I’m sure, like me, you’ve been in plenty of situations in which someone outside of Adventism has asked you what it is that we believe, or what are the peculiar teachings that separate Adventists from other Christians. In the past I’d mention such things as the Sabbath, the Second Coming, the state of the dead, or the sanctuary.
These distinctions are largely true, of course, even while recognizing that there are other Christians who believe some of those particular teachings as well. And I think they’re critically important ideas that need to be emphasized and understood.
During the past few years, however, I’ve come to believe that there’s something that gives Adventist theology an even greater uniqueness, and this conviction is reflected in the way I often answer the question now. I say this: “What makes Seventh-day Adventists unique is that we believe that God is love.”
That’s it!
That’s what makes Adventism “Adventism.”
During the past few years I’ve come to believe that there’s something that gives Adventist theology an even greater uniqueness.
It’s no secret, after all, that Ellen White, in her great Conflict of the Ages series, begins and ends with those three words. They’re the opening words of her book Patriarchs and Prophets, which covers the beginning scenes of the universe’s history, and they’re the closing words of her book The Great Controversy, which describes the beginning scenes of the universe’s eternal future.
Not that Ellen White is the sole arbiter of our theology. We believe Scripture is our primary source of revelation, setting the framework for our convictions and beliefs. But even just as a theologian, leaving aside the question of her prophetic gift, she has historically set our theological trajectory as Adventists. And that trajectory is based upon, points to, and is wrapped up in the love of God.
Of course, this “God is love” idea has many different facets, and, like a diamond, continuously reveals greater insights when examined from various angles. That’s why I talk about such ideas as the Sabbath, Christ’s soon return, and the judgment. But I present these only in the context of God’s love—as different insights that have power only insofar as they’re presented in the context of that love.
I’ll say something like this: “Because God is love and desires our ultimate good, He gives us the Sabbath, granting us permission to take a weekly break for the sake of rest and restoration.” Or I might say something like “Because God is love, He wants to make sure the universe will be eternally safe, and thus goes about a work of judgment to assure us that there will be no ‘unsafe’ people in the new earth—people who claim to follow Jesus with their lips but who haven’t embraced the ways of His love in their lives.”
I could go through a whole list and explain the different articulations, but I trust you get it.
The point is that I believe we need to understand our theological system through the lens of God’s love—maintaining that none of our beliefs make sense or have motivational power apart from that love. This isn’t simply a theological “sleight of hand,” of course—or an attempt to put “lipstick on a pig.” This is what I’m about as an Adventist and what I hope you’ll be about too.
