Patrick Davis > Quotes

“Tolkien captures the mood we will have when we at last awaken to that day, when Sam wakes up after completing his quest, exclaiming: “At last he gasped: ‘Gandalf? I thought you were dead! But then I thought I was dead myself. Is everything sad going to come untrue? What’s happened to the world?”3 I can quite imagine a lot of crying going on, on the part of all of us, as we realize that all we were able to dream of was but just a shadow of the reality of heaven.”
― Patrick Davis, Because You Asked

“So, how important is the Holy Spirit? I would say that his importance cannot be overestimated, and that if we remove him from the church, as Owen says, we will tear up the very roots of Christianity. In my many wonderings about that which is to come, I used to sometimes get the feeling that heaven would be terribly lonely, since I might want even for a glimpse of Jesus, and certainly would spend my life at the back of more faithful multitudes with better access to Jesus than I had. But that feeling is not true! I have the Holy Spirit, the very being of God, given to me throughout eternity, and there will be no such loneliness, for I shall have the company of God in me at every moment. No wonder the New Testament writers tell us of the joy inexpressible”
― Patrick Davis, Because You Asked, 2

“Moses saw the burning burn, yet the bush was not consumed. He turned aside at the wonder of it all, and in doing so, he came into the presence of God. It changed him forever! Why do we not see changes like this in every new believer? I am convinced it is our fault—we do not expect anything, and often become quite uncomfortable when someone we would lead to Christ expresses emotion. So we carefully prepare tracts that explain perfectly the doctrine, but we make no preparation for what might happen if the person should, God forbid, actually be overwhelmed by the spirit. We do not act like we even believe much has happened, yet the Bible says the angels in heaven rejoice over one sinner finding his way back.”
― Patrick Davis, Because You Asked, 2

“It was the advent, or more specifically, the empty tomb which is the next great event. Even though prophesied thousands of years in advance, the idea of a suffering Messiah was more than the world was ready for, and it confounded the leaders of that time, both Jewish and Roman, that the “bruising of the heel” was the death of the Messiah. A resurrected Christ, defying death, changed the world forever.”
― Patrick Davis, Because You Asked

“Can sin unsave the Christian?   One item that I feel I must make clear before answering this question is to make plain that neither I, nor anyone else can tell a man’s heart relationship with God. There is an intrinsic problem in answering this question, as the only basis the Bible gives us for judging one another is the fruit which we do or do not bear. The New Testament writers do assume, for the most part, that the life of faith does bear fruit, but the writers also seem to give much encouragement for saints to stay holy in their calling, and there are not a few instances where saints are scolded for allowing themselves to be pulled back into their former lives. Only God, who sees the hearts and motives of man can judge man; and that is as it should be. ”
― Patrick Davis, Because You Asked

“Why does God not heal when we pray?   My wife and I discussed this question for quite a bit before I attempted to answer it. I consider it one of the more difficult questions, but before I describe the difficulty, I would like to set the record straight. God does answer prayer! He answers many times, and in many ways. He leads me, guides my path, and opens and closes doors in life’s pathways all the time. Just the other day, I got mixed up with my daughters and my wife texting me at the same time, and entirely due to my error, I ended up on a strange street accidentally finding my daughter and her baby with car trouble. It is one of those strange coincidences that have happened to me so repeatedly in the past forty years! It is what my family has come to call “a God-thing”.”
― Patrick Davis, Because You Asked

“It is not an accident of history that this one man separates all men into two groups, one that anxiously awaits his coming, and one that denies his personhood. I do not think it an accident that we celebrate two Christmases each year—one that celebrates the advent of the Christ-child being sent to man, and the other who celebrates the good works of a funny man in a red suit. Some of us see him as he is, while others only seek to deny that which should be obvious to all. God has brought us to new life. And that life is in no one else except his Son. If you haven’t considered the claims of Christ, perhaps now would be a good time. What a wonder that God should come as a man, and be rejected by those whom he loves!”
― Patrick Davis, Because You Asked, 2

“Is there any evidence to support that the Holy Spirit is the greatest gift? There is some, but I think we should always remember that the very gift of the Holy Spirit only came to us because of the gift of Jesus Christ himself. Listen to the words of our Lord. “Nevertheless I tell you the truth; It is expedient for you that I go away: for if I go not away, the Comforter will not come unto you; but if I depart, I will send him unto you” (John 16:7). Here is proof at least that we benefited from Christ’s ascension. We received the promise of the Holy Spirit. It is a magnificent gift of God!”
― Patrick Davis, Because You Asked, 2

“I have long pointed out to my friends in theological discussions, that it matters not at all what we believe. It matters only what God is saying. If I develop a creed that says angels are the stars in heaven, I may believe my creed very sincerely, but that, of course, does not make it true. The measure of any doctrine or theology must be against the ruler of the Bible. Not even our historical fathers can measure doctrine or theology for us; it is through the lens of scripture that doctrine must rise or fall.”
― Patrick Davis, Because You Asked

“Jesus, the son of God, Christians believe. Or, if you believe as most of the world does, merely a good teacher. But, I must point out, if he is but a good teacher, in what sense is he good? He claimed to be God come in the flesh, and said he would save people from their sins, and claimed he would return to rule a kingdom on earth. If he is but a teacher, surely you cannot claim false teaching is good? If, as some suggest, he is a mad man, then surely the greatest deception ever was poured out on mankind. But the Bible record presents a Jesus free of madness, and that leaves but one choice. Jesus, the son of God. Hadn’t you better consider his claims? It is a fearful thing to fall into the hands of an angry God, and foolish, especially when he makes a way of escape.”
― Patrick Davis, Because You Asked

“And that is what makes Christianity different. It is not man’s story of his pursuit of God; rather it is a story of the Divine God pursuing man. In a sense it starts with the burning bush that is not burnt up, with God revealing to man that he is the one who made the laws of nature, even nature itself, and that he is not beholden to them. Progressive revelation is what we see across the spectrum of history, as God takes a stubborn and perverse people, and chooses them to bring the Son to his full glory.”
― Patrick Davis, Because You Asked, 2

“My father’s generation, who for the most part did not know Christ, knew at least there was a right and a wrong. They may not have been able to point to the reason for right and wrong—most did not know the Source of morality—but they passionately embraced their notions of right and wrong. Most of the time their notions were fairly close. But the modern generation has lost any notion of morality—and that is bound to lead to deep disaster. Tolerance and inclusiveness are the deceivers of the day; it takes a rare person to build a foundation of morality other than that which the state routinely sets out.”
― Patrick Davis, Because You Asked

“is at the point of believing God that the believer is given the Holy Spirit. As I became aware that God was concerned enough about me that he placed his own Holy Spirit inside of me, it was a feeling that was at once the best experience I had ever had, and the strangest experience I ever had. The best experience because I actually had constant access to God himself, who was able to show me in so many ways that he cared for me, had planned for me personally, and had gifted me to do work in his body—the church. The strangest experience because I was very used to lots of thinking on my own, reasoning things out, and figuring out what was key to a particular situation. Now there was Someone Else in my consciousness, and as I became more aware of his presence, I found him making me uneasy with my many of my thoughts. He knows all that I am thinking and doing at particular times, and I knew that there were thoughts in my mind that I was not willing to share. Those thoughts he knew, if the Bible is to be believed, even before I thought them. It was an invasive experience, and I had to learn to deal with the strange, as well as accept the blessing.”
― Patrick Davis, Because You Asked, 2

“As Chafer said, long ago, “If men go to perdition it will be because every possible mercy from God has been resisted.”3 I cannot conceive of a worse punishment than knowing that God has made a way to save your soul, that you have refused that provision, and that neither you nor a loving God can do anything to mediate your judgment. In society, people commonly believe God to be a merciful one, but they misunderstand his mercy, thinking that justice is a balance scale, and if their good works do not quite outweigh their bad works, God will somehow fudge the scale with his thumb. There is no merciful thumb of God; we have been weighed and found wanting, and there remains no salvation other than that which God has wrought. “One is either a justified covenant-keeper in Christ or a condemned covenant-breaker in Adam.”4 The choice cannot be put off, for in putting it off, is not one already making a choice?”
― Patrick Davis, Because You Asked, 2

“The sheer joy in the life of one saint during this festival is utterly inconceivable, but multiplying the millions of saints who will be sharing the same joy with each other, and perfectly, in ways we do not understand, through the Spirit, both sending and receiving our joy to our Groom, the Lord and Savior, must be the absolute expression of the divine. I have no doubt but that all of history will look back to this time, even as every generation of his faithful ones have longed for, and looked forward to this great event. History will meet prophecy, and will become one on that glorious day!”
― Patrick Davis, Because You Asked, 2

“So, how important is the Holy Spirit? I would say that his importance cannot be overestimated, and that if we remove him from the church, as Owen says, we will tear up the very roots of Christianity. In my many wonderings about that which is to come, I used to sometimes get the feeling that heaven would be terribly lonely, since I might want even for a glimpse of Jesus, and certainly would spend my life at the back of more faithful multitudes with better access to Jesus than I had. But that feeling is not true! I have the Holy Spirit, the very being of God, given to me throughout eternity, and there will be no such loneliness, for I shall have the company of God in me at every moment. No wonder the New Testament writers tell us of the joy inexpressible to come. What a wonderful thing to look forward to!  ”
― Patrick Davis, Because You Asked, 2

“I have long observed that a Bible which is falling apart usually belongs to a man who isn’t.”
― Patrick Davis, Because You Asked

“What if mankind has become so neurotic in their loss of fellowship to God that they have become “walking dead people”? What if we have so lost our remembrances of fellowship with God that we are nothing but walking zombies? Indeed Scripture seems to indicate that very fact, declaring over and over that we are dead in our trespasses and sins. As I look over Genesis, early man had long life, beyond anything we conceive of today. I do wonder if that was the reflection of their relationship with the Lord, strong as they remember his glory and what it was like to walk with him, but fading into a pattern of short lives and disease and death. I am convinced that we do not even realize our zombie-like condition. If the Bible is to be believed, as I always choose to do, then man is dead, corpses walking and breathing, but without any conception of what life is truly like. One day, perhaps right after we are allowed to drink from His spring of living water, then and only then, will we realize just how dead we really were.”
― Patrick Davis, Because You Asked

“No, the Bible stands all alone, by itself, and there is not one other book which could share its glory. It is a shimmering star, guiding those who will follow it to life, and condemning those who reject it. It alone winnows our people, the human race, into two separate and permanently hostile camps, with profoundly irreconcilable differences. Perhaps that is why it remains the unspoken number one bestseller, of all time, on all lists, in America. The Bible changes lives, has changed our history, and will change our future, if its message is to be believed. Nations which have forgotten its message, and rejected its truths, have themselves passed into the greying dust of history, to be almost forgotten by the nations who remember its importance. The Bible? Ask why it is important to me? You may as well ask me why I drink water.”
― Patrick Davis, Because You Asked

“Doctrine should come from the Bible and it should never be that we prove our doctrine from the Bible, but rather that the Bible compels us to adopt our beliefs. Our measure of whether we are doing this or not? Probably, as teachers of the saints, you might check to see where you are doing most of your reading. Is it in the latest book of the favorite creed? Or are you doing enough Bible reading to show it is the center of all your doctrine?”
― Patrick Davis, Because You Asked

“If you want to understand why the church is so enthralled with Israel, you need to understand that the church is waiting, with bated breath, for these things the prophets have declared to at last come to pass. Many in the church understand that God has tied himself to Israel, and will renew that tie in the days to come.”
― Patrick Davis, Because You Asked

“The significance of the regathering of Israel? Only the declaration to a blind and deaf world to see and hear that King of Kings and Lord of Lords is preparing to come back. Will any see and take heed? The scriptures from Matthew, above, signal that it is the “season” in which he is to come, and the consistent charge from our Lord is to “watch”. Are you watching as I am, wondering when and how the outcome will be? It is, after all, the command of our Lord.”
― Patrick Davis, Because You Asked, 2

“The Bible is clear in its invitation to all people. Grace can be extended to all, and has nothing to do with our deserved fates. Chafer says it so eloquently: "Grace is neither treating a person as he deserves, nor treating a person better than he deserves. It is treating a person graciously without the slightest reference to his deserts." Thus, when we say we are “under grace” we are referring to being totally free. Jesus said, I am come that you might be free indeed.  Christians are free from the penalty of sin, and that is under grace.”
― Patrick Davis, Because You Asked

“We believers have a main job: to preach the gospel to every person with the full expectation that many will hear the Word, believe, and begin to discover the deep love of God for themselves; it ought to be more than enough to keep us busy. “Say not ye, There are yet four months, and then cometh harvest? behold, I say unto you, Lift up your eyes, and look on the fields; for they are white already to harvest.”
― Patrick Davis, Because You Asked

“Remember Samson’s parents when they saw what they thought was God, exclaimed, “we shall surely die, for we have seen God”. Hebrews reminds us that it is a fearful thing to fall into the hands of the living God. The God of all of creation, in his shining glory, too bright for us to behold—that God loves us. Yes, God came down and assumed fleshly form, and Tozer, I think rightly casts this, “The awful majesty of the Godhead was mercifully sheathed in the soft envelope of Human nature to protect mankind.”3”
― Patrick Davis, Because You Asked

“The Bible insists that man started at the heights, at the zenith point with creation, a companion of God himself, and has fallen so far down that he is utterly unable to even glimpse the heights to which he once attained. The Fall was complete, and as the face of God became a fading memory in the lives of men, their lifespan quickly became shorter, their tempers larger, their hands ever more bloody, and they were forever doomed to become mere empty shells of what God had made them.”
― Patrick Davis, Because You Asked

“In our city, there is a growing homeless problem, and a number of city churches work to alleviate the problems. One of the exciting events that they have from time to time is a public baptism. Men off of the streets who want to profess Christ are immediately invited into the river to be baptized. It is quite a moving experience, and may I notice that it is quite close to the original Bible times experience. Men and women found out about the love of God given to them through Jesus dying on the cross, and they believed God, repenting of their sin, and being baptized in the nearest river at hand. It was a demonstrable change of life to their community, and naturally elicited great interest. I am told the same thing happens in our city; the testimony of people being baptized generates much interest from the homeless people themselves and leads to decisions.”
― Patrick Davis, Because You Asked

“I am master of my fate,” proclaims the proud man. Yet he does not see that he cannot number his days, neither can he make one hair black or white. His wrinkles come in, his teeth go out, and time will bend him ever downward. His brokenness grows as he fashions his Ebenezer-like chains, a link at a time. He does not see or perceive that Jesus would melt all those links away, if he would only believe.”
― Patrick Davis, Because You Asked, 2

“I was leaving God out in my reckoning. Oh, you say, no you weren’t, for all of the views have men of God in them. But logically, that is an irrational statement. Do you not see it, as soon as you say it? If the Bible says anything at all (and I think it says quite a lot), then it must say only one thing. There is not room for two opposing, or even divergent viewpoints. If there is truth, as I think myself confident in supposing Christians to maintain, then there is no more room for two truths than there are twenty truths. Unescapably, we must be driven to one.”
― Patrick Davis, Because You Asked

“We cannot stand long in the majesty of God, with all his vast glory shining upon us, without realizing our abject need of deep repentance.”
― Patrick Davis, Because You Asked, 2