestly ministry.

He will continue this High Priestly ministry in the heavenly Sanctuary until the Great Controversy is brought to an end, when sin will be eradicated and everlasting righteousness will be ushered in. This, in a nutshell, is the whole purpose of the sanctuary message. It is to give us humans a clear picture of the whole plan of salvation so that our faith in God and our future hope becomes fully established.

......

2. Everything in the Sanctuary Pointed to Christ

.......

Because of the sanctuary message, we have a total picture of the plan of redemption, from beginning to end. Hence, we can be absolutely sure of the future. This, in turn, gives us everlasting hope.......

That's all true. Jack Sequeira left some very important things out, but maybe he includes it in the next part.

This is what I meant by saying that the true gospel is revealed in the sanctuary message. It shows that there is more to the Atonement than Christ's death on the cross. Our salvation also required that Christ be raised from the dead and serve as our High Priest in the Heavenly Sanctuary today.

[phkrause]

I think I have to agree with this also. I also think that the sanctuary message includes the death and resurrection of Jesus. It was played out in the earthly system for us to see, I believe.

pk

[Robert]

Our salvation also required that Christ be raised from the dead and serve as our High Priest in the Heavenly Sanctuary today.

And "in Him" (that's the gospel) we stand complete.

[melvin mccarty]

What about those poor people who lived before Moses and only had to show their faith by the sacrifice of a lamb? Was Jesus "Interceding" for them also?.....mel

[phkrause]

I believe so Mel, don't forget that this sacrificial system was already put in place with Adam & Eve. I'm guessing it eroded as the years went bye, but there were those that continued it. So I say yes to your question.

pk