The victorious Christian neither exalts nor downgrades himself. His interests have shifted from self to Christ. What he is or is not no longer concerns him. He believes that he has been crucified with Christ and he is not willing either to praise or deprecate such a man.
– AW Tozer –
Death to self is the only entrance into the Church of the living God; and nothing but God can give this death, and that alone through the inward work of the cross of Christ by His Spirit made real in the soul.
– William Law –
Denying ourselves and taking up our cross isn’t a little side issue—it is absolutely necessary to becoming or continuing to become a disciple of Jesus.
– John Wesley –
Let your Christianity be so unmistakable, your eye so single, your heart so whole, your whole so straightforward, that all who see you may have no doubt Whose you are and Whom you serve.
– JC Ryle –
It is our duty to grow and thrive in holiness. Now what God requires of us, we are to believe he will help us to achieve. But we must not only believe that he will help us, but we must also believe that he is now helping us, we must not rely on our feelings of whether we are aware of being holy or not.
– John Owen –
from The Holy Spirit (abridged by RJK Law)
There is no rowing to paradise except upon the stream of repenting tears. Till sin be bitter, Christ will not be sweet.
– Thomas Watson –
If the Lord tarries, there may yet be a grass-roots awakening that will overflow all sectarian barriers. There are a host of good people who couldn’t care less about this theologian or that, but who need to rekindle the fire of God within them and who long for a visitation from heaven in old-time power. The kindling wood is scattered all around in all the churches. May God help us to rake off the ashes, uncover the live coals and may He blow upon us with the breath of His Spirit!
– Vance Havner –
Cowards never won heaven. Do not claim that you are begotten of God and have His royal blood running in your veins unless you can prove your lineage by this heroic spirit: to dare to be holy in spite of men and devils.
– William Gurnall –
We will not build on the sand, but on the bedrock of the sayings of Christ, and the gates and minions of hell shall not prevail against us. Should such men as we fear? Before the whole world, yes, before the sleepless, lukewarm, faithless, namby-pamby Christian world, we will dare to trust our God, we will venture our all for Him, we will live and we will die for Him, and we will do it with His joy unspeakable singing aloud in our hearts. We will a thousand times sooner die trusting only in our God than live trusting in man. And when we come to this position the battle is already won, and the end of the glorious campaign in sight. We will have the real Holiness of God, not the sickly stuff of talk and dainty words and pretty thoughts; we will have a Masculine Holiness, one of daring faith and works for Jesus Christ.
– CT Studd –