Christian Doctrines

Final Examination

Submitted by:Allen Lord R. Castor

Submitted to: Jonathan Sagala
Class Schedule: MW 3:00- 4:30
SABBATH
1. Explain the doctrine of Sabbath.
1i
Exodus 20:8-11[1] states the 4th commandment of God in the Ten
Commandments, "Remember the Sabbath day to keep it holy, sixth day shall thou labor
and do all thy works but the seventh day is the Sabbath of the Lord thy God. In it thou
shall not do any work. Nor thy son, nor thy daughter, nor thy manservant, nor thy
maidservant, nor thy cattle, nor thy stranger that is within thy gates. For in six days, the
Lord made the heaven and the earth, the sea and all that in them is and rested on the
seventh day and wherefore the Lord blessed the Sabbath day and hallowed it." This
commandment clearly states that the seventh day or the Sabbath is acknowledged by God
as the sacred day among the days of the Creation. After God created the heavenly bodies
and the earth for six days, he rested on the following day. He blessed it and even
sanctified it, as said in 2Genesis 2:2-3. But Sabbath is not just merely the day itself but it
is the experience of the believers. The Handbook of Theology says that the personal
relationship of a person to God through the religious activities 3ii(p. 576). According to
the 28 Fundamental Beliefs of Seventh Day Adventist, the 'rested' statement shows the
example that God must show to the human beings, the 'blessed' implies that the Sabbath
is a blessed day to His creatures and 'sanctified' statement shows the Sabbath is holy
4iii
(pp. 282-283). According also to 5ivAdventist.org, "the Sabbath protects man's
friendship with God and provides the time essential for the development of that
relationship."
2. The significance of Sabbath as the memorial of Creation.
The significance of Sabbath has to do with what is stated in Genesis 2:2-3, it says,
"And on the seventh day God ended His work which He had made; and He rested on the
seventh day from all His work which He had made. And God blessed the seventh day,
and sanctified it: because that in it he had rested from all His work which God created
and made." Three points are being highlighted in these verses; rested, blessed and
sanctified. . As for the significance that the Handbook of SDA Theology, it was stated
that God gave Sabbath to human beings a blessing 6(pp. 576-577). By the fact that we are
His creature, we are subjected to partake in the Sabbath for it is a memorial that God is
our Creator and we, humans are His beloved creatures. According to the 28 Fundamental
Beliefs of SDA, those who observed Sabbath as memorial of Creation would be doing so
as a grateful acknowledgement that God was their Creator and the rightful Sovereign 7(p.
288). An article claims that "this extra day of the week existed before sin and is for all

1
Exodus 20: 8-11
2
Genesis 2:2-3
3
The Handbook of SDA Theology p.576-567
4
28 Fundamental Beliefs of SDA pp. 282-283
5
Adventist.org ‘How God Manifested His Love?’
6
The Handbook of SDA Theology, pp. 576-577
7
28 Fundamental of SDA Belief, p. 288
people to rest on and remember that God created us and all things and has the power to
do it again."8v (GodSabbathTruth.com, 2018)

3. Are we saved by keeping the Sabbath?

For the record, the Sabbath was one of the 10 commandments that God gave to Moses
at the top of Mount Sinai. It is the fourth and most holy commandment among the ten.
Backed up by 9Genesis 2:2-3 and 10Exodus 20:8, it was said the God made Sabbath, He
even rested in it, blessed it and sanctified it. For us humans, He commanded us to
remember the Sabbath day and keep it holy. For this claim alone, if we humans does not
follow the fourth commandment it would mean deviance to God's commandment to us.
According to the 28 Fundamental Belief of Seventh-day Adventist, all commandments of
Decalogue are vital, and none are to be neglected. The word 'Remember' in the first line
of the fourth commandment shows us the danger of forgetting the Sabbath (11p. 284). The
Handbook of SDA Theology states that as Sabbath is considered as a memorial of the
Creation and our createdness and creatures under the supervision of God, the Sabbath can
also be considered a sign of our redemption12 (p. 580). But according to 13viBorland
(2009) in his article entitled 'Should we keep the Sabbath?’, he stated that ‘Christians are
not obligated to observe the Sabbath, nor are they committing apostasy if they exercise
their Christian liberty not to observe the Sabbath'.
GREAT CONTROVERSY
1. Explain the doctrine of Great Controversy (The beginning, significance and issue)
According to the 1428 Fundamental Beliefs of SDA, the origin of the controversy
started with the pride of Lucifer. Lucifer was called the "son of the morning" and the
anointed cherub resided in the presence of God (p. 114). Because of the adorations and
praises he gets as a cherub, his pride grows bigger and bigger inside him. Lucifer was
discontented with his position as a cherub but instead he want the position of God and
overthrown Him from his throne. The Handbook of SDA Theology stated that the origin
comes from the love of God, which was the result of the free will of God's creatures and
the moral law that tested the free will of His creatures 15(pp. 1067-1068). The issue of the
controversy was God's law, God's character, and the divine mercy and justice (HSDAT,
p. 1071). The Bible shows the how the Great Controversy started and happened, like in
Revelation, this books shows the signs that will happen when the Second Coming of
Christ is near. The 16viibook of Ellen G. White, the Great Controversy (1888), states the
8
Is Sabbath a memorial of Creation or from Egypt? (2018)
9
Genesis 2:2-3
10
Exodus 20: 8
11
28 Fundamental Beliefs of SDA, p. 284
12
The Handbook of SDA Theology, p.580
13
Borland, J. (2009). Should we Keep the Sabbath?
14
28 Fundamental Beliefs of SDA, p. 114
15
The Handbook of SDA Theology, pp. 1067-1068, p. 1071
16
White, E. (1888). The Great Controversy
significance of the Great Controversy: to unfold the scenes of the great controversy
between truth and error; to reveal the wiles of Satan, and the means by which he may be
successfully resisted; to present a satisfactory solution of the great problem of evil,
shedding such a light upon the origin and the final disposition of sin as to make fully
manifest the justice and benevolence of God in all His dealings with His creatures; and to
show the holy, unchanging nature of His law, is the object of this book.
2. Explain the concept of the love of God.
As we all know, God is love, that is as written in 171 John 4:8. This clearly states that
God, Himself reflects the true nature of love. According to the Handbook of SDA
Theology, the definition of God‘s love cannot be derived analogically from human
conceptions or experiences but through the act of direct revelation 18(p. 132). It was also
stated in it the God's love is divine love and can be considered as self-denial for the sake
of others. One great example of direct revelation of God to human was the crucifixion of
Christ at the Calvary. God sacrificed His only Son just for us, human beings, to be
cleansed and be free from sin's death chains 19(28FBSDA, p. 134). "God Is Love." Agape
[ajgavph], the love theme of the Bible, can only be defined by the nature of God. John
affirms that "God is love" ( 1 John 4:8 ). God does not merely love; he is love.
Everything that God does flows from his love. 20viiiAdventist.org cited Ellen G. Whites
book, ‘ How God Manifested His Love?’ that the love is a living principle, a principle
that can be done by action.

3. Why Satan was not immediately punished? Explain!

21
2 Peter 2:4 states that "For if God did not spare angels when they sinned, but sent
them to hell, putting them into gloomy dungeons to be held for judgement." Hence, God
will not punish the rebel angels until the day of judgement has come. Also, according to
the commentary of Ellen G. White, the reason why Satan was not destroyed at the onset
of the Controversy was because God should both the justice and mercy at the same time
22
(p. 1100). God showed love instead because if He destroyed Satan, other existing
creatures and future creature will serve God out of fear and not of love. The gift of free
will was not given just for the creatures to be free but to love and serve God willingly.
Remember, God is all-knowing and He knew that sin will come to existence and that
Lucifer will be the very first mediator of sin 23(28FSDAB, p. 114) . But instead,, He let it
happen because He did not want to be controlling over His subordinates. According to an

17
1 John 4:8
18
The Handbook SDA Theology, p. 132
19
28 Fundamental SDA Beliefs, p. 114
20
Adventist.org (2019) How God Manifested His Love?
https://whiteestate.org/message/Love_Manifested1.asp
21
2 Peter 2:4
22
The Handbook of SDA Theology p. 1100
23
28 Fundamental SDA Beliefs, p. 114
article in 24ixBibleinfo about why God did not destroy Satan, after everyone understands
the deadly nature of sin and the destructive nature of Satan’s philosophy," God can
destroy Satan and sin. He will also have to destroy those who stubbornly resist His grace
and cling to Satan’s alternative. God is just as anxious to resolve the problem of sin and
suffering as we are to have Him do so. But He is waiting until He can do it on a
permanent basis, and until He can both preserve our free will and prevent evil from ever
appearing again." With this, it is clear that God has a perfect plan when He let pride took
over Lucifer.

REFLECTIONS:
1. What have you learned from this class? Explain

Answer: Throughout the semester, I learned a lot even though some are just
clarifications and common knowledge for me. One unforgettable lesson
that I learned was about the origin of Lucifer' s rebellion to God. I knew
that Lucifer was the cause of the downfall of humankind and the
emergence of sin in God's perfect environment. I was also enlightened
by the fact that God knew that Lucifer will be the mediator of sin to
enter God's realm. I learned that it is his gift of free will that he used
upon choosing whether he will rebel against God or be a faithful
creature and subordinate of God.

2. What were some interesting discoveries you made from this class?

Answer: First discovery that I discovered in your class was the fact that our
teacher, Sir Sagala, is a Indonesian national. It just amazes me to have a
foreign teacher. Second discovery, was the expounded explanation of the
common knowledge of being a Christian. I knew ever essential
knowledge that a Christian must learn but I get to understand deeply and
internalize those knowledge into my brain. In this class, I was also able
to discover the true nature and unique personalities of my classmates,
their personal background and stories of life.

3. What is the most important thing that you have learned personally?

Answer: There are many things that I learned during the one semester time period
of this class. Most of those learning have been taught to me by the
lessons that Sir Sagala taught us but the important lessons that I learned
in my life are those lessons that I have learned through the experiences I
got from this class. The first lesson was that I should not be late. During

24
Bibleinfo.com (2019), Why didn't God Destroy Satan? https://www.bibleinfo.com/en/questions/why-
didnt-god-destroy-satan
 my high school and senior high years, I am a constant tardy student,
there’s never been a day that I came late to school. And as I noticed and
obviously, my grades on those subjects that I tend to be attended tardily
are kind of satisfactory or just right. I still carried that attitude until I
came to college. I always came late to class every first session of the
morning and afternoon intervals. Nothing changes until I saw my grades
in this subject. I had low performance due to tardiness and because of
this, I was motivated to be early in every first period of the morning and
afternoon classes. Second important lesson that I learned in this class
was not to procrastinate. I know every student had experienced this but
doing this constantly is not normal. There's this one requirement of this
subject that I was not able to pass on time. I felt bad about it because I
knew that it can greatly affect my grades in this subject. So I promised to
myself that I should not procrastinate so that I can do my job on time
and I will not cram when the deadline is near.

4. What surprises you in this class? Why?

Answer: Actually, to be honest, there are a lot of surprises in this class. First of
was that one student who I thought was a theology student but in real
life, he is a BS Biology student. Another surprise was all about my
discoveries. I did say that I got to know more of my classmates. At that
time, we were all still stranger with each other, except to those who knew
each other because they were friend or classmates before. Since I didn't
know about anything these new classmate of mine, I tend to judge them
with my own eyes. But as time goes by and more interaction was done in
this class with these new faces, I was able to know them better and at the
same time felt so ashamed of myself for judging them before knowing
them deeply. The last surprise that I really considered as a surprise for
me in this class was the fact that I still knew a little about everything a
Christian should learn about God, the Sabbath, the Creation ,the Great
Controversy and more. It seems that everything I heard from this class
about the 28 Fundamental Beliefs are still nee to me. I never thought of
this common knowledge as this complicated. The context are very deep-
rooted and very complex but very understandable and relatable.

5. How will you use what you have learned in the future?

Answer: The experiences and lessons that I learned in this class has been instilled
in my mind because I considered it as essential for my well-being. I may not be
able to apply all of this in my life but at least I tried and make its application in
my life. I said that most of the lessons that I learned in this class are from the
teachings of Sir Sagala but the most important lessons that I learned are from my
experiences from this class. The chances of applying these lessons in my life are
high and eventually these can become a part of me for the rest of my life. Through
 remembering these experiences and the lessons that I learned from it, I can use it
in my life, especially in the future.

Endnotes
i
Bible (KJV), Exodus 20:8-1, Genesis 2:2-3, 1 John 4:8, 2 Peter 2:4, World Bible Publishers.
ii
The Handbook of Seventh-day Adventist Theology (2000), Review and Herald Publishing, Association, p. 576-577, pp.
1067-1068, p. 1071, p. 132, p. 580
iii
28 Fundamental Beliefs of Seventh-day Adventist (2006) Pacific Press Publishing Association, pp. 282-283, p. 284, p.
134, p. 114
iv
Adventist.org (2019), Sabbath Observance,
https//www.adventist.org/information/official/documents/articles/go/-/sabbath-obsevance-1/
v
Is Sabbath a memorial of Creation or from Egypt? (2018), http://www.godssabbathtruth.com/sabbath-memorial.html
vi
Borland, J. (2009). Should we Keep the Sabbath? httpss://www.equip.org/article/should-we-keep-the-sabbath
vii
White, E. (1888). The Great Controversy. Pacific Press Publishing Company, Oakland, California, prefaces h.
viii
Adventist.org (2019) How God Manifested His Love? https://whiteestate.org/message/Love_Manifested1.asp
ix
Bibleinfo.com (2019), Why didn't God Destroy Satan? https://www.bibleinfo.com/en/questions/why-didnt-god-destroy-
satan