As we saw in Malachi 3:10, God promised a great blessing to those faithful in their tithe. Yet God’s blessing is not one-dimensional. To emphasize, for instance, the accumulation of material assets as a blessing, at the expense of everything else, is a very narrow view of what God’s blessing really is. Blessing in Malachi is … Continue reading –>
In the previous post we began exploring the uniqueness in Adventism, beginning with its presuppositions. In this post we will look at how those presuppositions impact the way in which Adventism understands the narrative of Scripture. We will focus on the Big and Middle stories today. In the next and final post we will bring … Continue reading –>
A few years ago I was talking to a head elder, who had rushed to judgment and taken it upon himself to take “executive” action against another church member. I asked him if he had followed the counsel in Matthew 18, and talked to the member first. He boldly told me he did not need … Continue reading –>
Law isn’t very popular in our society – especially moral law. Doing your “own thing” is promoted in popular media and commercials. Postmodern culture is allergic to absolutes, and laws are absolutes. Law even seems to have a bad reputation in Christian circles. After all, Paul said that the Law is no longer needed after … Continue reading –>
In the previous two posts,1 we reviewed the major systems of covenant thought in the Protestant tradition. We split the systems into categories A and B – “A” being those that affirm the perpetuity of the law and “B” representing those that reject the perpetuity of the law. We also saw how Adventism’s understanding of … Continue reading –>
I imagine when you have spirited disagreements in your Sabbath school that you don’t call each others fools, but that is what Paul does in his letter to the Galatians. O foolish Galatians! Who has bewitched you that you should not obey the truth, before whose eyes Jesus Christ was clearly portrayed among you as … Continue reading –>
In the previous post we examined the oldest systems of Protestant covenant thought. The two systems to emerge we labeled as belonging to “Category A: Covenantalism.” They include both the Westminster Confession and the Second London Baptist Confession. We also had the opportunity to see that Adventist theology has a lot of similarities with these … Continue reading –>
As mentioned in the last post, Adventism’s understanding of the covenants is not well known either to us, our inquirers or our critics. Some critics even go as far as to suggest that Adventism’s covenant progression is an unheard-of new heresy. Part of the difficulty in responding to these charges is that, while Adventists have historically written … Continue reading –>
A few years ago I went through one of the most defining seasons of my life. Having been raised a Seventh-day Adventist I had come to the place where I had to confront, once and for all, the legalistic faith I had developed. The journey was both difficult and exhilarating at the same time. The … Continue reading –>
Is it too early to think about what we shall do with Christmas next year? Perhaps not, because it takes time to change ingrained thinking, and some of us may need a year to change our pattern of thought. I. What Is Christmas?1 Christmas is coming,” is the note that is sounded throughout our world from … Continue reading –>
