Olivet Nazarene University Digital Commons @ Olivet Herald of Holiness/Holiness Today Church of the Nazarene 8-15-1979 Herald of Holiness Volume 68 Number 16 (1979) W. E. McCumber (Editor) Nazarene Publishing House Follow this and additional works at: https://digitalcommons.olivet.edu/cotn_hoh Part of the Christian Denominations and Sects Commons, Christianity Commons, History of Christianity Commons, Missions and World Christianity Commons, and the Practical Theology Commons Recommended Citation McCumber, W. E. (Editor), "Herald of Holiness Volume 68 Number 16 (1979)" (1979). Herald of Holiness/Holiness Today. 355. https://digitalcommons.olivet.edu/cotn_hoh/355 This Journal Issue is brought to you for free and open access by the Church of the Nazarene at Digital Commons @ Olivet. It has been accepted for inclusion in Herald of Holiness/Holiness Today by an authorized administrator of Digital Commons @ Olivet. For more information, please contact [email protected]. I BELIEVE IN THE CHURCH! One of the heartening signs of and this is at the same time “ We, who are many, are one the times is the rebirth of our to be a member of His body body in Christ, and individually Protestant understanding of the Church (Ephesians members one of another" the Church as Christ’s body. 1:22-23). (Romans 12:5, NASB). Life in But we have a long way to go Christ is life in His body, the For the New Testament before we recover the full New community of regenerated, community there simply was Testament theology of the baptized believers. no salvation outside the Church. Church. To be converted to No one saw this more clearly The Protestant Reformation Christ meant to be baptized than John Wesley. Said he: recovered the meaning of immediately into His body. ‘“ Holy solitaries' is a phrase personal salvation: To be Faith and baptism were two no more consistent with the saved was no longer merely sides of one coin. What the Gospel than holy adulterers! a question of baptism and Spirit did by His power, the The Gospel of Christ knows church membership but of Church signed and sealed by no religion, but social; no justifying faith in Christ. Under water baptism. St. Paul can holiness, but social." This is the increasing weight of write: “ For even as the body why he organized his individualistic Enlightenment is one and yet has many Methodists into small groups thought, however, the members ... so also is Christ. and insisted that they faithfully pendulum swung to the For by one Spirit we were all receive Holy Communion and opposite extreme: To be baptized into one body, attend all the means of grace. saved is a matter entirely of whether Jews or Greeks, We do not become God s holy individual faith, the church whether slaves or free, and people as isolated individuals being merely incidental to the we were all made to drink of but as members of “the Christian life. In this theology, one Spirit" (1 Corinthians community of saints." Perfect baptism and church 12:12-13, NASB). love is the Spirit's gift only membership become optional within Christ's body. matters for a believer. The We must recover the “social” To be a New Testament New Testament knows nothing thought of the New Testament. Christian is to confess, in the of either extreme: To be a Modern individualistic thinking words of the Apostles’ Creed. Christian is to be in Christ, is of the world, not of Christ. “ I believe in the Holy Spirit, the Holy Church of Jesus Christ, the communion of saints." I believe in the Church! □ b y General Superintendent William M. Greathouse HERALD OF HOLINESS P ‘* by C. DALE GERMAN Fremont, California ALL IT TEST, trial, temptation, or trouble. I Call it anything you want. All I know is that theC shout is gone, and the battle is on. It has been 17 years since I piled myself on the camp-meeting altar and prayed my way from hell to heaven. These 17 years have been up and down, and good and bad. I settled the question of salvation and heart purity once and for all, and have never re­ canted. I have, and do, experience freedom from sin’s dominant influence upon my inner life, but keeping that freedom has been a perpetual fight. THE GOOD WARFARE Sometimes I think God’s spiritual gift to me is the It just seems like staying a Christian is a constant desire to fight. When Satan does his vilest worst and effort all the way along. It is joyous, victorious, hits me where I’m weakest, I’d rather fight than blessed, and wonderful. There are long times on switch. mountaintops when I’m out of Satan’s greedy reach. When I was in college (a Nazarene college), I But there are wildernesses of temptation. I’m not fought the temptation to ride the spiritual tide of tempted to make bread out of stone, or to jump from the college church and campus revivals. It was a a high cliff so that angels can lift me up. spiritual effort to depend on my own personal devo­ My temptations change on me. The things that tional life for fellowship with Christ and intimacy tempted me years ago are not problems today. But with God. new temptations take their place. When I was overseas in Vietnam, I fought the These past 17 years have been the best, richest, temptation to give in to spiritual despair and uncon­ and fullest years of my life. In spite of Satan’s insane trollable loneliness. lust for my poor soul, God’s grace continues more When I was a minister of youth, I fought the temp­ than sufficient to meet head-on the conflict of the tation to be so busy that I had no time to pray and ages. fast. Christ brought peace to man. But He also brought When I was in seminary, I fought the temptation a sword. The only way I have found to keep that to so intellectualize my religion as to lose sight of the peace is to use that double-edged sword. practical application of all I was learning. Paul told Timothy to “war a good warfare; holding And now as a pastor, I am fighting other and dif­ faith, and a good conscience; which some having put ferent spiritual battles. For one thing, because I away concerning faith have made shipwreck” (1 Tim ­ rarely hear anyone preach but myself, I am fighting othy 1:18-19). weariness in order to let God minister to me through When it comes to spiritual warfare, I’d rather fight His spoken words that come from my own pulpit than switch. Christ has set me free and free I’ll stay! week after week. Selah. □ AUGUST 15, 1979 3 [JERALD IHOLINESS 'MM VU. E. McCUMBER, Editor in Chief IVAN A. BEALS, Office Editor |HE AMERICAN Contributing V. H. LEWIS • ORVILLE W . JENKINS PUBLIC is more A question Editors: GEORGE COULTER • CHARLES H. STRICKLAND EUGENE L. STOWE • WILLIAM M. GREATHOUSE social-service conscious to be asked General Superintendents, Church of the Nazarene than ever before. Our cities have numerous or­ by thoughtful, ganizations dedicated to caring some aspect of man’s so­ cial problems. Almost any people social need, from crisis- who are IN THIS ISSUE call to alcoholism, from child care to care for the interested elderly, can be dealt with in ministry I BELIEVE IN THE C H U R C H !................. 2 by some organization. General Superintendent William M. Greathouse The unfortunate thing is to the THE GOOD WARFARE ............................................................... 3 The fight of faith C. Dale German that most of them do not whole person. offer Christ to their cli­ IS IT TIME FOR A NAZARENE SOCIAL GOSPEL? 4 Keep Christ central John E. Henderson ents or patients. Cayton LODGER—AND LORD!............................................................... 6 and Nishi* observed in Christ lives in me Albert J. Lown 1955 that the pioneers of WORKING OUT SALVATION ............................................ 8 church social work never With divine guidance Donnatha Cecil Neely came to a place of domi­ THE STRONG-WILLED ADOLESCENT ...............................10 nance in either religion or The Strong-Willed Child James Dobson social work. They seem to be saying that the succes­ THREE BITS OF W ISDOM ....................................................... 12 sors of the pioneers of church social work failed to Perspective C. D. Hansen pick up the original vision of a Christ-centered social DEVELOPING OUR FAITH ..................................................... 13 Becoming a Whole Person Lyle P. Flinner ministry. In church social work, this Christ-centeredness is IT SEEMS ONLY YESTERDAY ............................................... 14 Patterns Betty Martin constantly threatened. Unless the threat is recog­ PASS THE SALT, PLEASE .............................................. 14 nized and overcome, the social work becomes secu­ Pen Point Frances Simpson larized. The vision of Christ-centeredness stays or the MAN OF THE MORNING ........................................................... 15 work changes direction. Book Brief Reviewed by Willis E. Snowbarger Nazarenes have held firmly to the basic concepts THE EDITOR’S STANDPOINT................................................. 16 of Christianity, particularly in relation to holiness W. E. M cCum ber and evangelism. This should only intensify as we CHARLOTTA PRAYED FOR M E .................................... .1 8 are now faced with a new challenge, that of Christian Deliverance Brian Cisco social work. The challenge is new, at least to most of JOY EVERY DAY ..........................................................................19 From the Lord G. Weatherley us. But we do not face a wilderness of unexplored IN THE N E W S ..............................................................................20 territory. The trails have been blazed by Christian NEWS OF RELIGION ................................................................. 30 pioneers and we have a Christian precedent. Many ANSWER CORNER ................................................................... 31 of the tracks are obscured by the attempts of the BY ALL MEANS ............................................................................34 world to take up where the Church virtually left off, Prayer Among Boxes Leone A.