Guiding Principals for Examination of Baptismal Candidates

1. Do you accept the Bible as the inspired Word of God, and do you take it as your rule of faith and practice? 2 Timothy 3:16-17; Acts 20:32

2. Do you believe that Jesus is the Eternal Son of God and the Saviour of mankind? Have you accepted Him as your personal Saviour for salvation from sin, which He offers through His grace? Will you invite Him every day to dwell in your heart through the Holy Spirit. John 1:12-13; Galatians 2:20

3. Have you repented of, and confessed ALL known sin to God, believing that He, for Christ’s sake has forgiven you? As far as possible, have you made reconciliation with those whom you have wronged or with those who have wronged you? 1 John 1:9; Matthew 5:23-26; Ezekiel 33:15.

4. Is it your purpose, through the power of the indwelling Christ, to live surrendered to God, doing His will in all things, and keeping all the commandments of God? Romans 12:1; Colossians 3:17; Revelation 12:17; 22:14

5. Will you endeavor to maintain daily communion with God by personal worship in prayer and the study of God’s word? Will you support and/or provide family worship morning and evening in your home? Daniel 6:10; 1 Timothy 2:1; 2 Timothy 2:15

6. Do you recognize your responsibility to share the everlasting gospel with others? Will you commit your life in witness and example, as far as possible, to lead men and women to surrender their lives to Christ? Matthew 28:19; Mark 16:15

7. Do you believe in the imminent return of Jesus Christ, that his coming will be personal, visible, and accompanied by the heavenly angels? Acts 1:9-11; 1 Thessalonians 4:16-17; John 14:1-3

8. Do you accept that man is mortal; and that in death he is in an unconscious state, referred to as sleep? Do you believe that at the Second Coming of Jesus, the faithful of all ages will be raised, caught up, and granted immortality with the living saints to meet the Lord in the air? Daniel 12:2; 1 Thessalonians 4:13-16; 1 Corinthians 15:51-55

9. Do you believe the great message of Christ our Righteousness; that we are justified and sanctified only through His sacrifice and High Priestly ministry for us? Romans 5:1-9; Acts 26:18; Ephesians 5:25-27

10. Recognizing that obedience is the fruit of the Christ-given sanctification, do you believe that all the commandments are a transcript of His character, and the keeping of these commandments, through the power of the indwelling of Christ, is the evidence of salvation in the saints? Revelation 22:14; 14:12; 12:17; Jude 24; 1 Corinthians 10:13

11. Do you believe that the seventh day of the week is God’s holy, sacred, Sabbath day; a day of rest from all secular pursuits and of special worship to God? Do you recognize that God’s Sabbath begins at sundown Friday and that every preparation should be made to begin Sabbath with a welcoming worship, and that it concludes sundown Saturday with a worship of thankfulness? Luke 23:56; Exodus 20:8-11; Isaiah 58:13-14

12. Do you recognize that the Sabbath, as a Memorial of Creation, is representative of the Seal of God, and that Sunday worship is the pagan counterfeit described by the Bible as “The Mark of the Beast”? Exodus 31:13; Ezekiel 20:12, 20; Revelation 13:16; 14:1, 9, 10; Genesis 2:1-3

13. Do you recognize that the papacy is the great Antichrist of the Bible prophecy, that it was the great, persecuting power of the Middle Ages, and will again persecute God’s saints at the end of time? Do you recognize that the papacy attempted to change the Sabbath and has allowed many pagan errors to come into the Christian church? 1 John 4:2-3; Daniel 7:25; Revelation 13:1-8

14. Will you practice the Bible plan for the support of God’s work, by rendering unto Him the tithe, on tenth of all you increase, and the sacrificial offerings according to how the Lord has prospered you?

15. Is it your purpose to obey the instruction to eat and drink to the glory of God by abstaining from all intoxicating liquors, tobacco in all its forms, all unclean meats, narcotics, teas, coffee, cola drinks, and other harmful substances? 1 Corinthians 10:31; 3:16-17; Leviticus 11; Proverbs 23:29-30; Isaiah 66:15, 17

16. Are you committed to follow the Bible principle of modesty and simplicity in dress, refraining from the wearing of makeup, colorful nail adornment that draws attention to oneself, so that your influence might reflect the inner adornment of a life that will attract men and women to Jesus? Will you determine to refrain from any lack of dress or style of dress that is out of keeping with the Bible concepts of modesty? 1 Timothy 2:9-10; 1 Peter 3:3-4; Exodus 33:5-6; Genesis 35:2-4; Deuteronomy 22:5; Isaiah 3:16-24

17. Recognizing the seriousness of the call of Christ upon your life and service, is it your purpose to refrain from all worldly amusements and sinful practices such as: dancing, card-playing, theater attending, novel reading, competitive sports, watching unprofitable television programs, and shunning all other questionable worldly amusements? 1 John 2:15; James 1:27; 4:4

18. Do you believe that in 1844 Christ began the Investigative Judgment in the second apartment of the heavenly sanctuary and that He is now ministering as our High Priest? Do you believe that in the Most Holy Place, Christ makes final atonement for our sins, where they will be blotted out if confessed and forsaken? Daniel 8:14; 7:9-14, 7:25-27; Leviticus 16

19. Do you believe that the closing gospel message of the three angels is now going to the world; and that under the power of the latter rain, those who have been truly sanctified by Jesus will give the loud cry, calling men and women out of Babylon and into God’s remnant church? Revelation 14:6-14; 18:1-4; Joel 2:28; Hosea 10:12

20. Do you recognize that the remnant church has the Spirit of Prophecy, and that in these last days this gift has been especially manifested to the church through the writings of Ellen G. White? Revelation 12:17; 19:10

21. Do you believe in, and have you accepted the ordinances of humility and the Lord’s supper which symbolize the commitment of giving your whole life to Jesus and dying to the old life of sin? Is it your purpose to walk in the footsteps of Jesus? John 13:10-17; 1 Corinthians 11:23-33; 1 John 2:6

22. Do you believe that conversion is the new birth experience, and that unless you are born of water (the baptism of repentance; forgiveness; justification) and the Spirit (the baptism of obedience; continual cleansing; sanctification) you cannot enter into the Kingdom of God? John 3:3-5; 1 Peter 1:22-23

23. Do you believe that in baptism by immersion, and is it your desire to manifest faith and acceptance in the saving grace of our Lord, Jesus Christ by public baptism in the name of the Father, Son, and the Holy Spirit? As evidence of this decision, do you desire to accept the historic beliefs of the Seventh-Day Adventist church and unite with its body of believers? Matthew 3:6-17; 28:18-20; Colossians 2:12; Romans 6:3-5.