In the construction of any building, the foundations are the first part of the structure to be prepared. The majority of Gospel preaching, however, is usually done with very little foundational preparation. This lack has contributed to a multitude of false professions and the uncertainty of many new Christians about the foundations of their faith.
– Trevor Mcllwain
How could He who is infinitely holy disregard sin and refuse to manifest His “severity” (Romans 11:22) toward it? How could He who delights only in that which is pure and lovely, not loathe and hate that which is impure and vile? The very nature of God makes Hell as real a necessity, as imperatively and eternally requisite, as Heaven is.
– A.W. Pink
1886 – 1952
While we are looking at God we do not see ourselves—blessed riddance. The man who has struggled to purify himself and has had nothing but repeated failures will experience real relief when he stops tinkering with his soul and looks away to the perfect One. While he looks at Christ the very things he has so long been trying to do will be getting done within him. It will be God working in him to will and to do.
– A. W. Tozer
1897 – 1963
The most formidable, relentless, and deceptive enemy has been Roman Catholicism. It is an apostate, corrupt, heretical, false Christianity. It is a front for the kingdom of Satan. The true church of the Lord Jesus Christ has always understood this.
– John MacArthur
Many, it may be feared, appear moved and touched and roused under the preaching of the gospel, while in reality their hearts are not changed at all. A kind of animal excitement from the contagion of seeing others weeping, rejoicing, or affected is the true account of their case. . . . Reaction, after false religious excitement, is a most deadly disease of [the] soul.
– J.C. Ryle
1816 – 1900
Knowing the wiles of the devil, the apostle Paul exhorts us to be purely devoted to Jesus Christ. He wrote: “I am afraid that just as the serpent deceived Eve by his craftiness, your minds will be led astray from the simplicity and purity of devotion to Christ” (2 Cor. 11:3). In Roman Catholicism, there are many diversions that lead Catholics away from Christ, but none so prevalent as their perversion of the biblical Mary.
– Mike Gendron
By 1800 the American church was in a dismal state and ripe for anything that would offer some kind of spiritual sustenance. The Second Great Awakening, which began in 1801 in Cane Ridge, Kentucky, would fill that void and forever change Christianity in America. Sermons of substance were rapidly replaced with emotional appeals. Doctrine was steadily replaced by “conversion” stories, and the preacher’s performance became more important than what was taught. Music took on a central role as emotionalism became the order of the day. Ministers began to study “what worked” in order to draw a crowd. . . . In other words, church services became a form of entertainment.
– Gary Gilley
What could an unsanctified man do in Heaven, if by any chance he got there? . . . No man can possibly be happy in a place where he is not in his element, and where all around him is not congenial to his tastes, habits, and character. When an eagle is happy in an iron cage, when a sheep is happy in the water, when an owl is happy in the blaze of the noonday sun, when a fish is happy on the dry land—then, and not till then, will I admit that the unsanctified man could be happy in Heaven.
– J.C. Ryle
1816 – 1900
The Gospel contemplates every descendant of Adam as a fallen, polluted, Hell-deserving, and helpless sinner. The grace which the Gospel publishes is his only hope.
– A.W. Pink
1886 – 1952
Fundamentalism is the militant belief and proclamation of the basic doctrines of Christianity leading to a Scriptural separation from those who reject them.
– John Ashbrook
I do not so much have to pray up when I’m preaching under a tent in inner-city San Anton[io], but I have to pray up and know that I am walking with the Lord when I walk into an average Baptist church because of the way most people dress. And you say, “It’s legalism.” No it’s not. They’re commands in the Bible. It doesn’t say we’re all supposed to dress like a Puritan, but it does say we’re supposed to be decent and cause no offense or stumbling. “Well you can’t judge a book by its cover.” Yes you can! Jesus said you can; by their fruits you will know them.
– Paul Washer
Growing churches are creating an atmosphere, an environment of fun. So fun has replaced holiness as the church’s goal. Having a good time has become the criterion of an excellent, growing church, since fun and entertainment is what consumers want. Yet Bible references encouraging churches to become havens of fun are, as one may suspect, lacking.
– Gary Gilley
There is no imagination wherewith man is besotted, more foolish, none so pernicious, as this–that persons not purified, not sanctified, not made holy in their life, should afterwards be taken into that state of blessedness which consists in the enjoyment of God. Neither can such persons enjoy God, nor would God be a reward to them. . . . Holiness is indeed perfected in Heaven: but the beginning of it is invariably confined to this world.
– John Owen
1616 – 1683
There is nothing wrong with charitable acts—but they are not to be confused with preaching the Gospel. Feeding programs can save a man dying from hunger. Medical aid can prolong life and fight disease. Housing projects can make this temporary life more comfortable—but only the Gospel of Jesus Christ can save a soul from a life of sin and an eternity in Hell!
– K.P. Yohannan
The wrath of God is a perfection of the divine character upon which we need to frequently meditate. . . . We are prone to regard sin lightly, to gloss over its hideousness, to make excuses for it. But the more we study and ponder God’s abhorrence of sin and His frightful vengeance upon it, the more likely we are to realize its heinousness.
– A.W. Pink
1886 – 1952
We sometimes tend to think of the early church as pristine, pure, and untroubled by serious error. The truth is, it wasn’t always that way at all. From the the very beginning, the enemies of truth launched an effort to infiltrate and confuse the people of God by mangling the truth and by blending lies with Christian doctrine. Attacks against the truth regularly came not only from persecutors on the outside but also from false teachers and professing believers within the visible community of the church. . . . So false teachers had already infiltrated the [first century] church. They were at that moment safely ensconced in the community of believers. They were being accepted as fellow believers, and their poisonous false teaching was spreading in this church. Jude urged believers to oppose them rather than embrace them. The life of the church depended on it.
– John MacArthur
There is nothing in a man that causes God to justify him, including his repentance and faith. Repentance does not pay for sin. A criminal’s remorse for his crime does not satisfy the just demands of the law. Neither does faith pay for sin! Only the blood of Jesus can pay for sin! Justification is based on the blood of Christ.
– Charles Leiter
Sanctification, again, is a thing which does not prevent a man having a great deal of inward spiritual conflict. By conflict I mean struggle within the heart between the old nature and the new, the flesh and the spirit, which are to be found together in every believer. . . . A true Christian is one who has not only peace of conscience, but war within. He may be known by his warfare as well as by his peace.
– J. C. Ryle
1816 – 1900
If we are indistinguishable from the world we will never effectively proclaim the Gospel to the world.
– Jeff Purswell
It is hard to improve on the pattern set by the very first church at Jerusalem. Acts 2:41-42 gives the details: “So then, those who had received His word were baptized and there were added that day about three thousand souls. And they were continually devoting themselves to the apostles’ teaching and to fellowship, to the breaking of bread and to prayer.” We see from these verses the essential functions of the local assembly: evangelism, instruction in the Word, participation in the ordinances, prayer, and fellowship. Intertwined within these would be worship and edification. These activities defined the New Testament church, and distinguished it from a social club or political rally.
– Gary Gilley
Christ Alone Wyoming 