Quotes (490)

What is faith? Faith is not some force or power that we wield that reaches out and accomplishes things. Neither does anyone “turn his faith loose,” though some false teachers exhort us to do so. Faith is just the opposite of such misconceptions. Justifying faith is not “doing” something; rather, it is giving up on doing anything and simply falling on the mercy of God. . . . we are not saved by faith in general; we’re saved by faith in Christ. Some people trust in a past “decision,” but a “decision” will not pay for our sins! Some trust in baptism, a past emotional experience, or even their supposed “faith.”

– Charles Leiter

Quotes (489)

voddie-baucham Many object to homeschooling or private Christian schools based on the fact that God has called us to be “salt” and “light” and to evangelize the world. Ironically, this is precisely why we chose homeschooling. The Great Commission states: “Go therefore and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and the Son and the Holy Spirit, teaching them to obey all that I command you” (Matthew 28:19-20, emphasis added). How is this likely apart from Christian education? How can I effectively “make disciples” of my children if I send them off to the government school forty-five to fifty hours per week? The Nehemiah Institute, The National Study of Youth and Religion, and the Barna Report have shown us clearly that our children do not even understand–let alone obey–all that the Lord has commanded. Moreover, how can our children evangelize our government schools if they don’t know what they believe and why they believe it? Not to mention that all of the evidence currently points to the fact that our children are the evangelized, not the evangelists, in our nation’s schools. They are the ones being carried away by every wind of doctrine. . . . The Nehemiah Institute continues to demonstrate year after year that Christian children in government schools who actually retain anything close to a biblical worldview are the rare exception and not the rule. . . . Let me be clear–I applaud men and women whom God has called to teach in government schools. These people are front-line warriors, and they need to be right where they are. However, there is a big difference between sending fully trained disciples into enemy territory and sending recruits [children] to our enemy’s training camp. If we do the latter, we shouldn’t be surprised when they come home wearing the enemy’s uniform and charging the hill of our home waving the enemy flag.

– Voddie Baucham

Quotes (486)

tozer.jpg If I see aright, the cross of popular evangelicalism is not the cross of the New Testament. It is, rather, a new bright ornament upon the bosom of a self-assured and carnal Christianity. The old cross slew men; the new cross entertains them. The old cross condemned; the new cross amuses. The old cross destroyed confidence in the flesh; the new cross encourages it.

– A. W. Tozer

1897 – 1963

Quotes (485)

firm-foundations-creation-to-christ We distort and confuse the Gospel in people’s understanding when we try to present the Gospel using terminology which turns people’s attention to what they must do rather than outward to what God has done on their behalf. . . . “Accept Jesus into your heart.” “Give your heart to Jesus.” “Give your life to Jesus.” “Open the door of your heart to the Lord.” “Ask Jesus to wash away your sins.” “Make your decision for Christ.” “Ask Jesus to give you eternal life.” “Ask God to save you.” These modern and commonly-used phrases confuse people’s understanding of the Gospel.

– Trevor Mcllwain

Lessons from Coach.

voddie-baucham The following is a heart-wrenching excerpt from Voddie Baucham’s book Family Driven Faith:

Over the years Coach and I have kept in contact. Every once in a while I pick up the phone and catch up with Coach. Recently I discovered that he had fallen on hard times. He had finally retired and didn’t know what to do with himself. What’s worse, his marriage of over twenty-five years had recently ended. At first I wondered what could possibly have gone wrong. Then it dawned on me. We saw a committed coach who arrived early every morning; his wife saw a man who was never home when she got up in the morning. We saw him as committed; she saw him as overextended. We saw him as a confidant who was always there for us; his children saw a man who was more of a father to strangers than he was to them. Now he spends his nights alone missing the woman who spent a quarter of a century missing him. He sits at home reminiscing about the house he was so committed to that he drove an hour to work every day rather than moving. He yearns for time with his kids, but that time is scarce because they are busy doing what he didn’t—spending time with their families. His days are spent with his elderly father, and occasionally he has a chance to watch his grandkids play ballgames, something I’m sure he wishes he had done more with his children. Every once in a while someone from the past calls and asks, “How’s it going, Coach?” A few minutes later the reminiscing is over, the voice from the past is gone, and Coach is alone with his memories. And all he has to show for it are a few trophies, a couple of pictures, and some patches on an old, faded jacket. I cried when I got off the phone that night. . . . All of the pictures came together, and I finally saw the truth that had been there all along. This man who had meant the world to me had sacrificed his family on the alter of his career, and I was oblivious to it. I considered it normal, even admirable. Suddenly, all these years later, I went from admiring Coach to feeling sorry for him. I saw the trade-off, and it wasn’t worth it. The occasional thanks of strangers will never dull the pain of years missed with your family. Needless to say, when I got off the phone with Coach, I spent some time with my kids. It turns out Coach still had lessons to teach.

Quotes (481)

voddie-baucham When I first became a Christian, I thought all Christians were sold-out, fire-breathing, truth-telling, water-walking followers of the Lord Jesus Christ. I also believed that I could trust anything that was written by a Christian author and published by a Christian publisher. I soon discovered that I was wrong.

– Voddie Baucham

Quotes (478)

doug-phillips Posterity will discover the truth — that most Christians of our generation, including Christian leaders, advocated the cutting off of the godly seed and unwittingly embraced the culture of death, by distorting the natural purposes of their bodies and thwarting the blessings of the womb. The result is a generation of males stripped of their manhood and women with empty wombs. The Bible calls debt a curse and children a blessing, but our culture applies for curses and rejects blessings. This will be the tragic legacy of far too many Christians.

– Doug Phillips

Quotes (477)

We know the Judaizers were condemned by God’s Word when they added one extra requirement to the Gospel. This same curse is placed on the Catholic clergy for adding six additional requirements to God’s Gospel. Like the Judaizers, the Catholic clergy teaches that obedience to the law is necessary for salvation (CCC, 2608). But Rome has perverted the Gospel even more outrageously with these requirements: the sacraments (1129), the sacrifice of the Mass (1405), baptism (1256), purgatory (1030), indulgences (1471), and good works (1477).

– Mike Gendron

Quotes (476)

martin-luther.jpg Unless I am convinced by Scripture and plain reason – I do not accept the authority of the popes and councils, for they have contradicted each other – my conscience is captive to the Word of God. I cannot and I will not recant anything for to go against conscience is neither right nor safe. God help me. Amen.

– Martin Luther

1483 – 1546

Quotes (475)

awpink.jpg There are many who talk about the love of God who are total strangers to the God of love. The divine love is commonly regarded as a species of amiable weakness, sort of good-natured indulgence; it is reduced to a mere sickly sentiment, patterned after human emotion. The truth is that on this, as on everything else, our thoughts need to be formed and regulated by what is revealed in Scripture. That there is urgent need for this is apparent not only from the ignorance which so generally prevails, but also from the low state of spirituality which is now so sadly evident everywhere among professing Christians.

– A.W. Pink

1886 – 1952

Quotes (474)

“To justify” means “to declare righteous”; it does not mean “to make righteous.” . . . Christian, when God justifies you, He does not “let you of the hook” with your sins still hanging in midair. He does not pretend that your sins have been paid for. Rather, He sees that your sins really have been paid for by Christ, and He makes a declaration based on that fact. . . . Beloved Christian, you may have some terrible memories in your sinful past, but you can be certain of this: those sins are not still hanging in midair. They’ve come down . . . on the Lord Jesus Christ! And He actually paid for them! He bore your sins in His own body on the cross.

– Charles Leiter

Quotes (473)

John MacArthur The reason behind postmodernism’s contempt for propositional truth is not difficult to understand. A proposition is an idea framed as a logical statement that affirms or denies something, and it is expressed in such a way that it must be either true or false. There is no third option between true and false. (This is the “excluded middle” in logic.) The whole point of a proposition is to boil a truth-statement down to such a pristine clarity that it must either be affirmed or denied. In other words, propositions are the simplest expressions of truth value used to express the substance of what we believe. Postmodernism, frankly, cannot endure that kind of stark clarity.

– John MacArthur

Quotes (472)

thomas-watsonWhat is the popish religion, but a bundle of ridiculous ceremonies! Their candles, beads, crucifixes; what are these but Satan’s policy, to dress up a carnal worship, fitted to carnal minds! Oh! what cause have we to bless God for delivering us from popery!

– Thomas Watson

1620 – 1686

Quotes (471)

firm-foundations-creation-to-christ Yet another reason why some people in evangelical churches remain unsaved is the way in which the Gospel is presented. Many dedicated Christians present the Gospel in such a way that unsaved, unprepared people do not understand that they deserve only God’s judgment, that salvation is completely God’s work, and that sinners are unable to contribute anything towards their own salvation.

– Trevor Mcllwain

Quotes (469)

voddie-baucham Most Christians in our culture live like everyone else. There is little distinction between our lives and the lives of the pagans down the street. We wear the same clothes, watch the same movies, read the same books, send our children to the same schools, and sign the same divorce decrees as everyone else. Furthermore, there ought to be a sign posted in every Christian bookstore that reads, “The views expressed in these books do not necessarily express the views of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ.” I’m not saying, don’t read Christian books. I’m just saying, read them with discernment.

– Voddie Baucham