Baptist vs. Seventh-day Adventist
A side-by-side comparison of Baptist and Seventh-day Adventist teaching on 16 questions, from Scripture and salvation to baptism, communion and church government.
Baptist
Baptists arose from English Separatist churches in the early 1600s. They baptize only those who profess faith, govern each congregation independently, and hold to the Bible as the sole authority for belief and practice.
Seventh-day Adventist
The Seventh-day Adventist Church grew out of the Millerite expectation of Christ’s return in the 1840s and was formally organized in 1863. It worships on the seventh day, Saturday, and holds distinctive teaching on the state of the dead and the end times.
At a glance
Where they differ: Can a saved person fall away?; Church government; Death, purgatory and hell; Day of worship.
Varies within one or both: Predestination and free will; Clergy and women in ministry; The Holy Spirit and spiritual gifts.
Where they agree: Authority: Scripture and tradition; Books of the Bible; The Trinity; How a person is saved; Baptism; Communion (the Lord’s Supper); Sacraments or ordinances; Mary and the saints; Style of worship.
Side by side
| Question | Baptist | Seventh-day Adventist |
|---|---|---|
| Authority: Scripture and traditionAgree | The Bible alone is the authority for belief and practice. Many Baptist bodies adopt confessions, but none is binding on a local church. | The Bible alone is the standard for doctrine. Adventists also honor the writings of Ellen G. White as a prophetic gift, but hold them to be subject to Scripture. |
| Books of the BibleAgree | 66 books. | 66 books. |
| The TrinityAgree | One God in three persons. Baptists rarely use creeds in worship, but their confessions affirm the Trinity. | One God in three co-eternal persons. Some early Adventists were not Trinitarian, but the church has affirmed the doctrine since the 20th century. |
| How a person is savedAgree | Saved by grace through personal faith in Christ, usually described as a conversion experience. Baptism follows salvation and does not cause it. | Saved by grace through faith in Christ. Adventists teach that obedience, including keeping the Ten Commandments, is the fruit of salvation and not its cause. |
| Can a saved person fall away?Differ | Most Baptists, notably Southern Baptists, teach eternal security, often summarized as “once saved, always saved.” Some General Baptists disagree and hold that faith can be abandoned. | Yes. Salvation can be lost by rejecting God, but no one is lost who continues to trust in Christ. |
| Predestination and free willVaries | Divided. Particular Baptists are Calvinist and hold to election, and General Baptists hold that Christ died for all and that election is based on God’s foreknowledge of who would believe. Southern Baptists include both. | Arminian in outlook. God desires all to be saved, and each person chooses whether to respond. |
| BaptismAgree | Only those who have professed faith are baptized, and by full immersion. It is an ordinance that pictures death and resurrection with Christ and does not save. | Baptism by immersion, given after instruction and a public profession of faith. It marks membership in the church. |
| Communion (the Lord’s Supper)Agree | An ordinance in remembrance of Christ’s death, observed periodically. The bread and cup are symbols, and many churches use grape juice. | Observed quarterly, in a service that includes foot washing as an act of humility. The bread and grape juice are symbols. |
| Sacraments or ordinancesAgree | Two ordinances, baptism and the Lord’s Supper. Baptists avoid the word “sacrament” because it can imply that grace comes through the act itself. | Baptism and the Lord’s Supper. The church’s own statement treats foot washing as part of the Lord’s Supper service, and some Adventists describe it as a third ordinance. |
| Church governmentDiffer | Each local church governs itself, calling its own pastor and deciding its own doctrine. Churches cooperate voluntarily through associations and conventions. | A representative system of local churches, regional conferences and a General Conference. Delegates make decisions for the world church. |
| Clergy and women in ministryVaries | Varies. The Southern Baptist Convention limits the office of pastor to men, and other Baptist bodies ordain women. | Women serve as pastors and elders in many regions, but ordaining women as pastors has been disputed at the level of the world church. |
| Mary and the saintsAgree | Mary is honored as the mother of Jesus and the saints as examples. Baptists give them little role in worship and do not pray to them. | Mary is honored as Jesus’ mother. Adventists do not pray to saints and teach that the dead are unconscious until the resurrection. |
| Death, purgatory and hellDiffer | Believers go immediately to be with Christ, and unbelievers to eternal punishment. There is no purgatory. | The dead are unconscious until the resurrection (sometimes called “soul sleep”). The wicked are ultimately destroyed rather than tormented forever, which is the doctrine of conditional immortality. |
| Style of worshipAgree | Free-form, built around preaching, congregational singing and prayer. Order is set by each church. | A Sabbath school and a worship service on Saturday. The service is built around preaching, hymns and prayer. |
| The Holy Spirit and spiritual giftsVaries | Varies. Many Baptists are cessationist or cautious about tongues, and others are charismatic. | Spiritual gifts are believed to continue, and the church holds that the gift of prophecy was shown in Ellen G. White. Tongues are understood as real human languages. |
| Day of worshipDiffer | Sunday. | Saturday, the seventh day. Adventists keep the biblical Sabbath from Friday sunset to Saturday sunset and consider it a lasting commandment. |
| Best known for | Believer’s baptism, local church independence, religious liberty and a strong emphasis on missions and evangelism. | Saturday Sabbath, a health message that includes vegetarian eating, a large system of schools and hospitals, and the expectation of Christ’s soon return. |
“Agree” means the two traditions take the same broad position, although the wording above may still note finer differences. “Varies” means at least one of the two is itself divided on the question, so no single position can be given. These summaries describe typical teaching, and individual churches may vary. For an authoritative statement, consult each denomination’s own confessions.
Learn more on this site
- What Does the Bible Say About Salvation?
- Free Will, Predestination, and Divine Sovereignty
- What Does the Bible Say About Heaven?
- What Does the Bible Say About Hell?
- What Does the Bible Say About Judgment Day?
- Sabbath
- The Inspiration and Inerrancy of Scripture
- The Reliability of Scripture
- The Canon
- Textual Variants and "Lost Books" (Gnostic Gospels, Apocrypha)
- The Trinity
- The Deity of Christ
- Grace
- Justification
- Baptism
- Catholic Church
- Eastern Orthodox Church
- What Does the Bible Say About Worship?
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