Author: David Ellis

Don: If we are saved by grace, what is the purpose of works? Scripture appears conflicted over the matter: For it is by grace you have been saved, through faith—and this is not from yourselves, it is the gift of God—not by works, so that no one can boast. (Ephesians 2:8-9) Romans and Galatians repeat…

Jay: Fruit is mentioned often in the Book of Matthew, For example: Therefore bear fruit in keeping with repentance; and do not suppose that you can say to yourselves, ‘We have Abraham for our father’; for I say to you that from these stones God is able to raise up children to Abraham. The axe is already…

Continued from last week The allegory of the vine and the branches is primarily about the bearing of fruit and not about salvation or ultimate judgment. If that is true then we should focus more on what fruit-bearing means. The scripture refers to four types of branch: 1. Non-fruit-bearing branches in Jesus. (John 15:2) 2….

Continued from last week Don: On the face of it, this seems to be a simple metaphor about those who are saved, those who are lost, and so on. But on closer inspection, it grows more puzzling. It seems as if the purpose of the vine is to produce fruit. Fruit is apparently the key…

Don: We have studied several of the “I am” statements of Jesus, including: “I am the light of the world” (John 8:12) which emphasizes God’s creative power. God created light in the Genesis, and he will create a world of light in the Revelation. “I am the bread of life” (John 6:35) which emphasizes God’s…

Jay: In the story of Lazarus we discussed last week were two verses concerning the glory of God: … when Jesus heard [that Lazarus was ill], He said, “This sickness is not to end in death, but for the glory of God, so that the Son of God may be glorified by it.” (John 11:4)…

Don: Jesus’ statement: “I am the resurrection and the life; he who believes in Me will live even if he dies, and everyone who lives and believes in Me will never die” (John 11) is the great reversal, the promise of restoration, the break in the chain of cause and effect, the demonstration of God’s…

Don: Last week, in discussing Jesus’s statement that he is “the resurrection and the life” Jeff noted that resurrection marks the dispensation—the end—of natural law. Mankind was created as part of a supernatural world, and to that world we shall return upon the restoration of our relationship with God. The two trees in the Garden…

Now a certain man was sick, Lazarus of Bethany, the village of Mary and her sister Martha. It was the Mary who anointed the Lord with ointment, and wiped His feet with her hair, whose brother Lazarus was sick. So the sisters sent word to Him, saying, “Lord, behold, he whom You love is sick.”…