Top quotes by R. C. Sproul

Economics for Everybody' begins with understanding God's principles for organizing His creation and what that means for us as creatures and stewards. Votes: 13

To be a Christian is to be a theologian-a student of God and his will. The contemporary disdain for theological content and emphasis on self-image and emotions were not shared by the apostolic church. Votes: 13

Reformed theology so far transcends the mere five points of Calvinism that it is an entire worldview. Votes: 13

At its root, this is what faith is. It is not believing in God. It's believing God. Votes: 9

Here, then, is the real problem of our negligence. We fail in our duty to study God's Word not so much because it is difficult to understand, not so much because it is dull and boring, but because it is work. Our problem is not a lack of intelligence or a lack of passion. Our problem is that we are lazy. Votes: 8

The wearing of fabric head coverings in worship was universally the practice of Christian women until the twentieth century. What happened? Did we suddenly find some biblical truth to which the saints for thousands of years were blind? Or were our biblical views of women gradually eroded by the modern feminist movement that has infiltrated the Church Votes: 8

In Christian marriage, love is not an option. It is a duty. Votes: 8

But the blessing Christ promised, the blessing of great reward, is a reward of grace. The blessing is promised even though it is not earned. Augustine said it this way: Our rewards in heaven are a result of God's crowning His own gifts. Votes: 7

We do not segment our lives, giving some time to God, some to our business or schooling, while keeping parts to ourselves. The idea is to live all of our lives in the presence of God, under the authority of God, and for the honor and glory of God. That is what the Christian life is all about. Votes: 7

People need a consistent explanation of the cross of Christ and what it accomplished. Christ's atoning work is the centerpiece of the gospel and the only solution for humanity's estrangement from our Creator. Votes: 6

In Reformed theology, if God is not sovereign over the entire created order, then he is not sovereign at all. The term sovereignty too easily becomes a chimera. If God is not sovereign, then he is not God. Votes: 6

Prayer does change things, all kinds of things. But the most important thing it changes is us. As we engage in this communion with God more deeply and come to know the One with whom we are speaking more intimately, that growing knowledge of God reveals to us all the more brilliantly who we are and our need to change in conformity to Him. Prayer changes us profoundly. Votes: 6

The human dilemma is this: God is Holy and we are not. God is Righteous and we are not. Votes: 6

For a Christian to be a Christian, he must first be a sinner. Being a sinner is a prerequisite for being a church member. The Christian church is one of the few organizations in the world that requires a public acknowledgement of sin as a condition for membership. Votes: 5

Why do bad things happen to good people? That only happened once and He volunteered. Votes: 5

Whenever I read the psalms, I feel like I am eavesdropping on a saint having a personal conversation with God. Votes: 5

Obedience unlocks the riches of the Christian experience. Prayer prompts and nurtures obedience, putting the heart into the proper "frame of mind" to desire obedience.Of Votes: 4

It is important for us to make a distinction between the spiritual fruit of joy and the cultural concept of happiness. A Christian can have joy in his heart while there is still spiritual depression in his head. The joy that we have sustains us through these dark nights and is not quenched by spiritual depression. The joy of the Christian is one that survives all downturns in life. Votes: 4

It is important that when we are engaged in admonition or exhortation or confrontation with a brother who is overcome in sin, we call attention to the truth in an extraordinarily compassionate and tender and loving spirit. Votes: 3

The Advent season is that time when we seek to, in a manner of speaking, mute our memory of what has already happened, that we might brighten our joy that it happened. We leave the already of His advent to taste the bitter of the not yet. We, in short, go back, that we might look forward to His coming. Votes: 3

We are not doomed to an ultimate conflict with no hope of resolution. The message of the Scripture is one of victory - full, final and ultimate victory. It is not our doom that is certain, but Satan's. His head has been crushed by the heel of Christ, who is the Alpha and Omega. Votes: 3

We are puzzled and bewildered whenever we see suffering in this world because we have become accustomed to the mercy and the long-suffering of God. Amazing grace is no longer amazing to us. Votes: 3

The sweetest fragrance, the most beautiful aroma that God has ever detected emanating from this planet, was the aroma of the perfect sacrifice of Jesus that was offered once and for all on the cross. Votes: 3

It is one thing to believe in God; it is quite another to believe God. Votes: 3

God is not blind; neither is He capricious. For Him there are no accidents. With God there are no cases of chance events. Votes: 3

Christ is still in Christmas, and for one brief season the secular world broadcasts the message of Christ over every radio station and television channel in the land. Never does the church get as much free air time as during the Christmas season. Votes: 3

I had actually gone to a church-related college, but I went on a football scholarship, not because of any interest in the church. Votes: 2

The real crisis of worship today is not that the preaching is paltry or that it's too drafty in church. It is that people have no sense of the presence of God, and if they have no sense of His presence, how can they be moved to express the deepest feelings of their souls to honor, revere, worship, and glorify God? Votes: 2

We want to be saved from our misery, but not from our sin. We want to sin without misery, just as the prodigal son wanted inheritance without the father. The foremost spiritual law of the physical universe is that this hope can never be realized. Sin always accompanies misery. There is no victimless crime, and all creation is subject to decay because of humanity's rebellion from God. Votes: 1

The real crisis of worship today is not that the preaching is paltry or that it's too drafty in church. It is that people have no sense of the presence of God, and if they have no sense of His presence, how can they be moved to express the deepest feelings of their souls to honor, revere, worship, and glorify God?" Votes: 1

Touching His human nature, Jesus is no longer present with us. Touching his Divine nature, He is never absent from us. Votes: 0

God just doesn't throw a life preserver to a drowning person. He goes to the bottom of the sea, and pulls a corpse from the bottom of the sea, takes him up on the bank, breathes into him the breath of life and makes him alive. Votes: 0

It's easy to be an educated fool. Votes: 0

Once we are reconciled to God, the estrangement is over, the hostilities have ended, and the peace is sealed for eternity. Votes: 0

Scratching people where they itch and addressing their 'felt needs' is a stratagem of the poor steward of the oracles of God. This was the recipe for success for the false prophets of the Old Testament. Votes: 0

The sin of fallen man is this: Man seeks the benefits of God while at the same time fleeing from God Himself. Votes: 0

God's grace is so powerful that it has the capacity to overcome our natural resistance to it. Votes: 0

The grand difference between a human being and a Supreme being is precisely this: Apart from God I cannot exist; apart from me God does exist. God does not need me in order for Him to be. I do need God in order for me to be. We are dependent. We are fragile. This is how we differ from God. Votes: 0

To know that God knows everything about me and yet loves me is indeed my ultimate consolation. Votes: 0

God's graciousness is not totally removed from any individual during this lifetime. In hell, it is. Votes: 0

Divorce Myths: 1. When love has gone out of a marriage, it is better to get divorced. 2. It is better for the children for the unhappy couple to divorce than to raise their children in the atmosphere of an unhappy marriage. 3. Divorce is the lesser of two evils. 4. You owe it to yourself. 5. Everyone's entitled to one mistake. 6. God led me to this divorce. Votes: 0

Modern man has lost any sense of God's nearness, but Christianity teaches that God reveals himself through every single thing he has ever brought into being, whether a created object or historical event. Votes: 0

The failure of modern evangelicalism is the failure to understand the holiness of God. Votes: 0

It's dangerous to assume that because a man is drawn to holiness in his study that he is thereby a holy man. I am sure that the reason that I have a deep hunger to learn of the holiness of God is precisely because I am not holy. Votes: 0

The holiness of God is traumatic to unholy people. Votes: 0

The modern movement of worship is designed to break down barriers between man and God, to remove the veil, as it were, from the fearsome holiness of God, which might cause us to tremble. It is designed to make us feel comfortable. Votes: 0

When people ask me to name the Ligonier teaching material they should use to help them grow; I tell them, 'You should start with The Holiness of God.' Votes: 0

Christ exposed Himself not only to the unbridled hostility of angry men, but, more significantly, to the unmitigated wrath of God. Votes: 0

Repentance is something that is brought about in the human heart by the work of God the Holy Spirit. Votes: 0

Humanism was not invented by man, but by a snake who suggested that the quest for autonomy might be a good idea. Votes: 0

If God says, 'I forgive you,' you are forgiven no matter how you feel, and to refuse that forgiveness is an act of arrogance. Votes: 0

If you care about the slaughter of the innocent, then for God's sake, speak up. Votes: 0

Men are never duly touched and impressed with a conviction of their insignificance, until they have contrasted themselves with the majesty of God Votes: 0

Nothing could be more irrational than the idea that something comes from nothing. Votes: 0

The most violent expression of God's wrath and justice is seen in the Cross. If ever a person had room to complain for injustice, it was Jesus. He was the only innocent man ever to be punished by God. If we stagger at the wrath of God, let us stagger at the Cross. Here is where our astonishment should be focused. Votes: 0

I'm afraid that in the United States of America today the prevailing doctrine of justification is not justification by faith alone. It is not even justification by good works or by a combination of faith and works. The prevailing notion of justification in our culture today is justification by death. All one has to do to be received into the everlasting arms of God is to die. Votes: 0

The only works of righteousness that serve to justify a sinner are the works of Christ. Votes: 0

Hope is called the anchor of the soul because it gives stability to the Christian life. But hope is not simply a 'wish' I wish that such-and-such would take place rather, it is that which latches on to the certainty of the promises of the future that God has made. Votes: 0

We've replaced the proclamation of Christ with an easy-listening legalism of do more and try harder. Votes: 0

By His life, death, and resurrection, our Savior has conquered our enemies, and by His Spirit He has granted us to share in the victory. Votes: 0

If God is the Creator of the entire universe, then it must follow that He is the Lord of the whole universe. No part of the world is outside of His lordship. That means that no part of my life must be outside of His lordship. Votes: 0

The irony of New Testament lordship is that only in slavery to Christ can a man discover authentic freedom. Votes: 0

Jesus' life was a storm of controversy. The apostles, like the prophets before them, could hardly go a day without controversy. Paul said that he debated daily in the marketplace. To avoid controversy is to avoid Christ. We can have peace, but it is a servile and carnal peace where truth is slain in the streets. Votes: 0

A married person does not live in isolation. He or she has made a promise, a pledge, a vow, to another person. Until that vow is fulfilled and the promise is kept, the individual is in debt to his marriage partner. That is what he owes. 'You owe it to yourself' is not a valid excuse for breaking a marriage vow but a creed of selfishness. Votes: 0

If there is one maverick molecule in all the universe, then God is not sovereign. And if God is not sovereign, He is not God. Votes: 0

Prayer is to the Christian what breath is to life, yet no duty of the Christian is so neglected. Votes: 0

The most obscene symbol in human history is the Cross; yet in its ugliness it remains the most eloquent testimony to human dignity. Votes: 0

There is not one piece of cosmic dust that is outside the scope of God's sovereign providence. Votes: 0

Christ told his disciples not to be anxious about tomorrow, but he never said not to consider tomorrow. Intelligent problem solving demands careful consideration of the future effects of present solutions. Votes: 0

He is intangible and invisible. But His work is more powerful than the most ferocious wind. The Spirit brings order out of chaos and beauty out of ugliness. He can transform a sin-blistered man into a paragon of virtue. The Spirit changes people. The Author of life is also the Transformer of life. Votes: 0

When you enter the voting booth, don't leave your Christianity in the parking lot. Votes: 0

All that God had to do to harden Pharaoh's heart, or to harden your heart, is to withhold His own grace. Votes: 0

In the culture of pluralism...the only thing that cannot be tolerated is a claim to exclusivity. Votes: 0

We talk about predestination because the Bible talks about predestination. If we desire to build our theology on the Bible, we run head on into this concept. We soon discover that John Calvin did not invent it. Votes: 0

God does not rule by the consent of His subjects but by His sovereign authority. His reign extends over me whether I vote for Him or not. Votes: 0

I do not want to drive across a bridge designed by an engineer who believed the numbers in structural stress models are relative truths. Votes: 0

The only righteousness that meets the requirements of the Law is the righteousness of Christ. Votes: 0

God's grace is not infinite. God is infinite, and God is gracious. We experience the grace of an infinite God, but grace is not infinite. God sets limits to His patience and forbearance. He warns us over and over again that someday the ax will fall and His judgment will be poured out. Votes: 0

If you don't delight in the fact that your Father is holy, holy, holy, then you are spiritually dead. You may be in a church. You may go to a Christian school. But if there is no delight in your soul for the holiness of God, you don't know God. You don't love God. You're out of touch with God. You're asleep to his character. Votes: 0

Holiness provokes hatred. The greater the holiness, the greater the human hostility toward it. It seems insane. No man was ever more loving than Jesus Christ. Yet even His love made people angry. His love was a perfect love, a transcendent and holy love, but HIs very love brought trauma to people. This kind of love is so majestic we can't stand it. Votes: 0

Thus, John is saying that Jesus did His miracles not for their own sake but to point the observer and the reader beyond them to something that was significant to Himself as the One who spoke Votes: 0

The suffering of the Christian or anyone else in this world is never ultimately an accident. All suffering is within the pale of divine sovereignty. All suffering comes within the broader context of the sovereignty of God. Votes: 0

It is easy to get faith into our heads. It is hard to get faith into our bloodstream. Votes: 0

'Economics for Everybody' begins with understanding God's principles for organizing His creation and what that means for us as creatures and stewards. Votes: 0

If we are to be biblical, then, the issue is not whether we should have a doctrine of predestination or not, but what kind we should embrace. Votes: 0

We can no more assist the Holy Spirit in the quickening of our souls to spiritual life than Lazarus could help Jesus raise him from the dead. Votes: 0

As the fear of God is the beginning of wisdom, so the denial of God is the height of foolishness. Votes: 0

Most Christians salute the sovereignty of God but believe in the sovereignty of man. Votes: 0

Seeking God? We have totally revised corporate worship services to be sensitive to "seekers." If worship were to be tailored for seekers, it would be directed exclusively to believers, for no one except believers ever seeks God (Rom. 3:9-12). Votes: 0

For a work to be considered good it must not only conform outwardly to the law of God, but it must be motivated inwardly by a sincere love for God. Votes: 0

If God is not sovereign, God is not God. Votes: 0

A god who is all love, all grace, all mercy, no sovereignty, no justice, no holiness, and no wrath is an idol. Votes: 0

Just as the normative standard for the good and for the true is God, so the ultimate standard of beauty is God. Votes: 0

The worst sin against stewardship is to waste your life. Votes: 0

To focus our mind on the task at hand-with fierce concentration-m akes for a productive use of time. Votes: 0

Your task, O preacher, is to make sure that you are faithful to the text, that you are faithful to the proclamation of that gospel, that you are faithful to set forth the whole counsel of God, and then step back and let it happen. Votes: 0

In His tender mercies, God has an incredible capacity to love the unlovely. Votes: 0

To call a Christian a theist is roughly equivalent to calling the space shuttle Atlantis a glider. Votes: 0

The great triad of enemies for Christian growth contain the world, the flesh, and the devil. Votes: 0

No unborn baby has ever had the right to choose or deny its own destruction. Votes: 0

We cannot change God. God is unchangeable. If changes are to be made, they must be made in us. Votes: 0

There's probably no concept in theology more repugnant to modern America than the idea of divine wrath. Votes: 0

A Christian is not a skeptic. A Christian is a person with a burning heart, a heart set aflame with certainty of the resurrection. Votes: 0

A faithful person is revealed by those who hate him or her. Are you hated for your faith or ethics? If nobody hates you, maybe you have not displayed Christ openly enough. Votes: 0

A holy God is both just and merciful. He is never unjust. Votes: 0

A loving God who has no wrath is no God. He is an idol of our own making as much as if we carved Him out of stone. Votes: 0

Advice to aspiring ministers: Get in the Word. Stay in the Word. Master the Word. And for heaven's sake, preach the Word! Votes: 0

Any conception of a god that is less than sovereign is an idol and no god at all. Votes: 0

Anyone who takes his faith seriously and speaks in behalf of Christ and His kingdom will be accused of fanaticism at some point. Votes: 0

Apostasy occurs when a church leaves its historic moorings, abandons its historic confessional position, and degenerates into a state where either essential Christian truths are blatantly denied or the denial of such truths is widely tolerated. Votes: 0

As soon as a baby enters the world, the baby is immediately introduced to pain. It is somewhat symbolic that life begins with a cry. Votes: 0

At the final judgment, everyone will stand before God alone. Votes: 0

At the moment I sin, I desire the sin more than I desire to please God. Votes: 0

Before I can call upon Christ as my Savior, I have to understand that I need a savior. I have to understand that I am a sinner. I have to have some understanding of what sin is.I have to understand that God exists. I have to understand that I am estranged from that God, and that I am exposed to that God's judgment. I don't reach out for a savior unless I am first convinced that I need a savior. All of that is pre-evangelism. It is involved in the data or the information that a person has to process with his mind before he can either respond to it in faith or reject it in unbelief. Votes: 0

Burning hearts are not nourished by empty heads Votes: 0

By definition, the big difference between mercy and justice is that mercy is never ever obligatory. Votes: 0

Change marriage and you change the world. Convince people that government, not God, lays down the rules for marriage, and they will believe more strongly that they determine right and wrong, that not even the world's rulers are subject to a higher authority. Votes: 0

Confession should be a daily activity for the Christian, whose entire pilgrimage is characterized by the spirit of repentance. Votes: 0

Cynicism and skepticism are the crudest form of quasi-intellectualism... Let the cynic become cynical of his cynicism and the skeptic skeptical of his skepticism and join the battle. Votes: 0

Dead men do not cooperate with grace. Unless regeneration takes place first, there is no possibility of faith. Votes: 0

Disciples of Christ abide in His Word. Those who abide in His Word know the truth and are free. Votes: 0

Doctrine divides, but doctrine also unites. It binds together the hearts of God's people who celebrate the truth of God together. Votes: 0

Doctrine does matter. Votes: 0

Dr. Boice's commentary series is a treasure for the church and for her pastors. No expository preacher can afford to be without it. Votes: 0

Even the slightest sin is an act of cosmic treason. Votes: 0

Every person needs to feel significant. We want our lives to count. We yearn to believe that in some way we are important and that hunger for significance-a drive as intense as our need for oxygen-doesn't come from pride or ego. It comes from God because he wants each of us to understand how important we are. ... We must seek our roots, our origin, and our destiny so that we can know our present value. ..... ...We can help each other realize that we are persons of significance being made in the image of God. Votes: 0

Every sin is an act of cosmic treason, a futile attempt to dethrone God in His sovereign authority. Votes: 0

Evil may mar the divine image and cloud its brilliance, but it cannot destroy it. Votes: 0

Faith is the means by which the righteousness of Christ is given to us. Votes: 0

Faith never requires us to crucify our minds or deny our senses. Votes: 0

Fallen man is free to choose what he desires, but because his desires are only wicked he lacks the moral ability to come to Christ. As long as he remains in the flesh, unregenerate, he will never choose Christ. He cannot choose Christ precisely because he cannot act against his own will. His fall is so great that only the effectual grace of God working in his heart can bring him to faith. Votes: 0

For the Arminian, salvation is possible for all but certain for none. In the Calvinist position, salvation is sure for God's elect. Votes: 0

For the Christian, every tragedy is ultimately a blessing, or God is a liar. Votes: 0

For the soul of a person to be inflamed with passion for the living God, that person's mind must first be informed about the character and will of God. There can be nothing in the heart that is not first in the mind. Though it is possible to have theology on the head without its piercing the soul, it cannot pierce the soul without first being grasped by the mind. Votes: 0

Genuine love for Jesus manifests itself in obedience to His commandments. Votes: 0

Give me the biblical Christ or give me nothing. Votes: 0

God did not die. The God who took on Himself a human nature died in His humanity, but the deity did not perish on the cross. Votes: 0

God doesn't need our consent in order to govern us; He made us. Votes: 0

God doesn't want us to just feel gratitude, but for us to show it by giving thanks to God with our lives. Votes: 0

God Himself supplies the necessary condition to come to Jesus, that's why it is 'sola gratia,' by grace alone, that we are saved. Votes: 0

God is not going to negotiate His holiness... in order to accommodate us. Votes: 0

God is not interested in our public displays of piety. He's not interested in religion in terms of the outward show. He's interested in godliness. Votes: 0

God is serious about how we worship Him, and we must be serious about it, too. Votes: 0

God is the foundation of all authority, He exercises that foundation because He is the author and the owner of His creation. He is the foundation upon which all other authority stands or falls. Votes: 0

God not only initiated my salvation, He not only sowed the seed, but He made sure that that seed germinated in my heart by regenerating me by the power of the Holy Ghost. Votes: 0

God wants your life. Not one hour a week, not 10% of your income, He wants you. Votes: 0

God's sovereign will is not at the whim and mercy of our person and individual responses to it. Votes: 0

God's grace is not infinite. God is infinite, and God is gracious. Votes: 0

Grace and mercy are never deserved. Votes: 0

Grace, by definition, is something that God is not required to grant. He owes a fallen world no mercy. Votes: 0

Heaven is a place where God will personally wipe away our tears. Votes: 0

I believe it to be one of the most important discipleship resources we have produced at Ligonier. Votes: 0

I can't make the Bible come alive for anyone. The Bible is already alive. It makes me come alive. Votes: 0

I cannot have God in my heart if he is not in my head. Before I can believe in, I must believe that. Votes: 0

I don't always feel His presence. But God's promises do not depend upon my feelings; they rest upon His integrity. Votes: 0

I get irritated when I hear preachers say, "Come to Jesus and all your problems will be over." That's just simply a lie. Votes: 0

I rest solely in His righteousness and in His atonement because I know there is nothing I can do to make up for my own iniquity. Votes: 0

I think Arminianism is death to Christianity! Votes: 0

I think the greatest weakness in the church today is that almost no one believes that God invests His power in the Bible. Everyone is looking for power in a program, in a methodology, in a technique, in anything and everything but that in which God has placed it"”His Word. He alone has the power to change lives for eternity, and that power is focused on the Scriptures. Votes: 0

I've often wondered where Jesus would apply His hastily made whip if He were to visit our culture. My guess is that it would not be money-changing tables in the temple that would feel His wrath, but the display racks in Christian bookstores. Votes: 0

If Christ could make a complaint, it would be, "My bride never talks to me". Votes: 0

If ever there were a time there was nothing, there would be nothing now. Votes: 0

If God did not act first, no one would be saved. Votes: 0

If grace is obligated it is no longer grace. The very essence of grace is that it is undeserved. Votes: 0

If I know anything about the character of God after fifty years of ministry, I know that God hates abortion. Votes: 0

If it were left to us, we would all fall away from the faith and perish. Votes: 0

If the being of God ceased for one second, the universe would disappear. Votes: 0

If the final decision for the salvation of fallen sinners were left in the hands of fallen sinners, we would despair all hope that anyone would be saved. Votes: 0

If the God you believe in is not a sovereign God, then you really don't believe in God. Votes: 0

If there ever was a time when absolutely nothing existed, all there could possibly be now is nothing. Votes: 0

If there is one single molecule in this universe running around loose, totally free of God's sovereignty, then we have no guarantee that a single promise of God will ever be fulfilled. Votes: 0

If you are of the truth, if you have learned the truth, if you see the sanctity of the truth, then speak truth. We are not called to be deceivers or liars. God is a God of truth, and His people are called to have an enormously high standard of truth. Votes: 0

If you don't know you're in a state of grace, then you're vulnerable to the paralysis of the accusations of the enemy. Votes: 0

If you take away the cross as an atoning act, you take away Christianity. Votes: 0

If you truly have it, you never lose it; and if you lose it, you never truly had it. Votes: 0

If you're not accountable in life that means ultimately that your life doesn't count. Votes: 0

I'll retire when they pry my cold, dead fingers off of my Bible. Votes: 0

In a universe governed by God there are no chance events. Indeed, there is no such thing as chance. Chance does not exist. It is merely a word we use to describe mathematical possibilities. But chance itself has no power because it has no being. Chance is not an entity that can influence reality. Chance is not a thing. It is nothing. Votes: 0

In every age the church is threatened by heresy, and heresy is bound up in false doctrine. It is the desire of all heretics to minimize the importance of doctrine. When doctrine is minimized, heresy can exercise itself without restraint. Votes: 0

In salvation we are not only saved from sin and damnation; we are saved unto holiness. The goal of redemption is holiness. Votes: 0

In the decade of the 1980s, a massive and comprehensive study of religion in American life was undertaken by the Gallup organization. The results of the study were as terrifying as they were revealing. Americans, even evangelical Americans, are woefully ignorant of the content of Scripture and even more ignorant of the history of Christianity and classical Christian theology. Votes: 0

In the psalms, we have a collection of 150 prayers that were inspired originally by the Holy Ghost. If you want to know how God is pleased and honored in prayer, why not immerse yourself in the prayers that he himself has inspired? Votes: 0

Isn't is amazing that almost everyone has an opinion to offer about the Bible, and yet so few have studied it? Votes: 0

It has been said by church historians that in those periods of Christian history where renewal, revival, and awakening took place and the church was at its strongest, that coincidental with those periods in church history, there was a strong focus on the psalms in the life of God's people-particularly in the worship of God's people. Votes: 0

It is by virtue of the atonement that God can maintain His justice and yet demonstrate His mercy... Votes: 0

It is fashionable in some academic circles to exercise scholarly criticism of the Bible. In so doing, scholars place themselves above the Bible and seek to correct it. If indeed the Bible is the Word of God, nothing could be more arrogant. It is God who corrects us; we don't correct Him. We do not stand over God but under Him. Votes: 0

It is imperative that the Christian, at the beginning of his pursuit to understand what true worship is, gets it clear that the object of our worship is to be God and God alone. Votes: 0

It is one thing to fall victim to the flood or to fall prey to cancer; it is another thing to fall into the hands of the living God. Votes: 0

It is superstitious to equate our feelings and inclinations with the leading of the Holy Spirit. Votes: 0

It is the Holy Spirit who inspired the Bible. It is the Holy Spirit who illumines the Bible. Votes: 0

It's dangerous to assume that because a person is drawn to holiness in his study that he is thereby a holy man. There is irony here. I am sure that the reason I have a deep hunger to learn of the holiness of God is precisely because I am not holy. I am a profane man"”a man who spends more time out of the temple than in it. But I have had just enough of a taste of the majesty of God to want more. I know what it means to be a forgiven man and what it means to be sent on a mission. My soul cries for more. My soul needs more. Votes: 0

It's a sin to bore people. Votes: 0

It's because Jesus spoke so frequently about hell that the church should take the concept seriously. Votes: 0

It's not the wickedness of the pagan that breaks my heart. It's the compromise of the Christian that grieves my soul. Votes: 0

Jesus came to seek and to save the lost. He is the Seeker; we are the ones who are running. Votes: 0

Like Muslims we assume that God will judge us "on balance." If our good deeds outweigh our bad deeds, we will arrive safely in heaven. But, alas, if our evil deeds outweigh our good ones, we will suffer the wrath of God in hell. We may be "marred" by sin but in no wise devastated by it. We still have the ability to balance our sins with our own righteousness. This is the most monstrous lie of all. Votes: 0

Look to the Bible and not your feelings as the basis of the Christian life. Votes: 0

Loving a holy God is beyond our moral power. The only kind of God we can love by our sinful nature is an unholy god, an idol made by our own hands. Unless we are born of the Spirit of God, unless God sheds His holy love in our hearts, unless He stoops in His grace to change our hearts, we will not love Him... To love a holy God requires grace, grace strong enough to pierce our hardened hearts and awaken our moribund souls. Votes: 0

Man's will is free to follow his inclinations, but fallen man's inclinations are always and invariably away from God. Votes: 0

Men and women who refuse to acknowledge God's existence do so, in the final analysis, because it is contrary to their manner of living. They do not want to bow to the moral claims of a holy God on their lives. Votes: 0

Mindless Christianity is no Christianity at all. You can't love what you don't know. Votes: 0

Natural man's sin is precisely this: He wants the benefits of God without God Himself. Votes: 0

No Christian can avoid theology. Every Christian has a theology. The issue, then, is not, dowe want to have a theology? That's a given. The real issue is, do we have a sound theology.? Do we embrace true or false doctrine? Votes: 0

No Christian can avoid theology. Every Christian is a theologian. Perhaps not a theologian in the technical or professional sense, but a theologian nevertheless. The issue for Christians is not whether we are going to be theologians but whether we are going to be good theologians or bad ones. Votes: 0

No one was ever called by God to greater suffering than God's only begotten Son. Votes: 0

No sinner has the right to say with impunity, 'God you owe me grace.' If grace is owed, it is not grace. The very essence of grace is its voluntary character. God reserves to himself the sovereign, absolute right to give grace to some and withhold that grace from others. Votes: 0

Not until we take God seriously will we ever take sin seriously. Votes: 0

One can have knowledge without having wisdom, but one cannot have wisdom without having knowledge. Votes: 0

One does not structure the church to meet the felt needs and desires of the tares. The purpose of corporate assembly, which has its roots in the Old Testament, is for the people of God to come together corporately to offer their sacrifices of praise and worship to God. So the first rule of worship is that it be designed for believers to worship God in a way that pleases God. Votes: 0

One might pray and not be a Christian, but one cannot be a Christian and not pray. Votes: 0

Only a true faith that applies God's Word to everything-incl uding economics-will lead to the revival and reformation our culture needs so badly. Votes: 0

Only God can provide us with an eternal perspective and speak to us with absolute and final authority. Votes: 0

Our natural inclination is to hide ourselves from God. Votes: 0

Our prayers cannot force God to do anything, but He uses them as His own instruments to bring about His will. Votes: 0

People only have true understanding when they look at everything from God's perspective. Authentic wisdom begins when we understand that God is to be the object of our devotion, our adoration, and our reverence. Votes: 0

Perhaps the most difficult task for us to perform is to rely on God's grace and God's grace alone for our celebration. It is difficult for our pride to rest on grace. Grace is for other people"”for beggars. We don't want to live by a heavenly welfare system. We want to earn our own way and atone for our own sins. We like to think that we will go to heaven because we deserve to be there. Votes: 0

Prayer does change things, all kinds of things. But the most important thing it changes is us. Votes: 0

Prayer is not optional for the Christian; it is required. Votes: 0

Preachers must always fight the temptation to preach anything but Christ and Him crucified. Votes: 0

Reformed theology does NOT teach that God brings the ELECT kicking and screaming, against their will, into His kingdom. It teaches that God so-works in the hearts of the Elect as to make them willing and pleased to come to Christ. They come to Christ because they want to. They want to because God has created in their hearts a desire for Christ. Votes: 0

Regeneration is a work of the omnipotent power of God, power that nothing can overcome or resist. Votes: 0

Right now counts forever. Votes: 0

Satan can do only what the sovereign God allows him to do. Votes: 0

Satan could make an "A" in my Systematic Theology course. He knows the information and knows that the information is true. Votes: 0

Scripture does not say that God is 'love, love, love' or that He is 'wrath, wrath, wrath,' but that He is 'holy, holy, holy.' Votes: 0

Sin can bring pleasure, but never happiness. Votes: 0

Sin is cosmic treason Votes: 0

Sin is not simply making bad choices or mistakes. Sin is having the desire in our hearts to do the will of the enemy of God. Votes: 0

Sometimes we behave and perform with our lives, not for God, but for an audience. Votes: 0

Sometimes we emulate the Pharisees more than we imitate Christ. Votes: 0

Tabletalk Magazine exists to help establish us in the Word to deepen our understanding of God and apply this knowledge to our daily living. Votes: 0

The Arminian view makes the final decision of our salvation rest upon a human choice, not upon a divine action. Votes: 0

The atonement is a multifaceted event-Jesus is shown providing surety for our debt to God, mediating the enmity between us and God, and offering Himself as a substitute to suffer God's judgment in our place. Votes: 0

The Bible alone is the only authority that can bind the conscience of a person absolutely because it is the only authority that carries with it the intrinsic authority of God Himself. Votes: 0

The Bible never tells us to take a blind leap of faith into the darkness and hope that there's somebody out there. The Bible calls us to jump out of the darkness and into the light. That is not a blind leap. The faith that the New Testament calls us to is a faith rooted and grounded in something that God makes clear is the truth. Votes: 0

The Bible's truth does not depend in any way on whether or not a person believes the truth. Votes: 0

The Christian life is to live all of your life in the presence of God. Votes: 0

The Christian should be able to say with the psalmist, 'Oh, how I love your law.' Votes: 0

The clearest sensation that a human being has when he experiences the holy is an overpowering and overwhelming sense of creatureliness. That is, when we are in the presence of God, we are humbled and become most aware of ourselves as creatures. This is the opposite of Satan's original temptation, "You shall be as gods. Votes: 0

The complaint that church is boring is never made by people in awe. Votes: 0

The cross was a glorious outworking of the grace of God, by which the Father commissioned the Son to make full satisfaction so that sinners might be saved with no sacrifice of God's justice. Votes: 0

The fundamental deception of Satan is the lie that obedience can never bring happiness. Votes: 0

The fundamental loss of a desire for God is the heart of original sin. Votes: 0

The glory of the gospel is this: The one from whom we need to be saved is the one who has saved us. Votes: 0

The God of popular religion is not holy. Votes: 0

The gospel is only good news when we understand the bad news. Votes: 0

The gospel is the proclamation of the person and work of Jesus Christ and how those benefits can be applied to us by faith alone. Votes: 0

The gospel of Jesus Christ must be defended in every generation. It is always the center of attack by the forces of evil. Votes: 0

The great misconception in our day is this: that God isn´t concerned to protect His own integrity. He´s a kind of wishy-washy deity, who just waves a wand of forgiveness over everybody. No. For God to forgive you is a very costly matter. Votes: 0

The greatest weakness in the church today is that the servants of God keep looking over their shoulder for the approval of men. Votes: 0

The grounds of your justification are the perfect works of Jesus Christ. We're saved by works, but they're not our own. Votes: 0

The higher purpose of the cross was that the Father would be glorified by the satisfaction of His justice. Votes: 0

The house that is built upon the sand will crumble at the first sign of a windstorm. Votes: 0

The idea of being the Substitute in offering an atonement to satisfy the demands of God's law for others was something Christ understood as His mission from the moment He entered this world and took upon Himself a human nature. He came from heaven as the gift of the Father for the express purpose of working out redemption as our Substitute, doing for us what we could not possibly do for ourselves. Votes: 0

The issue of faith is not so much whether we believe in God, but whether we believe the God we believe in. (p.35) Votes: 0

The main problem with those who deny the existence of God is not intellectual. It is not because of insufficient information, or that God's manifestation of himself in nature has been obscured. The atheists' problem is not that they cannot know God, rather it is they do not want to know him. Man's problem with the existence of God is not an intellectual problem; it is a moral problem." For the wrath of God is revealed from heaven against all ungodliness and unrighteousness of men - Rom. 1:18" Votes: 0

The moment we think we deserve mercy a little alarm bell should go off in our head because we are not talking about mercy anymore but justice. Votes: 0

The more faithful preachers are to the Word of God in their preaching, the more liable they are to the charge of hypocrisy. Why? Because the more faithful people are to the Word of God the higher the message is that they will preach. The higher the message, the further they will be from obeying themselves. Votes: 0

The more I expose myself to the Word of God, the greater my faith will be. Votes: 0

The more I learn about God, the more aware I become of what I don't know about him. Votes: 0

The more sanctified a person is the more heavily weighted his prayer time is in adoration. Votes: 0

The more seriously we understand the radical nature of sin, the more it exercises a restraint upon us. Votes: 0

The neutral view of free will is impossible. It involves choice without desire. Votes: 0

The one place where the Christian can be naked without fear is in the presence of Christ. Votes: 0

The only cure for anxiety is to get down on our knees. Votes: 0

The only freedom that man ever has is when he becomes a slave to Jesus Christ. Votes: 0

The only reason why I'm a Christian is because I'm a gift of the Father to the Son, not because of anything I've ever done. Votes: 0

The only thing that we have earned at the hands of perfect justice is perfect punishment. Votes: 0

The only way the kingdom of God is going to be manifest in this world before Christ comes is if we manifest it by the way we live as citizens of heaven and subjects of the King. Votes: 0

The power of the gospel is the word of God . . . nobody needs a gospel if there's no judgment, or law, if God is not a God of judgment. If there is no such thing as hell, what good is the gospel? Votes: 0

The presumptuous sin of Uzzah was that He assumed his hands were less polluted than the dirt. Votes: 0

The principle rule of interpreting Scripture is that Scripture interprets Scripture. Votes: 0

The problem in the church today is not the profession of faith, but it's possession. Votes: 0

The promises of God for tomorrow are the anchor for believers today. Votes: 0

The pursuit of God is not a part-time, weekend exercise. If it is, chances are you will experience a part-time, weekend freedom. Abiding requires a kind of staying power. The pursuit is relentless. It hungers and thirsts. It pants as the deer after the mountain brook. It takes the kingdom by storm...The pursuit of God is a pursuit of passion. Indifference will not do. To abide in the Word is to hang on tenaciously. A weak grip will soon slip away. Discipleship requires staying power. We sign up for duration. We do not graduate until heaven. Votes: 0

The question is not, "Why is there only one way to God?" but "Why is there even one way?" Votes: 0

The rapture will not be secret but open and manifest. Its purpose will not be to whisk the elect away from the earth for a while until Christ returns for a 'second' Second Coming. The purpose of the rapture is to allow the saints to meet Jesus in the air as He returns and be included in His entourage during His triumphal descent from Heaven. His coming in this manner will be attended by the general resurrection, the final judgment, and the end of the world. Votes: 0

The resurrection was God the Father's way of authenticating all of the truths that were declared by Jesus. Votes: 0

The Spirit always communicates that He's for you when He convicts you of your sin. Votes: 0

The supreme form of cursedness is for the Lord to turn His back on you and bring judgment on you. Votes: 0

The truth of Scripture is meant not only to be studied-it's meant also to be sung. Votes: 0

The very heart of worship, as the Bible makes clear, is the business of expressing, from the depths of our spirits, the highest possible honor we can offer before God. Votes: 0

The whole basis for our relationship with God is rooted and grounded in grace, in that which is not earned. Votes: 0

The whole concept of providence is that God knows everything about what we do. Votes: 0

The Word of God can be in the mind without being in the heart; but it cannot be in the heart without first being in the mind. Votes: 0

The world is filled with God's glory. You can't turn without bumping into it. Votes: 0

There are many today who believe that there are people running around this world right now who are performing greater miracles, performing miracles in greater abundance, and actually doing more incredible acts of divine healing than Jesus himself did. I can't think of any more serious delusion than that... Votes: 0

There are only two ways that God's justice can be satisfied with respect to your sin. Either you satisfy it or Christ satisfies it. You can satisfy it by being banished from God's presence forever. Or you can accept the satisfaction that Jesus Christ has made. Votes: 0

There are times when we suffer innocently at other people's hands. When that occurs, we are victims of injustice. But that injustice happens on a horizontal plane. No one ever suffers injustice on the vertical plane. That is, no one ever suffers unjustly in terms of his or her relationship with God. As long as we bear the guilt of sin, we cannot protest that God is unjust in allowing us to suffer. Votes: 0

There is no time in human history when you were more perfectly represented than in the Garden of Eden... Votes: 0

There is nothing in this universe you need more desperately than Christ. Votes: 0

There is nothing more foreign, more alien, to our nature than holiness. Votes: 0

There's a long and sacred history of the use of X to symbolize the name of Christ, and from its origin, it has meant no disrespect. Votes: 0

This little expression, 'It doesn't matter what you believe as long as you're sincere,' is a monstrous lie. Votes: 0

This means that if a person fulfills his or her vocation as a steelmaker, attorney, or homemaker coram Deo, then that person is acting every bit as religiously as a soul-winning evangelist who fulfills his vocation. It means that David was as religious when he obeyed God's call to be a shepherd as he was when he was anointed with the special grace of kingship. It means that Jesus was every bit as religious when He worked in His father's carpenter shop as He was in the Garden of Gethsemane. Votes: 0

Though sin often brings immediate pleasure, it gives no lasting joy. Votes: 0

To be conformed to this world is to risk the loss of one's eternal soul. Votes: 0

To be known by God is the highest goal of human existence. Votes: 0

To be spiritually dead is to be diabolically alive Votes: 0

To despise doctrine is to despise the Word of God. Votes: 0

To honor God as God, we must worship Him as He and He alone decrees. Votes: 0

To live coram Deo is to live one's entire life in the presence of God, under the authority of God, to the glory of God. Votes: 0

To say that God's sovereignty is limited by man's freedom is to make man sovereign. Votes: 0

To solve a marriage problem, you have to talk with each other about it, choosing wisely the time and place. But when accusations and lengthy speeches of defense fill the dialogue, the partners are not talking to each other but past each other. Take care to listen more than you speak. If you still can't agree on a solution, consider asking a third party, without a vested interest, to mediate. Votes: 0

True faith always produces real conformity to Christ. Votes: 0

Truth is too important to kill it in the streets for the sake of peace. Votes: 0

Unbelief is judged by Jesus not as an intellectual error but as a hostile act of prejudice against God himself. Votes: 0

Unbelievers can tolerate Christ only as long as He is stripped of His real identity. Votes: 0

Was Luther crazy? Perhaps. But if he was, our prayer is that God would send to this earth an epidemic of such insanity that we too may taste of the righteousness that is by faith alone. Votes: 0

We are able to persevere only because God works within us, within our free wills. And because God is at work in us, we are certain to persevere. The decrees of God concerning election are immutable. They do not change, because He does not change. All whom He justifies He glorifies. None of the elect has ever been lost. Votes: 0

We are all servants. The only question is whom we will serve. Votes: 0

We are cosmic traitors. We must recognize this problem within ourselves if we are to grasp the necessity of the cross. Votes: 0

We are not sinners because we sin. We sin because we are sinners. Votes: 0

We are secure, not because we hold tightly to Jesus, but because He holds tightly to us. Votes: 0

We break our promises to one another. We break our promises to God. But God never breaks His promises to us. Votes: 0

We do not determine right or wrong based on what everybody else is doing. Votes: 0

We experience the grace of an infinite God, but grace is not infinite. Votes: 0

We fall privately before we ever fall publicly. Votes: 0

We have a generation of people who think they can stand before the judgment seat of God despite their sins. Votes: 0

We have a tendency to think of GOD being glorified only in the manifestation of his mercy----- He is just as glorified by His justice. Votes: 0

We have no right to come before God at all, apart from the finished work of Christ. Votes: 0

We have to determine our theology from the Word of God, not from what we feel. Votes: 0

We have to find in Christ, not a mask that conceals our face, but an entire wardrobe of clothing, which is His righteousness. Votes: 0

We live in a culture where the truth claims of Christianity are not only rejected, they are ridiculed. Votes: 0

We live in a time of crisis in the secular culture and in the church with regard to the beautiful. Votes: 0

We live in age of compromise, but if we stand on the bedrock of God's truth, we will not bend with the winds of relativism and faithlessness. Votes: 0

We live in what may be the most anti-intellectual period in the history of Western civilization. Votes: 0

We may live in a culture that believes everyone will be saved, that we are 'justified by death' and all you need to do to go to heaven is die, but God's Word certainly doesn't give us the luxury of believing that. Votes: 0

We need the church as urgently as a starving baby needs his mother's milk. Votes: 0

We persevere because we are preserved by our High Priest's intercession. Votes: 0

We prefer the shadows where we feel safe over the light which exposes us and causes us to say 'woe is me!' Votes: 0

We take comfort, however, that mystery is not a synonym for contradiction. Votes: 0

We tend to have mixed feelings about the holy. There is a sense in which we are at the same time attracted to it and repulsed by it. Something draws us toward it, while at the same time we want to run away from it. We can't seem to decide which way we want it. Part of us yearns for the holy, while part of us despises it. We can't live with it, and we can't live without it. Votes: 0

Wealth is not wisdom's goal, but is often wisdom's reward. Votes: 0

What about putting Christ back into Christmas? It is simply not necessary. Christ has never left Christmas. Votes: 0

What better evidence could there be of a man's salvation than that he offers to others the grace he himself has received? Votes: 0

What higher approval could a person enjoy than to know that what he or she has done is pleasing to God? Votes: 0

What is the difference between the Christian God, and the gods of the other religions?" He simply, yet profoundly answered, "The main difference is this: The God of Christianity exists. Votes: 0

What makes art Christian art? Is it simply Christian artists painting biblical subjects like Jeremiah? Or, by attaching a halo, does that suddenly make something Christian art? Must the artist's subject be religious to be Christian? I don't think so. There is a certain sense in which art is its own justification. If art is good art, if it is true art, if it is beautiful art, then it is bearing witness to the Author of the good, the true, and the beautiful Votes: 0

What we celebrate at Christmas is not so much the birth of a baby, but the incarnation of God Himself Votes: 0

When God issues a call to us, it is always a holy call. The vocation of dying is a sacred vocation. To understand that is one of the most important lessons a Christian can ever learn. When the summons comes, we can respond in many ways. We can become angry, bitter or terrified. But if we see it as a call from God and not a threat from Satan, we are far more prepared to cope with its difficulties. Votes: 0

When God says something, the argument is over. Votes: 0

When God writes our names in the 'Lamb's Book of Life' He doesn't do it with an eraser handy. He does it for eternity. Votes: 0

When God's justice falls, we are offended because we think God owes perpetual mercy. We must not take His grace for granted. We must never lose our capacity to be amazed by grace Votes: 0

When one encounters truth, one encounters the God whose truth it is. Votes: 0

When people ask me how old the Earth is, I tell them I don't know because I don't. Votes: 0

When the gospel is at stake, everything is at stake. Votes: 0

When there's something in the Word of God that I don't like, the problem is not with the Word of God, it's with me. Votes: 0

When we behold the face of God, all memories of pain and suffering will vanish. Our souls shall be totally healed. Votes: 0

When you feel depressed, it helps to actively change your environment. Go and do something different. Martin Luther conquered his depression by going outside to work in his garden. Surprisingly enough, one of the best ways to handle depression is to go to work immediately on the task you least enjoy. (The chances are your depression is caused by guilt feelings arising out of neglect of those tasks.) Votes: 0

Why do those who keep insisting Jesus hung out with sinners also keep insisting there's no such thing as sin? Votes: 0

Why would the disciples invent a God whose holiness was more terrifying than the forces of nature that provoked them to invent a god in the first place? Votes: 0

Without God man has no reference point to define himself. Votes: 0

Without God man has no reference point to define himself. 20th century philosophy manifests the chaos of man seeking to understand himself as a creature with dignity while having no reference point for that dignity. Votes: 0

Without God upholding the universe from moment to moment, nothing could continue to be. Votes: 0

Without the gospel, a gathering of people, though they claim otherwise, cannot be an authentic church. Votes: 0

Worship is not simply a feeling that is experienced; it must also involve understanding and the mind. Votes: 0

You are required to believe, to preach, and to teach what the Bible says is true, not what you want the Bible to say is true. Votes: 0

You have to stop thinking logically to argue that the universe came into being by itself, out of nothing. Votes: 0

Your personal testimony, however meaningful it is to you, is not the gospel. Votes: 0