Audio 25 - Foolish or Power

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Sermon by Sherman Haywood Cox II. Will The Gospel be Power or Foolishness in our lives?

Audio 24 - Remember Who You Are

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Sermon by Sherman Haywood Cox II. You can find the text at of the sermon at this link. Why is it important to remember that we are both Seventh-day Adventists and Christians?

Sabbath, Remembering What?

Wayne Muller states on page 6 in the book Sabbath: Restoring the Sacred Rhythm of Rest:

Sabbath time can be a revolutionary challenge to the violence of overwork, mindless accumulation, and the endless multiplication of desires, responsibilities, and accomplishments. Sabbath is a way of being in time where we remember who we are, remember what we know, and taste the gift of spirit and eternity.

Remember God is the Ultimate Giver

Remember that it is God that is the ultimate giver. While some are trying to acquire just for the sake of acquiring, we cannot ever fall into that trap when we remember the Sabbath day as we should. During the first creation week, it was God that created all without the aid of humanity.

Remember You Must Stop

Remember that you must stop. We cannot just continue to do violence, using Muller's term, to our own being (Body and Mind) by continuing to work without stopping. Certainly we all need permission to stop, yea even a command, because if we do not stop by choice, soon our body will stop on us.

Remember God as Creator

Muller didn't write on this in the chapter, but one must recognize that in these last days, God evidently noted a need to remind the world that God is the creator. Revelation 14:7 declares that we should "worship Him who made."

Perhaps God's wants to remind the world that even though our economic systems are built on using humanity as cogs in its wheel; in God's system humanity is not to be judged by what you accumulate. In these last days a message is going forth to remind the world that God is the creator, the Seventh-day is God's Sabbath and we are to live in light of these facts.

Milk or Meat

Hebrews 5:11-14 complains about some Christians who just will not grow. These Christians should be "teachers" but instead of "teachers" they are still babies. The writer can't tell the people certain things that he should be able to teach them because they are "dull of hearing." They want to continue ingesting the food of babies.

Baby food is good for babies, but when you won't get past it, it is problematic. As I think about this, I begin to wonder, how many of us are not growing in grace? How many of us are still eating baby food when God wants us to eat grown folks food.

And how many "milk" preachers are there in comparison to the "strong meat" preachers. Are the popular preachers "milk" preachers or "strong meat" preachers? Was Elijah a "milk preacher?"

Will we have milk or meat? Will we grow or not? In the final analysis, it is up to you...

Audio 20 - Walk in the Spirit

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Sermon by Sherman Haywood Cox II. Walk in the Spirit so that you will not fulfill the lusts of the flesh.

Why You Posting Jones and Waggoner?

Someone contacted me through email asking, "Why do you publish information on A. T. Jones and E. J. Waggoner?" The short answer is, because I love the way that they seek to teach both Gospel and Adventism at the same time. However a little more indepth answer appears below.

Importance of 1888

To answer this question, we must first recognize that many people from the different theological perspectives of Adventism see in their message, or the history of that time, a God given message. Some see in the 1888 messengers and attempt from God to shake the church out of the icy grip of legalism. Others see in it a call to bring Adventism more in line with the gospel that the other churches have taught. Others see in the 1888 message an important call to move to Christianity first before the distinctive teachings of Adventism.

As I think about the 1888 messengers, I remember a few discussions with friends. First there is the friend who said that it was only after reading these messengers that he saw how Adventist doctrines can help him in his understanding of the Gospel. Before Jones and Waggoner he saw the Sabbath as important, but not connected to the Gospel as he does now. He sees in the doctrine of the nature of humanity (state of the dead) the reality that Christ, in his humanity, decided to die a death that would mean eternal death. Some articulate this by saying that "Christ went to hell." In the Sanctuary, my friend now sees one who is looking out and working for humanity right now with a purpose that includes the cleansing of humanity.

Another friend told me that 1888 reminds him that in our "Adventist-ness" we can never lose our "Christian-ness. We are a part of that global body called Christianity and none of our doctrines can separate us from that body.

Why I Like The Messeges

Personally, I think that 1888 allows Adventism to make sense in the context of the Gospel. It emphasizes the Gospel, but it emphasizes that we look at and understand it through our Adventism. Certainly A. T. Jones and E. J. Waggoner are not infallible. I agree with Ellen White, God Alone is infallible. But in these writings, I see two individuals, striving to see and learn more of Jesus in our characteristic doctrines, not in spite of them. Waggoner doesn't teach the sabbath just for the sake of the sabbath. Jones doesn't teach the sanctuary just for the sake of the sanctuary. Everything is taught to gain a greater understanding of Jesus Christ and his mission.

My first attempts at looking at theology came from reading Jones and Waggoner. I will always love these three for that reason. Certainly, I don't agree with everything, but 1888 reminds me that our doctrines and teachings are not an end to themselves, but are there to help us understand Christ. Agree or disagree with them, they tried to just preach Christ and him crucified within the context of Adventism.

Are You an Adventist or Christian First?

Adventist Today has posted the Jan-Feb edition of their magazine in its entirety. You can get to it at this link. In the editorial they asked several Adventist personalities do they consider themselves Adventist or Christian first. You can get to the answers at this link.

Important Question

It is interesting in that I have just had this conversation with a friend of mine. I think it is an important question for all of us to ask ourselves. Those of us who are doing ministry within different theological contexts must have it in their mind. For example, I have to answer this question as an Adventist who edits a website for ministers where 90% are not Adventist. That site is SoulPreaching.Com

I like the answers that Dwight Nelson gave to the question. He simply answered "yes." He was both. I would answer this by saying it is not possible to be a true Adventist and not be a true Christian. While it is possible to have one's names on the roll, being an Adventist requires a connection to the divine, requires believers baptism, requires faith in Christ as one's savior.

But I would hasten to add, that it is likewise impossible to be a true Baptist and not be a true Christian. Or a true Methodist. Or other Christian groups.

My Baptist friend, Minister Napoleon Harris, who contributes to SoulPreaching.Com, when he says he is a Baptist, and when I say I am Adventist, we both know that while we do have significant differences, we are both members of that larger group called Christianity.

Can't Ignore differences

We can't simply ignore our differences, or even attempt to say that they are unimportant. We don't become members of the "Christian" group by seeking to be "generic" Christians. No, my Baptist friend recognizes that the Baptist church has something to say to the Christian world. There is something about soul liberty, church liberty, and the priesthood of all believers that the Christian world needs to hear. His "Baptist" voice cannot be muted.

Likewise, my "Adventist" voice needs to be heard in the Christian world. There is something about God's Law that should not be forgotten, something about a "Second-Advent focus" that needs to be heard, something about the necessity and importance of rest that the world needs.

Am I Christian first or an Adventist first? I can't answer that question, just like my Baptist friend we say that we are Christian through our denominational heritage not in spite of it.

Audio 18 - Turning Defeat to Victory

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Sermon by Sherman Haywood Cox II. What does Israel's AI experience teach us about turning defeat into victory?