Some Fantastic Quotes

these are some quotes my campus minister put on our outline for large group last night. they are fantastic.

"Before you can speak peace to your hearts, you must not only be sad for your sins, you must not only be troubled for the sins of your life, but likewise you must be troubled over your best duties and performances. When a poor soul is somewhat awakened by the terrors of the Lord, then that poor one, being born under a covenant of works, flies directly to a covenant of works again. As soon as he is awakened and he senses his need for God, he says, 'I will be mighty good now. I will reform. I will do everything I can, and then certainly Jesus Christ will have mercy upon me.' And, as Adam and Eve hid themselves in the trees of the Garden and sewed fig leaves together to cover their nakedness, so the poor sinner, when awakened, flies to his duties and to his performances to hide himself from God. But before you can be certain that jesus Christ is in your heart, you must be brought to see not only that your sins must be done away with, but your righteousness. You must see that all your duties, all your righteousness, all put together are so far from recommending God to you, so far from being any motive of inducement for God to have mercy on your poor soul, that He will see them to be filthy rags and that God hates them and God cannot but do away with them if you bring them to Him in order to recommend you to His favor." - George Whitfield

"With our mouths we say 'Christ alone' is what makes us acceptable, but in our hearts we add Christ AND financial freedom. Christ AND approval of my parents. Christ AND the respect or happiness of my children. Christ AND the acceptance of a peer group. Christ or something. But anything that you add to Jesus Christ as a requirement for being happy will become a slave master that will strangle you. It will drive you into the ground and will hang you by the neck until you are dead." - Becky Pipert

harsh? sure, but true. it hardly does us good to pretend that matters aren't serious. which is of course what makes it amazing that what DOES "recommend you to His favor" is the completed work of Christ. That's the beauty of the gospel: that which is demanded is supplied.