Association of Seventh Day Baptists Australia

We are a group of Sabbath-keeping Baptist churches and groups spread throughout Australia. We keep the Sabbath, not out of legalism, but out of a desire to do what God ordained to be good and what Jesus continued to do.

Please contact your local SDB church or fellowship for meeting times and up-to-date information.

We currently run an interactive, virtual Bible study on Sabbath mornings (online or via phone).
All are welcome! Details available from exec@asdba.org.

Welcome to Our Christian Fellowship

Who We Are

Seventh Day Baptist churches are independent groups of believers who share some common beliefs. We are a little different from other Baptist groups in that we worship God on the seventh day of the week according to Scripture (Saturday). We are not legalists, however, and do not believe that worshipping on the Sabbath saves anyone. 

The Bible tells us we cannot be saved by works, but  by grace, which is a gift of God to all who repent and believe the gospel (Eph 2:8-9; Mark 1:15; Acts 2:36-38). Our Sabbath worship is based on love and respect for our Creator God and His commands, following the example of our Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ.

“And on the seventh day God ended His work which He had done, and He rested on the seventh day from all His work which He had done.” (Gen 2:2-3)

“And [Jesus] said to them, ‘The Son of Man is also Lord of the Sabbath.'” (Luke 6:5) 

We are biblically based and do our best to hold to God’s Word and what He has to say. We cherish the fact that the Holy Spirit guides each individual as they grow in their relationship with God. As such, when it comes to many issues, you’ll find quite a variation of belief between SDB churches and even within them. 

While this can result in some interesting and challenging discussions, we have found it to be something that causes us to grow in our individual and collective walks with God, if we follow the two greatest commandments – loving God and loving our neighbour (Matt 22:36-40).

When we pray, praise and worship in truth, we don’t worship empty philosophies that come from the world’s way of thinking (Colossians 2:8). Instead, we focus on the message and the truth of Jesus Christ.

About Us

Seventh Day Baptists (SDB) first emerged in the UK and America in the early-to-mid 16th century. We are a people who have been characterised by our participation in missionary activity, both locally and overseas, educational endeavours and civic responsibility. We have extensive missions around the world (e.g. South America, Asia and Europe). To learn more about this, please visit the SDB World Federation website.

Our churches are mostly governed in a “congregational” manner. Each church arranges its own internal structure, usually a pastor, along with deacons and deaconesses, who have been elected and called by the members of that church. This also means that each church is independent of the other churches, though remaining connected together through our shared beliefs and love of each other.

We Believe

As Seventh Day Baptists, we are known as a covenant-making people. The reason for this is that we have a covenant-making God, who stands by His Word and speaks only the truth (Hebrews 6:18).

The relationship between God and His people is called a “covenant” relationship. The theme “I will be your God and you will be My people” is repeated throughout the Old Testament; a theme which the Lord Jesus continued with in the New Testament. At the Last Supper, Jesus instituted a new and final covenant when he declared, “this is My blood of the new covenant” (Matthew 26:28).

A covenant is an agreement between God and those who have a relationship with him. In the covenant relationship there are responsibilities for both parties. God gives love, provision, protection, forgiveness, etc.

In return, God’s people agree to love, trust and obey him. The covenant is a solemn agreement before God and before the people of God. We also covenant with one another: to love, care, respect, encourage and edify each other throughout our Christian walk and experience. Our Covenant relationship means that a person agrees to obey God and be responsible to  other people in the local church.

With this in mind, the following PDF is an expression of our common belief from our understanding of the Bible.

Sabbath

We worship on the Sabbath in recognition of who God is and how and when he created the heavens and the earth and all things in them according to the Scriptures. We believe that the Sabbath of the Bible, the seventh day of the week (Saturday), is sacred time, a gift of God, instituted at creation.  

“Remember the Sabbath day, to keep it holy. Six days you shall labor and do all your work, but the seventh day is the Sabbath of the LORD your God.

“In it you shall do no work: you, nor your son, nor your daughter, nor your male servant, nor your female servant, nor your cattle, nor your stranger who is within your gates.

“For in six days the LORD made the heavens and the earth, the sea, and all that is in them, and rested the seventh day.

“Therefore the LORD blessed the Sabbath day and hallowed it.” (Exodus 20:8-11)

“And [Paul] reasoned in the synagogue every Sabbath, and persuaded both Jews and Greeks. … And he continued there a year and six months, teaching the word of God among them.” (Acts 18:4, 11)

“So when the Jews went out of the synagogue, the Gentiles begged that these words might be preached to them the next Sabbath. Now when the congregation had broken up, many of the Jews and devout proselytes followed Paul and Barnabas, who, speaking to them, persuaded them to continue in the grace of God. On the next Sabbath almost the whole city came together to hear the word of God.” (Acts 13:42-44) 

Contact

Adelaide
adelaidesdb​@asdba.org
0466 120 509