The great principles of God's law are embodied
in the Ten Commandments and exemplified in the life of Christ. They express
God's love, will, and purposes concerning human conduct and relationships
and are binding upon all people in every age. These precepts are the basis
of God's covenant with His people and the standard in God's judgment. Through
the agency of the Holy Spirit they point out sin and awaken a sense of
need for a Saviour. Salvation is all of grace and not of works, but its
fruitage is obedience to the Commandments. This obedience develops Christian

One of the gifts of the Holy Spirit
is prophecy. This gift is an identifying mark of the remnant church and
was manifested in the ministry of Ellen G. White. As the Lord's messenger,
her writings are a continuing and authoritative source of truth which provide
for the church comfort, guidance, instruction, and correction. They also
make clear that the Bible is the standard by which all teaching and experience
must be tested. (
Joel 2:28, 29;

God bestows upon all members
of His church in every age spiritual gifts which each member is to employ
in loving ministry for the common good of the church and of humanity. Given
by the agency of the Holy Spirit, who apportions to each member as He wills,
the gifts provide all abilities and ministries needed by the church to
fulfill its divinely ordained functions. According to the Scriptures, these
gifts include such ministries as faith, healing, prophecy, proclamation,
teaching, administration, reconciliation, compassion, and self-sacrificing

The Lord's Supper is a participation in
the emblems of the body and blood of Jesus as an expression of faith in
Him, our Lord and Saviour. In this experience of communion Christ is present
to meet and strengthen His people. As we partake, we joyfully proclaim
the Lord's death until He comes again. Preparation for the Supper includes
self-examination, repentance, and confession. The Master ordained the service
of foot washing to signify renewed cleansing, to express a willingness
to serve one another in Christlike humility, and to unite our hearts in

By baptism we confess our faith in the death and
resurrection of Jesus Christ, and testify of our death to sin and of our
purpose to walk in newness of life. Thus we acknowledge Christ as Lord
and Saviour, become His people, and are received as members by His church.
Baptism is a symbol of our union with Christ, the forgiveness of our sins,
and our reception of the Holy Spirit. It is by immersion in water and is
contingent on an affirmation of faith in Jesus and evidence of repentance
of sin. It follows instruction in the Holy Scriptures and acceptance of
their teachings. (

The church is one body with
many members, called from every nation, kindred, tongue, and people. In
Christ we are a new creation; distinctions of race, culture, learning,
and nationality, and differences between high and low, rich and poor, male
and female, must not be divisive among us. We are all equal in Christ,
who by one Spirit has bonded us into one fellowship with Him and with one
another; we are to serve and be served without partiality or reservation.
Through the revelation of Jesus Christ in the Scriptures we share the same