What do we need for revival: for a deep transformation of Christianity and society?

Purity (holiness) | Wesley | Personality | Poverty | Other | MAGYAR

ZOOM: View/Text Size menu (increase, text only) or "Ctrl +" (Internet Explorer 7, Firefox 3). Purity (holiness): Christians should live holy, pure lives in practice as well, pursuing entire sanctification and love as it is taught in the Bible (1Thess. 5:23-24; 1John 4:18). Personality: Christians should meet regularly in small groups, where they can get closer to living out their faith through personal relationships, encouraging and admonishing each other, and PRAYING EARNESTLY. Poverty: Christians should make serious sacrifices and live for saving lost souls and helping those in need, and they should accept becoming poorer which usually follows from it. GRACE: We can do or achieve nothing without our Lord's infinite mercy and His undeserved favour, strength, help, and gifts (Eph. 2:8-10; John 15:5). These three things are bound together by LOVE ("the bond of perfectness") that is in close connection with them (Matt. 22:37; Col. 3:12-14).	Catholic or Protestant? Calvinist, Lutheran, Wesleyan, or other? Charismatic or not? We, Christians often try to "strain out a gnat" in our theological discussions and disputes, at the same time "swallowing a camel" in our practice. Firm Christian beliefs are important, but it is even more important that our deeds follow them - and we can be very "blind" in this respect (Matt. 23:24). Our self-image is often far from reality, and though many see this, few dare to tell us. I believe this is the first thing we need to be awaken from, and then it can lead to plenty of changes, including the area of unity as well. Since reality itself is often complicated, we can approach it well enough only through the combined use of different viewpoints or "MODELS" (theories, doctrines, parables, stories etc.) that can even seem to contradict each other (e.g. God is both one and three [Trinity], His holiness and grace, the perfection or depravity of believers, heavenly or earthly Paradise, sovereign divine decrees and human free will, faith and works, losability or certainty of salvation). One-sided attitudes are always dangerous! These are the themes that these pages try to introduce, indicating my searching journey and some answers I have found. Hopefully they will help you find your answers and move towards the goal you have been given by the Lord. If at times my words are too sharp, it is partly due to my hard journey; I am trying to fix that.
Purity (Holiness) The "Unknown" Gospel: God's Answer to Man's Basic Questions Bible Passages About Holiness, Purity, Perfection (without aiming at completeness) We Live As Christ: A summary of Dennis Kinlaw's book. The Roman and Corinthian Saints: The teachings of Romans and First Corinthians on holiness. Revival Yesterday and Today: Thoughts upon the Writings of F. Schaeffer, J.I. Packer, Luther, Calvin, and Wesley The Welsh Revival: A summary of a book by Thomas Phillips The Problem of Sin and Suffering - Which One is True: The Theology of Prosperity or Holiness Theology? Job, the Perfect Sufferer The Phases of Spiritual Development: Is There a "Second Blessing", a "Perfect, Sinless" Christian, Entire Sanctification? - A summary of "The Holiness Pilgrimage", a Book by John A. Knight (Beacon Hill Press of Kansas City, 1986). Holiness in Practice: Obeying Divine and Human Laws Lessons from the Life of Géza Kovács (1925-) Baptist Pastor - Based on his autobiography Relationships, Differences, Upbringing and Sexuality of Girls and Boys - Mainly based on "Bringing up Girls" by James Dobson Sex Is Not the Problem (Lust Is): Sexual purity in a world permeated by lust - A summary of the book by Joshua Harris The Life and Teachings of Fritz Berger - By God's grace it is possible for believers to be perfect How To Be Filled With the Spirit: The Way of Entire Sanctification Can a Christian Sin Deliberately (Knowingly)? Can We Gain or Lose our Salvation out of our Free Will? Interpretations of Entire Sanctification in the Different Branches of the Holiness Movement in Hungary (Methodists, Salvation Army, Church of the Nazarene, World Gospel Mission, OMS International) An Introduction to Wesleyan Theology - A rough summary of the book titled so by William M. Greathouse and H. Ray Dunning (Beacon Hill Press of Kansas City, 1989) What Are We Saved by: the Predetermined Decree of God, the Baptism of the Church or other Deeds, or Faith in Christ? - A Comparison of Wesleyan-Arminian and Calvinistic Theology with Especial Regard to the Doctrine of Predestination. This article is a summary of "Foundations of Wesleyan-Arminian Theology" by Mildred Bangs Wynkoop (Beacon Hill Press of Kansas City, 1967) Relational Holiness: A Model of Sanctification That Is Different from That of Wesley - A summary of a book by Thomas Jay Oord and Michael Lodahl A Theology of Love: The Dynamic of Wesleyanism - A summary of Mildred Bangs Wynkoop's book The Puritans and Their Preaching of the Gospel: The Giants of Spiritual Life and the Characteristics of the Puritan Revival (based on "Among God's Giants" by J. I. Packer) Predestination In the Works of the Reformers and in the Protestant Confessional Writings Entire Sanctification in the Writings of Luther and Calvin The Theology of John Calvin - A Short Analysis Based On His "Commentary On the Gospel According to John"	The Life and Works of John Wesley Some Quotes from "The WORKS of John Wesley" (14 volumes, 1872) Some Thoughts of John Wesley - From his sermons not published in Hungarian (#54-141) Characteristics of John Wesley' Teaching and Short Summaries of Some of His Sermons - Unity of Christians (sermons #38 and #39), The Nature of Enthusiasm (the right and wrong way of seeking God's guidance and the truth sermon #37), Self-Denial (and taking our cross, sermon #48), and those below that I have made more detailed summaries of: Sermons #34-36: The Law Established through Faith, 1 Sermon #49: The Cure of Evil Speaking - admonition Sermon #50: The Use of Money Sermon #51: The Good Steward - how should we use that which God has trusted us with The Life and Teachings of John Wesley: The Father of the Methodists, Who has Launched One of the Greatest Revivals of All Time as well as Modern Missions A Plain Account of Christian Perfection, by John Wesley. This work hardly has a match in Christian literature! (I have made an abridged translation of it.) John Wesley on Poverty: Wesley's 28th Sermon on a Single Eye, Poverty, and Laying up Treasures (Matt. 6:19-23). Wesley's selected sermons (they are in Hungarian at our website made with the Church of the Nazarene in Budapest [www.szentelet.hu]) Sermon #8: The First Fruits of the Spirit (Rom. 8:1) Sermon #9: The Spirit of Bondage and of Adoption (Rom. 8:15) Sermon #19: The Great Privilege of Those that are Born of God (1John 3:9) Sermon #31: Entering the Strait Gate (Matt. 7:13-14) Sermon #33: The Wise Man and the Foolish One (Matt. 7:21-27) Sermon #40: Christian Perfection (Phil. 3:12) Sermon #43: The Scripture Way of Salvation (Eph. 2:8) Sermon #46: The Wilderness State (John 16:22)
Personality A CALL to Serious Christians Who Want Renewal and Revival in their Lives and Communities: For the glory of Christ and for diminishing all the dishonour to His name I humbly ask and call Christians who want renewal and revival to use the model of Wesley's groups flexibly, e.g. to form accountability prayer groups, while they pursue holiness, firmly deciding that these groups will not serve for making new denominations (we have plenty of them already) but for the renewal of existing communities. Sacred Romance - Our Life Is an Adventurous Journey with God Our Lover (based on the book of Brent Curtis and John Eldredge John Wesley's Groups Rules of the Band-Societies (drawn up by John Wesley, Dec. 25, 1738) Questions for Accountability Friends or for Ourselves Personally Living out our Christian Faith Personal Evangelism Church Discipline In the Works of the Reformers and in the Protestant Confessional Writings	Poverty Bible Passages About Poverty, Richness, Wealth, Money On Poverty and Making Sacrifices: How Can We Win the Poor for Christ if We Are Wealthy? The Life of Charles Studd (1860-1931) - See the Bibliography below The Chocolate Soldier, or Heroism - The Lost Chord of Christianity, by Charles Studd. (I have made an abridged translation of it.) The Life of Ernõ Veress, a Baptist Pastor in Transylvania "You did it (not) to me!" - Common misbeliefs and the reality about the homeless and the Gypsies Mission Experiences in Ethiopia Sermon #1: Improving the Moral, Spiritual, Economical, and Political Condition of our Nation My Dear Loved Ones: The Letter of Krisztina Molnár on Poverty, Material Resources, and the Theology of Prosperity John Wesley on Poverty: Wesley's 28th Sermon on a Single Eye, Poverty, and Laying up Treasures (Matt. 6:19-23). See also Wesley's thoughts about the reasons of the ineffectiveness of Methodists and Christianity, and about wealth and poverty in the article "Thoughts From Wesley".
Other The Life and Sermons of Ferenc Sréter, the Lutheran pastor and evangelist at ebredes.atw.hu The Moral Basis and Conditions of Prayer - A summary of "Prayer and the Prayer Meeting" by C. H. Mackintosh Our Father: The Lord's Prayer - Paraphrased as a personal prayer. What Degree of Unity Should There Be among Believers? - Most of this article is based on Wesley's sermon "Catholic Spirit" on 2Kings 10:15, summarised in his biography by Garth Lean ("John Wesley, Anglican", London, Blanford Press, 1964) Christianity Yesterday and Today: The Development, Comparison and Criticism of Christian Denominations and Other Religions. Most of this article is based on "Here We Stand" by Wes Tracy and Stan Ingersol (Beacon Hill Press of Kansas City, 1999) as well as "A History of the Church: From Pentecost to Present" by James B. North (College Press Publishing Company, Joplin, Missouri, 1983) and "The Pilgrim Church" by E. H. Broadbent (Pickering and Inglis, Glasgow, 1963). What Do These Things Have in Common: superstition, sorcery, relics, speaking in tongues, apostolic succession, the only true denomination, etc.? When Should a Wife Obey her Husband and When Shouldn't She? Psychology Measured: Does Christian Psychology Exist? A summary of four studies by Els Nannen, a Dutch Bible School teacher, published in the magazine "Bibel und Gemeinde" and translated into Hungarian by Czövek Olivér, a Presbyterian pastor. These studies are based on the book of Martin Gross, "The Psychological Society". Bibliography: Good Books and Resources on Revival and Christianity About Me Ideas, Tools for Translators, Teachers, and Others Persecution of Christians worldwide: CSI: Persecuted Christians' web site * Voice of the Martyrs * International Christian Concern * YouTube * Religion Today (with daily news)

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