Belief 16:God
bestows upon all members of His church in every age spiritual gifts
which each member is to employ in loving ministry for the common
good of the church and of humanity. Given by the agency of
the Holy Spirit, who apportions to each member as He wills, the
gifts provide all abilities and ministries needed by the church
to fulfill its divinely ordained functions. According to the
Scriptures, these gifts includes such ministries as faith, healing,
prophecy, proclamation, teaching, administration, reconciliation,
compassion, and self-sacrificing service and charity for the help
and encouragement of the people. Some members are called of
God and endowed by the Spirit for functions recognized by the church
in pastoral, evangelical, apostolic, and teaching ministries particularly
needed to equip the members for service, to build up the church
to spiritual maturity, and to foster unity of the faith and knowledge
of God. When members employ these spiritual gifts as faithful
stewards of God's varied grace, the church is protected from the
destructive influence of false doctrine, grows with a growth that
is from God, and is built up in faith and love.
Belief 17:One
of the gifts of the Holy Spirit is prophecy. This gift is
an identifying mark of the remnant church and was manifested in
the ministry of Ellen G. White. As the Lord's messenger, her
writings are a continuing and authoritative source of truth which
provide for the church comfort, guidance, instruction, and correction.
They also make clear that the Bible is the standard by which all
teaching and experience must be tested.
Belief 18:The
great principles of God's law are embodied in the Ten Commandments
and exemplified in the life of Christ. They express God's
love, will, and purposes concerning human conduct and relationships
and are binding upon all people in every age. These precepts
are the basis of God's covenant with His people and the standard
of God's judgment. Through the agency of the Holy Spirit they
point out sin and awaken the sense of need for a Savior. Salvation
is all of grace and not of works, but its fruitage is obedience
to the Commandments. This obedience develops Christian character
and results in a sense of well-being. It is an evidence of
our love for the Lord and our concern for our fellow men.
The obedience of faith demonstrates the power of Christ to transforms
lives, and therefore strengthens Christian witness.
Belief 19:The
beneficent Creator, after the six days of Creation, rested on the
seventh day and instituted the Sabbath for all people as a memorial
of Creation. The fourth Commandment of God's unchangeable
law requires this observance of the seventh-day Sabbath as the day
of rest, worship, and ministry in harmony with the teaching and
practice of Jesus, the Lord of the Sabbath. 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 evening to evening, sunset to sunset, is
a celebration of God's creative and redemptive acts.
Belief 20:We
are God's stewards, entrusted by Him with time and opportunities,
abilities and possessions, and the blessings of the earth and its
resources. We are responsible to Him for their proper use.
We acknowledge God's ownership by faithful service to Him and our
fellow men, and by returning tithes and giving offerings for the
proclamation of His gospel and the support and growth of His church.
Stewardship is a privilege given to us by God for nurture in love
and the victory over selfishness and covetousness. The steward
rejoices in the blessings that come to others as a result of his
faithfulness.
Belief 21:We
are called to be a Godly people who think, feel, and act in harmony
with the principles of heaven. For the Spirit to recreate
in us the character of our Lord we involve ourselves only in those
things which will produce Christ-like purity, health, and joy in
our lives. This means that our amusement and entertainment
should meet the highest standards of Christian taste and beauty.
While recognizing cultural differences, our dress is to be simple,
modest, and neat, befitting those who true beauty does not consist
of outward adornment but in the imperishable ornament of a gentle
and quiet spirit. It also means that because our bodies are
the temples of the Holy Spirit, we are to care for them intelligently.
Along with adequate exercise and rest, we are to adopt the most
healthful diet possible and abstain from the unclean foods identified
in the Scriptures. Since alcoholic beverages, tobacco, and
the irresponsible use of drugs and narcotics are harmful to our
bodies, we are to abstain from them as well. Instead, we are
to engage in whatever brings our thoughts and bodies into the discipline
of Christ, who desires our wholesomeness, joy, and goodness.
