“Ezekiel preached the way a man of God must preach. We are not here to give candies to the healthy or medicine to the sick. We are in the middle of a bleak and desolate graveyard, and we serve a God who raises the dead. He does so by means of his Word, which is …
Function Follows Life
“He gives us eyes, and it is afterward that we can see. He gives us a mouth to praise him, and afterward we sing psalms. He gives life, and then we may walk away from the tomb — and not a moment before. We do not see and then get eyes for a reqard. We …
Where the Dead Bodies Are
“When we glory in the Lord, there is no room for self-glory. We must glorify the Lord down to the ground — and beneath the ground, where all the dead bodies are” (From Out of Darkness, Light, p. 148).
Not Where Paul Was Driving . . .
“Those who are predestined are called, those who are called are justified, and those who are justified are glorified. To think that such a passage could include a proviso that ‘those whom he called, he also lamented when they left’ is to ignore the entire progression of Paul’s thought” (From After Darkness, Light, p. 146).
Entertainment and What You Become
Let us begin by recognizing that an unconverted heart will do one of two things with these principles — the first is that of attempting to put these principles into practice in such a way that God will be placed in your debt, and the second response is to rebel against these principles. Those are …
The Gift of Repentance
“Repentance is not the coin we put in the vending machine of salvation to get our product. Repentance is part of the gift” (From Out of Darkness, Light, p. 145).
Why Life is Necessary
“If the old heart is capable of repentance and faith, which is all that God requires of us, then why do we need a new heart?” (From Out of Darkness, Light, p. 144).
What Didn’t Happen
“No doubt Lazarus told Mary and Martha afterwards about what it felt like to be raised, but we really cannot reconstruct that conversation. However, we can be sure that Lazarus did not say that while Jesus pulled and pulled, he, Lazarus, pushed and pushed, until there he was, alive again” (From Out of Darkness, Light, …
Lazarus Wasn’t Pushing While Christ Pulled
“Now when Jesus performed this miracle, he did not first have to secure the cooperation of Lazarus. Rather, the miracle resulted in the cooperation of Lazarus. After he was raised from the dead, Lazarus did all the hopping and all the mumbling through the grave clothes. But prior to the resurrecting word of authority, Lazarus …
Breeze in a Can
“In many ways, the doctrine of regeneration is a signature issue for modern evangelicals, and the third chapter of John is frequently quoted. But the summary statement that Jesus makes here is routinely ignored. We cannot tell where the wind is coming from or where it is going. The Greek words for “wind” and “Spirit” …