The wisdom of John Stott: 9 quotes from a giant of 20th century evangelicalism

John Stott, who died today in 2011, was one of the great figures in 20th century evangelicalism. A scholar, pastor and preacher, he was revered for his wisdom and statesmanship and influenced generations through his writing and speaking. He placed his formidable intellect at the service of the Church, but found time to indulge his great passion of birdwatching. His work continues today through his books and the work of the Langham Partnership global fellowship.
John Stott died on July 27, 2011, at the age of 90.Langham Partnership International

Here are nine quotes from John Stott's writings.

1. Our love grows soft if it is not strengthened by truth, and our truth grows hard if it is not softened by love.

2. Every Christian should be both conservative and radical; conservative in preserving the faith and radical in applying it.

3. The truth is that there are such things as Christian tears, and too few of us ever weep them.

4. In countries to which Christian civilization has spread, large numbers of people have covered themselves with a decent, but thin, veneer of Christianity. They have allowed themselves to become somewhat involved, enough to be respectable but not enough to be uncomfortable.

5. Social responsibility becomes an aspect not of Christian mission only, but also of Christian conversion. It is impossible to be truly converted to God without being thereby converted to our neighbour.

6. The overriding reason why we should take other people's cultures seriously is because God has taken ours seriously.

7. In the real world of pain, how could one worship a God who was immune to it?

8. The Bible isn't about people trying to discover God, but about God reaching out to find us.

9. Christianity is not just about what we believe; it's also about how we behave.

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'The most beautiful things in life are to be lived': 9 quotes from Christian Søren Kierkegaard

A statue of the Danish poet, philosopher and Christian Søren Kierkegaard.

The enigmatic, iconic theologian Søren Kierkegaard was born on this day. He was a divisive thinker who challenged the nominal Christianity of his day with the power of a radical, life-changing gospel.

Kierkegaard was born on 5 May 1813 in Copenhagen, Denmark. He grew up in a world where everyone was supposedly a Christian; under the dominant Lutheran state church, Christianity was simply part of what it meant to be Danish.

Kierkegaard's aim was to 'reintroduce Christianity to Christendom', showing people that true faith was a radical step, a choice between Christ and the world, with a personal, challenging relationship with God at its core.

This poet's provocative philosophy didn't make him many friends in his day, but he went on to inspire modern heroes of the faith such as Bonhoeffer, Karl Barth and Martin Luther King Jr. For those thinkers, Kierkegaard showed how true Christianity could never collapse into nominal nationalism.
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Many of the Dane's thoughts and phrases have entered the modern English language. As biographer Stephen Backhouse notes, idioms such as 'walking the talk', 'mob rule' and the 'leap of faith' all go back to Søren. Here are nine quotes to remember him by.

1. The invitation stands at the crossroad...come here, you are so close to [Christ]; one single step onto the other way and you are so infinitely far away from him...oh, turn around and come here, here is rest!

2. The truth is a snare: you cannot have it, without being caught. You cannot have the truth in such a way that you catch it, but only in such a way that it catches you.

3. Although an outsider, I have at least understood this much, that the only unforgivable high treason against Christianity is the single individual's taking his relation to it for granted.

4. The highest and most beautiful things in life are not to be heard about, nor read about, nor seen but, if one will, are to be lived.

5. Prayer does not change God, but it changes him who prays.

6. What matters is to find my purpose, to see what it really is that God wills that I shall do; the crucial thing is to find a truth for me, to find the idea for which I am willing to live and die.

7. The public is all and nothing, the most dangerous of all powers and the most meaningless.

8. God creates out of nothing. Wonderful you say. Yes, to be sure, but he does what is still more wonderful: he makes saints out of sinners.

9. The tyrant dies and his rule is over, the martyr dies and his rule begins

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John Calvin on the cross of Christ: 6 quotes from the great Reformer

John Calvin (1509-1564) was one of the greatest figures of the Reformation. All too often his teaching has been associated with controversy over his views on predestination, and he's been adopted by highly conservative 'neo-Calvinists' for his theology of the absolute sovereignty of God. But much of his writing wasn't sharp-edged controversy at all, but deeply insightful commentary on Gospel truths.

                               John Calvin, in a painting attributed to Hans Holbein the younger.

Here are six statements Calvin made about the Cross of Christ.

1. It behoves the godly mind to climb still higher, to the height to which Christ calls his disciples: that each must bear his own cross. For whomever the Lord has adopted and deemed worthy of his fellowship ought to prepare themselves for a hard, toilsome and unquiet life, crammed with very many and various kinds of evil.

2. To patiently bear the cross is not to be utterly stupefied and to be deprived of all feeling of pain... we have nothing to do with this iron philosophy [Stoicism] which our Lord and Master has condemned not only by his word, but also by his example.

3. Although the preaching of the cross does not agree with our human inclination, if we desire to return to God our Author and Maker, from whom we have been estranged, in order that he may again begin to be our Father, we ought nevertheless to embrace it humbly.
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4. If believers' eyes are turned to the power of the resurrection, in their hearts the cross of Christ will at last triumph over the devil, flesh, sin and wicked men.

5. Unless Christ had been crucified according to God's will, whence would we have redemption?

6. Lest in the unmeasured abundance of our riches we go wild; lest, puffed up with honours, we become proud; lest, swollen with other good things – either of the soul or of the body, or of fortune – we grow haughty, the Lord himself, according as he sees it expedient, confronts us and subjects and restrains our unrestrained flesh with the remedy of the cross.

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10 Challenging Quotes From St Francis Of Assisi That Will Change The Way You View Faith

September 26 marks the birthday of Giovanni de Bernardino, better known by the name he adopted later in life – St Francis of Assisi.

The Italian friar was born to a wealthy merchant and lived the high life for much of his youth, going off to battle against Perugia before his life radically turned around. After a year in captivity followed by a serious illness, he abandoned the sports and extravagant feasts that had dominated his life and took a vow of poverty.

His radical approach continues to have widespread influence today through the Franciscan monks. The current Pope, born Jorge Mario Bergoglio, chose to adopt Francis' name for his papal title.

Here are 10 quotes commonly attributed to St Francis that will challenge your approach to faith and life:
                                                                               
 St Francis of Assisi was canonised by Pope Gregory IX in 1228, two years after he died in 1226.

1. "Start by doing what is necessary, then what is possible, and suddenly you are doing the impossible."

2. "While you are proclaiming peace with your lips, be careful to have it even more fully in your heart."

3. "It is no use walking anywhere to preach unless our walking is our preaching."

4. "If God can work through me, he can work through anyone."

5. "Lord, grant that I might not so much seek to be loved as to love."

6. "All the darkness in the world cannot extinguish the light of a single candle."

7. "For it is in giving that we receive."

8. "A single sunbeam is enough to drive away many shadows."

9. "It is in pardoning that we are pardoned."

10. "Where there is hatred, let me sow love. Where there is injury, pardon. Where there is doubt, faith."

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William Tyndale: 10 Quotes From The Martyr Burned For Translating Scripture

Nowadays there are literally hundreds of English translations of the Bible – one source estimates around 900.

In the 16th century, though, translating the Bible into English was controversial at best and dangerous at worst. The Church authorities were terrified of the radical ideas that were coming into England from the Continental Reformers, and judged – quite rightly – that the way to stop these was to keep the Bible firmly in the hands of the priestly class who read Latin.

One of the pioneers who brought us the Bible in English was William Tyndale, who is remembered today, October 6. Born around 1494 in Gloucestershire, he was educated at Oxford and Cambridge Universities and was ordained as a priest in around 1521. He became committed to the Reformers' cause and started to translate the Bible, moving to Germany not long afterwards where he could work more freely.
William Tyndale.

After Henry VIII broke with Rome the climate for Reformers became more hospitable and Tyndale moved to Antwerp in Holland, from where his printed Bibles were sent to England. One story from the time tells of how the Bishop of London was fooled by a man named Augustine Packington, who sold him Tyndale's Bibles so he could publicly burn them; Packington, however, passed the money back to Tyndale, who used it to produce more and better editions. So, says the writer, "The Bishop had the books, Packington the thanks, and Tyndale had the money."

Eventually he was betrayed by Henry Phillips, who he had believed was his friend. He was imprisoned in Vilvoorde Castle, spending 500 days there, before being strangled and burned at the stake on October 6, 1536. His last words were, "Lord, open the King of England's eyes!"

Just three years later Henry published his Great Bible, based on Tyndale's work. His translation was also the basis of the Authorized or King James version, used for centuries until the modern era.

Here are 10 quotes from William Tyndale:

1. I defy the Pope and all his laws [lawes]. If God spare my life, ere many years I will cause a boy who drives the plough to know more of the scriptures than you do [said to a priest]

2. I perceived how that it was impossible to establish the lay people in any truth except the Scripture were plainly laid before their eyes in their mother tongue.

3. My overcoat is worn out; my shirts also are worn out. And I ask to be allowed to have a lamp in the evening; it is indeed wearisome sitting alone in the dark. [At prison in Vilvoorde]

4. I call God to record against the day we shall appear before our Lord Jesus, that I never altered one syllable of God's Word against my conscience, nor would do this day, if all that is in earth, whether it be honour, pleasure, or riches, might be given me.

5. There is no work better than to please God; to pour water, to wash dishes, to be a cobbler, or an apostle, all are one; to wash dishes and to preach are all one, as touching the deed, to please God.

6. Let Christian kings therefore keep their faith and truth, and all lawful promises and bonds, not one with another only, but even with the Turk or whatsoever infidel it be. For so it is right before God; as the scriptures and ensamples [examples] of the Bible testify.

7. For if God be on our side, what matter maketh it who be against us, be they bishops, cardinals, popes, or whatsoever names they will?

8. Christ is with us until the world's end. Let his little flock be bold therefore.

9. The church of Christ is the multitude of all those who believe in Christ for the remission of sins, and who are thankful for that mercy and who love the law of God purely, and who hate the sin in this world an long for the life to come.

10. The Law and the Gospel are two keys. The Law is the key that shutteth up all men under condemnation, and the Gospel is the key which opens the door and lets them out.

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William Temple, Archbishop Of Canterbury: 10 Quotes From A Spiritual Giant

William Temple (1881-1944) was one of the greatest Archbishops of Canterbury in modern times and has been described as a "spiritual giant". He was a philosopher and a statesman who supported social reforms and defending the working class. He was also a pioneer in the ecumenical movement.

Temple spoke up passionately in the House of Lords in 1943 against the slaughter of the Jews by the Nazis, arguing for their protection to be made a priority and comparing Allied leaders to the priest and the levite who passed by on the other side of the road from the man who fell among thieves. He co-founded the Council of Christians and Jews.

He was also a profound spiritual writer who saw deeply into the heart of the gospel. One of his books was Christian Faith and Life, which reflected on how to live as a Christian in a changing world.

Here are 10 quotes from that book, published in 1931.

1. Remember that Christianity is not, first and foremost, a religion; it is first and foremost a revelation. It comes before us chiefly not with a declaration of feelings we are to cultivate, or thoughts we are to develop; it comes before us, first and foremost, with the announcement of what God is, as He is proved in what he has done.
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2. As soon as the reality of God was an intellectual certainty, there would no longer be any spiritual merit in faith. From the point of view of religion, not only of the Christian religion, faith is something nobler in its own kind than certainty.

3. The Christian conception of God begins with an exaltation of the the Divine Majesty, the greatest the mind can conceive, but when the greatness and the far-reaching power, might and authority of God exhibit themselves for man, it is by washing the disciples' feet.

4. Our duty to God requires that we should, for a good part of our time, be not consciously thinking about Him. That makes it absolutely necessary, if our life is to be a life of fellowship with Him that we should have our times which are worship, pure and simple.

5. We cannot always be thinking about Christ, but we can refuse to dwell on any thoughts which are out of tune with Him.

6. You will find it is not possible for a vivid memory of Jesus Christ and an unclean thought or a mean and treacherous desire to be in your mind at the same time.

7. To choose your career for selfish reasons is a worse sin than, let us say, committing adultery, for it is the withdrawal of the greater part of your time and energy from the service of God.

8. The worst things that happen do not happen because a few people are monstrously wicked, but because most people are like us.

9. Repentance does not merely mean giving up a bad habit. What it is concerned with is the mind: get a new mind. To repent is to adopt God's viewpoint in place of your own.

10. It is not easy to find outstanding opportunities for practising this great virtue of forgiveness. But there are plenty of little ones, and the little ones test us more searchingly because there is nothing heroic about them. It is always easier to do one big heroic thing than a thousand little, obscure things; and that is what it has to be with most of us.

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TOP QUOTES

Nothing do Satan or hell fear more than praying, believing Christians. – Leonard Ravenhill

The Church's need today is not new styles or methods, but leaders who pray. – Gregg T. Johnson

I would rather teach one man to pray than ten men to preach. – Charles Spurgeon

No church is stronger than its prayer meeting. – Leonard Ravenhill

Prayer does not fit us for the greater work; prayer is the greater work. – Oswald Chambers

We are too busy to pray and so we are too busy to have power. – R.A. Torrey

If revival has hit, you can rest assured that someone has paid the price of prayer and unity. – Winkie Pratney

I have so much to do today so I will spend the first three hours in prayer. – Martin Luther

I am convinced that the greatest work that I will accomplish today, and the greatest impact that my life can make for all of eternity, is through the work of prayer. – Pastor Jamie Morgan

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God does nothing except in answer to prayer. – John Wesley

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Billy Graham Tells Christians How to Fight Temptation

Famed evangelist Billy Graham says that individuals who give their lives to Christ are not immune to the temptations of life, and may face even greater temptation from Satan. But God will provide a way out.

                                                                                        (PHOTO: REUTERS/ROBERT PADGETT)

Evangelist Billy Graham speaks at the dedication of the Billy Graham Library in Charlotte, North Carolina, May 31, 2007.

In his syndicated advice column published Wednesday in The Kansas City Star, Graham reminds his readers that no one has been tempted more than Jesus, who endured 40 days and nights of enticements from the devil, and that they are not exempt.

"If Jesus faced temptation," says Graham, "won't we face temptation also? Jesus, the Bible says, 'Has been tempted in every way, just as we are — yet he did not sin' (Hebrews 4:15)."

The Billy Graham Evangelistic Association founder says that believers should combat this temptation with the Word of God. They should get clear about God's will, and ask Him to provide strength to resist Satan and his lies. "You aren't the same person you once were; God now lives within you by his Holy Spirit. Turn, therefore, to him for the help you need to fight temptation."

Last week, the influential evangelist spoke to his readers about the wiles and motives of the devil. The Christian Post previously reported that the 98-year-old reminded his readers, "He (Satan) tempts, he deceives, he destroys and he even kills when it suits his purpose. The Bible says, 'Your enemy the devil prowls around like a roaring lion looking for someone to devour. Resist him.'"

When it comes to temptation, there is nothing new under the sun but God helps believers to resist it all. Graham points to 1 Corinthians 10:13, "The Bible says, 'No temptation has overtaken you except what is common to mankind. And God is faithful. ... He will also provide a way out so that you can endure it.'"

In a previous Q&A on the website of the BGEA, Graham told readers that living a pure life should be a Christian's goal. "He (God) wants to guide us and help us live pure lives, and He also wants to use us to help others and point them to Jesus. Jesus said, 'You are the light of the world. ... Let your light shine before others, that they may see your good deeds and glorify your Father in heaven.'"

With a bit of humor, Graham says about temptation, "A friend told me once, 'When temptation knocks, I just send Jesus to the door!' That's good advice."

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