Quote 4572

No man preaches a sermon well to others who does not first preach it to his own heart.

Preaching

Do you mortify; do you make it your daily work; be always at it whilst you live; cease not a day from this work; be killing sin or it will be killing you.

Of the Mortification of Sin in Believers Chapter 2

Sin

Christianity exists only when the preaching of the cross is its message.

James White

http://www.sovereigngraceministries.org/blogs/cj-mahaney/post/Don-DA-Carson-Preserving-A-Passion-for-the-Gospel.aspx

If the gospel-even when you are orthodox-becomes something which you primarily assume, but what you are excited about is what you are doing in some sort of social reconstruction, you will be teaching the people that you influence that the gospel really isn't all that important. You won't be saying that-you won't even mean that-but that's what you will be teaching. And then you are only half a generation away from losing the gospel.

D.A. Carson

The truth of the Gospel is the principle article of all Christian doctrine...Most necessary is it that we know this article well, teach it to others, and beat it into their heads continually

Death by Love (91)

Martin Luther

Without absolutes revealed from God Himself, we are left rudderless in a sea of conflicting ideas.

Truth

Works? Works? A man get to heaven by works? I would as soon think of climbing to the moon on a rope of sand!

Sep 29, 1770 Newburyport, Massachusetts. From the sermon: "How willingly would I live forever to preach Christ, but I die to be with him."

George Whitefield

Holiness is nothing but the implanting, writing and living out the gospel in our souls

Holiness

The gospel is most wickedly eclipsed while multitudes of petty "scholars" fret themselves how they might best teach the faith within a rigidly structured, accurate, methodical-philosophical form! A great multitude of errors have swarmed into the church through the reception of philosophy, like Greeks out of the belly of the Trojan horse...The clear fact is that the common, Aristotelian philosophy supplied sufficient materials for an infinity of quarrels and useless disputes. The facts shout out to heaven that our little, witty, chattering sophists, in their endless wrangling over the "articles of faith," are simply raking over the embers of Aristotle's philosophy, and in so doing they irritate the throne of Almighty God with legal quarrels and cheap tricks...It is a result of this that our theological libraries are packed full of weighty tomes, and our disputes are without end, and the most about matters, assertions and terms the Christian world would have done far better never to have heard of -and would not have heard of if they had not happened to enter the fertile brain of Aristotle so long ago! But the full catalog, the great Iliad of evils so produced, this is not the place to try to expound in detail.

Biblical Theology: The History of Theology from Adam to Christ

Philosophy Greeks Theology

It is better that our affections exceed our light from the defect of our understandings, than that our light exceed our affections from the corruption of our wills.

Works, Vol 1. 401

Contemplation

It is not the distance of the earth from the sun, nor the sun's withdrawing itself, that makes a dark and gloomy day; but the interposition of clouds and vaporous exhalations. Neither is thy soul beyond the reach of the promise, nor does God withdraw Himself; but the vapours of thy carnal, unbelieving heart do cloud thee.

Unbelief

The Christian Gospel is that I am so flawed that Jesus had to die for me, yet I am so loved and valued that Jesus was glad to die for me.

The Reason for God (181)

Tim Keller

It's Christ or nothing. And you better want it that way. Why? If it was 99.99% Christ and 0.01% you, you'd go to hell.

http://youtu.be/9W2fuFWUIL0 (around 54 minutes in)

The Gospel does not call us to receive Christ as an addition to our life, but as our life.

A minister may fill his pews, his communion roll, the mouths of the public, but what that minister is on his knees in secret before God Almighty, that he is and no more.

Prayer

God is not a megalomaniac when he makes much of Himself, we would be megalomanicas if we made much of ourselves, because we would be unloving and that is what is infinitely loving for God to do because when he draws our attention to Himself it's like inviting us to a fountain. He is the ultimately satisfying reality in the Universe.

reFocus Conference 2010

John Piper

How could we have such a low view of the gospel of Jesus Christ that we have to manipulate men psychologically to get them to come down and pray a prayer? ...How many times have I heard evangelists say, "It'll only take five minutes."? No my dear friend, it will take your life-all of it! "We're just trying to attract people and then we'll gradually bring them in further and further." That is what the cults do, that's not what Jesus did. Notice that in the gospels every time a great crowd is following Jesus, he turns around and says something so radical to them that most of them walk away. Of course Jesus probably would not get invited to teach evangelism

It makes me so angry, when men treat the glorious gospel of Christ as though it was a first step into Christianity, that takes ten minutes of counselling, and then you go onto greater stuff.

https://ccel.org/ccel/owen/pneum/pneum.i.viii.viii.html

Lusts that pretend to be useful to the state and condition of men, that are pleasant and satisfactory to the flesh, will not be mortified without such a violence as the whole soul shall be deeply sensible of.

Sin Lust

But as I ran my hell-bound race Indifferent to the cost You looked upon my helpless state And led me to the cross. And I beheld God's love displayed You suffered in my place You bore the wrath reserved for me Now all I know is grace.

Song:All I Have Is Christ

Jordan Kauflin

Preach the gospel to yourself everyday.

The Gospel for Real Life

Jerry Bridges

God's children when they are spiritually healthy spend most of the time at the foot of the cross.

Sermon: Is Your View of the Cross Worldly

Conrad Mbewe

All the other revelations of God in Christ are like rays of sun breaking through the clouds. But the death of Christ for sinners was like a bolt of lightning. If we want to spend our minds to the fullest in knowing God to the fullest so that we can love him to the fullest, this is where we will focus.

DG Conference 2010

John Piper

https://ccel.org/ccel/owen/temptation/temptation.i.viii.html

he that would be little in temptation, let him be much in prayer