Our Great Honour"God will allow His servant to succeed when he has learned that success does not make him dearer to God nor more valuable in the total scheme of things. We cannot buy God's favor with crowds or converts or new missionaries sent out or Bibles distributed. All these things can be accomplished without the help of the Holy Spirit. A good personality and a shrewd knowledge of human nature is all that any man needs to be a success in religious circles today. Our great honor lies in being just what Jesus was and is. To be accepted by those who accept Him, rejected by all who reject Him, loved by those who love Him and hated by everyone that hates Him. What greater glory could come to any man?"
The Essence of Idolatry"The essence of idolatry is the entertainment of thoughts about God that are unworthy of Him. The heaviest obligation lying upon the Christian Church today is to purify and elevate her concept of God until it is once more worthy of Him---and of her."
The Divine Conquest"Salvation is from our side a choice; from the divine side it is a seizing upon, an apprehending, a conquest by the Most High God. Our 'accepting' and 'willing' are reactions rather than actions. The right of determination must always remain with God."
Biblical Grace"If we are not changed by grace, then we are not saved by grace."
Love And Hate
The cliché, God hates the sin but love the sinner, is false on the face of it and should be abandoned. Fourteen times in the first fifty Psalms alone, we are told that God hates the sinner, His wrath is on the liar, and so forth. In the Bible, the wrath of God rests both on the sin (Romans 1:18ff) and on the sinner (John 3:36)." - The Difficult Doctrine of the Love of God, Crossway, 2000, p. 69
Man's Natural Bent
"People do not drift toward holiness. Apart from grace-driven effort, people do not gravitate toward godliness, prayer, obedience to Scripture, faith and delight in the Lord. We drift toward disobedience and call it freedom; we drift toward superstition and call it faith. We cherish the indiscipline of lost self-control and call it relaxation; we slouch toward prayerlessness and delude ourselves into thinking we have escaped legalism; we slide toward godlessness and convince ourselves we have been liberated.
Man's Natural Bent"People do not drift toward holiness. Apart from grace-driven effort, people do not gravitate toward godliness, prayer, obedience to Scripture, faith and delight in the Lord. We drift toward disobedience and call it freedom; we drift toward superstition and call it faith. We cherish the indiscipline of lost self-control and call it relaxation; we slouch toward prayerlessness and delude ourselves into thinking we have escaped legalism; we slide toward godlessness and convince ourselves we have been liberated.
The Weightlessness of God"It is one of the defining marks of Our Time that God is now weightless. I do not mean by this that he is ethereal but rather that he has become unimportant. He rest upon the world so inconsequentially as not to be noticeable. He has lost his saliency for human life. Those who assure the pollsters of their belief in God's existence may nonetheless consider him less interesting than television, his commands less authoritative than their appetites for affluence and influence, his judgments no more awe-inspiring than the evening news and his truth less compelling than the advertisers' sweet fog of flattery and lies. That is weightlessness. It is a condition we have assigned him after having nudged him out to the periphery of our secularized life. . . . Weightlessness tells us nothing about God but everything about ourselves, about our condition, about our psychological disposition to exclude God from our reality."
The Gospel Will Not Fail"The gospel will not fail because its success does not depend on man or his methods. Its success depends on the wisdom, mercy, and power of God. Jesus said, '...I will build my church...' (Matt. 16:18)"
God Centred Evangelism
God Centred Evangelism"God-centered evangelism believes all men are fallen and will not come to God by their own power or will, because they are deaf, blind, dead and have no power for spiritual good. Their minds are at enmity with God, and left to themselves, they will not seek God. Men need new natures. We call this regeneration. Regeneration is the work of God alone, and this great work always produces conversion, which is repentance toward God and faith towards our Lord Jesus Christ. Regeneration is a big theological word that views salvation from God's side---it is the instantaneous impartation of life. Paul calls it new creation. One may, or may not, be conscience of the exact moment when it takes place in them.
Conversion, on the other hand, is viewing salvation from the human side. Repenting is something man does. Believing is something man does. Both are a result of what God does. This order is important if you are ever to understand the difference between God-centered and man-centered evangelism."
-Ernest Reisinger, Today's Evangelism pgs 98-99
The Word of God
"If we once get above our Bibles, and cease making the written word of God our sole rule both as to faith and practice, we shall soon lie open to all manner of delusion, and be in great danger of making shipwreck of faith and a good conscience. Our blessed Lord, though He had the Spirit of God without measure, yet always was governed by, and fought the devil with, 'It is written.'"
The New Birth
Conversion, on the other hand, is viewing salvation from the human side. Repenting is something man does. Believing is something man does. Both are a result of what God does. This order is important if you are ever to understand the difference between God-centered and man-centered evangelism."
-Ernest Reisinger, Today's Evangelism pgs 98-99
The Word of God"If we once get above our Bibles, and cease making the written word of God our sole rule both as to faith and practice, we shall soon lie open to all manner of delusion, and be in great danger of making shipwreck of faith and a good conscience. Our blessed Lord, though He had the Spirit of God without measure, yet always was governed by, and fought the devil with, 'It is written.'"
The New Birth"For by being born again from above, I mean receiving a principle of new life, imparted to our hearts by the Holy Ghost, changing you, giving you new thoughts, new words, new actions, new views, so that old things pass away, and all things become new in our souls."
On Calvinism
"These doctrines were not invented by Calvin, nor were they characteristic of his thought alone during the Reformation period. These are biblical truths taught by Jesus and confirmed by Paul, Peter and all the other Old and New Testament writers. Augustine defended these doctrines against the denials of Pelagius. Luther believed them. So did Zwingli. That is, they believed what Calvin believed and later systematized in his influential Institutes of the Christian Religion. The Puritans were Calvinists; it was through them and their teaching that both England and Scotland experienced the greatest and most pervasive national revivals the the world has ever seen. In that number were the heirs of John Knox: Thomas Cartwright, Richard Sibbes, Richard Baxter, Matthew Henry, John Owen, and others. In America others were influenced by men such as Johnathan Edwards, Cotton Mather and, later, George Whitefield.
In more recent times the modern missionary movement received nearly all its initial impetus and direction from those in the Calvinistic tradition. The list includes William Carey, John Ryland, Henry Martyn, Robert Moffat, David Livingstone, John G. Paton, John R. Mott and others. For all these the doctrines of grace were not an appendage to Christian thought but were, rather, central, firing and forming their preaching and missionary efforts."
- James Montgomery Boice in Foundations of the Christian Faith.
The Evidence of Being Born Again
"If a man or a woman truly loves God (not a god of their own making or their own image, but the true God of the Bible, including all those truths of His being and character that are the most reprehensible to the natural man), that person has been called by God in accordance with His purpose. Indeed, true love for the true God is one of the surest signs of regeneration and redemption."
-James R. White, The Potter's Freedom
Holy Spirit in Evangelism
On Calvinism"These doctrines were not invented by Calvin, nor were they characteristic of his thought alone during the Reformation period. These are biblical truths taught by Jesus and confirmed by Paul, Peter and all the other Old and New Testament writers. Augustine defended these doctrines against the denials of Pelagius. Luther believed them. So did Zwingli. That is, they believed what Calvin believed and later systematized in his influential Institutes of the Christian Religion. The Puritans were Calvinists; it was through them and their teaching that both England and Scotland experienced the greatest and most pervasive national revivals the the world has ever seen. In that number were the heirs of John Knox: Thomas Cartwright, Richard Sibbes, Richard Baxter, Matthew Henry, John Owen, and others. In America others were influenced by men such as Johnathan Edwards, Cotton Mather and, later, George Whitefield.
In more recent times the modern missionary movement received nearly all its initial impetus and direction from those in the Calvinistic tradition. The list includes William Carey, John Ryland, Henry Martyn, Robert Moffat, David Livingstone, John G. Paton, John R. Mott and others. For all these the doctrines of grace were not an appendage to Christian thought but were, rather, central, firing and forming their preaching and missionary efforts."
- James Montgomery Boice in Foundations of the Christian Faith.
The Evidence of Being Born Again"If a man or a woman truly loves God (not a god of their own making or their own image, but the true God of the Bible, including all those truths of His being and character that are the most reprehensible to the natural man), that person has been called by God in accordance with His purpose. Indeed, true love for the true God is one of the surest signs of regeneration and redemption."
-James R. White, The Potter's Freedom
Holy Spirit in Evangelism"When you preach the gospel and the Holy Spirit applies that truth in the heart, banishes self righteousness, brings conviction of sin which brings repentance and that repentance does not make any claims upon God. That repentance recognizes the justice of God, recognizes the depth of our sin and the righteousness of His punishment thereof.
That's a person who goes (like),
'Well, my sins must be punished, either in myself or someone else.But that someone else must be a perfect savior. That someone else cannot just be a helper. That someone else must bear the entire punishment of my sins, who would do that for me? '
Well, that's when you can start telling somebody about Jesus Christ."
The Offenseless Gospel
"If you tamper with, toy with, and adjust the gospel to make it palatable to this modern culture, you lose the gospel. These church growth experts and purpose driven guys have done something that even God can't do, they've removed the offense of the gospel."
God Centred?
That's a person who goes (like),
'Well, my sins must be punished, either in myself or someone else.But that someone else must be a perfect savior. That someone else cannot just be a helper. That someone else must bear the entire punishment of my sins, who would do that for me? '
Well, that's when you can start telling somebody about Jesus Christ."
The Offenseless Gospel"If you tamper with, toy with, and adjust the gospel to make it palatable to this modern culture, you lose the gospel. These church growth experts and purpose driven guys have done something that even God can't do, they've removed the offense of the gospel."
God Centred? "Many people are willing to be God-centered as long as they feel that God is man-centered."
The Gospel"The gospel is not just a sequence of steps (say, the 'Four Laws' of Campus Crusade or the 'Six Biblical Truths' of Quest For Joy). Those are essential. But what makes the gospel 'good news' is that it connects a person with the 'unsearchable riches of Christ.'"
"The gospel is the good news that the everlasting and ever-increasing joy of the never-boring, ever-satisfying Christ is ours freely and eternally by faith in the sin-forgiving death and hope-giving resurrection of Jesus Christ."
Grateful For God's Election
"Some seem to think that predestination is a terrible scheme to keep somebody out of salvation that otherwise might have had it. I want to tell you my friends none would have had it had it not been the purpose of God to predestinate a people to be comformed to the image of His Son."
The Need of the Hour
"What we need dear brother is, more than ever, we need people to go forth with a new birth message, forget all about tongues, forget all about miracles and signs and wonders, in case they're not happening anyhow... let's get back to real genuine conversion."
Two Kinds of People
"There's only two kinds of people in the world: those dead to sin and those dead in sin."
Grateful For God's Election"Some seem to think that predestination is a terrible scheme to keep somebody out of salvation that otherwise might have had it. I want to tell you my friends none would have had it had it not been the purpose of God to predestinate a people to be comformed to the image of His Son."
The Need of the Hour"What we need dear brother is, more than ever, we need people to go forth with a new birth message, forget all about tongues, forget all about miracles and signs and wonders, in case they're not happening anyhow... let's get back to real genuine conversion."
Two Kinds of People"There's only two kinds of people in the world: those dead to sin and those dead in sin."
Old and New"The Church used to be a lifeboat rescuing the perishing. Now she is a cruise ship recruiting the promising."
"If Jesus had preached the same message that ministers preach today, He would never have been crucified."
Preaching"Preaching is theology coming through a man who is on fire."
What is Conviction of Sin?Answer: "It is that state of the mind and heart when the individual takes sides with God against himself."
-Paris Reidhead, Getting Evangelicals Saved
On Evangelism"If I had my way, I would declare a moratorium on public preaching of 'the plan of salvation' in America for one to two years. Then I would call on everyone who has use of the airways and the pulpits to preach the holiness of God, the righteousness of God and the law of God, until sinners would cry out, 'What must we do to be saved?' Then I would take them off in a corner and whisper the gospel to them. Such drastic action is needed because we have gospel-hardened a generation of sinners by telling them how to be saved before they have any understanding why they need to be saved."
The Cross"The cross is not a sign of our great worth, but of our great depravity... that we were so evil that the only way we could be saved is by God's Son being crushed under the full force of the wrath that was due us."
Church Growth Methadology - To The Wind With It"All this emergent church stuff, much of the church growth stuff, all the cultural sensitivity throwing out the window biblical sensitivity, it's just a bunch of little boys wanting to play church without the power of God on their life, and I'll stand on that statement. It's a lesser than David trying to fit himself in Saul's armor. To the wind with it. The more you trust in the arm of the flesh, the less you're going to see of the power of God."
Reformation"There is little need for the devil and evil men to oppose a man praying for revival unless he is also laboring for reformation."
The Desperate Need"Never has the need been greater for the truths of sovereign grace to be firmly established in the church. Her thinking about God desperately needs to be flowing in the right direction. As the church thinks, so she worships; and, as the church worships, so she lives, serves, and evangelizes. The church's right view of God and the outworking of His grace gives shape to everything that is vital and important. The church must recapture her lofty vision of God and, thereby, be anchored to the solid rock of His absolute supremacy in all things. Only then will the church have a God-centered orientation in all matters of ministry. This, I believe, is the desperate need of the hour."
Faith is a gift of God"Many have a certain imagination of faith. They think no farther than that faith is a thing which is in their own power to have, as do other natural works which men do. . . . But the right faith springeth not of man's fantasy, neither is it in any man's power to obtain it; but it is altogether the pure gift of God without deserving and merits, yea, without our seeking for it, even faith is God's gift and grace. . . . Faith rooteth herself in the hearts of the elect.
Is it not. . . . perverse blindness to teach how a man can do nothing of his own self, and yet presumptuously take upon them the greatest and highest work of God, even to make faith in themselves of their own power, and of their own false imaginations and thoughts?
Therefore, I say, we must despair of ourselves and pray to God to give us faith."
