Adventist baptismal vow

The Seventh-day Adventist baptismal vow is a list of 13 belief statements which a person joining the Seventh-day Adventist Church accepts and given at baptism. In Adventist understanding baptism, which is a public display of faith in Christ, is associated with officially joining the Adventist church, which is a part of the community of believers in Christ. The vow is explained in the church manual. In 2005 an alternate vow consisting of three statements was approved at the General Conference Session, and the baptizing pastor now has a choice of which set to use. They complement the 28 Fundamentals.

An alternative baptismal vow was introduced in 2005. It originated with the South Pacific Division branch of the Biblical Research Committee. It consists of the following three affirmations:

A caution was expressed by Dr. Brian Bull on theological grounds, "who worried that placing the wording 'as expressed in the Statement of Fundamental Beliefs' led to the danger of the church turning the fundamentals into a creed." Other delegates expressed concerns that the alternative vow is not detailed enough, but it was passed because of its optional nature - the choice of which vow to use is at the discretion of the pastor preparing the baptismal candidate.

One of the earliest mention of a public confession is found in 1 Timothy 6:12. "Fight the good fight of faith; take hold of the eternal life to which you were called, and you made the good confession in the presence of many witnesses." The practice of baptismal confession finds its historical roots in the creeds of the Christian Church. The Apostles Creed provides an ancient example of such a creed. In an effort to show the value of various traditions, Tertullian describes the baptismal vow as practiced in his day: "When we are going to enter the water, but a little before, in the presence of the congregation and under the hand of the president, we solemnly profess that we disown the devil, and his pomp, and his angels." Public confession at baptism has been practiced throughout the history of the Christian Church. Infant baptism often included another person vowing for the infant to be faithful to Christ.

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