Quote of the Day

When Satan cannot hide the truth, he works to hinder the practical application of it.

- William Gurnall

Quote of the Day

If we think that our substitutes do more good or reap larger results than the gospel way, we will create serious difficulties and engender a destructive enmity within the church.  "I have known brethren tell sinners a great many falsehoods with the view of saving them."  He did not want one creed for the ministers' meeting and another for the enquiry room.  Salvation is not promoted by the suppression of truth…."I hold that I have no right to state false doctrines, even if I knew it would save a soul.  The supposition is, of course, absurd; but it makes you see what I mean."

…Our tampering produces false theology, false ideas of Christianity, tolerates disobedience to the ordinances, and makes supposed believers impatient with calls to holiness.  One may sure, however, that Christ will not be trifled with, will not have "his words shuffled like a deck of cards," will be "Lord as well as Savior" or will not be Savior.  A supposed assurance of forensic justification "apart from a spiritual work within the soul - - a change of heart, and a renewal of mind" does not yield a future of heaven.

From - Living by Revealed Truth: The Life and Pastoral Theology of Charles Haddon Spurgeon by Thomas Nettles

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I would have every Christian wish to know all that he can know of revealed truth.  Somebody whispers that the secret things belong not to us.  You may be sure you will never know them if they are secret; but all that is revealed you ought to know...

Charles Spurgeon

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We get endless sermons on psychology, but amazingly few on Christianity.  Our preachers are afraid to preach on the doctrine of the Atonement and on predestination.  The great cardinal principles of our belief are scarcely ever mentioned, indeed there is a movement on foot to amend them so as to bring them up-to-date.  How on earth can you talk of bringing these eternal truths up to date?  They are not only up-to-date, they are and will be ahead of the times to all eternity.

 

Martyn Lloyd-Jones

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Windshields are one of those technological wonders we have all gotten used to.  In fact, they work best when you don't notice them, when they are invisible so that all you can see is what they reveal.  I am concerned that many Calvinists today do little more than celebrate how wonderfully clear their theological windshield is.  But like a windshield, Reformed theology is not an end in itself.  It is simply a window to the awe-inspiring universe of God's truth, filled with glory, beauty, and grace.  Do we need something like a metaphorical windshield of clear, biblical truth to look through as we hope to marvel at God's glory?  Absolutely.  But we must make sure that we know the difference between staring at a windshield and staring through one. 

Greg Dutcher

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We may if we please, confine our study of Scripture to what is immediately edifying, skimming lightly over all pages which do not serve a direct purpose of devotion, and ignoring every difficulty which does not yield to the faculty of practical insight, to the power of spiritual sympathy with the mind of the Spirit, which the thoughtful Christian necessarily acquires in the habitual excessive of bringing Scripture to bear on the daily needs of his own life.  This use of Scripture is full of personal profit, and raises no intellectual difficulties.  But it does not do justice to the whole Word of God.  It cannot exhaust the whole mind of the Spirit.  It is limited for every individual by the limitations of his own spiritual experience.  Reading the Bible in this way, a man comes to a very personal appreciation of so much of God's truth as is in immediate contact with the range of his own life.  But he is sure to miss many truths which belong to another range of experience, and to read into the inspired page things from his own experience which involve human error.  In this way he becomes narrow, and full of prejudice, which prevent him from seeing that the Bible is larger than his knowledge of it, and that other men whose needs are different from his may be quite in the right in getting things out of the Scripture which he does not know, does not need, and is inclined to call false or dangerous.  

William Robertson Smith

(Disclaimer:  his stance in his writings on higher criticism is wrong)

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Peace if possible, truth at all costs.

  

Martin Luther

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We are not simply a society in which we recognize the existence of, and the differences between, a variety of religious beliefs, but one in which we declare all such beliefs are to be equally valid. From that perspective there is only one kind of heresy, namely, to claim that one view is ultimately right, where others are wrong. In granting plausibility to everything, we may grant certainty to nothing. Tolerance has been embraced at the expense of truth… To allow that everyone and everything is right is to destroy the notion of truth itself.

Alistair Begg

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If I profess with the loudest voice and clearest exposition every portion of the truth of God except precisely that little point which the world and the devil are at the moment attacking, I am not confessing Christ, however boldly I may be professing Christ.  Where the battle rages, there the loyalty of the soldier is proved to be steady…  (It) is mere flight and disgrace if he flinches at that point (of attack).

 

Martin Luther

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....Peter was also 'hurried' to ensure that after he died, they would be reminded of these things.  Our ministries (out of integrity) must not be focused solely on this life.  Our goal should be that the 'righteous reminders' we are fortunate enough to share will out-live us.  What we live for (as others see) will be our 'lasting legacy" - what do we really want (seek) this to be?  Will it be our earthly accomplishments, our personality or the One we lived for?  What would we truly like our epitaph to be?  What would we really like our eulogy to consist of?  Wisdom is often evidenced in the looking beyond our life's end; many struggle to look beyond the end of the day - short -sighted.  The plain idea of Peter's intent was to make it so memories of these concepts and truths would be brought back to their thinking long after he had 'departed'.  It is wise to place 'reminders' around us to help us stay focused as well as to strive to be consistent reminders to others.

Don Lambert

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Discernment is not simply a matter of telling the difference between what is right and wrong; rather it is the difference between right and almost right.

  

Charles Spurgeon

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Truth is mightier than eloquence.  The victory remains with him who lisps out the truth, and not with him who puts forth a lie in flowing language.

 

Martin Luther

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Truth existed before any revelation in written form was made. It therefore does not depend on revelation for its truthfulness. To the same end, it may be said that some truths, though recorded and in no way opposed to reason, are not demonstrable by reason. If, as has been proved, revelation is infinitely true, it follows that, should reason advance a contradiction to revelation, reason is at fault.

L. S. Chafer

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If you believe what you like in the Gospel, and reject what you don't like, it is not the Gospel you believe, but yourself.

Augustine

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 "I can pretty clearly distinguish, between skill and malice, and I set no high value on a malice so unskillful.  To burn books is so easy a matter that even children can do it; much more, then, the Holly Father and his doctors.  It would be well for them to show greater ability than that which is required to burn books......Besides, let them destroy my works!  I desire nothing better; for all my wish has been to lead souls to the Bible, so that they might afterwards neglect my writings....If we had a knowledge of Scripture what need would there be of any books of mine?...."

 

Martin Luther

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I am accused of rejecting the holy doctors of the Church.  I do not reject them; but, since all these doctors endeavor to prove their writings by Holy Scripture, Scripture must be clearer and surer than they are.  Who would think of proving an obscure passage by one that was obscurer still?  Thus, the necessity obliges me to have recourse to the Bible, as all the doctors have done, and to call upon it to pronounce upon their writings; for the Bible alone is lord and master.

 

Martin Luther

Quote of the Day

As Peter mentioned, so we also must be always ready to remind others of the truth.  To do this, we must keep it current in our thinking.  We must also be prepared to face opposition to those that react.  Peter was not saying they did not know these truths, just that they needed reminding.  Sometimes, this reminding is of scope not of detail, of importance (priority) not content; just because we know the Truth, dos not mean we are currently practicing it.  I may have a 'tool' at my disposal that fits the need and may need reminding that it is there or how to use it.  For us, this should be the core of our 'counseling' - the Truth.  It will involve 'stirring them up' in their memories (memorials) of the Truth.  The True Truth, not just because it is God's word, but because it identifies and clarifies what reality really is (it is true truth!). 

It is the 'right' thing to do (it is just, righteous and fair).  Especially considering the short stay we have in this 'tent' - The tent concept communicates that when we leave it, we leave for a permanent dwelling.  It is not only right, it is the best I can do, it is what we should aspire to.  The Truth will be used to 'stir' others (and ourselves) up.   It will be used to waken us from drowsiness or outright sleep, it is useful to pull us back to reality from our often visited dream worlds) - false realities.  It will be used to 'shake' us up - it may shake up what we are currently standing upon and may seemingly knock us down, but it is needed, lest our footing will always be upon unstable, fluctuating ground and we will be toppled by circumstances (and those, sometimes only small things).  Our goal should be to be surrounded by such faithful friends and to be such faithful friends!    We must realize though, that this stirring up with Truth reminding may be deemed as trouble-making or 'rocking the boat' - it may not be popular, but it is right.

Don Lambert

Quote of the Day

Where union and friendship are not cemented by truth, I say it again, we must have unity, we must pray for unity, we must love one another, we must never divide over incidentals but it is far, far, far better to be divided by truth than united in error.

Charles Spurgeon

Quote of the Day

Christianity is not just an experience, we need to remember, but it is about truth.  The experience of being reconciled to the Father, through the Son, by the work of the Holy Spirit all happens within a worldview.  This worldview is the way God has taught us in His Word to view the world.  That is why the Bible begins with Genesis 1:1 and not with John 3:16. 

David Wells

Quote of the Day

Some persons think they can know God by means of their own human reason.  But reason is a blind ally spiritually.  It has always been the great minds exercising their powers apart from the Word of God who have produced the great heresies.  Some think they can discover God by listening to a so-called 'inner voice.' But the voice is often nothing more than an expression of their own inner desires.  Quite a few think that spiritual truths can be verified by supernatural events or miracles.  But the Bible everywhere teaches that even miracles will not lead men and women to understand and receive God's truth unless they themselves are illuminated by the Bible (see Luke 16:31).  I believe that we can state categorically that there is no knowledge apart from Jesus Christ and that there is no knowledge of Jesus Christ apart from a knowledge of the Bible.

 

James Montgomery Boice