There seems to be a great abyss separating the biblical theologian and the Christian in the pew. While the theologian is able to climb the Everest of God’s truth and be transformed by the vision, he often communicates the vision in a language that is beyond us. Thus, we are left at the mercy of popular Christian literature that is often nothing more than quaint stories, pragmatism, and baptized psychology.
– Paul Washer
Can the Immaculate One take pleasure in “filthy rags” (Isaiah 64:6)? The best that sinful man brings forth is defiled. A corrupt tree cannot bear good fruit. God would deny Himself, vilify His perfections, were He to account as righteous and holy that which is not so in itself; and nothing is so that has the least stain upon it contrary to the nature of God. But that which His holiness demanded His grace has provided in Jesus Christ our Lord. Every poor sinner who has fled to Him for refuge stands “accepted in the beloved” (Ephesians 1:6).
– A.W. Pink
1886 – 1952
Much of the evangelical movement has been acting for a long time as if our main duty is just to keep in step with the fads of worldly culture in order to gain the approval of each succeeding generation. That strategy will never fail to find enthusiastic support among those who are immature, weak, ignorant, or cowardly, but it can never be truly effective. Without truth, no spiritual transformation is possible (1 Peter 1;22-25; John 17:17).
– John MacArthur
This is the meaning of grace. We cannot obtain a right standing with God because of our works. It must be a free gift. We can only receive it by faith, cherishing it as our great treasure. This is why the Bible says, “By grace you have been saved through faith. And this is not your own doing; it is the gift of God, not a result of works, so that no one may boast” (Ephesians 2:8-9). Christ suffered and died so that good works would be the effect, not the cause, of our acceptance. Not surprisingly, then, the next sentence says, “For we are . . . created in Christ Jesus for good works” (Ephesians 2:10). That is we are saved for good works, not by good works.
– John Piper
It is a great mistake to give a man who has not been convicted of sin certain passages that were never meant for him. The Law is what he needs . . . Do not offer the consolation of the Gospel until he sees and knows he is guilty before God. We must give enough of the Law to take away all self-righteousness.
– D.L. Moody
1837 – 1899
Race and nationality likewise offer no immunity from sin; the most cultured of nations are just as capable of genocide as the most barbaric. The gas chambers of the “civilized” are merely sophisticated forms of the machetes wielded by the “uncivilized.”
– Charles Leiter
A regeneration which a man can have, and yet live carelessly in sin or worldliness, is a regeneration invented by uninspired theologians, but never mentioned in Scripture. . . . In a word, where there is no sanctification there is no regeneration, and where there is no holy life there is no new birth.
– J.C. Ryle
1816 – 1900
Turn [the TV] off! It isn’t necessary for relevance. It is a deadly place to rest the mind. You are least capable of critical interaction. Its pervasive banality, sexual innuendo and God-ignoring values have no ennobling effect upon the human soul. It kills the Spirit. It drives away God. It quenches prayer. It blanks out the Bible. It cheapens the soul. It destroys spiritual power. It defiles almost everything.
– John Piper
Source: Social Hazard
Apostasy poses real and present dangers today as always. Actually, the threat may be more imminent and more dangerous than ever, because most Christians nowadays simply don’t care about the prevalence of false doctrine, nor do they take seriously their duty to fight against apostasy. Instead, they want a friendly atmosphere of open acceptance for everyone, tolerance of opposing ideas, and charitable dialogue with the apostates.
– John MacArthur
You and I may not have met each other, but of one thing we can be certain even before our introduction—both of us are sinners. Every man, woman, and child on the face of the earth, no matter how old or how young, is a sinner. Even small children, when allowed to go to their own way, are capable of the most exquisite cruelties to animals and to one another.
– Charles Leiter
One single soul saved shall outlive and outweigh all the kingdoms of the world.
– J. C. Ryle
1816 – 1900
The god which the vast majority of professing Christians love is looked upon very much like an indulgent old man, who himself has no relish for folly, but leniently winks at the indiscretions of youth. But the Word says, “Thou hatest all workers of iniquity (Psalm 5:5). And again, “God is angry with the wicked every day” (Psalm 7:11). But men refuse to believe in this God, and gnash their teeth when His hatred of sin is faithfully pressed upon their attention.
– A.W. Pink
1886 – 1952
People who embrace apostasy are destroyed by it. Churches wither and die because of it. Consider the fact that by the end of the first century, when the apostle John wrote Revelation 2-3, five out of the seven churches in Asia Minor were either beginning to defect from the faith or were already apostate bodies. . . . Christ’s central message to all but two of the churches included a mandate to deal with apostates in their midst. The battle for truth in the church has always been a very, very difficult but necessary conflict.
– John MacArthur
Sin is not a trifle; it is not “cute”; sin is not funny. Sin is exceedingly wicked and perverse; it is “utterly sinful.” All sin is twisted and ugly and vile. We should be shocked at how wicked men are and how callous we have become to that wickedness.
– Charles Leiter
Regeneration is the supernatural work of God whereby the sinner’s dead, depraved heart of stone is replaced with a new heart that is both willing and able to respond to God in love and obedience.
– Paul Washer
Here is terror for the wicked. Those who defy Him, break His laws, have no concern for His glory, but live their lives as though He did not exist, must not suppose that, when at last they shall cry to Him for mercy, He will alter His will, revoke His word, and rescind His awful threatenings. No, He has declared, “Therefore will I also deal in fury: mine eye shall not spare, neither will I have pity: and though they cry in mine ears with a loud voice, yet will I not hear them” (Ezekiel 8:18). God will not deny Himself to gratify their lusts. God is holy, unchangingly so. Therefore God hates sin, eternally hates it. Hence the eternality of the punishment of all who die in their sins.
– A.W. Pink
1886 – 1952
An apostate is therefore a defector from the truth—someone who has known the truth, given some show of affirmation to it, perhaps even proclaimed it for a while—but then rejected it in the end. The typical apostate may still purport to believe the truth and proclaim the truth; but in reality he opposes the truth and undermines it. He is a traitor to the faith and secretly an enemy in the Truth War. But he wants everyone to think otherwise. Most apostates seek to remain within the church and actively seek acceptance among the people of God. Because everything they do undermines faith and corrupts the truth, such people pose a grave danger to the health of the flock—even though they usually bend over backward to appear friendly, likable, and pious. That is why Jesus compares them to ravenous wolves in sheep’s clothing (Matthew 7:15).
– John MacArthur
God’s wrath is not a temporary loss of self-control or a selfish fit of emotion. It is His holy, white-hot hatred of sin, the reaction and revulsion of His holy nature against all that is evil. God’s wrath is tied in directly with His justice. It has to do with His righteous determination to punish every sin, to balance the scales of justice, and to make every wrong right. That is why the wrath of God “abides on” every unbeliever. The more men persist in sin, the more they are “storing up wrath for themselves in the day of wrath and revelation of the righteous judgment of God.” God’s wrath will eventually be “poured out”; He is a righteous judge and will not allow sin to go unpunished forever.
– Charles Leiter
In modern day evangelism, this precious doctrine [of regeneration] has been reduced to nothing more than a human decision to raise one’s hand, walk an aisle, or pray a “sinner’s prayer.” As a result, the majority of Americans believe that they’ve been “born again” (i.e., regenerated) even though their thoughts, words, and deeds are a continual contradiction to the nature and will of God.
– Paul Washer
A god whose will is resisted, whose designs are frustrated, whose purpose is checkmated, possesses no title to deity and, far from being a fit object of worship, merits nothing but contempt.
– A. W. Pink
1886 – 1952
Christ Alone Wyoming 