Sentences have the power to stay with us. They can come to mind, even years later. As I’ve prepared various talks and lectures in the last few months, I’ve been struck by this, remindinh me of the power and beauty of words to deliver truth, to help us feel the truth. In God’s kindness, we can learn from the wise words of Christian brothers and sisters.
Here are some of the one-liners and longer quotations that I’ve benefitted from recently and would like to pass on to you—“[a]s iron sharpens iron, so one person sharpens another” (Prov 27:17).
The Christian Life
From Ann Benton’s If It’s Not Too Much Trouble:
- “Perhaps that is the point of old age: to underline the fact that despite all that we may achieve when we are in our prime, at a fundamental level we cannot manage on our own.”
- “How can self-importance be sustained when we think about the greatness of God?”
- “So, in caring for a parent, you may be doing more or less of the practical work than your sibling, but a daily application of gospel grace will enable you to recycle that grace to others by refusing to look over your shoulder and make arithmetical calculations.”[1]
From The Crook In The Lot by Thomas Boston:
- “Humility is part of the image of God. Pride is the master-piece of the devil.”
- “Everybody’s lot in this world has some crook [trouble] in it.”
- “Sin has unhinged the whole creation, and made every relation susceptible of the crook.”[2]
Mostyn Robert writes in Coping with Criticism:
- “One of the most encouraging truths in my own experience has been that ‘the Lamb is on the throne’.”
- “Do not dismiss people just because they criticise or are even hostile.”
- “Thankfulness gets things in perspective: it reminds us of the sovereignty of God and his goodness.”[3]
From Tim Challies’ The Character of the Christian:
- “[I]f you want to grow in holiness, one way to begin is by knowing and imitating the character qualifications of elders.”
- “To be gentle is to be tender, humble, and fair, to know what response is fitting for any occasion.”[4]
In Destiny by David Gibson:
- “I want to persuade you that only if you prepare to die can you really learn how to live.”
- “Everything is a breath, our lives the merest of breaths.”
- “The Teacher [of Ecclesiastes] wants us to let the reality of our death sink into our bones and lodge itself deep into our hearts. But that’s because he’s writing a book about what it means to live.”
- “Death can teach you how to live” (this last from a sermon by Gibson).[5]
Kevin DeYoung writes in The Art of Turning: “Clearly, part of our experience as a Christian ought to be the testimony of a good conscience.”[6]
In Lady Jane Grey’s Communication with Feckenham: “I ground my faith upon God’s word, and not upon the church. For if the church be a good church, the faith of the church must be tried by God’s word, and not God’s word by the church, neither yet my faith.”[7]
From Matt Fuller’s Be True to Yourself:
- “Enjoying a meaningful relationship with God frees you to enjoy meaningful relationships with others.”
- “The joy of forgiveness in Christianity is that we can be completely honest about who we are, yet also know we are truly loved and valued by God our Father.”[8]
Evangelism
From Gospel Speech by Lionel Windsor:
- “If you can speak the gospel to insiders, you can speak the gospel to outsiders too.”
- “’Are all Christians commanded to evangelise?’ I hope I’ve convinced you by now on how many levels that question is wrong. The real question is this: what is the gospel (i.e. the good news that transforms my heart and my speech)? And the second question is: how can I love the people around me and speak it in my particular circumstances? These are questions that I hope you’ll spend a lifetime answering.”[9]
In his Know and Tell the Gospel, John Chapman writes: “The characteristic mark of our lives as we wait is love.”[10]
In Rico Tice’s Honest Evangelism:
- “Coming to Christ is such an indescribable joy.”
- “Hostility and hunger: that’s what you’ll find as you tell others about Jesus.”
- “Don’t be deluded. Everyone needs Jesus. Everyone.”
- “We have to keep remembering that we are like grass.”[11]
Mostyn Roberts writes in Coping with Criticism: “Unbelief is ultimately behind all of the opposition Jesus endured.”[12]
From Kevin DeYoung’s The Art of Turning again and Amaze Them With God:
- “Of all the times you’ve given your testimony, have you ever testified to the great gift of having a clean conscience?”
- “Give them an undiluted God who makes them feel cherished and safe, and small and uncomfortable too.”
- “The gospel is not a message about what we need to do for God, but about what God has done for us.”[13]
[1] Ann Benton, If It’s Not Too Much Trouble: The challenge of the aged parent (Christian Focus) 2016, 30, 91, 130.
[2] Thomas Boston, The Crook In The Lot: What to believe when our lot in life is not health, wealth, and happiness (The Banner of Truth Trust) 2017, x, 4, 15.
[3] Mostyn Roberts, Coping With Criticism: Turning pain into blessing (EP Books) 2020, 30, 42, 46.
[4] Tim Challies, The Character of the Christian (Cruciform Press) 2017, 5, 27.
[5] David Gibson, Destiny: Learning to live by preparing to die (IVP) 2016, xiii, 8, 14. David Gibson, ‘Ecclesiastes’ (Keswick Convention 2022), https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xctHTl4SxTE
[6] Kevin DeYoung, The Art Of Turning: From sin to Christ for a joyfully clear conscience (10Publishing) 2017, 32.
[7] Jane Grey, An epistle of the Ladye Iane, a righte vertuous woman, to a learned man of late falne from the truth of Gods most holy word, for fear of the worlde read it, to thy consolacion: vvhereunto is added the communication that she had with Master Feckenham vpon her faith, and belefe of the sacraments (London?: John Day?, 1554), sig. B.iiir.
[8] Matt Fuller, Be True to Yourself (The Good Book Co) 2020, 26, 184.
[9] Lionel Windsor, Gospel Speech: A fresh look at the relationship between every Christian and evangelism (Matthias Media) 2015, 50, 57.
[10] John Chapman, Know and Tell the Gospel (Matthias Media) 2020, 48.
[11] Rico Tice, Honest Evangelism: How to talk about Jesus even when it’s tough (The Good Book Co) 2015, 13, 23, 40.
[12] Roberts, 18.
[13] DeYoung, The Art Of Turning, 40. DeYoung, Amaze Them With God: Winning the next generation for Christ (10Publishing), 30, 29.
