The Seven(7)

Pillars of the
SDA Faith
Islington SDA
 What are the Seven (7) Pillars of
Adventism?
1.Salvation
2.The Sabbath
3.The State of the Dead
4.Sanctuary
5.Sanctification
6.The Second-Coming
7.Spirit of Prophecy
 Advancing Truth…
Sister White wrote the following to Adventist members for general
consumption in the Review and Herald, March 25, 1890.

“We must not think, ‘Well, we have all the truth, we understand the
main pillars of our faith, and we may rest on this knowledge.’ The
truth is an advancing truth, and we must walk in increasing light.”
 The Bible….Our Firm Foundation
"As a people we are to stand firm on the platform of eternal truth that has withstood
test and trial. We are to hold to the sure pillars of our faith. The principles of truth that
God has revealed to us are our only true foundation. They have made us what we
are. The lapse of time has not lessened their value." Counsels to Writers and Editors,
p 52.

"Men will arise with interpretations of scripture which are to them truth, but which
are not truth. The truth for this time, God has given us as a foundation for our faith. He
Himself has taught us what is truth. One will arise, and still another, with new light
which contradicts the light God has given under the demonstration of His Holy Spirit...
We are not to receive the words of those who come with a message that contradicts
the special points of our faith." Counsels to Writers and Editors, p 32.
BAND
TIME
 FOCUS:

SALVATION AND THE

SABBATH
Salvation 01
“Neither is there salvation in
any other: for there is none
other name under heaven
given among men, whereby
we must be saved.”
Acts 4:12
What is Salvation
to you?
 Preservation or deliverance from
harm, ruin, or loss. (Oxford
Languages)
 Salvation means death to and
freedom from sin and ultimately
a restored relationship with God
through Jesus Christ our
Saviour.(Romans 6)
1. “Once Saved, Always Saved?”

2. “What does the Sabbath have

to do with our salvation?”
 Scripture References
• Romans 8: 29-30

• Hebrews 8:25

• The life of King Saul (1 Sam 10:1)

• The life of Judas(Luke 10:17)

• Matthew 22:14

• 1 Timothy 4:1(Power of choice)

 BAND
ACTIVITY
The
Sabbath 02
 The Seven(7) Pillars of the SDA Faith

Salvation
The Sabbath 1&2
1. “Once Saved, Always Saved?”

2. “What does the Sabbath have

to do with our salvation?”
 Once Saved, Always Saved?
You Are Chosen
What then does it mean to be “God’s elect”? (Titus 1:1). The Greek word for elect,
eklektoi, means “chosen ones” or “picked out.” I once heard a minister explain that
election means that God has cast His vote for you, the devil has voted against you,
and you have the tie-breaking vote. Everyone is called to follow the Lord, but not
all respond. When Jesus told the parable of the wedding feast, He described how
many of the initial guests made excuses and didn’t come. So the king told his
servants to “go into the highways, and as many as you find, invite to the wedding”
(Matthew 22:9). God has not invited a select few to receive the gospel invitation.
He wants as many as possible to enter the kingdom. Jesus ended this story by
explaining, “For many are called, but few are chosen” (verse 14). (AF, Bachelor)
 Once Saved, Always Saved?
God’s elect are those who respond to His call. Those who heed the Lord’s
bidding are the chosen ones, but everyone is given the call. The message is
to go “to every nation, tribe, tongue, and people” (Revelation 14:6), but not
everyone will accept the invitation. Some will even turn to God but then
will turn away. “The Spirit expressly says that in latter times some will
depart from the faith” (1 Timothy 4:1). How can you depart from the faith
unless you were first in the faith? (AF, Bachelor)
The doctrine of predestination, as taught by Calvin, is dangerous because it gives
people a false sense of security. Paul warned, “I declare to you the gospel which I
preached to you, which also you received and in which you stand, by which also
you are saved, if you hold fast that word which I preached to you—unless you
believed in vain” (1 Corinthians 15:1, 2, emphasis supplied). The word “if”
suggests that ongoing faith is a condition for our salvation. If we do not hold fast,
we are believing in vain.

It is unbiblical to teach that we continue to be among God’s chosen when we go off

and do our own thing. (AF, Bachelor)
Ezekiel 20:12 - Moreover also I gave them my sabbaths, to be
a sign between me and them, that they might know that I am
the LORD that sanctify them.

The Sabbath is a golden clasp that unites God and His people.
The Sabbath question is to be the issue in the great final conflict in which all
the world will act a part. Men have honored Satan's principles above the
principles that rule in the heavens. They have accepted the spurious sabbath,
which Satan has exalted as the sign of his authority. But God has set His seal
upon His royal requirement. Each sabbath institution bears the name of its
author, an ineffaceable mark that shows the authority of each. It is our work to
lead the people to understand this. We are to show them that it is of vital
consequence whether they bear the mark of God's kingdom or the mark of the
kingdom of rebellion, for they acknowledge themselves subjects of the
kingdom whose mark they bear. God has called us to uplift the standard of His
downtrodden Sabbath. How important, then, that our example in Sabbath-
keeping should be right.(6T. 352.1)
BAND +Band

TIME Activity-
Undercover
Spy
The State of
the Dead 03
 Why is it important that we know the truth about the
dead?
Satan’s first lie was, “Ye shall not surely die.”
Since then, he has convinced many, even sincere Christians, that when
you die, you aren’t really dead. If Satan can convince you that the dead
are living and are able to communicate with you, he can then begin to
use that belief to deceive you out of your eternal inheritance, just like he
deceived Adam and Eve out of their garden paradise. For instance,
someone might believe that their grandmother is visiting them and
telling them that their pastor is evil, that any religion is acceptable to
God, or whatever else that could turn them from their loving Father, His
truth, and His kingdom.
 Majority of today’s population believe that after we die, we immediately go
either to heaven or to hell based on the lives we live, but the Bible clearly
contrasts such ideas. Sis White says in the book Early Writings:

I saw the rapping delusion-what progress it was making, and that if it

were possible it would deceive the very elect. Satan will have power to
bring before us the appearance of forms purporting to be our relatives
or friends now sleeping in Jesus. It will be made to appear as if these
friends were present; the words that they uttered while here, with which
we were familiar, will be spoken, and the same tone of voice that they
had while living will fall upon the ear. All this is to deceive the saints
and ensnare them into the belief of this delusion. (EW 87.1) MC VC
 Cont’d
I saw that the saints must get a thorough understanding of present truth, which they
will be obliged to maintain from the Scriptures. They must understand the state of the
dead; for the spirits of devils will yet appear to them, professing to be beloved friends
and relatives, who will declare to them that the Sabbath has been changed, also other
unscriptural doctrines. They will do all in their power to excite sympathy and will work
miracles before them to confirm what they declare. The people of God must be
prepared to withstand these spirits with the Bible truth that the dead know not
anything, and that they who appear to them are the spirits of devils. Our minds must
not be taken up with things around us, but must be occupied with the present truth
and a preparation to give a reason of our hope with meekness and fear. We must
seek wisdom from on high that we may stand in this day of error and delusion. (EW
87.2) MC VC
 What is the ‘spirit’ that returns to God at
death?
Answer: The spirit that returns to God at death is the breath of life.
Nowhere in all God’s book does the spirit have any life, wisdom or
feeling after a person dies. It is the ‘breath of life’ and nothing more.

“ For as the body without the spirit is dead, so faith without works is
dead also.” – James 2:26
“All the while my breath is in me, and the spirit of God is in my
nostrils.” – Job 27:3
 What is a soul?
Answer: A soul is a living being. A soul is always a
combination of two things: body plus breath. A soul
cannot exist unless body and breath are combined.
God’s Word teaches that we are souls-not that we have
souls.
“And the Lord God formed man of the dust of the ground,
and breathed into his nostrils the breath of life; and man
became a living soul.” -Gen 2:7
 Do souls die?
Answer: According to God’s Word souls do die!
We are souls and souls die. Man is mortal (Job 4:17). Only God is immortal
(1 Tim 6:15,16). The concept of an undying immortal soul is not found in the
Bible, which teaches that souls are subject to death.

“The soul that sinneth, it shall die.”- Ez 18:20

“And the second angel poured out his vial upon the sea; and it became as
the blood of a dead man: and every living soul died in the sea.”
-Rev 16:3
 Back in Moses’ day, what did God command should be done
to people who taught that the dead were alive?

Answer: “A man also or woman that hath a familiar spirit, or that is a

wizard shall surely be put to death: they shall stone them with
stones: their blood shall be upon them.” – Lev 20:27
God insisted that mediums and others with ‘familiar spirits’(who
claimed to be able to contact the dead) should be stoned to death.
This shows how God regards false teaching that the dead are alive.
 Didn’t the thief on the cross go to paradise with
Christ the day He died?
Answer: No, in fact on Sunday morning Jesus said to Mary, “I have not yet
ascended to my Father”(John 20:17). This shows that Christ did not go to
heaven at death. It’s important to note that the punctuation we see in the
Bible today is not original, but added centuries later by translators.
The comma in Luke 23:43(…verily I say unto thee, To day) would be better
placed after the word ‘today’ rather than before(…..verily I say unto thee
today, shalt thou be with me in paradise) or “Assuredly I say to you today,
you will be with me in paradise.”
Another way to put this verse in context is, ”I’m telling you today…” or, “I
give you the assurance today
ALTERNATIVE VECTORS