“How do those things belonging to Christ become our own? The answer is that it is accomplished through the Spirit and by faith. We are grafted into Christ by faith and we continue to receive the blessings of that union by faith. The Spirit brings to us everything that belongs to Christ through the instrument of faith.”
— Neil H. Williams, “The Theology of Sonship”, (Jenkintown, Pa.: World Harvest Mission, 2002), 6
“Missions is about the worship of Jesus. The goal of missions is the global worship of Jesus by his redeemed people from every tribe, tongue, and nation. The outcome of missions is all peoples delighting to praise jesus. And the motivation for missions is the enjoyment that his people have in him. Missions aims at, brings about, and is fueled by the worship of Jesus.”
— David Mathis, ”Missions: the Worship of Jesus and the Joy of All Peoples” in Don’t Call It a Comeback, (Wheaton, Ill.: Crossway Books, 2011), 225
“Without knowing the dramatic plot and its doctrinal significance, our doxology becomes unfocused. Our praise lacks not only depth but even its rationale: For what exactly are we praising God? Are we responding to God’s character and works, or merely expressing ourselves?”
— Michael Horton, The Christian Faith, (Grand Rapids, Mi.: Zondervan, 2011), 23
“If the cross shows me that I am far worse than I had ever imagined, it also shows me that my evil has been absorbed and forgiven. If the worst thing any human can do is kill God’s son, and that can be forgiven, then how can anything else not be forgiven?”
— Rebecca Pippert, Hope Has Its Reasons, (San Francisco, Ca.: Harper & Row, 1989), 104
“The bad news is far worse than making mistakes or failing to live up to the legalistic standards of fundamentalism. It is that the best efforts of the best Christians, on the best days, in the best frame of heart and mind, with the best motives fall short of that true righteousness and holiness that God requires.
Our best efforts cannot satisfy God’s justice. Yet the good news is that God has satisfied his own justice and reconciled us to himself through the life, death, and resurrection of his Son. God’s holy law can no longer condemn us because we are in Christ.”
— Michael Horton, Christless Christianity, (Grand Rapids, Mi.: Baker Books, 2008), 91
Many of us have a tendency to watch and wait expectantly for Jesus to appear in our lives dramatically, even to the extent that we do not notice that he is walking with us, teaching us, shaping us, even in the mundane experiences of our lives, and in the regular act of worship.
Isaac Wardell via theresurgence.com
(You should check out the full interview at the link above.)
“Although we are justified by Christ’s external righteousness imputed to us, our Savior does not remain outside of us, simply leading the way to a better life; rather, we live in him and therefore in and for each other.”
— Michael Horton, The Christian Faith, (Grand Rapids, Mi.: Zondervan, 2011), 592
Prayer involves much more than just presenting our requests. It must include our worship, devotion, praise and our thanksgiving. We must also come into the presence of God in the right attitude, confessing our sin and seeking his forgiveness. We have no rights per se to present anything to God except through the finished work of Christ on Calvary.
— John Murray, If We Only Knew, (USA: Xulon Press, 2009), 37
