Reflections on Phoebe Palmer’s The Way of Holiness
Phoebe Palmer (1807-1874) was a prominent nineteenth century evangelist in the Wesleyan tradition. She came to the Christian faith in the midst of the Holiness revivals that followed the Great Awakening (1730s – 1740s) and the Cain Ridge Communion (1801). The spirituality of these American revival movements emphasized emotional and intense religious experiences that signified the reality of one’s conversion. This divine assurance was the foundation and motivation for the convert to go on to Christian perfection.
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Holiness: The Beauty of Perfection by Dale M. Coulter – A Review
Many of us have traveled the journey of being converted to Christ in Pentecostal churches only to suffer from fear and guilt imposed by passionate preachers with bad theology. That was my story. I was converted at fifteen years old and Spirit-filled about a year later. Between conversion and Spirit-baptism I struggled with sanctification. I loved Jesus, enjoyed reading Scripture, and had a passion for ministry. But I struggled with temptations common to all teenagers.
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A Conversation about Sex – Part 8: Such were Some of You
The Gospel of Jesus Christ comes with a warning and a promise: The warning is “the unrighteous will not inherit the kingdom of God… neither fornicators, nor idolaters, nor adulterers, nor effeminate, nor homosexuals…” The promise is: “
Such were some of you; but you were washed, but you were sanctified, but you were justified in the name of the Lord Jesus Christ and in the Spirit of our God (1 Cor 6:9-11).
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A Compromised Sexual Ethic
In recent years we have been overwhelmed with a flood of sexual immorality in the church. The Roman Catholic Church has a long standing crisis with homosexual priests (see here, here, and here). Mainline Protestants have virtually surrendered the concept of a Christian sexual morality. Evangelical, Pentecostal and Charismatic churches struggle as well. Even as conservative churches half-heartedly promote a traditional sexual ethic it is being compromised from pulpit to pew.
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Ash Wednesday is Not about Smoking
As a child I thought Ash Wednesday was part of the anti-smoking campaign of the government. Pentecostals didn’t observe Lent, but every year I noticed “Ash Wednesday” on the calendar. It was during this time that the government began to encourage people to quit smoking. So, in my childlike mind ash corresponded to cigarettes.
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Friend of God, Friend of Sinners
I want to be a friend of God. “Abraham believed God, and it was counted to him as righteousness”—and he was called a friend of God (James 2:23; 2 Chronicles 20:7; Isaiah 41:8). I want to be a person after God’s own heart (1 Samuel 13:14). I want to follow after God’s word with integrity of heart and mind (Joshua 1:8). I want to live a blessed life.
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