Remnant Magazine: Issue 1

A PU BLICAT ION OF THE HOL INESS PARTNERSHIP

REMNANT

The Living Word A Better Way Than

The Living Word

the Middle Way

for Discipleship

pg. 4

A Holy Approach

to Scripture pg. 10

pg. 17

Big Tents and the

Gate Keepers pg. 21

ISSUE 1 | JAN UARY 2 0 2 2

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CONTENTS

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Rev. Jared K. Henry A Better Way Than the Middle Way

Bill Castillo Did We Lose Holiness in the Worship Wars?

Rev. Dan Gilmore The Perfect Recipe: A Holy Approach to Scripture Rev. Carolina Guzman Illegal Immigration and Pastoring

Rev. Milo L. Arnold (from Herald of Holiness, September 1960 issue) A Voice from Outer Space Dr. Scott Rainey The Living Word for Discipleship Rev. Micah J. Sturm On the Same Page

Rev. Andy Lauer Big Tents and the Gate Keepers

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The Purpose of

Remnant

As a publication of the Holiness Partnership, the purpose of Remnant Magazine is to promote Scriptural holiness through applicable theology and practice.

The Holiness Partnership is a Wesleyan-Holiness organization seeking to re-discover the vision and understanding of biblical Christianity, re-emphasize the biblical doctrines of the Holiness church, re-invigorate the local church for mission and evangelism, and re-capture fidelity to biblical truth. We, at Remnant, pray that the Holy Spirit guides our messages, helps us bring clarity to holiness approaches to cultural issues, fosters a charitable dialogue in a polarized world, and enables us to speak the truth boldly in love, even in a time when the truth is unpopular.

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A Better Way Than the Middle Way

By Rev. Jared K. Henry

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’m leaving the “middle way.” Let me explain first.

What is the “middle way”? The “middle way” or “via media” is an idea that is supposed to usher in unity and reasonableness in the face of extremely polar ideas. That certainly seems appealing considering the polarizing of our society and world in the midst of politics, pandemics, and more. How does the church move forward when there are so many different opinions about so many different topics? The middle way concept is supposed to help us navigate that.

Implied is that when two people have differing, opposite opinions about something, the truth can be found in the middle (via media) rather than in the extremes. Taking the two opinions and “averaging” them together tends to reveal an option acceptable to

both sides. Often the middle way will resolve issues by simply claiming both are correct, or at least that they both have credibility. It’s not about “either/or” but “both/and” thus holding both positions in tension. The goal is maintaining fellowship with other believers (or even non-Christians) regardless of differing opinions.

The principle is often attributed to Rev. John Wesley, an Anglican priest who ministered during the mid and late 1700s.1 It works well, even effectively, with unessential issues in the context of the church which might include worship style, mode of baptism, details about Jesus second return, or details of God’s work in creation. The “middle way” simply allows for a variance of opinions about a subject or topic where details are not clearly defined in Scripture and are

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unessential to the faith. We can each have an opinion, but let’s not stake everything on demanding uniformity of thought on it. The variety of preferences and styles in worship around the world are a beautiful thing. In some of these ways, this idea of the via media is not only valid, but also extremely helpful.

Finance committees need to use this principle to navigate the different departments who want more funding for ministry. Decorating committees need to apply this concept when they come to a place of disagreement about paint color or carpet design.

Worship leaders need to utilize this idea when they navigate the different tastes and desires of the local church body. These things are unessential to salvation and we could all benefit from more people

seeking the via media in these kinds of ways.

As of late, there have become an increasing number of problems associated with the via media principle when applied to things to which it was never intended to be applicable.

The first problem arises when the principle is applied to things necessary to Christian belief and life.

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For example, while there are various opinions and perspectives about what God said about the end of time in Scripture, every Christian must believe that Jesus will return one day to judge the living and the dead. There is no middle way on that. If someone begins to teach that Jesus is not going to return to the earth one day, orthodoxy necessitates that we reject the opinion as false because it is outside the bounds of biblical truth and thus Christianity.

While there can be various cultural expressions of worship, if someone wishes to incorporate witchcraft into the gathering of the Church for worship, we [the church] must reject this unbiblical idea. Scripture is clear that witchcraft and holiness are not compatible. There is no middle way. In fact, when applied to essentials, the via media, becomes a form of syncretism.2

that you have arrived at the truth.

A second problem with the concept some people use called the middle way is that it is always defined by extremes.

The middle way can relegate biblical truth to the same level as any other opinion or preference.

They are all averaged into the sea of ideas in a search for something acceptable, whether it is correct or not.

In this way, the via media, can begin to sound more like “straddling the fence.” This is especially true when it settles for “both/and” on issues relating to the literal resurrection of Jesus or His virgin birth.

False teachers and clearly false teachings are given a platform to “discover the middle way” rather than outright rejected. Paul and Peter had some significant and heavily impactful issues to navigate in the early church surrounding circumcision as a prerequisite for faith in Christ.3 Paul refused to let Peter take the “middle way” of accommodating the Judaizers’ insistence upon every Gentile becoming a Jew before becoming a follow of Jesus. In this essential issue, the middle way was flatly rejected because the truth in Jesus had been revealed.

In striving for the middle ground, without an unchanging standard, an individual will always be influenced by the most extreme ideas (as false as they may be) or the loud voices of those promoting their ideology. If we insist on the via media in every situation, we will be defined by the most extreme thoughts regardless of their validity. Finding the mean, or average, of two opinions does not necessarily conclude

The third problem arises from the inevitable compromise inherent in refusing to deal with clear biblical teachings as objectively true, regardless of other opinions.

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Another problem with the via media, as used by so many today, is that it assumes every opinion that is presented is equally worthy of our consideration.

The middle way is the average of the two most polar perspectives. The false assumption is that the truth, or at least what is palatable to the most people, can be found in between contrasting opinions regardless of the truth of their claims.

With this erroneous assumption, truth is ever evolving and changing especially at the influence of the most abhorrent factual errors. Then truth becomes something we feel the necessity to keep contingent upon other opinions. Many individuals erroneously find this via media as a means to reject any ideas that seem to be polarizing. In their minds, often disregarding or even attacking the extreme perspectives somehow makes them “neutral” or “objective.”

Our “middle way” opinions become preeminent because we have not taken a clear position. An unclear position, in turn, leads to confusion among those attempting to embrace Biblical truth.

When applied to Biblical truth and orthodoxy, the “middle way” can actually be a harmful concept that absolves an individual of the responsibility to actually think through their opinions and perspectives in light of the Truth of the Gospel. Instead, they take every idea and seek to find the middle ground. When accepting ideas, opinions, and perspectives that are contrary to the Bible into our calculations for the middle way we quickly find ourselves arriving at a “middle way” that is outside of the parameters of the Bible.

So while the via media is helpful as we navigate unessential differences of opinion like modes of baptism or view of the end times (premillennial, postmillennial, amillennial), it is not helpful in dealing with serious matters of faith. In fact, the via media would be rejected by the early church, the historic church, and the holiness church today on matters of orthodoxy or orthopraxy. Our path then is not the “via media” that so many today choose to take which seems safer and less controversial. This middle way is simply not inherently more accurate or true and wholly unhelpful in discipleship and maintaining integrity in our embrace of the Bible’s truth.

The farther the world moves away from biblical truth, the more extreme and radical holiness will seem. The via media is ever changing, but

as Christians we are called to hold to the never changing truth of God’s Word! Christianity is not a philosophy that we can manipulate to suit our own sins but a relationship of holy love with a holy God who defines Himself and our way of life in the Spirit.

So, what’s the alternative to the “middle way”?

The biblical way. To embrace the Word of God as that which was given by divine inspiration is our responsibility. We recognize that it was inspired in its entirety! We recognize that the Bible inerrantly reveals the will of God in all things necessary to our salvation!

It is unerring truth to guide us as we seek to walk in the Spirit of Christ.

Holiness people (including Nazarenes) have always understood that the Bible is the bedrock of all of our beliefs and lifestyle. The Church of the Nazarene explicitly rejects adding anything to the Articles of Faith that do not fall within the scope of Scripture.

If something in culture, in politics, in ideology, or in practice is contrary to God’s Word... we reject it! The Bible is the final authority for our faith and practice.

The Bible informs all of our life. It is “breathed out by God and profitable for teaching, for reproof, for correction, and for training in righteousness.”4 Biblical principles and truth inform our politics, our lifestyle, our stewardship of finances, our relationships, our mission, our purpose, our vocabulary, and more! It is not only “the Divine Rule of faith and practice,” but also “the only authoritative source of theology.”5 “Biblical theology has a rightful claim to primacy in Christian circles. Virtually all Protestant communions affirm that the Bible is their only Rule of faith and practice.”6 Our spiritual forefathers didn’t speak and write about some generic holiness (which might include the Dalai lama). Rather they chose the Biblical way by using the adjective ‘scriptural’ holiness. The highway of holiness is paved with biblical truth.

So, I’m leaving behind the middle way (unless it happens to align with Scripture along the journey) on essentials and choosing instead the way less traveled: the way of Scriptural holiness.

Rev. John Wesley was the founder of methodism.

Google defines syncretism as “the amalgamation or attempted amalgamation of different religions, cultures, or schools of thought.”

3 Galatians 2:11-14 4 2 Timothy 3:16 5 H. Orton Wiley, Christian Theology, vol I. (Kansas City: Beacon Hill Press, 1940), 33. Wiley goes on to say: “The Scriptures, therefore, become the perfect disclosure and finished revelation of the will of God in Christ Jesus.”

6 W.T. Purkiser, Richard S. Taylor, and Willard H. Taylor, God, Man, & Salvation (Kansas City: Beacon Hill Press, 1977), 20.

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Did We Lose Holiness in the Worship Wars?

Much like Social Security is to US politics, so it seems the topic of music is to the church: a third rail. If you are unfamiliar with the metaphor, it comes from the high-voltage third rail used in some electric railway systems. Touching it will result in serious bodily injury or death. As a metaphor in politics, we use it in reference to any issue that has become immune from question or criticism or has become so controversial that it is “charged” and “untouchable.” Dare to question or have a different point of view than the prevailing thought and a politician risks political suicide.

For too long in our holiness churches, we have been unable to have significant two-way discussion regarding the music we use in our worship services because of its “third rail” status. Anyone silly enough to challenge or question the prevailing thought regarding our worship music is met with a barrage of opposition until they quietly acquiesce.

One only has to look to the so-called “worship wars” of the recent past. Some might suggest we have made it through the worship wars unscathed. Some churches have settled for multiple services catering to differing musical tastes. Others have adopted an approach that blends elements from differing musical styles in a single service. In the end, however, I would contend that holiness people have come through the worship wars spiritually poorer, particularly as it relates to proclaiming the message of holiness through song.

Holiness people are spiritually poorer because there is little or no proclamation of biblical holiness in our churches today. But it is not simply because we no longer preach holiness; we no longer sing holiness.

As holiness people, we have lost an appreciation for the importance of the content of music in our spiritual lives. We have adapted our style, but we have lost focus on the content. We sing songs that suit our musical preferences, but no longer move us to holiness. We lament the lack of holiness preaching but ignore the lack of holiness singing. In some cases, we proclaim through song what we would never proclaim from the pulpit.

Preaching by its very nature is the proclama-

By Bill Castillo

tion of the Word of God. If it does not find its ground in God’s Word, it is not preaching. That relationship is no less important for the songs we sing during worship.

They should be a proclamation of the Word of God. Grounded in anything else, the songs we sing are no longer “preaching” the Word in song.

How did we get to this place? In reality, the question of the style and content of our worship music is not new. Throughout church history, there have been many perspectives and opinions on these topics with little consensus. Without rehashing past arguments, we might all agree there is something missing in our worship music today in that it does not serve to point us to biblical holiness. Here are three issues that serve to neuter the message of holiness in the worship music used in our churches today.

We have allowed our worship services to become a place where the practice of the craft of music has become paramount. We should desire to offer our very best in the worship of our Lord.

However, form seems to take precedence over content.

Instrumentalists, vocalists, and even those operating the audio and video technology strive to perfect the production of increasingly complex music while sometimes giving little attention to the message. Coupled with the frequent introduction of unfamiliar songs, this results in congregations who turn into spectators of a show, rather than participants in the corporate worship of God. When we allow our congregations to become spectators rather than worshipers, we squander the opportunity to take advantage of music’s innate power to deeply and permanently impact people. John Wesley, in his essay “Thoughts on the Power of Music,” compares the simple music of the ancients with the “complex” music of his day. The introduction of complexity into music changes its nature and can change the motivation for its design or purpose. “And as the nature of music is thus changed, so is likewise the design of it.

Our composers do not aim at moving the passions but at quite another thing… it is applied to a quite different faculty of the mind; not to our joy, or hope, or fear; but merely to the ear, to the imagination, or internal sense.”

Complex music is hard to play, hard to learn, and hard

We have been unable to have a significant two-way discussion regarding the music we use in our worship services.

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for congregations to sing. Complex music, says Wesley, “destroys the power of music.”

We have compromised our standards for those who lead worship, prioritizing the musical tastes of the masses. In an effort to attract and synthesize new people, we are quick to afford non-believers the opportunity to use their musical abilities in our worship services. We hope, at some point, they will grow deeper in their faith or come to know the Lord through their participation. Unfortunately, many lack spiritual maturity and fail to appreciate their role in leading the congregation in worship of the risen Savior with whom they have no relationship. We hire musicians who often do not hold to the basic tenets of the Christian faith, and the result is that performance is valued more than the presence of the Holy Spirit. We end up lacking a faithful proclamation of God’s Word and fail to encourage a life of holiness when that lifestyle is not demonstrated by those who lead our worship. This is detrimental for both the non-believer leading worship and the members of the congregation. In the end, worship of our Savior and growing deeper in biblical holiness both take a back seat to pleasing people’s ears.

We have allowed emotional experience to become the only standard by which we measure our worship: the greater the emotion, the better the worship. Although an emotional response during worship through song can be transformative and Spirit-filled, emotional worship without the context of biblical truth can lead to the formation of false theological beliefs and, consequently, an unfruitful life. We may begin to desire the innocuous content our itching ears want to hear for a short-term emotional response, rather than desiring God’s convicting truth that spurs us on to long-term spiritual growth. John Calvin wrote: “We

Emotional worship without the context of biblical truth can lead to false theological beliefs and, consequently, an unfruitful life. must, however, carefully beware, lest our ears be more intent on the music than our minds on the spiritual meaning of the words… songs composed merely to tickle and delight the ear are unbecoming the majesty of the Church, and cannot but be most displeasing to God” (Institutes of the Christian Religion, Book 3, chapter 20, paragraph 32).

Are we serious about reclaiming the biblical message for believers to be entirely sanctified through the power of the Holy Spirit? One area we need to reconsider is the worship music we use in the church.

The words we sing are more deeply impressed upon our hearts because of singing. They become a part of our experience. What words do we want our congregations to sing? We need to sing music that is faithful to the biblical message of holiness. Our obligation, then, is to research and seek out music with such content from sources we can test and know by their fruit (1 John 4:1, Matthew 7:15-20).

Yes, we need preachers to preach holiness. We also need worshippers to sing holiness!

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The Perfect Recipe: A Holy Approach to Scripture

By Rev. Dan Gilmore

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ecipes. Who needs them? That pretty well sums up my sentiment when it comes to cooking. Recipes are good to consult, but only as a springboard for my brilliant enhancements. They are so hard to read anyway, especially when peering through the tomato sauce I’ve just spilled on the page. Furthermore, the authors were obviously expecting improvements. How else can we explain the glaring shortcomings? Recipes call for all-purpose flour, but any cook worth his salt knows that you should only use whole wheat flour.

Ingredient lists always call for too much sugar and never enough butter and eggs. Why would you use pinto beans when the inspired substitution of beef and cheese is so obvious for Mexican casserole dishes? Etcetera!

By now, I’m sure you are aware that you are privileged to look inside the frenzied and creative mind of a world-class chef. My challenge, however, is convincing others of that obvious fact.

Recalling when my children were young and in the home, how great a trial of confidence I endured as a master chef!

When I was in the kitchen, suddenly going out to a restaurant swelled to majority opinion. Mercilessly, I was assaulted by complaints like: “Dad! What did you put in this stuff?!”

“Mom is cooking tonight, isn’t she?!”

“Please, Dad, not ‘leftover salad’ again!”

Oh, the arduous and wearisome path of the trailblazer.

Now that you can understand my trials, I should move on. Improving cooking recipes is certainly open to the bold, but the recipe for true success and eternal life must not be tampered with. Far too often, we can approach the Bible the way I approach Betty Crocker—with a take-it-orleave-it attitude, a superior attitude, a let-me-passjudgment-on-this attitude.

The Holy Bible is an eternal gift and perfect recipe, originating from Heaven’s Throne.

The Author of the Salvation’s recipe is absolutely perfect, and His Book is the exclusive dispenser of truth and light, containing the only formula for

redemption. It is the gift from Heaven which the Holy Spirit through the Apostle Paul identified as the chief gift to earth through the chosen people (see Romans 3:2)! God’s will and all eternal realities and truths are the treasures revealed in its pages.

The noble and wise prize it and search it out! When Jesus said, “I am the way, the truth, and the life: no man comes unto the Father, but by me” (John 14:6), He was not stating an opinion! He was proclaiming an eternal reality with nothing less than everlasting consequences.

It is nothing short of tragic that fallen humankind, dangerously unprepared to meet the Lord, will recklessly judge the Bible. Christ’s Church is God’s light on Earth, and our holy and high calling is to feed on God’s Word so “that [we] may know how [we] ought to behave [ourselves] in the house of God, which is the church of the living God, the pillar and ground of the truth” (1 Timothy 3:15). Because, we are the light of the world and the salt of the earth, we must shine and permeate! Anywhere our light does not shine will be dark, and any place our salt does not fall will rot! This calls us to the Word so that we can shine in the world, in the marketplace, in the halls of government, in the courtroom, in the home, in the prison, and in the Church!

Did you know that the longest chapter in the longest book of the Bible—Psalm 119—is a reading primer for children in the original Hebrew language? In eight verse blocks, starting with the first letter of the Hebrew alphabet, the first word of every verse starts with that letter, and the passage moves systematically through all 22 Hebrew letters. Amazingly, this hallowed chapter, which is intended to teach children to read, has dedicated every verse to lauding the holy Scriptures. We are called to value every aspect of God’s Word and to live and propagate the wonder, power, and blessedness of this holy gift.

Psalm 119:1-8 (Aleph) is what could be called the opening praise section of the passage.

But notice the question and answer in verse nine that sets the direction for the whole chapter:

It is nothing short of tragic that fallen humankind, dangerously unprepared to meet the Lord, will recklessly judge the Bible.

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“Wherewithal shall a young man cleanse his way? By taking heed thereto according to thy word.” The Psalmist makes clear here that if we want to live the upright life, cleansed from our past sins and set apart from the world, then we must give earnest and daily heed to God’s holy Word! Using descriptive terms for Holy Writ (law, testimonies, ways, precepts, statutes, commandments, righteous judgments, word, etc.), this passage extols God’s Word as the gift from His hand intended to lead us to His Heaven! We are even promised to have more wisdom than our enemies, our teachers, and even the ancients (verses 98-100) if we meditate upon and internalize His holy Word. It calls to mind the singular purpose of the forty-year sojourn in the wilderness.

The Children of Israel were humbled that they might learn “that man does not live by bread only, but by every word that proceeds out of the mouth of the LORD does man live” (Deuteronomy 8:3).

It is the Bible that tells us of His salvation, and God’s Word is the holy gift which He uses to administer that redemption. It is the instrument of our salvation: “...Receive with meekness the engrafted word, which is able to save your souls” (James 1:21); of our sanctification: “Sanctify them through thy truth: thy word is truth” (John 17:17); and of our spiritual success: “This book of the law shall not depart out of thy mouth; but thou shalt meditate therein day and night, that thou mayest observe to do according to all that is written therein: for then thou shalt make thy way prosperous, and then thou shalt have good success” (Joshua 1:8).

So, my simple and urgent desire for God’s holy Church is that we will be people of one Book! May God help us to feed daily upon His Word so we can live above the world and be the light of the world! The Psalmist declared, “Thy word have I hid in mine heart, that I might not sin against thee” (Psalm 119:11). May that discipline truly be mirrored in us!

May you, by the perfect and powerful “recipe” of God, enjoy salvation and sanctification in Jesus Christ the Lord. “Now unto him that is able to keep you from falling, and to present you faultless before the presence of his glory with exceeding joy, To the only wise God our Savior, be glory and majesty, dominion and power, both now and ever. Amen” (Jude 1:24-25).

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Illegal Immigration and Pastoring

By Rev. Carolina Guzman

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t is no secret that the topic of immigration can divide a room into two camps, even when everyone in that room is united in the belief of the Christian faith. Both groups can raise valid points and even Scripture verses to aid their cases. Today, I would like to stand in the middle of the room and affirm that it is possible to be compassionate, neighbor-loving, and law-abiding all at the same time.

My husband, Daniel Carrillo, my son, Josue Carrillo, and I have experienced the difficulties of immigration and having to leave the country multiple times to fulfill the requirements and respect the laws of the United States— a nation that we have come to love and appreciate. Someday we will share a testimony of our journey and the role that the Church and various friends had to play in our story.

In addition to my journey as an immigrant, my perspective is also colored by my own fifteen-year experience with the immigration system as a religious worker. I have pastored and started Hispanic churches with approximately 90% of the congregations being undocumented families from various communities.

In terms of the day-to-day pastoring or church planting, nothing was different from the more traditional American congregations. The community had the same issues as any other, and from afar it was as diverse as you can imagine.

Family care involved visiting, marriage counseling, leadership training, social activities, discipleship, and all the other typical aspects of church life.

However, as we lived alongside our church family, my husband and I gained

It is possible to walk in faith by obedience, even when it is not easy. a better understanding of just how much illegal immigration affected their lives. We learned about their individual battles, the constant weight on their shoulders, and all the limitations that come with being undocumented. Every individual case was so different from the other. Some had reasons and others had excuses for being undocumented. Nonetheless, we were dealing with the humanity of each individual, and our job was to present the gospel without making any exceptions.

Many of the parishioners also witnessed our struggles and how difficult it was for our family to maintain a legal status. They saw the financial stress, the issue of having to leave the country, the constant uncertainty, and all the sacrifices that come with having to relocate and then wait to return.

But our struggle gave us credibility to speak with the love and compassion that comes from a shared experience. We were not only telling them about the gospel, we were showing them that the God we believe in will not abandon them, and that it is possible to walk in faith by obedience, even when it is not easy.

During this time many sermons included phrases like: “The USA is not the promised land, and God will bless you anywhere in the world if you are obedi-

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ent to Him.” “The sun rises everywhere, and our call is to be a faithful blessing anywhere our feet are standing.”

“If the immigration process requires you to leave or you willingly decide to leave, you are now taking the Gospel with you wherever you go.”

These were bold statements when you consider the vast majority of the congregation was undocumented. Our family had to back up with actions all those statements and not just offer lip service. They

Someone’s legal status should never prevent us from sharing the Gospel with them.

knew we loved them, served them, and that we also struggled, but more than anything, they learned to trust the Lord in their new-found faith.

Illegal immigration was so normalized in most of the congregation that sometimes people would request prayer for a family member who was crossing the border illegally with a coyote. I would have to rephrase the request and pray for God’s providence and protection—trying not to encourage the illegal action itself.

Most Americans are likely not aware of this cultural insight, but many people, especially from Mexico, pray for protection to la Santa Muerte (“Our Lady of the Holy Death” or “Holy Death”), a female deity in Neopaganism and folk Catholicism who is believed to offer protection, healing, and safe passage to the afterlife. It is quite common for many criminals and even cartel members to pray to la Santa Muerte to protect them when they are about to commit a crime.

When you are raised in that environment and then come to know the Lord, it takes biblical discipleship to learn and accept that we cannot ask God to help us break the law.

What should the church do about illegal immigrants? My answer is love them, serve them, and get to know them at a personal level. If they ask for advice, advise them to do what the law requires.

Someone’s legal status should never prevent us from sharing the Gospel with them. In fact, our call to holiness stipulates that we love the foreigners among us (Deuteronomy 10:19).

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Loving our neighbor is also leading our neighbor in a righteous path.

The law is not always fair. I know that firsthand.

These issues of immigration are often complex and difficult, but we answer to a higher Lawmaker, and as believers, we have to trust God, even when we don’t understand. Loving our neighbor is also leading our neighbor in a righteous path. God will not fail anyone that decides to do good.

Honduras, the country I was born in, has strict immigration laws and enforces border security. Cuba, a country I had the pleasure of visiting, has extremely strict immigration agents. I was afraid they would not allow our family into the country, but after an interrogation, they allowed us entry. Guyana has tight security at their airport, and immigrating to Canada is not an easy task either.

All this to say, immigration is not a USA problem; it is a global issue. Borders are not new, and asking permission to get into any nation is practiced almost everywhere in the world. God Himself determines the boundaries of the nations (Acts 17:26). This concept, however, does not exempt us from the fact that we are called to love our neighbor. Love is kind and caring, seeking justice, truth, and righteousness.

Many immigrants flee because their lives are at risk due to violence, persecution, or extreme poverty, among other factors. They do it for the preservation of life, and I believe it is the duty of every nation to protect human life. However, the United States is not the only country accepting refugees and persons needing political asylum.

I know that many immigrate to the United

States in hopes of achieving the “American Dream,” and I don’t blame them. This is a great nation to live in. At the same time, I think we can all agree that there is a great need for comprehensive immigration reform, and as Christians, we should advocate for better laws that will benefit immigrants seeking to assimilate and be productive members of the community.

Normalizing illegal immigration with open borders is unjust, and it leads to unjust employment wages and inhuman conditions—not to mention that it creates a second-class, oppressed community that many will unlawfully hire to avoid the responsibility of providing benefits. Luring illegal immigrants through open borders also profoundly damages the nations where the migrants come from, depleting those countries of their young people, their most capable working force, and their future hope of prosperity.

American citizenship does not equal salvation, and America is not perfect, although it is a great nation. The call to Christians all over the world is to share the gospel with every nation and tribe and to love God and neighbor—not to turn one nation into the savior of the world.

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Herald of Holiness September 1960 Issue

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The Living Word for Discipleship

By Dr. Scott Rainey

Jesus is alive! I can only imagine the sounds of those words reverberating through the small gatherings of followers of Jesus immediately following the resurrection two thousand years ago. None of them—not one—had even remotely thought Jesus would live again in his body three days following His death on the cross. The events of that early Sunday morning, the first Easter Sunday, took them all by surprise and literally rocked their world.

The belief that Jesus is alive remains fundamental for Christian disciples today. Since He is alive, He still seeks the lost, still makes disciples, still intercedes, and still speaks. He is always the MOST important person in the room and demands our attention! Since Jesus speaks, it is very important that we listen to Him. So, how do we hear His voice today?

One of the ways Jesus speaks today is through the Holy Spirit. When Jesus was on this earth, He spoke as you and I speak, through vibrations of His vocal cords and audible sounds. After Pentecost, Jesus speaks to

SINCE [JESUS] IS ALIVE, HE STILL SEEKS THE LOST, STILL MAKES DISCIPLES, STILL INTERCEDES, AND STILL SPEAKS.

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His disciples through His Spirit who convicts, guides, points to Jesus, and sanctifies. Believers hear His voice most often today through a gentle whisper that comes in our thoughts.

Jesus also speaks today through His body—the Church. You have experienced this in worship services, Sunday school classes and small groups, and in personal conversations with fellow believers. His word comes through a brother or sister in Christ at just the right moment.

The third way Jesus speaks today is through the Word of God—the Holy Scriptures. The Word of God stands as the foundation for Christian discipleship. It is never changing. It is alive and active. Hebrews 4:12 says, “For the word of God is alive and active. Sharper than any double-edged sword, it penetrates even to dividing soul and spirit, joints and marrow; it judges the thoughts and attitudes of the heart.” The Word of God grounds believers on the truth. It teaches who God is, who we are, how He has made salvation possible, and how we are to live in relation to God and others. In a day when humanistic philosophies abound and the winds of change are overwhelming, the voice of Jesus through the Word of God can effectively reach the lost, establish new believers, and help every Christian experience the power of God for heart cleansing and entire sanctification.

Pre-Christian Discipleship and the Living Word Most people rarely consider the importance of the Word of God in discipling unbelievers toward the

cross of Jesus. Helping pre-Christians gain a strong understanding of the Bible is vital in our witness to the world. This becomes particularly important in a post-Christian culture where unchurched people have a negative impression of the Bible often before they read it. While the church generally has failed to encourage the use of Scripture in our contemporary evangelism methodology, Christian families have done this naturally for two millennia within their homes. Parents have taught and trained children to know and understand God’s Word on their path toward personal faith in Jesus. Using Scripture along a journey with unsaved friends must become a part of our witnessing lifestyle. I would like to illustrate this with a personal example.

I met Bogdan when my family moved from Kyiv, Ukraine, to L’viv, Ukraine, in order to help start a new church. We had been in L’viv for only two weeks and were preparing to begin outreach ministries and start worship services with a very small core group consisting of two families.

USING SCRIPTURE MUST BECOME A PART OF OUR WITNESSING LIFESTYLE. My family had gone to the mall one day to shop, when I ventured over to a kiosk to purchase a cell phone for my oldest daughter. Behind the desk was Bogdan, a 22-year-old young man who spoke broken English. We had a great conversation that first meeting. He asked why I had come to Ukraine. I shared that God had given new life to my family, and we had moved to L’viv with hopes of helping others begin a relationship with God. I told Bogdan we would start a free English Club, do compassion projects in the city, and start a church. To my surprise, Bogdan said, “I am in!”

The night of our first English Club came. The first knock on the door was Bogdan and eight of his college friends with him! Over the next fourteen months, we shared friendship, our home, and the love of Christ with Bogdan and his friends. God often gave us opportunity, through natural conversations, to disciple Bogdan and his friends through biblical stories, which spoke directly into the lives of these young people. While many would have considered themselves to be “religious,” few knew more than a small group of cursory “children’s stories” from the Word of

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God. They were biblically illiterate but open to what the Bible had to say about their real-life journeys.

New Christian Discipleship and the Living Word Once seekers come to faith in Jesus, the Bible becomes their daily reading book for the rest of their lives. No other book available to humankind plays this role. The new believer discovers that the Bible “speaks.” In reality, of course, the Spirit of Christ is speaking through God’s Living Word. Verses and stories read once before pop off the page and speak a new word into the heart of the new believer. The Bible becomes an indispensable roadmap, of sorts, on the journey of life. It can be read devotionally and studied in detail. It becomes richer the more one reads it. These are all wonderful lessons awaiting the new believer!

On November 20, 2017, my Ukrainian friend Bogdan repented of his sins and put his trust in Jesus as his Savior and Lord. We continued his discipleship journey through more structured Bible studies as I helped to establish Bogdan in his new faith. We started with the Basic Bible Studies for New and Growing Christians by Dr. Charles Shaver. After the initial eight weeks, we started a 6-month Bible study series for new Christian men.

Bogdan was hungry for the Word of God and wanted to grow in his understand of the things of God. He quickly understood the Living Word to be the single greatest resource for Christian living, orthodox doctrine, and getting to know the God who had saved him just months before. Dr. Victor Hamilton said, “To call our Bible ‘the Word of God’ means that the Bible is not only a revealed word from God, but is also a revealed word about God” (Illustrated Bible Life, Fall 2021, The Foundry Publishing, p. 5). The Apostle Paul exhorted the new believers in Colosse, “See to it that no one takes you captive through hollow and deceptive philosophy, which depends on human tradition and the elemental spiritual forces of this world rather than on Christ” (Colossians 2:8).

Mature Christian Discipleship and the Living Word The Apostle Paul often equates the Scripture to spiritual food for the follower of Jesus. In 1 Corinthians 3, Paul disciplines the believers who are still only able to handle spiritual “milk” and reminds the church

AT THE HEART OF THIS DISCIPLESHIP JOURNEY, AT EVERY STAGE, FROM NO FAITH TO NEW FAITH TO MATURE FAITH, IS GOD’S WORD. that it is better to move on to “solid food” in their spiritual development. As new believers are grounded in their faith, the Word of God becomes a more regular part of their daily “diet.” First Peter 2:2-3 says, “Like newborn babies, crave pure spiritual milk, so that by it you may grow up in your salvation, now that you have tasted that the Lord is good.”

In August 2018, God and the church called us to return from Ukraine to the United States to serve in the area of Sunday School & Discipleship Ministries International. Bogdan had been a Christian for only nine months. I remember the final day we were together in person. Bogdan said, “When you are back in the States, would you be willing to continue to meet with me over a video conferencing app?” I agreed but thought it would only last a month or two.

In one of our early online discipleship sessions, I mentioned a common Old Testament story in the life of King David to illustrate the need for believers to be alert in the face of temptation. I said, “Bogdan, you remember the story about King David and Bathsheba, right?” He shook his head “no.” Soon, I discovered anew that Bogdan had so little biblical understanding.

I asked him if he would like to use our video times to simply walk through the Bible. Three years later, Bogdan and I are still meeting weekly to study the Word together online. We are in Jonah and anticipating the coming of Jesus the Messiah as we draw closer to the New Testament.

My desire in our friendship is to help Bogdan develop a passion for God, learn obedience to God’s will, grow in love for God’s Word, and embrace the call to make disciples of others. At the heart of this discipleship journey, at every stage, from no faith to new faith to mature faith, is God’s Word. May Christ’s church never take it for granted. Let us grow up in pure faith through our daily consumption of the Living Word that we might be like Jesus in every word and action.

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ON THE SAME PAGE

By Rev. Micah J. Sturm

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he students listen, with textbooks open, as the teacher covers important material for the final exam.

Copious notes are being taken to ensure that the information needed to pass the test gets planted firmly in each student’s mind. Then, invariably, someone breaks the teacher’s instruction and the group’s concentration by asking, “What page are we on?”

The Church gathers, with Bibles open, as the Teacher covers the requirements for life’s final exam.

Voluminous notes are produced by individual scholars and study groups interpreting the Teacher and textbook. There are so many diametrically opposing understandings of what the Teacher really said.

I feel like the student in the class who is looking at the text, hearing the Teacher, but looking around the room of fellow classmates and needing to raise my hand to ask, “What page are we on?!”

Unity cannot be sacrificed for the sake of inclusion, popularity, or status. Some will refuse transformation because conformity to this age is more desirable. The Church is weakened by its willingness to bend under the pressures of opinion. The words of the prophet Micah are too familiar in contemporary life: “‘Do not preach’—thus they preach—’one should not preach of such things; disgrace will not overtake us.’ Should this be said, O house of Jacob? Has the Lord grown impatient? Are these his deeds? Do not my words do good to him who walks uprightly? But lately my people have risen up as an enemy...

Arise and go, for this is no place to rest, because of uncleanness that destroys with a grievous destruction. If a man should go about and utter wind and lies, saying, ‘I will preach to you of wine and strong drink,’ he would be the preacher for this people!” (Micah 2:6-8, 10-11 ESV)

The current climate of Christian ambiguity hinders our efforts to reach a world dying and broken by sin.

Sin scatters, but the transforming grace of God unites. Sin pollutes, but the blood of Jesus cleanses every stain! Sin poisons, but His Spirit triumphs over the sin that destroys! A divided church is Satan’s delight.

Jesus says, “Whoever is not with me is against me, and whoever does not gather with me scatters” (Luke 11:23). In the name of “love” we no longer tell people the truth—and we scatter.

The Church MUST get on the same page with the Teacher who loves us enough to not excuse sin, but extends His power to free from its deadly grip.

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BIG TENTS and the

GATE KEEPERS

By Rev. Andy Lauer

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e live during an interesting time, historically, in the Church. Christianity continues its evangelical mission across the globe, reaching deep into areas thought inaccessible just a few decades ago. The Bible has been translated into hundreds of languages. The modern Christian has at his or her fingertips more biblical research and commentary than scholars in centuries past could ever imagine. This is indeed good news! Yet, particularly in America and Europe, the Church finds itself at a perilous and trajectory-altering moment as theological and ecclesiological stress fractures appear and expand. Millions of sincere Christians are floundering to respond to and shore up the footings of the western Church.

In the face of these challenges, I believe there is a way forward. As with all recommendations, some will find themselves nodding in assent while others will vehemently disagree. This is indicative of where the Body of Christ finds itself today, but in truth it is where the Body of Christ has always found itself. Thankfully, there are biblical precedents for how we should proceed through these fractious times.

Bad Seed = Bad Fruit. Who Knew?

Many of the challenges we face today began decades ago. I recall distinctly during my collegiate years a newfound sense of wonder and excitement about the Church’s way forward. Part of it was youthful naivete, but part of it was a recognition that something new seemed to be happening. Postmodernism was coming into full swing at that time and would later coalesce into the Emergent Church movement within a few short years. I was thinking about the Bible, my faith, and the Church in ways I hadn’t explicitly thought before. As a teenager, the new ways of looking at Scripture and Church life were intoxicating, as was the apparent sincerity of the progenitors of the movement.

Challenging old assumptions, uniting disparate ideas, expanding the strictures of orthodoxy—I felt like a kid on a playground exploring whatever and wherever my heart desired. Then something happened about a decade ago that changed my outlook. I began to see the fruit of the postmodern, progressive, Emergent Church movements and ideologies (themselves being fruits of modernism). I was deeply troubled by what I saw.

If you’ve ever worked in your yard, whether in a garden or your lawn, you know that seed matters. Last summer we moved into a new house and promptly removed a sickly maple tree from the center of our front lawn. I cut the tree down myself but paid to have the stump removed, which subsequently left a large patch of bare ground. Being do-it-yourselfers, we decided to grade and reseed the lawn ourselves. At the hardware store we looked over the bags of grass seed and settled on a sack of multipurpose seed that was cheaper than most others. We bought it, took it home, and followed all of the appropriate steps for planting the seed. We carefully watered it every day, and by the end of the summer all of our effort was rewarded with the worst-looking, scrubbiest patch of lawn I have ever had. Although it took us several months to discover, and although it was a hard lesson learned, we realized that the quality of seed you put in the ground matters. When you buy a packet or bag of seeds, you trust what is on the picture of the packaging. If it shows a lush green lawn or beautiful flowers, you assume that is what you’re getting, and often you do. However, sometimes what is advertised is not what is

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A denominational “big tent” cannot function in a healthy way when it admits competing doctrines and approaches to Scripture. delivered.

What I discovered about the postmodern, progressive, Emergent Church movements (and the sub-movements arising from them) is that their fruit reveals a problem with the seed. The confluence of these movements promised to bring the Church into a deeper, more authentic walk with Jesus. Instead, they weakened the foundations and fractured the structure.

They deconstructed the faith forged over the centuries and unwittingly spawned sub-movements such as Deconstructing Faith where people “evangelize” others in how they walked away from Christianity. They supplanted the gospel of salvation with social justice works-righteousness. They redefined the primary Christian identity of being solely “in Christ” (Gal. 3:2729) to categories of race, gender, and sexuality. They replaced being awakened by the light of Christ to being “woke” by the light of man. The result is that the Church in America and Europe is fractured and factious.

We are living in a perilous and trajectory-altering time indeed.

Life in the Big Top Many years ago, when society was more agrarian and geographically dispersed, before the advent of modern distractions such as radio, television, and the internet, circuses were a big deal. These behemoths of entertainment crisscrossed America on rails and interstates bringing a much-needed diversion to the hard-working countryside. In each town they visited, they erected the big top tent. Visible from afar, the vivid red and white striped canvas beckoned children of all ages to the wonders contained within. The big top met advertising and practical needs; regardless of the weather, the show had to go on! Whether it was contending with the withering heat of the summer sun, the unpredictable storminess of spring and fall, or simply a short-lived deluge, the circus couldn’t afford to cancel the show. The big top created an area where paying customers could thrill to all of the main attractions

while sheltered from the elements. The bigger the tent, the more acts that could be seen, the more tickets that could be sold.

This captures the sentiment behind much of the “big tent” language used in the Church today. The idea implies that a denomination should be a “big tent” where Christian people, who hold a diversity of viewpoints but are united in Christ, can gather as the Body of Christ. In other words, the tent is big enough to encompass differing approaches and understandings of the tenets of the faith. For the most part, it does often function that way. For example, genuine believers can and do hold different views on certain details of subjects like eschatology, baptism, the sacraments, and so on. We recognize that although such issues are important, they are not salvific issues, nor do they threaten to lead people away from Christ.

Problems arise, however, when the big tent begins holding competing doctrines. Just like the proprietors of a circus would not appreciate competitors infiltrating their big top tent and stealing away customers, a denominational “big tent” cannot function in a healthy way when it admits competing doctrines and approaches to Scripture.

The movements and their fruits referenced above have created competing ideas and doctrines within the Church. For example, the idea that many postmodernists (and some modernists as well) hold that Scripture is fluid, that its meaning changes with time, that parts of the Old Testament are only archetypal and not historical, that science and its “discoveries” and “certitudes” supersede Biblical cosmology, that salvation is not through Jesus Christ alone in this life— these ideas are not consistent with historical and biblical orthodoxy and doctrine as it has been formulated and understood for centuries. Instead, they are the fruit of ideologies and philosophies which erodes belief and trust in the very foundational tenets of Christian faith and tragically leads many people away from salvation and holiness found only in Christ.

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The Big Top Collapses Although big top tents are massive, they do have limits on occupancy. If you’ve ever seen the inside of a big top, you know that in the center stands a large pole over 30 feet in height with the exterior walls comprised of 10-foot-tall poles spaced evenly around the circumference. All of these give support to the massive canvas tent with a diameter stretching to 120 feet and weighing up to 8,000 pounds. The physics is such that each of these poles and the ropes that affix them to the ground hold the canvas taut and support the big top. However, what would happen if too large a crowd entered the tent? What if as the people bumped and knocked each other over, some of those poles got pushed out of place? A big top might still stand if one or two are jarred or even broken, but if enough of them are dislocated, the structural integrity fails, and the whole thing collapses.

Often, I hear people lament that young people are leaving the Church and not returning. A variety of reasons are always given, but typically they center on how Evangelicals have not been true to the Bible, how Christians have embraced nationalism or conservatism or capitalism, how the Church has excluded certain groups, and so on. Ironically, the ones usually making such claims are pushing for more liberal interpretations of Scripture and doctrine. Many have embraced political socialism or progressivism, and frequently seek to divide the Church into groups based on race, gender, and sexuality. It is the height of hubris that, while they run away from historical Christian orthodoxy, they ac-

Could some be leaving the Church because of the erosion of the historical doctrines and teachings of the Church by the postmodern movement?

cuse those seeking to remain rooted in it of leaving the historical faith and dividing it into factions.

Although it is true that some young people are leaving the Church and not returning (not a new phenomenon, by the way), is it because the Church isn’t progressive enough? If that were the case, wouldn’t mainline denominations be flourishing, those which decades ago embraced homosexual marriage and ordination or espoused the Historical Jesus movement? If it was because the evangelical Church has taken too firm a stance against human atrocities like abortion, wouldn’t that imply that the Church-led abolition movement of 160 years ago was wrong for its firm stance against slavery? If evangelical churches were nonstop carnage machines, how is it that so many young people are still growing, thriving, and being called into vocational ministry in them today?

Could it be that the reason some young people are leaving the Church behind is because of the non-stop maligning of the Bride of Christ in the public sphere? Social media has made this ubiquitous; I regularly read people saying things like, “Christians are nothing but a bunch of hypocrites.”

“The Church only cares about unborn babies. It couldn’t care less about you once you’re born.” “The Church hates gay people.” In spite of the fact that these are demonstrably untrue, no one wants to be a part of something that sounds so corrupt and pathetic.

Furthermore, could some be leaving the Church because of the fracturing and erosion of the historical doctrines and teachings of the Church by modern, and especially, postmodern movements? These deep fractures have given secure footholds for the Enemy, Satan, to cast doubt into the minds of impressionable (and too often biblically illiterate) young people. “Did God really say... ?” and “Did God really mean... ?” are questions as old as the literal Garden of Eden, and which, if only encouraged and not countered with the truth of God’s word, will cause one’s faith to crumble under the substantial weight of living in a fallen world.

Perhaps nowhere is this more evident than in the “debate” over human sexuality.

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There is so much confusion around the dual issues of gender and sexual identities. It is particularly grievous because of the affect it is having on children and young people. Twenty years ago, even ten years ago, this widespread chaos was hardly the case. Therefore, either one of two things has happened: either there were exponentially more misgendered and homosexual young people before who just didn’t know it, or the actual number of confused young people is the same, but because it is now not only tolerated but accepted and championed, many more young people are adopting it as a lifestyle in order to gain attention and popularity without understanding the life-long and eternal ramifications. I believe it is the latter.

It is a twisted ideology that only gains a foothold when a foundational understanding of Creation and human gender and human sexuality is removed from the conversation (Jesus said, “‘Have you not read that he who created them from the beginning made them male and female, and said, ‘Therefore a man shall leave his father and his mother and hold fast to his wife, and the two shall become one flesh’?”).

The Requirements for Admission I appreciate the “big tent” idea, but it does and must have limits. As we’ve seen above, and as we’re witnessing in our theological and ecclesiological clashes today, a single tent is not big enough to house so many disparate opinions and viewpoints. A healthy view of the big tent is that everyone inside shares the same core beliefs, rooted in the Bible’s revelation of God, centered on Jesus Christ, and enlightened and empowered by the Holy Spirit. When beliefs stray wide from the central doctrines of Creation and salvation, then it is time to rethink the requirements for admission.

Jesus said, “I am the way, the truth, and the life. No one comes to the Father except through me” (John 14:6). He made it clear that salvation was to be found only in Him (not through our

Jesus must be interpreted, understood, and obeyed within the context of the entirety of Scripture. works, and certainly not through other religions, as some well-known global religious leaders have claimed recently). The challenge comes when we seek to discern what is His way, what is His truth, and what is His life. That’s where the rest of Scripture comes in.

Too many today want to explain the entirety of the Christian life solely in terms of the four Gospels.

In other words, they quote Jesus and His teachings in order to create a “Christian” ethic and “story.” The problem is that doing so takes Jesus out of His context. We all know we can take a verse out of context and make it mean almost anything we want it to, but the same can happen when we take Jesus out of context. Jesus must be interpreted, understood, and obeyed within the context of the entirety of Scripture; His teachings do not arise in a Scriptural or theological vacuum. When Jesus said that loving God was the greatest commandment and loving others was the second, His understanding of love was predicated upon the entirety of the Hebrew Scriptures’ teaching on God’s love. Not only that, but our understanding of His teaching on love must be filtered through the lens of the New Testament writings of John, Paul, Peter, and others.

The subject of how Christians address homosexuality highlights the importance of understanding Jesus in context. Many today, even within the Church, will claim that Jesus would (or even did, indirectly) affirm homosexual marriage. One claim is that Jesus never spoke against homosexuality and that He affirmed that the highest command is simply “to love.” However, if instead of removing Jesus from His biblical context, we look at His teaching in light of the rest of Scripture, we see that this is an absolute impossibility. We know that Jesus stood in perfect alignment with the Old Testament teachings on the subject. He said He came not to abolish but to fulfill the law and the prophets (Matt.

5:17). Furthermore, we see that in the times when He needed to correct the people’s understanding and interpretation of God’s law, He spoke directly to the

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issue (“You have heard it said... but I say”). The indisputable fact is that Jesus never sought to correct the Old Testament understanding of marriage as the malefemale binary and their subsequent covenantal union.

Moreover, the only union He explicitly blessed was the one instituted in the OT, that is heterosexual marriage.

When we look at Jesus’ teaching on love through the lens of the epistles, we understand that “love” excluded many types of perverted loves including homosexuality. We do not need to wax philosophical or contemporize what we think Jesus meant; the Old and New Testaments clarify and tell us exactly what Jesus meant.

Jesus made clear that the invitation to the big tent is for all, but the requirement for admission was following Him. His truth. His way. Anything else leads to chaos and collapse.

The Gate Keepers A frequent criticism of those who seek to emphasize a baseline requirement for admission to the tent (the Church) is that they’re putting themselves in the position of being “gate keepers.” Such terminology is often utilized pejoratively; “Who made you the gate keeper?” The question, however, is a legitimate one.

Are there such things as gate keepers, and if so, who are they?

In John’s gospel, chapter 7, Jesus reveals himself to us as the One through whom the sheep enter. He says, “Very truly I tell you, I am the gate for the sheep... whoever enters through me will be saved” (vv. 7,9). This is consistent with His other teachings, such as being the way, the truth, and the life. In other words, Jesus shows us that the salvation and protection that comes from being in His sheepfold arises only as we enter that fold (kingdom, tent, etc.) through Him. So, it is entirely true to say that anyone other than Jesus who attempts to be

the gate, or tell of another gate, is a false teacher.

That does not mean that there isn’t a gate keeper. The Bible speaks in many places about the shepherds God appoints over His people. Unquestionably, Jesus is the Great Shepherd, but God calls many of us to come alongside the Great Shepherd and care for His flock. Through Jeremiah, God speaks of a time when He will gather His scattered flock and “place shepherds over them who will tend them” (23:4). In the book of Acts, some of Paul’s final instructions are, “Pay careful attention to yourselves and to all the flock, in which the Holy Spirit has made you overseers, to care for the church of God, which he obtained with his own blood.

I know that after my departure fierce wolves will come in among you, not sparing the flock; and from among your own selves will arise men speaking twisted things, to draw away the disciples after them” (Acts 20:28-30).

The truth is, there are many spirits, both inside and outside the Church. Our task is to discern between those from the Lord and those not from the Lord. The Apostle Paul clearly instructs us, “Dear friends, do not believe every spirit, but test the spirits to see whether they are from God, because many false prophets have gone out into the world” (1 John 4:1). How do we know which spirit is from God? Paul continues, “This is how you can recognize the Spirit of God: Every spirit that acknowledges that Jesus Christ has come in the flesh is from God, but every spirit that does not acknowledge Jesus is not from God” (vv. 2-3). When Paul describes spirits and teachings which acknowledge that Jesus is from God, he’s not talking simply about a teacher saying literally, “Jesus is from God.” Many false teachers do just that. Rather, to acknowledge Jesus is from God is to confirm by our doctrine, our teaching, and our obedience that Jesus is from God; we confirm He is from God

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by aligning our actions and our doctrine as closely to His word as possible.

Spirits, or doctrines, or teachings that are not from God will ultimately not measure up to Scripture.

As such, they do not belong in the “big tent.” Good shepherds, or gate keepers, know this and follow Paul’s command to, “destroy arguments and every lofty opinion raised against the knowledge of God, and take every thought captive to obey Christ” (2 Corinthians 10:5). Moreover, Paul instructs Titus to “teach what is right and true” (2:1). Again, he says, “Pay close attention to yourself and to your teaching; persevere in these things, for as you do this, you will ensure salvation both for yourself and for those who hear you” (1 Tim. 4:16).

Clearly what we teach has a direct impact on the salvation (or lack thereof) of our hearers!

This Tent Ain’t Big Enough for the Two of Us

It may come as a shock to some people to say that not all ideas which claim to be Christian are welcome in the big tent. In fact, there are many ideas and doctrines which are not consistent with Scriptural teaching and therefore cannot be welcomed into the tent. They therefore must be prohibited from entering by good and faithful shepherds and gate keepers.

In 1 Corinthians 5, Paul upbraids the local church for tolerating sexual immorality (and likely also for embracing tolerant teaching) among its members.

He then instructs them to remove the offenders: “I wrote to you in my letter not to associate with sexually immoral people—not at all meaning the people of this world who are immoral, or the greedy and swindlers, or idolaters. In that case you would have to leave this world. But now I am writing to you that you must not associate with anyone who claims to be a brother or sister but is sexually immoral or greedy, an idolater or slanderer, a drunkard or swindler. Do not even eat with such people. What business is it of mine to judge those outside the church? Are you not to judge those inside? God will judge those outside. ‘Expel the wicked person from among you’” (1 Corinthians 5:9-13, emphasis mine).

Here we see that God has called us to be gate keepers by exercising judgment with regard to the lives and teachings of those within the big tent. There is a reason that time and time again God commanded the Israelites to cleanse the Promised Land of its inhabitants; He knows that “a little leaven leavens the whole lump” (Galatians 5:9). Ideas have consequences. If our teaching has a direct impact on the salvation of others, so can false teaching. It must be rejected and removed precisely because of the danger it poses to the rest of those in the tent. As anyone who’s raised livestock will tell you, it only takes one wolf to decimate a flock.

The Big Tent is for Many People, Not Many Ideas The way forward then is not to bring in more ideas under the big tent, but instead to bring in more people through a saving knowledge of Christ. All who need Christ are welcome in the tent—saved and unsaved alike, but we must remember we are seeking to multiply saved people, not multiply theological variants.

We don’t need new doctrines, we need a renewed, right spirit in Christ!

Some will say that doctrine and teachings are always changing and should always be open to new and different interpretations. We need a big idea tent, they say. That is a mindset that must be rejected. Neither Scripture nor history speak of changing doctrine. The Old and New Testaments speak with one consistent voice about God, creation, humanity, sin, salvation, and eternity. Christian history consistently affirms the truths of these central doctrines. To be sure, there have been outliers and heresies and many false teachers along the way—the Bible said there would be—but their voices, although often loud and sometimes popular, have always ultimately failed the tests of biblical truth and God’s time.

If we in the West in the 21st century want to see true and lasting fruit, we must start with good seed and reject bad seed by paying “close attention to [ourselves] and to [our] teaching.” Consider the Berean Christians whose Christian character was extolled because, even though they “received the message with great eagerness,” they nevertheless “examined the Scriptures every day to see if what Paul said was true.

As a result, many of them believed” (Acts 17:11-12). If we, the gate keepers, get our doctrine right, we will see even greater numbers of people saved and joining us inside God’s big tent.

In these perilous and fractious times, my hope and prayer is that we would strive to move forward in fidelity to God’s Word and obedience to Him for the sake of glorifying Him and leading those who are lost to a saving knowledge and sanctifying experience of Jesus Christ.

We don’t need new doctrines; we need a renewed, right spirit in Christ!

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CONTRIBUTORS

Rev. Jared K. Henry

Bill Castillo

Rev. Dan Gilmore

Lead pastor of Mackey Church of the Nazarene in Mackey, Indiana and president of the Holiness Partnership

Executive pastor of Mackey Church of the Nazarene in Mackey, Indiana and board member of the Holiness Partnership

Northern Michigan District Superintendent, Church of the Nazarene

Rev. Carolina Guzman

Rev. Micah J. Sturm

Dr. Scott Rainey

Co-pastor of Central Church of the Nazarene in San Antonio, Texas and board member of the Holiness Partnership

Lead pastor of Sharpsburg First Church of the Nazarene in Sharpsburg, Georgia

Director of Sunday School & Discipleship Ministries International, Church of the Nazarene

EDITORIAL STAFF Executive Editors Rev. Jared K. Henry Bill Castillo

Rev. Andy Lauer Senior pastor of South Bend First Church of the Nazarene in South Bend, Indiana and vice president of the Holiness Partnership

Managing Editor Mallory Auer

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PRESENTED BY

Registration coming soon at theHolinessPartnership.com

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WHO WE ARE The Holiness Partnership is a Christian organization in the Wesleyan-Holiness tradition.

Our mission is to re-discover the vision and understanding of biblical Christianity, re-emphasize the biblical doctrines of the Holiness church, re-invigorate the local church for mission and evangelism, and re-capture fidelity to biblical truth.

FOLLOW US theHolinessPartnership.com @theHolinessPartnership @theHolinessPartnership @theHPartnership

REACH OUT info@theholinesspartnership.com PO Box 78 Mackey, IN 47654