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Jan, 01, 2021 0
For many of us, the word “sanctification,” like the word “justification,” has come to refer to one particular moment in the life-story of the Christian. We think of justification as that moment when we first come to faith and our sins are forgiven. In the last article in this series of three, we…
Jan, 01, 2021 0
Jewish tradition refers to Deuteronomy 6:4-5 as the Shema. Shema is a Hebrew word that means “hear” and is the first word in this Jewish text: “Hear, O Israel: The Lord our God, the Lord is one. Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your strength.” Jesus, of…
Jan, 01, 2021 0
Regeneration is an act of God who, by grace, gives new life to those who are dead in sin.1 The worldwide body of faith identified as the Church of the Nazarene accepts that God graciously livens those who have been spiritually dead in sin. Essentially, regeneration addresses the idea that a person…
Jan, 01, 2021 0
James K.A. Smith opens his wonderful and ground-breaking book on worship and formation, Desiring the Kingdom, by inviting readers to imagine that alien anthropologists from Mars come to earth to study every aspect of humanity. Because they are especially interested in what humanity worships and…
Jan, 01, 2021 0
My great grandfather was a sharecropper in Southeastern Alabama, near the Georgia state line. He rented a small piece of land to work, and in return, he would give a portion of his crop to the landowner at the end of each year. My great grandfather decided he wanted a better life for his family…
Jan, 01, 2021 0
Reinhold Niebuhr once stated that original sin “is the only empirically verifiable doctrine of the Christian faith.”1 By this he meant that we only need to look at human history to believe in the reality of original sin. This doctrine goes all the way back to the garden of Eden where we encounter…
Jan, 01, 2021 0
The term sanctification is not a distinct word in the Greek New Testament. The meaning of sanctification, expressed by a number of words, is related to holiness. The adjective “holy” refers primarily to God. The holiness of God the Father is evident everywhere in the New Testament as represented in…
Jan, 01, 2021 0
I have fond memories of the church in Mozambique and the ways it shaped my life. The Church of the Nazarene in Mozambique invests a lot of time in teaching and preaching on holiness. A week or weeks of holiness revival were normal and intended to rekindle interest in, passion for, and practice of…
Dec, 16, 2020 0
Acceptance and approval seem to be a pervasive disease in our 21st Century cultures. The advancement of technologies has tapped deep into the roots of the human psyche. Are we addicted to the ping of a mobile device in some conditioned ways? Do we suffer the disease of the need to be needed? People…
Dec, 16, 2020 0
I am not a fan of “relocation theology” as much as I am very keenly interested in thoughts about “restoration theology.” In other words, if you asked me if we are to be relocated to heaven, I would instead argue that the Bible addresses a rebuilding or restoration of the earth—a new earth. The idea…