Should We Have Fundamental Beliefs?

PURPOSE: This paper examines the origin, validity, authority, and use of a statement of fundamental beliefs based on Bible principles.

What is doctrine?
In the Bible, the word doctrine means teaching or instruction. Doctrine is what is publically taught. Therefore, when teaching the Bible, doctrine cannot be avoided. If a person is teaching the Bible, they are teaching doctrine, or teachings. These doctrines fall into two broad categories: behaviors and facts. One category is found here: Prov. 4:2 For I give you good doctrine: do not forsake my law. What is doctrine? Gods law. Whatever He gave us to follow is considered doctrine. This includes the 10 Commandments, but anything He gave as authoritative would count. This instantly turns the 10 Commandments, as well as all of the statutes and judgments, into doctrine. The law focuses on what a person does or does not do. There were laws governing stealing, idolatry, witchcraft, marriage, sacrifices, and more. Therefore, doctrine teaches us what we can and cannot do. The other category is found here: Heb. 6:1,2 Therefore, leaving the discussion of the elementary principles of Christ, let us go on to perfection, not laying again the foundation of repentance from dead works and of faith toward God, of the doctrine of baptisms, of laying on of hands, of resurrection of the dead, and of eternal judgment. Repentance, faith, baptism, laying of hands, and perfection are actions. The last two, however, are statements of belief. Only Jesus acts out the resurrection and the judgment: we simply show up for those events. Therefore, doctrine is not only what we do: it also includes what is true.

What qualities does doctrine have?

Doctrine can be good:

1Tim. 4:6 If you instruct the brethren in these things, you will be a good minister of Jesus Christ, nourished in the words of faith and of the good doctrine which you have carefully followed. Doctrine can also be bad: Col. 2:20-23 Therefore, if you died with Christ from the basic principles of the world, why, as though living in the world, do you subject yourselves to regulations Do not touch, do not taste, do not handle, which all concern things which perish with the usingaccording to the commandments and doctrines of men? These things indeed have an appearance of wisdom in self-imposed religion, false humility, and neglect of the body, but are of no value against the indulgence of the flesh. What is the difference? These passages present two differences: 1.) Words of faith vs. commandments and doctrines of men 2.) Nourished vs. no value against the indulgence of the flesh The first difference is where they come from. Good doctrine comes from God. This makes the Bible our ultimate source of doctrine, as the Bible comes from Him. 2 Timothy 3:15,16 clearly states this. Bad doctrine comes from somewhere else. 1 Timothy 4:1 speaks of doctrines of demons. Men may speak the bad doctrine, but Satan came up with it first. Either way, it does not come from the Bible. The second difference is the principle behind good doctrine: it should make a person stronger. If they follow or believe it, they should be more protected against sin. Bad doctrine does not do this. People may practice teachings or hold views that are of no value against sin. They think they are protected when they are really not. The benefits of commands, such as not stealing, are obvious. But facts can be just as useful as commands. If a person knows the state of the dead, Satan cannot trick them with a dead relative. If a person knows the truth about hellfire, it will save them much mental anguish about the future, both for themselves and for lost loved ones. If a person knows the truth about the judgment, they know that a time will come where sin must be completely erased. This encourages us to live without sin.

Is it Biblical to hold set doctrines?

Job had doctrine: Job 11:4 For you have said, My doctrine is pure, And I am clean in your eyes. Paul had doctrine:

2Tim. 3:10 But you have carefully followed my doctrine, manner of life, purpose, faith, longsuffering, love, perseverance, The apostles had doctrine: Acts 2:42 And they continued steadfastly in the apostles doctrine and fellowship, in the breaking of bread, and in prayers The Bible is clear: individuals held onto doctrine. Their doctrine was connected with who they were. But did they ever make a statement of doctrine? The apostles give us an example: Acts 5:28-32 saying, Did we not strictly command you not to teach in this name? And look, you have filled Jerusalem with your doctrine, and intend to bring this Mans blood on us! But Peter and the other apostles answered and said: We ought to obey God rather than men. The God of our fathers raised up Jesus whom you murdered by hanging on a tree. Him God has exalted to His right hand to be Prince and Savior, to give repentance to Israel and forgiveness of sins. And we are His witnesses to these things, and so also is the Holy Spirit whom God has given to those who obey Him. Here, the apostles succinctly state their belief on salvation, repentance, forgiveness, the Holy Spirit, and obedience. It took the form of a list. It was helpful, as it allowed them to quickly state their beliefs to an impatient, angry council. Another statement of doctrine can be found in Acts 15: Acts 15:28,29 For it seemed good to the Holy Spirit, and to us, to lay upon you no greater burden than these necessary things: that you abstain from things offered to idols, from blood, from things strangled, and from sexual immorality. If you keep yourselves from these, you will do well. Farewell. This statement took the form of an official letter to be delivered to the churches. Since it was from the council of church elders, all churches were expected to follow it. Notice that it says, If you keep yourselves from these, you will do well. Again, doctrine was intended to strengthen us. A third statement of doctrine is found in 1 Corinthians 15: 1Cor. 15:3,4 For I delivered to you first of all that which I also received: that Christ died for our sins according to the Scriptures, and that He was buried, and that He rose again the third day according to the Scriptures, Here, Paul condensed Scriptural beliefs into a statement of doctrine. Like the apostles before the council, it allowed Paul to quickly state fundamental beliefs that they held in common. Therefore, it is not wrong to have a statement of beliefs. A statement of beliefs, such as

the 28 Fundamental Beliefs, greatly simplifies teaching and witnessing. It is not possible to have an hour-long Bible study with every person that you meet to see where they stand doctrinally. A concise statement of beliefs lets others know where you stand in little time. It streamlines fellowship. This principle is built into our name, Seventh-Day Adventist. Our name gives two doctrinal points: we worship on the seventh-day Sabbath, and we wait for the Advent of Christ. The name makes no attempt to explain these doctrines. It only states our position. This is the purpose of the Fundamental Beliefs. They give an explanation of our belief on different points of doctrine. Each Fundamental Belief has scripture references as to why we believe it is true. They are carefully worded, using much scriptural language.

Should Fundamental Beliefs be used as a test of fellowship?

Once again, we go to the Bible for the answer: Rom. 16:17 Now I urge you, brethren, note those who cause divisions and offenses, contrary to the doctrine which you learned, and avoid them. Paul plainly tells the Romans to evaluate a person by their doctrinal beliefs. If they believed false doctrine, and taught it enough to cause division, the Romans were to avoid them. Since fellowship is friendly association, the command to avoid them would disfellowship these false teachers. John repeats this principle: 2John 10,11 If anyone comes to you and does not bring this doctrine, do not receive him into your house nor greet him; for he who greets him shares in his evil deeds. The doctrine here is a fact: Jesus came to earth in the flesh. He came with our nature. John plainly tells this woman to evaluate a person by the doctrine they hold. If they held a different view, they were to have no fellowship with them, almost to the point of rudeness. Again, difference in doctrine prevents fellowship. We can see this principle in action when Jesus healed the blind man, who then witnessed to the Pharisee council: John 9:34 They answered and said to him, You were completely born in sins, and are you teaching us? And they cast him out. Again, doctrine is a teaching. Here, the blind man was trying to teach them that Jesus was from God. Their doctrine was different. The result? The blind man was disfellowshipped. But Jesus doesnt leave the blind man friendless:

John 9:35-38 Jesus heard that they had cast him out; and when He had found him, He said to him, Do you believe in the Son of God? He answered and said, Who is He, Lord, that I may believe in Him? And Jesus said to him, You have both seen Him and it is He who is talking with you. Then he said, Lord, I believe! And he worshiped Him. Jesus question is a doctrinal one. He asks the blind man if he believes on Him as the Son of God. Not only was doctrine used to remove people from the Jewish church, but it was also used to add the formerly blind man to Jesus church. Another example of this can be found in Acts 10, when Peter preaches to the Gentiles for the first time. They hear the beliefs, receive the Holy Spirit, and are baptized into the church.

Who should be disfellowshipped?

Fundamental Beliefs should not be used against people mercilessly: Titus 1:9-11 holding fast the faithful word as he has been taught, that he may be able, by sound doctrine, both to exhort and convict those who contradict. For there are many insubordinate, both idle talkers and deceivers, especially those of the circumcision, whose mouths must be stopped, who subvert whole households, teaching things which they ought not, for the sake of dishonest gain. The minister must first use his doctrinal knowledge, founded in the faithful word, to bring the person back. The insubordinate (read: those who dont listen) are the ones whose mouths must be stopped. These are not ordinary people. They are teachers. They plainly teach beliefs against sound doctrine. They dont listen to correction. Furthermore, church discipline is not a solo act: 1Tim. 5:19 Against an elder receive not an accusation, but before two or three witnesses. Matt. 18:15-17 Moreover if your brother sins against you, go and tell him his fault between you and him alone. If he hears you, you have gained your brother. But if he will not hear, take with you one or two more, that by the mouth of two or three witnesses every word may be established. And if he refuses to hear them, tell it to the church. But if he refuses even to hear the church, let him be to you like a heathen and a tax collector. These restrictions are important: 1.) New converts may not fully understand every point of doctrine. Even long-time members may not fully understand every point of doctrine. If we removed everyone who believed differently without trying to teach truth, we could disfellowship honest Christians.

2.) Insubordinate teachers are not shaky in their beliefs. When we teach, we solidify our views about a subject. By restricting disfellowshipping to the insubordinate, it targets only those who are clearly opposed to sound doctrine. 3.) 1 Corinthians 13:9 tells us, For we know in part. No one person has all knowledge and experience. By combining our parts, we are more likely to make correct decisions.

What beliefs should be fundamental?

The Bible gives some helpful principles on what beliefs should be fundamental: Col. 2:23 These things indeed have an appearance of wisdom in selfimposed religion, false humility, and neglect of the body, but are of no value against the indulgence of the flesh. Fundamental beliefs should be helpful. If our purpose is to reflect Jesus character, beliefs that promote holy living should be the first ones taught. Avoid interesting yet useless ideas. 1Cor. 10:23 All things are lawful for me, but all things are not expedient: all things are lawful for me, but all things edify not. There are many things that are true. But not everything strengthens us equally. Veganism is an example. God gave us the diet, but there are parts of the world where veganism will hurt a person instead of help them. They cant get proper nutrition easily or affordably through a vegan diet. Veganism, then, would make a poor Fundamental Belief. It is lawful, but not always expedient. The flexible Fundamental Belief to take care of our bodies through holy living is much more useful. 2Tim. 2:2 And the things that you have heard from me among many witnesses, commit these to faithful men who will be able to teach others also. A Fundamental Belief should have many witnesses. The more books of the Bible support it, the easier it is to prove. Consider this: there are 66 books in the Bible. If a belief is based on texts from one book, there is a good chance that something in the other 65 speaks against it. But if a belief is based on texts from 20 or 30 books, there are fewer places for an opposing view to hide. This is important since doctrine was and is used as a test of fellowship. The reason is simple: what if the doctrine is wrong? Gods true people would be disfellowshipped for believing truth. Using well-supported beliefs minimizes this risk.

Acts 15:28 For it seemed good to the Holy Spirit, and to us, to lay upon you no greater burden than these necessary things Jesus taught simply. Likewise, Fundamental Beliefs should be simple. Instead of being a great burden, they should be necessary.

What if we are wrong?

This is not a new question. Acts 10 covers this point: Acts 10:28 Then he said to them, You know how unlawful it is for a Jewish man to keep company with or go to one of another nation. But God has shown me that I should not call any man common or unclean. The early church had a false teaching. They did not believe that the Gentiles should be reached. When it was time, God corrected this view. To do so, He used a vision, a righteous Gentile, and the Holy Spirit. He also used the Bible. In Acts 15:13-21, James uses scripture to support this new doctrine. In Romans 15:8-12, Paul cites four different passages of scripture to support it. This shows why Fundamental Beliefs need to be flexible. The scriptures pointing to Gods work to save all nations were there for over 1000 years. But doctrines and commandments of men prevented them from understanding it correctly. The Fundamental Belief needed to come into line with scripture. If you had asked a rabbi why the Gentiles were lost, they would have given scripture to back up their view. However, they didnt use all of it. They missed the parts that James and Paul later quoted. Again, a Fundamental Belief needs many witnesses. Was this new teaching opposed? You bet! Acts 11:2,3 And when Peter came up to Jerusalem, those of the circumcision contended with him, saying, You went in to uncircumcised men and ate with them! Acts 15:2 And certain men which came down from Judaea taught the brethren, and said, Except ye be circumcised after the manner of Moses, ye cannot be saved. When therefore Paul and Barnabas had no small dissension and disputation with them, they determined that Paul and Barnabas, and certain other of them, should go up to Jerusalem unto the apostles and elders about this question. Acts 15:6,7 And the apostles and elders came together for to consider of this matter. And when there had been much disputing If a new doctrine or view on a doctrine comes up, it is our responsibility to look into it using the scriptures. If we react to a new doctrine without investigating it, we may end up

rejecting truth. As Acts 11 and 15 show, this is easier to say than to do.

Summary
There is a vast amount of support for statements of doctrine throughout the New Testament. There is also good support for their use as tests of fellowship. As long as these statements are from the Bible, applied correctly, and subject to Gods leading, Fundamental Beliefs streamline the churchs efforts to teach Jesus Christ to the world.