Fundamental Belief #9: Life, Death, and Resurrection of Christ—In Christ’s life of perfect obedience to God’s will, His suffering, death, and resurrection, God provided the only means of atonement for human sin, so that those who by faith accept this atonement may have eternal life, and the whole creation may better understand the infinite and holy love of the Creator. This perfect atonement vindicates the righteousness of God’s law and the graciousness of His character; for it both condemns our sin and provides for our forgiveness. The death of Christ is substitutionary and expiatory, reconciling and transforming. The resurrection of Christ proclaims God’s triumph over the forces of evil, and for those who accept the atonement assures their final victory over sin and death. It declares the Lordship of Jesus Christ, before whom every knee in heaven and on earth will bow.
This belief statement affirms several critical Christian doctrines: that Jesus Christ is the only means for salvation; that Christ’s death is substitutionary; that Christ’s resurrection provides assurance for believers’ final victory over sin and death; and that ultimately every knee will bow before Christ.
Unfortunately there are both additions and missing elements that keep this Fundamental Belief from being completely biblical. For example, the idea that Christ’s life, death, and resurrection vindicate “the righteousness of God’s law” is a concept based on Ellen White rather than Scripture. Instead, Christ’s public sacrifice “as a propitiation in His blood through faith” demonstrates God’s righteousness and reveals God as both just and the justifier of those who believe (Rom. 3:25-26). His death does not reveal the righteousness of the law. Rather, the law makes us conscious of sin and condemns us (Rom. 7:11-13). Jesus’ death fulfills the curse of the law and redeems us from it (Gal. 3:13).
The idea that “the whole creation may better understand the infinite and holy love of the Creator” is also extra-biblical and is drawn from Ellen White’s great controversy theme. Scripture says that through Christ, God reconciled “all things to Himself, having made peace through the blood of His cross” (Col. 1:20). Never in Scripture do we find any doubt in all creation about God’s infinite and holy love. Instead, Romans 1:20 states that “since the creation of the world His invisible attributes, His eternal power and divine nature, have been clearly seen, being understood through what has been made, so that [those who suppress their knowledge of God by wickedness] are without excuse.” Once again, key elements of Adventist beliefs depend on Ellen White rather than on the Bible alone.
The public statement hides the reality that Adventist doctrine says Jesus completes the atonement during the investigative judgment.
Disturbingly, Fundamental Belief #9 specifically mentions the expiation of sins by Christ, but it is silent about the propitiation (Rom. 3:25, I Jn. 2:2, I Jn. 4:10) accomplished through Christ’s death. As a result, this belief ignores a critical component of the death of Christ in reconciling mankind by taking the wrath of God on Himself. Expiation suggests removing guilt from mankind, but propitiation refers to satisfying God’s righteous requirements for sin and thus turning away God’s anger toward it. Eliminating propitiation results in minimizing the anger of God towards sin.
A final set of observations focusses on the last sentence of the statement. Scripture never states that the resurrection proclaims God’s triumph over evil forces. God’s sovereignty over evil has never been in question as declared in the book of Job and in statements such as Romans 16:20: “The God of peace will soon crush Satan under your feet.” The resurrection broke the curse of death—the curse imposed by God, not by Satan.
Lastly, this statement insists on the phrase “accept this atonement” as the basis for salvation and eternal life. On the surface it is unclear why this phrase was chosen instead of the more Biblically accurate “believe in Christ”. In the book Seventh-day Adventists Believe, p. 125, however, we discover the reason. The commentary on this statement admits the Adventist belief that the atonement was not completed on the cross but that it continues in the heavenly sanctuary where Jesus “applies the benefits of His complete and perfect atoning sacrifice to achieve the reconciliation of humans to God.”
The public statement hides the reality that Adventist doctrine says Jesus completes the atonement during the investigative judgment. Without the investigative judgment, there is no salvation.
Fundamental Belief #9 veils the unbiblical Adventist doctrines of what Jesus’ life, death, and resurrection accomplished. †
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