Podcast 16 - Lord I Believe...Help Thou Mine Unbelief

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Sermon by Sherman Haywood Cox II. Lord I Believe, Help Thou Mine Unbelief.

Podcast 15 - God Has Done Something For You...Live Like It

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Sermon by Sherman Haywood Cox II.

Sabbath Permission to Stop

[caption id="attachment_2679" align="alignleft" width="300" caption="Photo by Vanderven"][/caption]When I was buying my house, I was speaking to our Realtor. It was a Friday and we were not gonna be able to finish our work. She told me that we could finish the next day, I told her we will not be able to finish the business on the next day, because it is the Sabbath.

What is the Sabbath?

She looked puzzled and ask me, what is the Sabbath? It sometimes surprises me how many people have not even heard of this amazing resource that God has given to us. I then explained, that it was a day that we lay aside all of our regular business so that we can become closer to God and each other. Doing this business would detract from that purpose, so we cannot do this on the Sabbath.

I Wish I had a Sabbath

Our Realtor then said, we will do it on Sunday morning. She then said, "I sure wish I had a Sabbath." I then told her that the Sabbath is not owned by any group, and that tomorrow or any Sabbath God has given you permission to stop.

Many of us would be just like that women, working and working, never stopping, if it were not for God giving us permission to just set it all aside. I pray that the Sabbath will be the blessing for you that God intended it to be.

The Most Divisive Book in Adventism - Questions on Doctrine

In 1957 a Book was Published that forever changed the Adventist church. That book is entitled Seventh-day Adventists Answer Questions on Doctrine or simply Questions on Doctrine.

Evangelical Leader's Questions

These questions were presented to certain Adventist leaders by leading evangelicals Walter Martin and Donald Grey Barnhouse. As a result of the answers Martin and Barnhouse concluded that Adventists may be deluded and wrong, but they were Christian brothers.

Evangelical Backlash on Martin and Barnhouse

While today that may not seem like a big deal, but at the time Adventists were almost uniformly considered members of a sub-Christian cult. Martin and Barnhouse took much flack from their evangelical brothers and sisters for stating that Adventism was not necessarily cultic.

Backlash inside Adventism

However, the shock-waves were not only felt on the outside, but on the inside of the church as well. M. L. Andreasen took strong exception to some of the views presented in the book. Most notably are the atonement and the human nature of Christ. Andreasen saw the book as a betrayal of fundamental Adventism.

Repercussions still Felt Today

Today, the waves are still felt as various independent ministries push the church to accept Andreasen's position or to go on further down the road inside the evangelical movement. Much of the church does not realize it, but I would argue that this book and these meetings with Barnhouse and Martin have forever changed Seventh-day Adventism.

Conference Materials Online

I would encourage all to read the materials that come out of the Questions on Doctrine conference. Read this post for a link to the original book.

Here is a link to the page that will soon have all the presentations of that meeting. Here is the organizer Dr. Nam's presentation.

In addition, you might be interested in Dr. Herbert Douglass' very helpful summary of what happened in the mid 1950s to give birth to the book. See the very top of the list of documents. I really appreciate and respect Dr. Douglass' work.

In addition, you might be interested in Spectrum's comprehensive treatment of the conference as Richard Rice gave a daily walkthrough. The post are as follows: Day 1, Day 2, Day 3, and Day 4.

In addition you might be interested in Bill Cork's two summaries of the conference. His first is found here, the second here.

Finally, you might be interested in Larry Kirkpatrick's comments on the conference and his presentation found at GreatControversy.Org

T. A. McNealy's War With The Devil

The Southern Tidings is full of the evangelistic exploits that T. A. McNealy has engaged in over the years. While pastoring in Atlanta he made 300 baptisms as his goal and baptized over 280 in a few meetings. He broke through 300 baptisms on a few occasions.

However one story really caught my eye as I was reading these Southern Tidings online. in the 1978 Southern Tidings vol 71 number 12 of Southern Tidings which you can find at this link (Note: You need to download DeJaVu Browser Plugin to read it.)

On Page 5 it reads in part:

It seems evident that the Devil overheard Tom McNealy discussing his summer evangelism goal of 300 souls with Jesus. He therefore set himself to the task of foiling such an ambitious undertaking in the portion of his domain known as Atlanta. The Devil MISCALCULATED.

McNealy could not get one tent large enough so he joined two tents together. In the process of pitching the Big Tent, one of the large pipes fell on the evangelist and completely severed the upper portion of his right thumb. He picked it up and with his aides drove to the hospital as quickly as possible with the hope of replacing it before it died. The doctors tried, but it was too late.

He opend the meeting on schedule with his right arm in a sling and his left arm swinging for Jesus, and came out six weeks later with 270 precious souls baptized. Satan was defeated.

Today, this great man of God is still baptizing over 100 people a year as he continues his war with the Devil

T. A. McNealy - The Preacher Lightning Could Not Kill

In the February 1983 Southern Tidings which you can find at this link. there is an interesting story about Pastor T. A. McNealy. It is summarized below.

In July 1982,dark clouds broke out at in the city where pastor McNealy was preaching. Lightning knocked out the big transformer and flames flew from the transformer. At the same time the microphone that McNealy held was tuned into a lighted torch. Then he fell to the floor as darkness enveloped the area. The place turned into pandemonium.

The Southern Tidings repors:

Nothing Short of a miracle took place on a memorable night in July, 1982, when the dark nimbus clouds broke loose from their moorings, the thunder and lightning had a dancing party, and the elements spoke with the voice of a raging and angry giant. (Page 9)

There were several big booms that could be heard for miles and fire lept from the transformers. One woman's false teeth were knocked out of her mouth.

Satan caused the the elements to knock this mighty man of God down to the floor, but he stood up and the series of meetings continued.

The Devil lost this battle for every night of the meeting from that day on the tent was filled with those who had come to see the Preacher that lightning couldn't kill. More than 300 were baptized in that meeting.

Sabbath's Attack on Busyness

Wayne Muller's book Sabbath: Restoring the Sacred Rhythm of Rest provides a very helpful theological discussion of the Sabbath.

Muller notes that many of us use the standard greeting: "I am so Busy." Many of us use our busyness as a "trophy." We think that busyness is some sort of prize. Our culture prizes "busyness." I know people who have 2 cell phones, a beeper, and numerous email accounts. All testify that they are busy.

What Are We Seeking In Busyness?

What are we seeking in this busyness? Too often we are seeking significance. We are somebody because we are doing something important. And if it is not important at least it is doing something. What are we seeking? We are seeking "more." Muller describes this as:

In our drive for success we are seduced by the promises of more: More money, more recognition, more satisfaction, more love, more information, more influence, more possessions, more security.

What happens in our search for more? We lose the concept of "enough." We lose the value of just being. We lose the ability to just enjoy and celebrate. We lose the knowledge that we cannot do everything. We lose rest. In short we lose Sabbath.

Sabbath and Last Days

Certainly the Devil knows what the Devil is up to when the principle of rest and the Sabbath is attacked. In the last days, God will have a people who will "keep the commandments of God."(Revelation 14:12) That people will of necessity "Remember the Sabbath."(Exodus 20:8) They will remember to rest. They will remember that this world that judges us totally by what we can "do" or what we can "accomplish" is against God's designs. We must never forget that Adam's was created on the 6th day and therefore his first full day was the Sabbath. Adam first rested before Adam begun to "subdue the earth."(Genesis 1:28) In the last days, God wants us to "Remember" that even God rested. On the Seventh-day we come together to celebrate that we all can just get off the treadmill and rest.

Creation and the Sabbath - John 5:17

Samuele Bacchiocchi continues his defense of the creational origin of the Sabbath by examining John 5:17.

In this passage, Jesus is accused of Sabbath breaking by healing a paralyzed man. Jesus answers by saying, "My Father is working is working until now and I am working." Bacchiocchi notes that this has traditionally been interpreted to mean that God has been continually working (creating and preserving the world) since the original creation of the world and thus he is justified in working on the Sabbath.

How Is God Working?

Bacchiocchi notes that this view is problematic for a few reasons. First, God's "working" and the "works of God" in the book of John are "repeatedly and explicitly" identified with Christ's redemptive mission and not with God's creation or preservation. So the works that we are talking about are "works of redemption."

In addition, Bacchiocchi notes that the original term translated as "until now" does not mean "constancy" but "inauguration an culmination" of God's working.

This term "until now" is speaking of a beginning and a end. Thus the term actually alludes to both the original culmination (sabbath) of God's redemptive work for humanity and the final culmination (final Sabbath) of God's redemptive work of humanity.

Jesus' Defense

Thus, Jesus was defending himself by essentially saying, "God started God's work of redemption in the beginning at the Sabbath, God will end God's work of redemption at the final Sabbath. All of the Sabbath's in between are for the redemptive work of humanity. thus I am not guilty of Sabbath breaking, but of keeping the Sabbath more fully."

Thus Jesus tells us how to keep the Sabbath and also alludes to the creation to justify his redemptive mission which gives an endorsement of its Edenic origin.

Eric Calvin Ward - The Four Cs of Adventism

When I refer to "Pastor" without specifically talking about the identity of the pastor, most of the time I am referring to Pastor Eric Calvin Ward. I am not sure why, but the other day I was thinking about the Pastor. I remembered Pastor Ward telling the congregation about a time when he was to be on a radio program. The program went long before Pastor Ward was to come on and Pastor Ward was told that he had only a few minutes to describe the essence of the Seventh-day Adventist faith.

The Essence of Adventism

Pastor Ward always seemed ready for a challenge like this. Ward said that Adventism is essentially about four C's. It is about Jesus Christ. We believe in the Jesus Christ of the Bible. It is about Jesus' Cross. We believe that we are saved by grace provided at the cross. And then he closed by saying we believe in Jesus' Commandments. And finally his coming again. All 10 of them as defined in the Decalogue.

Christ, his Cross, his Commandments, and his coming again. The last time I heard Pastor Ward state the four C's was probably around 1992. Pastor Ward now waits in the grave for the call of the Life Giver, but I shall always remember that short summary of our beliefs. And when we get to heaven, I will tell the Pastor about how much that short summary has helped me.

T. D. Jakes and the Sabbath

A more comprehensive rebuttle to Pastor Jakes can be found at this link.

I have seen some Adventists characterize Bishop T. D. Jakes' sermon as an attack on both Adventism and the Sabbath.I have heard other Adventists who saw the sermon as Jakes promoting the Sabbath in some way. I conclude that it is paradoxically both a notable attempt to find relevance in the Sabbath commandment and an attack specifically on the Seventh-day Sabbath. The title of the sermon is RSVP and can be found at this link.

Jakes Initial look at the Sabbath

Jakes quotes an Old Testament passage that states that we are to “bear no burden on the Sabbath day.” Jakes, in an insightful move, applies this to our own contemporary context. Specifically, the Sabbath is about freedom. We should let all of our burdens go. Jakes here sees in the Sabbath a symbol of God’s desire to free us of all of our burdens. This helpful idea is pervasive in the sermon. I think that we Seventh Day Sabbatarians aught to look, as Jakes as done, for ways to tie the Sabbath to the basic Gospel and help us gain a glimpse of what God has done and is doing for and in us. Jakes should be commended at attempting to marshal the doctrine of the Sabbath in support of the goal of helping people live Christ-centered lives. However, Jakes undercuts his support of the Sabbath by attacking the same Sabbath.

Sabbath is Saturday

I do appreciate that Jakes correctly identifies the Sabbath as Saturday. Although he does briefly talk about the New Testament supposedly pointing to the Sabbath as Sunday. Presumably because of the resurrection. He does not provide any substantiation.

Later, Jakes talks about keeping all the days as a Sabbath. However one cannot keep all the days, at least not as a Sabbath. The Sabbath requires a total disengagement from the world and participation in the coming kingdom. You cannot do that on every day of the week. Now Jakes would argue that we can if the “rest” is a “rest” in Jesus for salvation and not a 24 hour time period. We shall return to this later.

Sabbath past and future

Jakes has some gems that are very helpful to Sabbatarians. He looks at the fourth commandment and sees it both as a pointer to the past and the future. The word “remember” refers to a past event and the “keep it holy” refers to a present reality. Here Jakes sees in the Sabbath a past and a present reality. In addition, I would add to Jakes helpful insight that there is a future dimension as well. In any case, Jakes correctly notes that the Sabbath is more than just the 24 hour day where we go to church, however none of this precludes a 24 hour day to celebrate what Jakes has told us is the real meaning of the Sabbath. I would argue that one needs a 24 hour day to fully experience the present reality of God's future unencumbered by daily necessities like work.

The Rest of God

Jakes sees that in the Genesis account that God created everything and then rested. Humanity was simply to enter into that rest for all was done. However when sin entered into the world, it was then that God’s rest was broken. Thus, the commandment is telling us to “remember that sin broke rest.”

It is here that Jakes makes an interesting connection. In the beginning God created and and said it was all good. Then God rested. Then sin entered and broke God’s rest. God gave the Sabbath to the Jews to help them remember that sin broke the rest. Then Jesus came and died on the cross. Jesus once again says, “It is finished” and goes to set on the right hand of God. Now the Sabbath is fulfilled in Jesus’ rest.

Jakes then asks, "Why care about a shadow that simply pointed to the rest of Jesus when you have the reality?"

Then Jakes gives an illustration. Jakes spoke of a shadow being cast at his wedding as the light from the candles hit his body. He then asks, “Why would someone take the shadow when someone could have the man?” Thus, Jakes sees Sabbatarians holding on to the shadow and not the reality which is Jesus Christ.

The Problem

There are a few problems with this argument. First, Jakes assumes that the Sabbath cannot be a symbol of the rest that Jesus gives. Why can’t our keeping of the Sabbath today symbolize our rest in Jesus? Why does he assume that one can only have the shadow (Sabbath) (I do not think that the Sabbath is a shadow, I am just using Jakes' terminology) or Jesus? Can’t one have both the Sabbath and Jesus?

Why does Jakes argue that the Sabbath goes back to creation and yet it is a Jewish ordinance? It is either a creational ordinance or a Jewish one, but it cannot be both. And finally, why does Jakes seem to assume that the celebration of a 24 hour Sabbath is at odds with the belief that the day also points to rest in Jesus?

Finally, I think that his wedding illustration is helpful. How would Jakes’ wife respond if his wife told him to remember the day of their wedding and he either chose to forget it or said that “every day was his anniversary?” The simple fact is, as Jakes stated, the Sabbath is “technically’ Saturday.

Very Helpful exposition of the Sabbath

Jakes then continues his helpful discussion of the Sabbath as a symbol of our rest in Jesus. He argues that we are to fight to enter into the rest of God. We are to rest from our efforts to be saved, rest from our efforts to become children of God. Rest in the fact that we are children of God. The labor is to enter the rest. And then he moves back to the first issue of how we must let go of our baggage that separates us from God and others. Jesus is calling us to enter into the rest. The Sabbath is a symbol of that rest.

Conclusion

I think taking everything into consideration, T. D. Jakes presents a good sermon on the Sabbath. I certainly have issues with his seeking to do away with the Seventh-day Sabbath, but his exposition of the meaning of the Sabbath for modern day Christians can be helpful to all Sabbatarians as we seek to explain the importance of the doctrine. I think that many of us need to do some contemplation of the importance of the principle of Sabbath as Jakes has done here. However, I only wish that Jakes would begin to fully keep the day that God has set aside to contemplate all that Jakes has so eloquently described.

Creation and the Sabbath - Mark 2:27

Dr. Samuele Bacchiocchi's first reason for believing in the validity of Sabbath observance for New Testament Christians is the continuity between the Old and New Testaments. We have discussed this in other posts on this blog.

His second reason is that the Bible alludes, in the New Testament, to the Sabbath as a "creational" ordinance. Those who believe that the Sabbath has been abrogated argue that the Sabbath was created solely for the Jews. In three passages, Bacchiocchi argues that there is no validity to that position. In this post we look at the first of these texts that allude to an edenic origin to the Sabbath.

Sabbath Made for Humanity

The first passage that argues for a creational origin is Mark 2:27. In this passage, Jesus argues against the charge of his breaking the Sabbath by saying that "the Sabbath was made for humanity and not humanity for the Sabbath."

Bacchicchi notes that the Greek word for "made" (ginomai) refers back to the origin of the Sabbath. In addition, the Greek word for humanity (anthropos) demonstrates that the Lord desired that it would have a human value.

Marriage and Sabbath

In Matthew 18:8, Jesus goes back to the beginning for a reference to argue against corruptions to Marriage. This is shown in Jesus saying "from the beginning it was not so." Thus both the Sabbath and Marriage can be traced back to Eden. They were both created for humanity's well being.

Human Well Being Above the Sabbath

Does Jesus' statement that the Sabbath was made for humanity mean that humanity's well being is above the Sabbath? Bacchiocchi notes that this question is not a good one because the Sabbath itself was made for the good of humanity. If the Sabbath is turned into a problem then it is not the Sabbath per-se' but something else that has turned it into a hardship or burden.

Bacchioccchi rightly notes: "The welfare of man is not restricted but guaranteed by the proper observance of the Sabbath" (pg 43). Instead of seeking to do away with the Sabbath because it has supposedly become a liability to Christians, perhaps we should do away with faulty ways of keeping the Sabbath that may be a hardship.

Is Contemporary Music the Missing Key to Reaching Youth?

One of the things that people often do to "reach the youth" is drop the hymns and move to a contemporary service. Some even think that an approach devoid of doctrinal bite and yet heavy on hype will pack a church. This article discusses why contemporary music is not the silver bullet that many think it is.

Sabbath is for Healing

Ryan Bell of the Hollywood Seventh-day Adventist church looks at how Jesus' example of healing on the Sabbath forces us to be a part of a "Gospel-driven healing ministry." In addition, this sermon by Pastor Bell makes me think about the public policy implications of both Sabbath and healing. You will find this sermon, as well as a few others, at this link.

Law and Sabbath Continuity and Discontinuity in Hebrews

The book of Hebrews demonstrates both continuity and discontinuity between the Old Testament and the New. The fact that the writer of Hebrews wrote the book demonstrates the power that the Old Testament sacrificial system held over many of the believers in the Jesus movement.

Discontinuity

There can be no doubt that the book of Hebrews pictures a break with parts of the Old Testament. Hebrews 7:11 states that there was a need to move away from the levitical priesthood if perfection is to happen in believers. In contrast, Christ had to come once and for all (Hebrews 9:26). In addition, Christ set aside the levitical sacrificial system. (Hebrews 7:18, Hebrews 8:13, Hebrews 10:9). Thus there is no question something was abolished by the death of Christ. However, was the law in general or the Sabbath specifically abolished? Hebrews answers this question with a strong no.

Continuity

Bacchocchi notes that the book of Hebrews does not just talk about discontinuities, but also continuities. There is continuity in the prophet’s words (Hebrews 1:1-2). There is continuity in that the sanctuary system has just changed from the earthly one to a heavenly one. Nevertheless, there is still a sanctuary system working for humanity.

But most relevant to our discussion is that Bacchiocchi notes a continuity in the "Sabbatismos" which bacchioccchi states is:

A term used in a technical way by Plutarch, Justin, Epiphanius, Apostolic Constitutions to designate Sabbath observance---which "remains" (apoleipetia), literally "is left behind for the people of God" (Hebrews 4:9).

Conclusion

There was a break between the Old Testament and the New. Hebrews notes that this break was the sacrificial system. That sacrificial system was replaced by Christ's death on earth and Priestly ministry in the heavenly sanctuary. While the earthly sanctuary system has been done away, the writer of Hebrews states that the Sabbath remains for the people of God. Praise God for God’s gift of the Sabbath. In the future we will discuss Hebrews 4 more deeply.

Old and New Testament - Continuity in Matthew

Dr. Bacchiocchi continues his arguments for the continuity between Judaism and Christianity by looking at some examples of continuity in the book of Matthew.

Christ Life and Teaching

Matthew presents many major events of Christ’s life as a fulfillment of the Old Testament prophecies. In addition, Christ’s teachings are characterized as a continuation of the Old Testament. Bacchiocchi notes that in Matthew 7:12, the Golden rule is the essence of the Law and the Prophets. In addition, Matthew 22:40 states that the two great commandments are the basis of the Law and Prophets.

Fulfillment of the Law

Jesus said that he did not come to abolish the law but to fulfill it (Matthew 5:17-20). What does it mean to fulfill? In context, “fulfill” means to clarify or explain. Note how Jesus explains the law as in Matthew 5:27-28. Jesus states that the law of “Thou shalt not commit adultery” is “Thou shalt not look at a woman in lust.”

Conclusion

Bacchiocchi provides a compelling case that both Matthew and Luke describe a continuity between the Old Testament and the New Testament. This continuity argues against any claims for an abrogation of the Sabbath based on a radical discontinuity.

Luke's Attitude to the Law Part 3 - Early Christian Gatherings

Dr. Bacchiocchi argues that the description of the earliest Christian gatherings indicate a continuity between Judaism and Christianity and not discontinuity. This is one of the strongest arguments for the continuing validity of the Sabbath for Christians.

Synagogue Primary Place of Worship of Early Christian Community

In Acts, Luke (Luke and Acts) describes the synagogue as a place where early Christian worship took place. Luke writes, in Acts 18:24-26, that Apollos preached about Jesus in the synagogue.

When Paul went searching for Christians to imprison them, he went to the synagogues (Acts 9:2; Acts 22:19). Paul continued his habitual Sabbath-keeping after conversion for Luke identifies Paul's habit of Sabbath-keeping as a "custom.”

Jews and Gentiles Wanting to Worship on the Sabbath

At Pisidian Antioch they went to the Synagogue and sat amongst the worshippers (Acts 13:14). The synagogue leaders asked them to speak. This further confirms that Christian believers did not experience a radical separation from their Jewish brothers and sisters.

It is here that Paul and his companions were invited to come back and the "next Sabbath" almost the whole town came back to hear them. We must note that the group that came to hear him was both "Jews and Gentiles." Why didn’t Paul tell those Gentile believers to come hear us tomorrow, which would have been Sunday, if Sunday did have an apostolic origin?

We also see this in Corinth where both Jews and Greeks were convinced of the Gospel of Jesus Christ. And these meetings happened on the Sabbath in the synagogue (Acts 18:4).

Outdoor Sabbath Worship

Even when they were not in the synagogue, Paul and his companions found worshipers. So they went to a place where they thought there would be some Sabbath Prayer Warriors ("where we expected to find a place of prayer"). And they found such a place down by a riverside. When you sing the song, "Gonna Lay down My Burdens, down by the riverside," you are bringing to mind these early Seventh day Sabbath meetings. (Acts 16:13)

Conclusion

The idea that there was a radical break between Judaism and Christianity is not in line with the evidence presented by Luke in the book of Acts. Early Christians were a group of Jews who believed that Jesus was the long-anticipated Messiah. Because of this, they came and worshiped at the synagogue on the Sabbath day.

Luke's Attitude to the Law Part 2 - Gentiles and the Sabbath

Dr. Dr. Bacchiocchi continues presenting the evidence for the continuity of Judaism and Christianity in the Gospel of Luke. This time, he notes the connection between Gentiles and the Sabbath.

Jerusalem Council

Some argue that the Jerusalem Council demonstrates that the Sabbath was never a requirement placed on Gentile believers. Those who hold to this position might say, "Because the Sabbath was not among the requirements that were given to the Gentiles at the Jerusalem Council found in Acts 15, the Sabbath was not a requirement for Gentile Christians."

Gentiles Kept the Sabbath - Historical Perspective

Bacchiocchi argues against the idea that the Sabbath was not a requirement because it is not delineated in the council by first noting that the Bible says that the Gentiles under consideration at the Jerusalem Council were specifically the ones who had been instructed in Jewish faith (Acts 10:2; Acts 11:19-20; Acts 13:43,44; Acts 14:1). If these Gentiles were ignorant of the Old Testament laws then one could argue that the council’s failure to delineate the whole law demonstrates that Gentiles were not to keep the whole law just these four laws. However, because these Gentiles were knowledgeable of the whole law, the council could discuss the issue under consideration, namely, whether Gentiles must be circumcised to be a part of the community.

Philo, the Jewish historian, demonstrates that the Sabbath law in particular was widespread in the ancient world by saying: "There is not a single people to which the custom of Sabbath observance has not spread."

Finally, the Romans kept the Sabbath in Rome as a civil festival before the Christian era. Bacchiocchi argues that the Jews influenced the Romans to adopt the seven-day week and the Romans made Saturday the first and most important day of week. Because of these three arguments, the assumption that the Gentile Christians did not keep the Sabbath because it was not legislated on them in the Jerusalem Council is probably false.

Did Gentiles Have to Keep the Sabbath?

However, the argument remains that the portion of the law that was "required" of the Gentile Believers was the four requirements that were the four ritual laws that the sojourner in Israel was expected to follow (Lev 17-18).

Bacchiocchi reminds us that we must keep in mind the principal issue of the meeting, as noted above. This issue was whether Gentile believers would have to receive circumcision to be members of the Jesus Movement. What we have here is not a full recitation of all the requirements placed on Gentile believers. This council’s decision did not constitute a break from the principle of law. The council’s decision was saying that Gentiles should be accepted into the community of believers as Gentiles and not as Jews. The fact that the council appealed to the Law of Moses (Acts 15:21) in the decision provides further proof that ending the law was not an issue.

Jacob Jarvell agrees and states:

The apostolic decree enjoins Gentiles to keep the law, and they keep that part of the law required for them to live together with Jews. It is not lawful to impose upon Gentiles more than Moses himself demanded. It is false to speak of the Gentiles as free from the law. The church, on the contrary, delivers the law to the Gentiles as Gentiles. Thus, Luke succeeds in showing complete adherence to the law as well as salvation of Gentiles as Gentiles.

Full Inclusion in Community

These Gentiles had the provision of the Law of Moses that applied to the Sojourner applied to them. However, these gentiles were accepted into full fellowship as members (Acts 15:14). Thus, these individuals were to be grafted into the community that holds fast to the covenant (Isaiah 56:5-7).

Moreover, inclusion in the community included Sabbath Keeping which we will see in the We final post in this series that will look at the evidence in the book of Luke of Gentile Sabbath observance.

Luke's Attitude to the Law Part 1

After a discussion of the three views of the Sabbath, In the book, Sabbath in the New Testament, Dr. Bacchiocchi presents his arguments for "continuity" between Judaism and Christianity. Bacchiocchi rightly notes that the strength behind both the "abrogation" view and the "transference" view of the law of God is in the alleged radical discontinuity between Judaism and Christianity. Bacchiocchi argues against those views by appealing to Luke, Matthew, and Hebrews to demonstrate continuity rather than discontinuity.

Believing Jews

The first demonstration of this continuity is in the description of the converting Jews as simply "Jews who believed." This terminology is used in Acts 21:20.

Note that the Bible writer is not describing a totally different group. The writer simply calls these converts Jews who believed that Jesus fulfilled their Messianic expectations. This implies a continuity between the two groups that is borne out in history and scripture.

Respect for the Law

Next, the Biblical record describes these converts as "zealous for the law" (Acts 21:20). In addition, Paul is described as a Pharisee (Acts 23:6) and notes that he observed the law (Acts 25:8; and Acts 28:17). We should also note that Luke calls the Law of moses the "living oracles" (Acts 7:38).

Recognition of Discontinuity

Bacchiocchi acknowledges that there are elements of discontinuity in Luke. For example, Christ is the fulfillment of the Law of Moses, prophets, and psalms (Luke 24:44; Luke 24:27; Luke 4:21).

In addition, Jesus' statement in Luke 16:16 demonstrates some form of discontinuity. However, Bacchiocchi rightly notes that this "discontinuity" is neither an abrogation of the law for Jesus himself said that heaven and earth would pass away before one jot or title of it would became void (Luke 16:17).

Conclusion

The writings of Luke demonstrate both a continuity and a discontinuity between Judaism and Christianity. However, the discontinuity does not nullify the law of God. In future posts we will look further at the elements of continuity between Judaism and Christianity in the Bible as discussed in Bacchiocchi's work.

Bloggin the 28: Domestic Violence and Spirit-Body Unity

The Sabbath Pulpit is proud to be invovled in the Camp Meeting 2.0 series. Here is our submission to the community on Seventh-day Adventist Fundamental Belief #7

Man and woman were made in the image of God with individuality, the power and freedom to think and to do. Though created free beings, each is an indivisible unity of body, mind, and spirit, dependent upon God for life and breath and all else. When our first parents disobeyed God, they denied their dependence upon Him and fell from their high position under God. The image of God in them was marred and they became subject to death. Their descendants share this fallen nature and its consequences. They are born with weaknesses and tendencies to evil. But God in Christ reconciled the world to Himself and by His Spirit restores in penitent mortals the image of their Maker. Created for the glory of God, they are called to love Him and one another, and to care for their environment.

Introduction

Juanita Bynum is shown on the news. We see a prominent, strong, black woman beaten by her husband in public no less. I have known about domestic violence, I knew it was a problem, but before doing this research, I did not know how big of a problem. Approximately 1/3 of American women report that a close partner has physically or sexually abused them during their lives.What is Domestic Violence (Http://www.ndvh.org/dvInfo.html). It is estimated that 503,485 women are stalked by an intimate partner each year in the US.What is Domestic Violence. Family violence costs between 5 billion and 10 billion dollars annually in medical expenses, police and court costs, shelters and foster care, sick leave, absenteeism, an non-productivity.What is Domestic Violence. These numbers particularly become ominous when we take into account that domestic violence is often unreported.Becky Mabry, Domestic Violence Common, but Underreported, Inside Illinois, http://www.news.uiuc.edu/ii/00/1116violence.html; Mabry, Domestic Violence Common, but Underreported. This is certainly an epidemic. Because of the relative silence in this society, it is a quiet epidemic.

What is the Pastor's Counsel?

And what do the preacher's counsel? J. Lee Grady quotes a study of 5700 protestant pastors on issues dealing with domestic violence.J. Lee Grady, 10 Lies the Church Tells Women: How the Bible Has Been Misused to Keep Women in Spiritual Bondage. (Florida: Charisma House, 2000), 173. The first startling statistic was that 71% of pastors who returned the survey never counsel a woman to leave or separate based on domestic violence.Grady, 10 Lies the Church Tells Women, 174. 92% never counsel the woman to get a divorce because of domestic violence.Grady, 10 Lies the Church Tells Women, 174. 26% of pastors told women to go back to an abusive situation and submit.Grady, 10 Lies the Church Tells Women, 174. They said that God would bless the decision. In addition, 25% told the woman that her lack of submission was the cause of the abuse.Grady, 10 Lies the Church Tells Women, 174. These statistics show that too often the pastor is on the side of the abuser against the abused.

I do not have any illusions, while I do not have any research, I would suspect that many Pastors in our own Adventist church are just as guilty as preachers in other churches, but I believe that Adventism has within its theological system a core teaching that can help us attack this travesty. In this presentation, I will look at how an understanding of the Adventist view of humanity can help to confront this climate. This important component of Adventist theology is that the Bible teaches that there is a body and a spirit that we can separate.

Spirit and Body in Christianity

In much of western Christianity, a human being is essentially a spirit that inhabits a body. The spirit is more important than the body so we care more about the spirit than the body. This view seeks to minimize the importance of our physicality. Thus, an abused woman is in a problematic state, but her ultimate goal is to keep her spiritual connection to God intact. There are a couple of problems with this mindset. First, the Bible teaches that humanity is an indivisible unity of body and spirit.For example, see James 2:26 For just as the body without the spirit is dead, so faith without works is also dead. This states that without the spirit, the body is dead and thus you need both to have life. Also Gen 2:7 in the KJV And the LORD God formed man of the dust of the ground, and breathed into his nostrils the breath of life; and man became a living soul. Here humans do not have a soul, but each one is a soul. Another problem is that we cannot psychologically separate body and spiritual needs. As can be noted, physical abuse against women affects them physically, spiritually, and psychologically. What affects our spirit affects our body and vice versa.

Embodiment and Dualism

Perhaps one of the biggest problems with this dualistic understanding is that it means that I am never really my body. But, in contrast to dualism, we promote an embodiment.See James B. Nelson, Embodiment: An Approach to Sexuality and Christian Theology (1978: Augsburg Publishing House, 1978), Chapter 1. This principle recognizes that [t]he body is the means by which I can know objects, persons, and events.Nelson, Embodiment, 20. Nelson goes so far as to say that, If I do not realize the profound sense in which I am a body, if in a false spiritualization of my selfhood I deny my embodiedness, I will also tend to minimize the personal significance of activities which I carry through my body.Nelson, Embodiment, 20. Thus, everything I experience in my body is less important. However to fully recognize my embodiment shows that we are a unity not two independent parts. It also pushes us to respect individuals and their bodyright.For a discussion of bodyright see Gudorf, Body, Sex, and Pleasure, Chapter 6. It also forces us to respect our own bodyright and work against any infringements whether from others of from even our theological tradition. This will allow women to stand up for herself even if one seeks to use the tradition against her. She can say, This is wrong because God made us in God's image and this defiles that image.

Being True to the Best of Our Selves

Body and Spirit being one means that Adventists can not simply worry about the spiritual without worrying about the physical. Our history shows that at our best we have attempted to do just that. At our best we talked about the importance of health and how it affects even our spirituality. At our best we shuttled slaves in underground railroads because God cares about our physicality and you can't separate the physical from the spiritual. At our best, ADRA today continues working to bring clean water to various locations because physicality and spirituality are inseparable.

And today, I hope that we will continue to push this. For at our best we can not look aside while Corporations destroy the environment when what affects our physicality affects our spirituality. We can not look the other way when it is time to decide where the city dump will be located. We cannot go ahead and just eat anything that strikes our fancy for our spirituality affects our physicality. And yes we cannot ignore those who have been abused.

I praise God for the doctrine, Lord help me to be true to it and its implications.

Trouble in the Home - Hagar and Sarah

It is interesting how the lesson speaks about trouble in the home solely from the side of Sarah. Here is Hagar, a slave, whose body was used by Sarah and Abraham for the sole purpose of getting a son. And then, according to the scriptures, Hagar mocked Sarah (Gen 21:9).

Usually when we read these text we emphasize that the problem of disbelief can cause many problems for us. And that is true. This story demonstrates that the wrong decision can cause much strife for many years.

However, we cannot be so quick to put down Hagar and glorify Sarah as the "innocent" party. Both found themselves in a situation where society and the promise of God suggested that having this son would be of the greatest importance. No doubt Hagar had heard the story of the promise from Abraham and Sarah. And here is a slave seeing the possibility of a better life for one of her offspring. Could her child be that one of promise?

Our story reminds us that lack of faith in God can result in humanity taking advantage of others. It can also cause us to bring others into our own scheme that can only end up in pain and heartache for Sarah and Hagar and ultimately Abraham.

The story reminds us...that lack of faith in God...and lack of walking in the way of duty can end up with many hurt people. Even if our reason for going down the path we are on is to "fulfill the promise of God."

Questions on Doctrine PDF Download

The book Seventh-day Adventist's Answer Questions on Doctrine can be downloaded in PDF format this link. You can also look at the same book in HTML format at this link. These are the original 1957 edition of the book.

This book was the outgrowth of the discussions between Donald Barnhouse and Walter Martin and some Adventist officials to determine if Seventh-day Adventists were indeed Christians or were they members of a sub-Christian cult. Here is the wikipedia entry on the book.

Some Adventists at that time, most notably M. L. Andreasen, took exception to the picture of Adventism presented in the book. Ever since then there has been much argument over the book. Some see it as distorting Adventism while others see it as an accurate representation of mainstream Seventh-day Adventist doctrine. Now you can download and read the book for yourself.

Lying to Save Your Skin or Standing up

Genesis 12:11-13 gives the story of Abraham telling a partial truth to protect himself from death. Abraham was scared that the Egyptians would kill him and take his wife from him. We will set aside the acidic belief that Abraham had that he and his tribe alone "feared" God. That discussion alone deserves more time. However we will look at how Abraham did something that the weak have always done to protect themselves from the strong. Engaged in deception.

Howard Thurman speaks of this in his book Jesus and the Disinherited. We often engage in deception because it seems to be the only form of defense that the weak have. But is it the only defense we have? Thurman reminds us, that we always have the option of standing forth and stating the truth. There may be repercussions. In most cases there will be repercussions, but the only hope of a better world is not to hide behind a lie which keeps the status quo as is. Neither is the hope for a better world in the destruction of the more powerful by might. Such only perpetuates the pain that is already in the world and at best creates a new oppressor. No the way to a better world is to confront it and say to it, "This is wrong, Here is the truth, and if you must punish me for standing for the truth, then so be it!"

Such was the mindset of Civil disobedience. Such was the mindset of the Civil Rights Movement. I don't blame those who feel that they must survive, but real change comes from standing up to evil and saying "no!" The Christian church has been called to be a witness to the truth especially in these last days. Will we stand up and be a witness for the truth?

Abraham and Faith -

This weeks Sabbath School lesson provides a look at the father of the faithful and what we can learn from such a look. One thing that we can learn from Sunday's and Monday's lesson is that this father of the faithful wasn't always pictured as exactly our idea of what is faithful in the text.

The Promise to Abraham

Sunday's lesson gives us the promise of God to Abraham found in Genesis 12:2. Abraham would be a great nation. However, the problem was that Abraham didn't have a child. And Abraham was getting up in age. So Abraham came to God and offered to adopt Eliezar to be the son of that promise. (Gen 15:2-3). Here Abraham looked at his circumstances and realized that it was not exactly in line with the promise that God had given to him. Certainly God didn't mean that he would have a son at his age. How often do we look at the promise that God has for our own lives and see that they don't make sense? How often do we begin to seek to find ways to fulfill that promise? I don't really blame Abraham. Abraham simply realized that he best do something now. But God wasn't with that plan. Genesis 15:4-5 has God saying that Abraham would be the natural father through birth.

Taking Advantage of the Weak to Fulfill God's Promise

So Abraham and Sarah once again sought to fulfill this promise. They did it by giving the slave Hagar to Abraham. (Genesis 16:1-3) While supposedly this was a custom of the area, it is still just as despicable as it would be today. That act caused the creation of problems between two sons both who have right to be called the son of Abraham. That act caused problems in the home that would never be resolved. Here both Sarah and Abraham took advantage of their status as "slave masters" over the slave to fulfill the "promise of God." It is easy to be so caught up in attempting to do what God has promised that we don't take time to think about who we hurt? Perhaps the greatest evils in the world have been done in the name of God or for God's glory. When God's promise comes, we cannot take advantage of others to fulfill that promise.

Sarah will be the Mother

Finally, God said "Sarah will be the Mother!" Genesis 17:16, 19. As I read this text, I begin to wonder why God didn't just say that up front? Why did God go so slow? If God, in this narrative, had said totally up front, "Abraham, you and Sarah will have a child and through that child there will be a great nation. If God had done that, Abraham may have done the same thing that he did in this case. Maybe not. But in any case, the story reveals something that is often the case. Sometimes we learn God's will in life. Sometimes we learn God's will by trying and failing. Sometimes it is only after a misstep that God reveals more of God's plan.

At the very least, all of these missteps didn't stand in the way of Abraham still being called the father of the faithful. While gives me hope. Even when I have not done as I should have done. God does not cast us off.

Problems of Some Black Preaching

The problem of some Black preaching that makes it difficult to engage in authentic Adventist preaching is that we often celebrate, according to Rock, "doctrinal neutrality camouflaged in verbal vehemence."

If we are honest with ourselves, we will realize that we have allowed people to prostitute the Black Tradition by simply yelling. We hear preachers copying the sermons from media ministers talking about our "Breakthrough" or our "blessing" while the teachings of our Adventist tradition and our Black tradition lay dormant.

Yelling and telling folks that they need to "worship God with noise" is not the essence of the Black preaching tradition. Less I am misunderstood, Celebration is an important component of Black worship and preaching. We should celebrate the goodness of God and the Gospel, but something is wrong when people are celebrating and have not been given any true reason for celebration.

There are some great Adventist preachers in the Black tradition, but noise without a core justice hermeneutic ain't the beast of the Black tradition. And yelling without any application to the traditions of our own church ain't Adventist preaching.

What is called for from Rock is not simply yelling...It is adherence to the Spirit of the Black Preaching Tradition as well as the Adventist Preaching Tradition. As we continue we will look at what Rock Considers we should do to get to that kind of preaching.

Problems of Some SDA Preaching

Calvin Rock speaks about the necessity for Black Preachers to make use of their cultural experiences in their sermons as well as staying truly "Adventist" in their preaching. Then he notes that there are two problems that can stand in the way of a Black Adventist Preacher from doing this effectively.

Rock notes:

A primary problem with traditional Adventist preaching is its socially conservative interpretation of the Scripture, and that of Black Preaching is its acceptance of raw excitement as the definition of success and the user of arbitrary stimulation as a means of attaining that acclaim.

Socially Conservative Adventist Preaching

The first problem, according to Rock, that makes it difficult to preach both in the Black Tradition as well as in the Adventist Tradition is the tendency of Adventist preaching to be pro-status quo.

He notes that this comes from first a tendency to read the Bible in a "minimalist view of New Testament sociology." Here they see in some of the actions of Jesus (not striking out against Roman oppression) and Paul (sending Omnesimus back to his slave master Philemon).

However Rock quotes Yoder who sees in both cases Paul and Jesus pushing the bounds of the status quo as much as possible. For example, Jesus called Herod "That fox." (Luke 13:32) and Paul told Philemon to receive Omnesimus as a brother. Rock sees Ellen White in this tradition when she told Adventists to disobey the Fugitive Slave Act, because at that time one could push the bounds even further than in the time of Paul and Jesus.

Another Reason for the socially conservative reading is the idea that since there is no hope of overcoming societal evil we should not even try. We simply wait for Jesus to do it all at the Second Coming. I would encourage all to read my own series on that subject "The Second Advent and Passivity").

A final reason why Socially Conservative preaching is considered normative in much Adventist preaching is because they often make a dichotomy between physical and spiritual and thus interpret the Bible's insistence on choosing the spiritual as negating the physical. Because of this the physical needs of humanity are not a part of the work of the church of Christ. Even if you do address them, you address them as individuals and not corporate entities. Often you address them to "open the door to real evangelism."

Some Adventists are challenging this notion by looking at how work for others is inextricably connected with preaching the Gospel. It is a fundamental disconnect to preach the Gospel of peace and say nothing about war. It is fundamentally inconsistent to preach the Gospel of Love and say nothing about the hate that is running rampant in the world. It is a fundamental problem to preach the Second Advent while living as if this present order will go on as is indefinitely.

Certainly All Adventist preaching does not fall into this trap. Also it is true that there are others outside of the Black Tradition that are teaching against this kind of preaching that promotes the status quo, but the African American Preaching Tradition provides a vehicle for a group of preachers to stand up against this and preach the Full gospel rather than a truncated version thereof.

In the next post we will look at what Rock considers problematic about some Black Preaching that makes it difficult to preach Adventism.

Lamb Horned Beast Chronicles

Many in the Adventist Blogosphere are fuming over the Scooter Libby situation. Ryan Bell, Johnny Ramirez, and the Oak Leaves blog are all talking about this situation.

For all the talk about justice and righteousness we have the actions of Satanic agencies. The people who are hardest on crime are the softest on on their own crime. The people who condemn the wickedness of others hide their own under a cloak of presumed righteousness.

Revelation 13 tells the story of a beast. Not a lamb-like one, but a beast-like beast that has two little horns like a lamb. This beast talks like a dragon, but wants you to look at its horns that supposedly speak of innocence. This beast will start a war on a lie and then tell you that the opponent had it coming anyway. This beast will kill thousands of innocent civilians as collateral damage to continue this war started on the basis of that same lie. This beast thinks that 30 months is excessive to leak information that is virtually putting a "hit" on another individual. Yes it is a beast.

However, God has a word. The third angels message. It is here to tell the world that this beast does not have the last word. This beast will be overthrown. Today, that lamb-horned beast continues stamping on all the principles it claims to support in its founding documents, But God has a word! God needs us to tell that Word. Let us tell that word.

Podcast Episode 13 - The Sabbath's Call to the Coming Kingdom

Download it here

The Sabbath is more than just a day we get off from work! Listen to the administrator discuss the implications for our present communal and individual living in this podcast representation of his most popular SabbathPulpit.Com posts on the Sabbath.

An Answer to a Question - Problems with Black SDA Preaching

I know that some folks don't read the comments section of the blog. So I decided to post this in the main section of the Blog. Harold Smith brought a couple of questions to me regarding the Black Adventist Preaching Tradition that I think are very important and thus wish to bring it to the attention of the full audience of this Blog.

Harold Smith's Question

He writes:

Brother Cox, I agree with what your are saying but we must ask what is “ethnic tradition� as it relates to African Americans. We are not a monolithic group. Some blacks have always lived in upscale neighborhoods, some blacks did not think the civil rights movement was prudent, some blacks are lifetime Republicans, some blacks have always listened to classical music, read Shakespeare.

Actually, since nearly all African Americans are also European Americans - should not our European heritage also be a part of this “stamp� that we must put on Adventism?

Currently, I see a lot of Black Adventist preachers who seem to think that making our use of our ethnic tradition means speaking in Ebonics, attempting to replicate prominent black preachers who preach in the moan-and-groan cliche-laden tradition, and even incorporate faux theologies that create false connections to black culture in the Bible.

We must tread carefully. This is a minefield that you are walking on.

The Response

My response is as follows:

Harold,

Thanks for your comments…

Ebonics alone is not Black Preaching

I think you make a few interesting points…First, I would encourage you to look further in my posts…The simple use of Ebonics without concern for the justice concerns of scripture is a caricature of the tradition. As is just what you call “moan and groan.� I would encourage you to continue to read the blog as well as my own blog Soul preaching found at http://www.soulpreaching.com. In them both I decry exactly what you are saying. Also Rock and I both talk about this by saying that it ain’t the style but the substance. Certainly folks caricature Black preaching…as they do Adventist preaching, and all other preaching…but the caricature doesn’t mean that there is something wrong with the real thing…I would invite you to look at this post where I talk about this.

Black Preachers don't ignore European Tradition

In addition, it is true that the European tradition is a part of our cultural heritage as African Americans. In fact the African American tradition is not solely an African one in my opinion, it is a molding of the African and European traditions that happened on American soil. Our very complexions demonstrate that we are taken from many different places…However, traditionally, the European culture is already dwelt upon and promoted. It is often promoted as the “normative� methods without European or white attached to it. I think to not talk about the African American contribution is to deny the universal church an important component of the Christian tradition which is more rich than only a European presentation hidden as normative.

Black Preaching Not Monolith

Your concern about their not being a monolithic African American tradition is true to a certain extent…This is basically the Postmodern attack on essentialisms. There is no monolithic group that is true, I am speaking of the traditional justice concerns of African American preaching when I speak of the African American preaching tradition, I am not speaking of every African American who preaches. There are some African Americans who do not preach in the tradition that I am speaking of. I would say that they are not preaching in this tradition. No doubt some would argue with my definition. Some would say that it leaves out real great black preachers. I would encourage those to create a definition so we can look at it…

Should We be Comfortable in Any Party?

As far as Republican or Democrat…that is beyond what I am trying to say…I do not wish to argue that a Republican CAN’T preach the justice concerns or that Black preachers must be Democrat or Republican, that is not my argument, in some ways I wonder if we as Christian preachers of all ethnicities and cultural traditions should be comfortable in either…but that is another post for another day….

Shakespeare and Great Black Preaching

As far as the Shakespeare, you should note that some of the greatest preachers in the Black tradition from the beginning quoted much from literature…often European. They did pull from poetry often European…they also pulled from classical music. Certainly the propensity to pull from these different places doesn’t negate the traditional push towards the justice concerns of scripture and a freedom in presentation that other ethnicities have not necessarily had. In fact one of the characteristics of Black preaching is to be more open to pull from many traditions…

I do not argue that Black preaching requires listening to classical or not…being Republican or Democrat…or any such thing…Just a dedication to finding what the scripture says to those who have their back against the wall. Certainly the Black Preaching Tradition is not the only one that has done that, but in America it is as a whole done more to keep that style of reading alive than many other traditions.

The Black Adventist Mandate - Unifying Culture and Adventism

After Rock speaks about Black preaching holding on to a prophetic vision on the scriptures, he notes that Adventist preaching is one of reform. He sees it as important for Adventist preaching to hold on to certain unique traits to be worthy of the name Adventist preaching.

Now Rock goes to his fundamental assertion that there are

Pitfalls of claiming Blackness but failing to articulate its justice concerns and professing Adventism but preaching without its prophetic essence. We need to do Black preaching because it resontates with our cultural past and present in ways that maximize the impact of truth. We must do Adventist preaching because that is our unique commission. Anything less is a denial of one's oath, a tragedy for the people and a disappointment to God.

What we Must Do

Here the Black Adventist preacher is put in a position, according to Rock, where he or she MUST find a way to make explicit use of ones ethnic tradition as well as integrate and connect it to the mandate of being an Adventist preacher. Now some would argue that we simply give up our ethnic tradition, but to do so provides great problems in my estimation.

I believe that Rock is right that we must find a way to put our own stamp on Adventism as well as the fundamentals of the Gospel. If we provide that approach then perhaps we can see more of what Adventism has to say to the poor and the downtrodden which is the mandate of the black preacher. If we provide that angle, than perhaps we can emphasize more what are the "liberative aspects" of our message and the Gospel that may not have been emphasized as much in the past. If we can do that, perhaps we can provide a light to the social dimensions of the gospel that American Evangelical Christianity has not always emphasized.

But even if we accept that we must do both, the big question becomes how do we do this? I have written about this some at this link. You also might be interested in some other Black Preacher's approaches to the question in my series on the book Preaching with Power by R. Clifford Jones. We will look at Calvin Rock's suggestion as we continue this series and hopefully we will get to some practical examples as time goes on.

Community, Justice, and the Sabbath

Pastor Ryan Bell makes the following interesting observation:

I am also concerned that the meaning of Sabbath will be limited to merely an internal, personal, and private experience of God's "Shalom" and will fail to translate that into public and outward expressions of God's reign of Peace.

The Sabbath certainly is at the foundation of our own theological enterprise as Adventists, but it is also one that we often do not explore as we should. As Bell notes in the comments section of the post, most of the time when we are discussing the Sabbath we are talking about the day. We are putting the Sabbath up against Sunday. We are defending the 7th day against all other days.

When it comes to actually keeping it, we often end up with a hodgepodge of Biblical and Cultural mandates. On top of it all the Sabbath's main purpose seems to be, according to most of us, a day that we get to take off from work. That is an important feature as I have noted in previous posts on the Sabbath, but it sidesteps a couple of important compontents.

First the Sabbath is a communal celebration. We don't keep it by ourselves. We keep it in a community.

Second the Sabbath eschatological looking forward to the coming kingdom. We participate and even live in that coming Kingdom more fully on the Sabbath.

My taking off from work barely scratches the surface. It is time for Seventh-day Sabbatarians to begin looking more deeply at the Sabbath so that we may teach "The Sabbath More Fully" and not be happy with taking a day off from work and going to church on the right day.

Total Synthesis of Our Culture and Adventist Perspectives

The final model is to synthesize the two perspectives. This is what Benjamin Reaves called, "Finding the liberation components of our message." Here the preacher has in mind concrete human experience and attempts to note how Adventism addresses that. Does the Sabbath have anything to say to the woman who is barely keeping her head above water while being discriminated against at her job?

Howard Thurman asked the question, "What does Christianity have to say to those who's back is up against the wall?" I ask the same question of Adventism. What does it have to say to those at the bottom? It is time to preach a liberation Adventism that is relevant to human experience.

Two Sermons on Incarnation

The other day I heard a sermon on the incarnation by a preacher. The preacher stated that God became human. You better believe that Jesus became human and not believe the errors taught by many people. He attacked Bishop John Spong as well as the Davinci code. He then ended by saying that He will hold on to the real Jesus.

The sermon didn't really address concrete human experience. It simply taught a lecture on how Spong and the book Davinci code is incorrect. But a few years ago I heard a sermon by Henry Wright on the incarnation. I forget the title of the message, but Wright looked at the genealogy of Jesus. Wright noted the problem people you find in that genealogy. Wright noted how understands the pains of a bad family tree. Jesus understands the pain of not having the house that you would want. Jesus understands the pains of growing up poor. Jesus understands, and Jesus is with us in that pain that we find ourselves today.

And I will add, that if we find ourselves up against the wall, we can simply call on Jesus and Jesus knows by experience just how much grace is needed to wait on that paycheck when the rent is due. Jesus knows by experence what it mans to "not have anywher to lay his head."

Synthesis for a Larger View of the Doctrines

Here the doctrine of the Incarnation is looked at through the hermeneutic perspective of the weak and the downtrodden. Can we do the same thing with the Sabbath? Can we do the same thing with the State of the Dead? that is our calling. Preach the Sabbath through the perspective that God has given us. We can't just preach the same sermons as everyone else and only use "ebonics" we must preach a Black infused Adventism.

And what we will see when we do this, is that other cultures will see a relevant word as well, for ultimately we all have a need to hear Adventism address the real world. And it will for ultimately Adventists will preach with a loud voice that message of Revelation 14:6-12, if we preach it right, the world will known and understand how that message affects our daily living.

Slight Integration of Our Culture and Adventism

The next model is what I have called a simplistic integration of the cultural perspective and our Adventism. Here the preacher might preach an authentic Black sermon, and just tack on a phrase or so from Adventism. Adventism is not in the fabric of the sermon, but it is a tack on. One might make reference to the Sabbath when the Sabbath had nothing to do with the sermon. One might talk about "the dead being dead" or the like.

Another way to follow this model is the take an Adventist sermon and try to tack on some "blackness." Sometimes preachers will take a common Adventist sermon and maybe speak it in a "ebonics style." Perhaps one will have an illustration about "you can't go play ball with your hommies on the Sabbath." In essence the sermon is unchanged. There is a slight change in terminology, but in essence Black culture and Adventism are still separate.

Often times when we speak of relevance this is the model that is followed. While making use of "black" English is helpful and valuable at times, this is not really an interaction of the two perspectives. But it does at least attempt to bridge the two worlds. This is, in my opinion, a step in the right direction, but in the next model we will look at the model that I propose.

Separating Our Culture from Adventism Preaching Model

The first model of relating Adventism to the Black experience is to not relate them. This approach would take one of two forms. The preacher would either preach Adventism or preach on issues related to Black experience. In other words the preacher might preach on the relation of the the Sabbath to the Gospel or preach on how the Gospel affects the educational plight of black people.

Some preachers would sometimes preach on issues of relevance to black culture and then other times preach on "Adventist" issues. What it means however is that one's sermons are either Authentically black, or authentically Adventist, but not both, certainly not at the same time.

The problem with such an approach is that it makes Adventist teachings irrelevant for daily living. Whenever the preacher preaches on Adventism the people will not hear about the God who is working things out for their daily living. Instead the people will hear something devoid of human experience.

Too often this is how Adventism is presented and preached. I think that we must put a little Adventism in our Black cultural preaching and put a little Blackness in our Adventist preaching. How do we do that?

We will continue looking at another model for this interaction in the next post of this series.

Is Black Adventist Preaching Needed?

Should one even attempt to integrate a black cultural perspective (or any cultural perspective) with Adventism. One might argue that such an integration is not needed. On this very blog one commenter stated that we should just "Preach the Word."

While I understand the sentiment, we also must "Preach to the People." If you are to be heard or understood one must preach in not only in the vernacular, but even making use of the culture of those who we are preaching to. This is what Jesus did when he used the popular idea of the dead being able to talk to the living in the parable of Lazarus and the Rich man. Paul did the same thing when he spoke to the culture on Mars hill. While we must ever be mindful of what C. E. Bradford wrote in the book Preaching to the Times, that we are to preach TO the times and not merely preach the times, we also must interact with the culture that we find ourselves.

Preaching the Word to the People

To much preaching could be done anywhere. If your preaching does not change at all depending on audience, then the congregation is irrelevant to your preaching. No you must preach to real people. If you do that, then you must take into account the people in your preparation of the sermon.

"Preaching the Word" does not take away your responsibility to show how the "word" is relevant to the cultural perspective of the congregation that you are speaking to.

Great preaching is Encounter

Great preaching is an encounter between Spirit, preacher, and congregation. Even though you may preach the "same sermon" again, you will never really preach the same sermon again if you are open to the leading of the Spirit and interact with the congregation.

So preaching that takes seriously the culture of the Black community is needed, as well as preaching that takes seriously any culture that God has called you to preach to. Thus let us look at how we can relate these two perspectives to preach a relevant and faithful Gospel to God's people in these last days. In the next few days we will look at some models to do that very thing.

Preaching our Message

On page 20 of Charles Bradford's book Preaching to the Times he states:

Seventh-day Adventist preaching should be distinguished by something different. It must bring to the present situation those insights and understandings that are found only in the prophetic portions of the Bible. All true Seventh-day Adventist preaching has Revelation 14:6-12 as its frame of reference...all sermons and doctrines wind up somewhere in the neighborhood of this threefold message.

Again we come to the unique aspect. I have often said, if I go to a Baptist church I expect to hear a Christian sermon, but yes I expect to hear something that lets me know that this is a Baptist church. The same with a pentecostal or methodist or whatever. Also the same with an Adventist church. Here Bradford gets to the core of the Adventist preaching identity. What are we doing? What should we be doing?

Now in preaching our "unique commission" we should not fall into the trap of simply lecturing on the facts of these portions of scripture without making it relevant to the people. If you preach the Sabbath, then the Sabbath must be seen as more than just a day you go to church on or a day you get to take off from work. If we are going to preach the Sanctuary, then it has got to be more than chronology and celestial geography. And if you are going to preach the Second Coming, it has to be more than just a threat of hell to entice you to come to the alter.

Preach Adventism, yes we must. But always find a way to preach Jesus in it. And also find a way to preach Adventism's connection to real life in it. Because in the end, it is better to hear a great sermon that will help to strengthen and empower than hear a lecture on facts that seem by our presentation to be irrelevant to real life.

What is Adventist Preaching? - Unique?

I have come across two interesting quotes in my preparation for future blog posts. First is from Calvin Rock in the article Black SDA Preaching. He states:

Adventist preaching['s]...essence is clearly one of reform--Sabbath reform, health reform, dress reform, education reform, family reform, stewardship reform, etc. Preaching that does not ring with the certainties of Daniel and Revelation; that is not flavored with the symbols of the sanctuary; that does not uphold the law of God; that does not honor the prophetic gift of Ellen White; that does not extol justification by faith is not Adventist preaching. It may be truth, but it is not Present Truth; it may constitute an engaging performance, but it does not constitute the remnant proclamation.

This definitely sounds like a good classic definition of Adventist preaching. But is this a good definition of contemporary Adventist preaching? Is Adventist preaching still flavored with these apsects? What say you?

Adventist Preaching must be Adventist. Like all of God's people, we do have a heaven-assigned job. But how do we do this? How do we preach this message and yet still remain relevant to the lives of our people? That is the question we must ask, for that is what God has called us to do.

Calvin Rock's 3 Questions on Black SDA Preaching

As I begin this series looking at Calvin Rock's seminal article "Black SDA Preaching: Balanced or betwixt and between?" I notice that the article begins with 3 important questions for consideration. These questions reach the heart of Black Preaching within an Adventist context.

1. Is it possible to do genuine Black preaching when we are separated from the Black churches? In other words, must one be in a historically Black denomination to engage in true Black preaching? Related is the question of whether an "Anglo hermeneutic" has taken over our preaching which would be a detriment to Black preaching itself?
   
2. How has the separation of Black Adventists from the historic Black denominations affected our preaching? Has it given us an "Anglo-emphasis?"
   
3. Are we Black preachers with an Adventist doctrine or Adventist preachers with a Black emphasis? Or are we a hybrid "too theologically Anglicized for authentic Black preaching and too authentically ethnic to fit the Adventist prototype?"
   

Why Care about the Black Tradition?

A deeper question also emerges as I look at these questions. That question is should we even care or worry about an African American approach to preaching? Is it valuable in its own right or is it a relic of the past with no relevance for today?

Those are complicated questions. But in the end, Black preaching is valuable because of its emphasis on 3 important things that can enrich all preaching. The first of these is its "practicality." Great Black preaching is not simply about teaching doctrine, but finding practical ways to make that doctrine relevant to daily living. The second important characteristic of Great black preaching is it is "communal." Great Black preaching seeks to build a community of people who can make it through the difficulties of life. The emphasis is on community. The final is it is from the vantage point of the "least of these." Black preaching looks at the Bible and the preaching moment as a means of celebrating the perspective of the least of these. This is a valuable hermeneutic in that a good portion of the Bible's witness comes from the perspective of the least of these. Please see this link for an article I wrote on the Black Preaching Tradition.

Black Adventist or Adventist who happens to be Black?

So yes I think that the Black preaching tradition is important, even to Adventists. But this goes back to the question of whether we are Black Adventist preachers or Adventist preachers who happen to be Black. I don't like the dichotomy between these two descriptions. But I will begin to answer this question this way. I refused to separate the two. I must preach as an African American who has engaged in the benefits and liabilities of being a part of the community. But I am Adventist. Both have demands on me as a preacher. I must look for what God is doing for the underdog when I look at the text. My African American perspective forces me to do that. But I also must look for the "Great controversy" theme and the connection to the consummation of all things at the Second Advent, because I am Adventist.

Unify the Two?

I must seek to "celebrate the good news" and attempt to have the people "experience the word" because so many in my African American tradition have done that, but I also must preach reform and the responsibilities of the Gospel because I am Adventist. In short, I must do both, and hopefully reflection on this article will help me retain this "dual-consciousness."

Please stay around for our reflections on this important document.

Preaching Black and Adventist?

While it is almost 7 years old now, it is still the fundamental article on Black Adventist Preaching. Calvin Rock's Article Black SDA Preaching can be found at this link.

Can we do both or must we choose one or the other? In the coming weeks we will have a discussion of this interesting and, in my opinion, important topic.

Ecology and the Sabbath

In a very thought provoking post the Adventist Environmental Advocacy blog discusses an Adventist theology of ecology based in the Sabbath. We often hear about making the doctrines "practical" and often by that we mean making it relevant to daily life. Here is a post that is "practical" in that it takes the Sabbath and applies it to our communal responsibility and hopefully changes behavior.

This post definitely places the Sabbath into the conversation about ecology and I would recommend all to read it. Here are a few quotes from the post:

If we were to stop there and consider how Christians, and more specifically Seventh-day Adventist Christians might approach ecology, the first answer would have to do with the charge to care for what God creates.

(...Ecological stewardship, on the other hand, is something that we don't often hear from the pulpit. Perhaps a good starting point would be the simple recognition that it is up to us - it has always been up to us - to tend to that which is God's.)

Creation Care is not only part of our commemoration of God's creative work each Sabbath, it is not only fulfillment of God's charge to care for what He has made, it is also a way in which we continue to look for and to pay attention to the many, many ways in which God reveals Himself to us.

State of the Dead and Holistic Ministry

One of the fundamental components of the Black church is that it has been called a "All Comprehending Institution." By that, it is one that deals with the whole being. The Pastor in the Black Church had to do more than his or her white counterparts. The pastor might dabble into educational endeavors of people, health, and politics. The pastor was to help the whole person and not just the spiritual endeavors.

In other words, you cannot separate someone's physical, emotional, and other needs from ones spiritual ones. Sometimes we say that we must engage in works of social betterment because it opens the door to evangelism. However, I think we must engage in these acts because our very doctrine, the belief that you cannot separate the physical from the spiritual, requires us to engage the whole person in ministry.

We cannot place these physical concerns above spiritual ones, but neither can we do the opposite if we are to minister to the whole person. So the teaching of the state of the dead not only provides a theological basis to attack any kind of dualism. But also because we cannot separate mind from spirit from body then we must recognize that ministry to a human being must include ministry to the mind, body, and spirit. This means that we cannot fall into the trap of eliminating physical concerns and only dealing with physical ones. This doctrine can serve to promote social action because it makes social ills just as important as issues of individual piety.

Benefits of Biblical Wholeness - Preaching against Dicotomy

Seventh-day Adventists believe, rightly in my understanding, that a human beings is an indivisible union of body, mind, and spirit. When you remove one then you no longer have a "living soul." Often when I have heard this doctrine preached or taught it is within the context of protection from demonic influence. In other words, "Do not listen to dead folks becuase they are imposters. So the doctrine is totally and solely about protecting us from being fooled by those who say they are who they are not.

However, the doctrine of Biblical wholeness has many more implications than that. Thanks to a Feminist Theology course that I was taking I was introduced to many of the evils that the dichotomy between body and mind/spirit have created. The western world has argued that the body and soul can be separated and that the soul is much more important. Then the western world has implied that there are some who tend towards the mind while others tend toward the body. At any rate, the Biblical doctrine of wholeness strikes those ideas at their root. There is no dichotomy, that which affects your body also affects your mind.

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In the interim we have lost our Podcast and a few other features of the website. I hope to have it all back up in a week or two...

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