Let us pray that we may be delivered from a cold, speculative, unsanctified head-knowledge of Christianity. It is a rock on which thousands make shipwreck to all eternity. No heart becomes so hard as that on which the light shines, but finds no admission. To be an ignorant heathen, and bow down to idols and stones, is bad enough. But to be called a Christian, and know the theory of the Gospel, and yet cleave to sin and the world with the heart, is to be a candidate for the worst and lowest place in hell. It is to be as like as possible to the devil.
—J.C. Ryle
Expository Thoughts on the Gospels: Luke – Volume 2
Via: J.C. Ryle Quotes
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Martin Downes published a really insightful post the other day at his website and I wanted to pass along a couple of quotes:
A non-doctrinal faith is impossible. A faith wrongly informed because it has been fed on false doctrine is disastrous. A faith rooted in an experiential, subjective moralism, can easily pose as Christian faith, but it is no substitute for faith in a gracious Saviour, who is both God and man, a faith rooted and grounded in the Word of God. And not to care about these matters is really not to care about God.
Although this quote is presented out of order from the original post, I thought it a fitting warning and wonderful conclusion.
My point is that we need books to help us grow in grace and knowledge, to help us think deep thoughts about a great God, and to set us on a path of further reading and reflection on the riches of the Christian faith. Truth has edges and boundaries. Step outside of these, or behave as if they don’t matter, and you will walk into a spiritual minefield.
Via: Against Heresies
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No man shall ever behold the glory of Christ by sight in heaven who does not, in some measure, behold it by faith in this world. Grace is a necessary preparation for glory and faith for sight.
—John Owen
The Glory of Christ
Via: Of First Importance
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Another great post from Eric at the J.C. Ryle Quotes website. I count myself so fortunate to be living in this digital information age.
Just as the telescope and microscope show us that there is order and design in all the works of God’s hand, from the greatest planet down to the least insect, so does the Bible teach us that there is wisdom, order and design in all the events of our daily life. There is no such thing as ‘chance’, ‘luck’, or ‘accident’ in the Christian journey through this world. All is arranged and appointed by God: and all things are ‘working together’ for the believer’s good (Romans 8:28).
—J.C. Ryle
Day by Day with J.C. Ryle
If you have not visited this site you have deprived yourself of the wisdom and insight of this brilliant and faithful pastor. For more information about J.C. Ryle see this page at J.C. Ryle Quotes.
Via: J.C. Ryle Quotes
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Dr. Ortlund posted this fantastic quote from Martin Luther on his website this afternoon:
When the devil accuses us and says, ‘You are a sinner and therefore damned,’ we should answer, ‘Because you say I am a sinner, I will be righteous and saved.’ ‘No,’ says the devil, ‘you will be damned.’ And I reply, ‘No, for I fly to Christ, who gave himself for my sins. Satan, you will not prevail against me when you try to terrify me by setting forth the greatness of my sins and try to bring me into heaviness, distrust, despair, hated, contempt and blasphemy against God. On the contrary, when you say I am a sinner, you give me armor and weapons against yourself, so that with your own sword I may cut your throat and tread you under my feet, for Christ died for sinners. . . . As often as you object that I am a sinner, so often you remind me of the benefit of Christ my Redeemer, on whose shoulders, and not on mine, lie all my sins. So when you say I am a sinner, you do not terrify me but comfort me immeasurably.’
Martin Luther
Commenting on Galatians 1:4
Via: Ray Ortlund
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Tony Reinke posted this inspring quote on his website today and I wanted to pass it along.
The God of the Bible is the righteous God of holy love. The trouble is, however, that we have become paradoxically the glory and garbage of the universe. Our great need is peace with God, and not just with God but also with one another. …
There is no shalom, however, without sacrifice. Peace is made through the blood of the cross. The atoning life, death and vindication of the faithful Son bring shalom by addressing the problem of sin, death the devil and wrath definitively. Sacrifice, satisfaction, substitution and victory are key terms for understanding God’s atoning project in general and the cross in particular. Eschatologically speaking, the realization of the triune God’s reconciling project will see God’s people in God’s place under God’s rule living God’s way enjoying shalom in God’s holy and loving presence to God’s glory. …
The broad notion should humble us at the thought of a righteous God of holy loving purpose who, in love, has never abandoned his wayward creatures but in a plan of rescue has begun to reclaim the created order and will in the end restore creation to himself and to his glory. Love is the motive, glory the goal. The narrow one brings us to Christ and his cross. He is the linchpin of the plan. We are brought to a real Christ, to a real cross, to a real cost.
—Graham A. Cole
God the Peacemaker: How Atonement Brings Shalom
Via: Tony Reinke
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Another great post from Of First Importance.
In God’s mighty act of raising Jesus bodily from the grave we are right to glimpse the final chapter of the drama of redemption. Indeed, an understanding of redemption that fails to take its moorings from Christ’s victory over sin and death via bodily resurrection, and the promise of ultimate restoration of all things declared by the empty tomb, is not a biblical understanding of redemption at all.
—Michael D. Williams
Far as the Curse is Found
Via: Of First Importance
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January 18, 2010 · Posted in Life
