He Died For Me

“We praise God that we are not required to earn what Christ has done for us, for we never could do so. We receive His death by simple faith alone. Jesus never demands that we earn what He did for us. But the Bible does tell us to live ‘in a manner worthy of the Lord’ (Col. 1:10). So we can turn to His wooden cross every day and pray, ‘If, with all Your glory, You, the Son of God, died for me, then I can live for You.’ We live not merely for a principle and not even for a great cause. We live for a person, the Lord Jesus Christ. He died not merely for a principle or even for the greatest of causes. He died for us. So every Christian can say, ‘I live for Him, because He died for me.’ He died for me.”

– Richard Phillips, What’s So Great About the Doctrines of Grace?

A Servant of Love, Not Slave of Lust

“Sex is given for our good. But God gave sex to be the servant of God and never the slave of lust. God intends for love to express itself in the commitment of marriage, and only then for intimacy to unite us in the joys of sexual love.”

– Richard Phillips & Sharon Phillips, Holding Hands Holding Hearts, p.143

Whatever the Believer Has or Lacks is From the Lord

“Knowing that he or she can trust in God, and confident that God will provide for all the needs of life, the godly man or woman submits to God’s provision and praises God for the wisdom with which he is overseeing his or her life: ‘The Lord is my chosen portion and my cup; you hold my lot. The lines have fallen for me in pleasant places; indeed, I have a beautiful inheritance’ (vv.5-6). The believer knows that whatever he has or lacks is from the Lord; he delights to know that it is a good and wise God who portions his blessings, the greatest of which is himself. If the believer has God,  that is more than enough.”

– Richard Phillips & Sharon Phillips, Holding Hands Holding Hearts, p.57

A Suitable Helper, Not a Goddess

“Sin is the rejection of God’s authority. Sin is based on a denial of God’s goodness and truth. Sin involves idolatry. In this case, Adam gave Eve the place in his life reserved for God alone. He made her the ultimate object of his worship; now that Adam had turned from God, she would have to be the source for blessing in his life. Eve was not designed to do this. She was made to be a suitable helper for him, not a goddess.”

– Richard Phillips & Sharon Phillips, Holding Hands Holding Hearts, p.39

Helper is a Position of Dignity

“To call a woman a helper is not to emphasize her weakness but her strength, not to label her as superfluous but as essential to Adam’s condition and to God’s purpose in the world. Helper is a position of dignity given to the woman by God himself.

– Richard Phillips & Sharon Phillips, Holding Hands Holding Hearts, p.26-27