12. Isaiah 53:5 But he was pierced
for our transgressions,
he was crushed for our
iniquities; the punishment that
brought us peace was on him,
and by his wounds we are
healed.
20. Revelation 1:1
The Revelation of Jesus Christ,
which God gave unto Him to
show unto His servants things
which must shortly come to
pass. And He sent and
signified it by His angel unto
His servant John,
22. "Of all professed Christians,
Seventh-day Adventists should
be foremost in uplifting CHRIST
before the world.“
Ellen G. White, Gospel Workers,
p.156
23. "The shortness of time is urged as an incentive
for us to seek righteousness and to make Christ
our friend. This is not the great motive. It savors
of selfishness. Is it necessary that the terrors of
the day of God be held before us to compel us
through fear to right action? This ought not to be.
Jesus is attractive. He is full of love, mercy, and
compassion...It is our privilege to have a calm,
close, happy walk with Jesus every day we live."
(E.G. White, Review and Herald, August 2, 1881)
24. "There need to be far more lessons in the ministry
of the Word of true conversion than of the
arguments of the doctrines. For it is far easier and
more natural for the heart that is not under the
control of the Spirit of Christ to choose doctrinal
subjects rather than the practical. There are many
Christless discourses given no more acceptable
to God than was the offering of Cain. They are not
in harmony with God."{VSS - The Voice in Speech
and Song pg 342.3}
32. Luke 18:11 The Pharisee stood by
himself and prayed: ‘God, I thank
you that I am not like other people
—robbers, evildoers, adulterers—
or even like this tax collector. 12
I
fast twice a week and give a tenth
of all I get.’
33. The Sacrifice of Christ as an atonement for
sin is the great truth around which all other
truths cluster. In order to be rightly
understood and appreciated, every truth in
the Word of God, from Genesis to
Revelation, must be studied in the light that
streams from the cross of Calvary. I present
before you the great, grand monument of
mercy and regeneration, salvation and
redemption,—the Son of God uplifted on the
cross. This is to be the foundation of every
discourse given by our ministers.
—Gospel Workers, 315.
36. Isaiah 29:13
And so the Lord says, “These
people say they are mine. They
honor me with their lips, but
their hearts are far from me.
And their worship of me is
nothing but man-made rules
learned by rote.
42. "We should not make self
the center and indulge
anxiety and fear as to
whether we shall be saved"
(SC 71).
43. Ephesians 2:8-9
God saved you by his grace
when you believed. And you
can’t take credit for this; it is a
gift from God. Salvation is not a
reward for the good things we
have done, so none of us can
boast about it.
I heard it when I was a local church pastor. I hear it often still today. It’s expressed by a group of people, that although well intentioned, one has to wonder if they have stopped to think about the implications. The rational goes like this.
Jesus is best left to the evangelicals. We must preach present truth.
Jesus is milk. Prophecy is meat.
Jesus is elementary. Prophecy is deep.
Jesus is basic. There is something more advanced.
Jesus is an opening act. The headliner comes later.
Jesus is an appetizer. An introduction. A prelude.
You can go anywhere to hear about Jesus. You can only hear about prophecy here.
There is an attempt to divorce Jesus from prophecy, and extract and separate doctrine from our Christology.
And I wonder. Where did we get that from? Where did we arrive at a conclusion that there is anything superior, deeper, or more important than Jesus?
