“Burning lust that overflows is not an example of men getting away from God (as they like to tell themselves); it is an example of the wrath of God catching up with men” (Fidelity, p. 31).
A Work in Process
“The desire which we as Christians must battle is not just a ‘plain vanilla,’ morally neutral, biological desire for sex. We are fallen creatures, and even as Christians our redemption is not yet completed. We must still deal with the fact that we will confront desires, coming from within ourselves, which are attractive to us …
Naming the Problem Rightly
“The problem is not outside ourselves in the x-rated videos, or in the skin magazines, or with the porn on the net, or with Suzy Q sunbathing next door. The problem is within — even within believers. This is simply another way of saying that the problem with pornography is not the pornography” (Fidelity, p. …
In Defense of Plain Speaking
“Ezekiel rails against the adulterous idolatry of the Israelites by using sexual imagery of the most graphic sort. He uses obscenity to reveal the real obscenity of doing such things in defiance of God’s law . . . Ezekiel was more concerned about the obscenity he was exposing than the obscenity he was using . …
Turning Over Flat Rocks
“We live at a time when the world does not hesitate to teach on sexual behavior. Broad evenagelical churches usually mimic the world’s teaching with a thin Christian gloss, and the more conservative churches hesitate to teach on this subject at all. The result is that such things are done among us, but in a …
True Balance
“When men finally pick up the mantle of full responsiblity in ministry, they will then discover what a tremendous help their women are — but not until then” (Why Ministers Must Be Men, p. 60).
What Is Our Crown? Is It Not You?
“When the Lord dispenses rewards, or crowns, we will see that it will not be a mercenary affair at all. No one in heaven will be rewarded with a chest full of doubloons” (Why Ministers Must Be Men, p. 57).
Maybe Just Talking . . .
“Again, note the need for high levels of courage. If we are preaching in such a way that courage is not necessary, then what are we doing” (Why Ministers Must Be Men, p. 56).
Knocked Down and Picked Up by the Same Thing
“This means that a minister must not be the kind of person who apologizes for breathing. Every man called to the ministry shares Paul’s sentiment on the one hand — who is sufficient for these things (2 Cor. 2:16)? On the other hand, he must be the kind of man who tells these sentiments of …
Not Macho, Masculine
“Masculine leadership is not the same thing as machismo. The apostle Paul, one who demanded that ministers be masculine men, and who labored to provide a model for such men in their ministry, compared his manner of ministry to a woman breastfeeding [1 Thess. 2:7-8]. Gentleness in appropriate ways and places is not effeminate” (Why …