Christ and salvation are freely given, and yet the most of men go without them because they can not enjoy the world and them together. They are called but to part with that which would hinder them Christ, and they will not do it. They are called but to give God his own, and to resign all to His will, and let go the profits and pleasures of this world, when they must let go either Christ or them, and they will not.
– Richard Baxter –
There are people in the presence of God [who are there] only by a technical redemption. You see, what I worry about in this hour is that we are technically Christians, and we can prove that we are Christians. We are Christians, technically. And anybody can flip open a Greek lexicon and show you that you are a saint. But I am afraid of that kind of Christianity, because if I haven’t felt a sense of vileness by contrast with that sense of unapproachable and indescribable holiness, I wonder if I had ever been hit hard enough to really repent. And if I don’t repent, I wonder if I can believe. We are told, “Just believe it, brother. Just believe it. Now, come on, let me take your name and address. Yes, what church would you like to go to?” We have it all fixed up, my brethren. But I’m afraid our fathers knew God in a different manner than that.
– AW Tozer –
Sweet, sweet grace of God! It was a happy day, spent with saints and sinners. Street meetings tonight brought me into contact with a successful man who has an empty heart. How shall I praise God sufficiently for the inexplicable miracle of divine grace in my soul? And how explain it to others? I have committed this man’s soul to God, and His Word, expecting to write one day in these [journal] pages of his turning to the Lord and finding great peace. You see these words, Lord, and are my Judge as to whether they are in faith.
– Jim Elliot –
My life is lived now both externally and internally different from what I knew when the old man was in the saddle. Bless the Lord for this . . .
– Jim Elliot –
Dear friend, salvation would be a sadly incomplete affair if it did not deal with the whole part of our ruined estate. We want to be purified as well as pardoned. Justification without sanctification would not be salvation at all. It would call the leper clean, and leave him to die of his disease; it would forgive the rebellion, and allow the rebel to remain an enemy of his King. It would remove the consequence but overlook the cause, and this would leave an endless and hopeless task before us. It would stop the stream for a time, but leave an open fountain of defilement which would sooner or later break forth with increased power.
– Charles Spurgeon –
Dear friends, you may have awakenings, enlightenings, experiences, a full heart in prayers, and many signs, but if ye lack holiness, you will never see the Lord. A real desire after complete holiness is the truest mark of having been born again. The Saviour first covers the soul with His white raiment, then makes the soul glorious within – restores the lost image of God, and fills the soul with pure heavenly holiness. Unregenerate men among you cannot bear this.
– Robert Murray M’Cheyne –
It is God who sets us free. Not only free from punishment, curse, uneasiness and terror, but also free from sin itself. You know that He was manifested so that He might take away our sins. Let us receive this thought deep into our hearts – it is God who takes away our sins. The better we grasp this, the more blessed our lives will be. Not everyone receives this. Some seek only to be freed from the consequences of sin, fear, darkness, and punishment. It is for this reason that they do not come to the true rest of salvation. They do not understand that to be saved is to be freed from sin. Let us hold it firmly. Jesus saves through the taking away of sin.
– Andrew Murray –
My faith has found a resting place,
Not in device or creed;
I trust the ever living One,
His wounds for me shall plead.
I need no other argument,
I need no other plea,
It is enough that Jesus died,
And that He died for me.
– Eliza E. Hewitt –
From this it further follows, when a Christian does good works and shows love to his neighbor, that he does not thereby become a Christian or pious, but before this is done he must have been a Christian and pious. He indeed does good works, but his good works do not make him a Christian. The tree brings or yields good fruit, but the fruit does not make the tree good. So also here, no one becomes a Christian through his works, but through Christ.
– Martin Luther –