Christians often misunderstand what it means to call God holy and have a narrow understanding of our own holiness. God is holy in his very essence. Holy is the most precise word used by Scripture for deity. From this core understanding three other uses of “holy” emerge. That...
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May 25, 2024 Andrew Sargent
101 Most Misunderstood Verses, Biblical Studies
God is holy in his essence… True Deity. His holiness is the terrifying manifestation of his divine power to create marking him as wholly other than all that He makes. In part 2, I continue discussing the meaning of calling God holy and distinguish this word from a...
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May 25, 2024 Andrew Sargent
101 Most Misunderstood Verses, Biblical Studies
Words and symbols connected to the idea of the holy have over 4000 verses associated with them. It behooves us then to fully understand what the holy and holiness are. This first installment of four discussions lays down the nature of what it means for God to be...
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May 25, 2024 Andrew Sargent
101 Most Misunderstood Verses, Biblical Studies
Matthew 18:20 is often misinterpreted to be talking about prayer… encouraging group prayer as more powerful, more special than private prayer. Matthew 18:20, however is about church discipline and how to conduct that discipline in as redemptive a way as possible. In Part Two, I zero in on...
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May 25, 2024 Andrew Sargent
101 Most Misunderstood Verses, Biblical Studies
In this Video I begin my discussion of Matthew 18:20 and why it is so badly misunderstood in the Church. Jesus is not talking about prayer, but about church discipline and the processes for using discipline redemptively in order to save people from themselves and others from their...
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May 25, 2024 Andrew Sargent
101 Most Misunderstood Verses, Biblical Studies
One of the first pieces of advice I give to people who are interested in engaging the original languages of the Bible[1] is, “Never forget, it’s not just a different word, it’s a different world.” [This is the part where you ooooo & aaahhhhh, and if you want...
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April 20, 2024 Andrew Sargent
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Can we all just stop pretending and admit that the very idea of the Trinity is weird? We describe the God of the Bible as a Triune God. This comes from the combination of Tri & Unity, three in one… but we don’t mean different parts, or merely...
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March 1, 2024 Andrew Sargent
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This is an article under construction. The nuts and bolts are here, but I am crafting this discussion for use as the opening chapter of a three volume series on Biblical Worldview. At the risk of making my consideration of Terry Walling’s book, Unlikely Nomads, even longer, I...
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November 22, 2023 Andrew Sargent
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This is long for a review, but I have a synopsis of some my grievances a little ways down. This is in no way a personal attack against a person I do not know, but his book is symptomatic of a larger struggle for the faith in the...
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November 9, 2023 Andrew Sargent
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There are different ways to describe God. We will attempt to consider at least three in the rest of this book, but I’d like to introduce them here to prepare you for them. We can talk about the nature of God as God—Essence Attributes. Most are defended...
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September 28, 2023 Andrew Sargent
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Back in the late 80s, I gave The Knowledge of the Holy by A. W. Tozer to a Christian “friend.” It had made quite an impact on my 19 year old self, and I wanted to share the blessing. The book was about the essence of God and...
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September 28, 2023 Andrew Sargent
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Academics love the reputation of being “objective.” Many fancy themselves wholly logical and “scientific,” and gifted with unadulterated reason. They aren’t any of these, but that doesn’t mean that they don’t try and definitely doesn’t mean that they don’t love the reputation.[1] It was the quest of more...
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September 27, 2023 Andrew Sargent
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Growing up we had a local store called Ann & Hope; it was like a flea market in a barely-converted penitentiary, but with less ambiance. Great deals though. Local Christians would joke, “Why go to Ann & Hope when you can go to God and pray?” My inner...
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September 22, 2023 Andrew Sargent
So you've Accepted Jesus
Christians go to church. We practice our faith in community, as the Bible says.[1] We are a global family of faith with local gatherings almost everywhere—“Churches.” “Church” is used to translate the Greek, Ekklēsia, which is a combination of “call” and “out.” So many quip, we’re called...
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September 13, 2023 Andrew Sargent
So you've Accepted Jesus
There is an old joke that goes, “If I found the perfect Church, it wouldn’t be once I joined.” And that is as good of an anchor to toss out as any other when discussing the right and wrong way to choose a church family. In the early...
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September 12, 2023 Andrew Sargent
So you've Accepted Jesus
The goal of this series of devotions is to provide a panoramic view of Christianity. We are introducing, but certainly not encapsulating, a host of issues that face those who have spiritually bent their knee to the Lordship of Jesus Christ. Some of these will discuss special language,...
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September 6, 2023 Andrew Sargent
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If I compare myself to the most wretched people I can think of, I look pretty good. Faithful husband, even before getting married, lived a mostly honest life, only stolen two objects… both before 17. But, I know a little of my inner man, and God knows the...
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September 6, 2023 Andrew Sargent
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God has given humanity ten social anchors for sustaining prosperous and free societies. We call these the Ten Commandments. As anchors they are more than just enforceable laws for society, they are principles of existence tethered to laws for society, which should shape our every interaction. In Exodus...
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September 5, 2023 Andrew Sargent
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We’ve been exploring the Ten Commandments and, by now, I’m hoping you’ve seen a distinct pattern in our meditations on them. We’ve articulated the value of these commandments as agents of legal structure in a blessed society AND explored them as agents of instruction for the covenant heart...
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September 2, 2023 Andrew Sargent
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The 7th commandment of the Big Ten says, in Exodus 20:14, “You shall not commit adultery.” It, like “You shall not murder,” is a spike in a metaphorical wall upon which you can legitimately hang many associated ideas. Not only are overt, legally-punishable sins like murder and adultery...
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September 1, 2023 Andrew Sargent
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