"The natural man is void of the saving knowledge of spiritual things. He knows not what a God he has to do with: he is unacquainted with Christ, and knows not what sin is. The greatest graceless wits are blind as moles in these things." - Thomas Boston
"Value God and his love more than all the world, though there were millions of them. He valued you before the world, and therefore is beforehand with you in his love. He not only loved you from everlasting, (whereas your love is but of yesterday,) but in the valuation of it, he loved you before all worlds, and preferred you to all worlds: though you loved the world first, before you loved him." - Thomas Goodwin
"The better and holier a man is, the more he feels his need of pardon, and how far he falls short of his own imperfect standard of excellence. But Jesus, with the same nature as ours and tempted as we are, never yielded to temptation; never
had cause for regretting any thought, word, or action; he never needed pardon, or conversion, or reform; he never fell out of harmony with his heavenly Father. His whole life was one unbroken act of self-consecration to the glory of God and the eternal welfare of his fellow-men." - Philip Schaff
"Men will never worship God with a sincere heart, or be roused to fear and obey Him with sufficient zeal, until they properly understand how much they are indebted to His mercy" - John Calvin
"He therefore, and he only, knows what "saved" means, that knows what hell, and death, and damnation means." - John Bunyan
“The true teacher should not seek to soar on the gaudy wings of brilliant oratory, pouring forth sonorous polished sentences in rhythmic harmony, but should endeavour to speak pointed Truths of God—things that will strike and stick—thoughts
that will be remembered and recalled, again and again, when the hearer is far away from the place of worship where he listened to the preacher’s words.” - C.H. Spurgeon
"The wrath of God is like great waters that are dammed for the present; they increase more and more, and rise higher and higher, till an outlet is given; and the longer the stream is stopped, the more rapid and mighty is its course, when once it is let loose. It is true, that judgment against your evil works has not been executed hitherto; the floods of God’s vengeance have been withheld; but your guilt in the mean time is constantly increasing, and you are every day treasuring up more wrath." - Jonathan Edwards, Sinners In The Hands Of An Angry God
"It is certain that all who will go to heaven hereafter begin their heaven now, and have their hearts there." - Matthew Henry
"We must not judge of sin by the matter in which, but by the spirit from which, sin is committed. There is no sin so gross but the saints of God may fall into it; but yet the child of God is hindered by a contrary law of the Spirit from yielding full consent before, or taking full delight in a sin, or allowing or persisting after." - Richard Sibbes
“We say that we belong to Christ and we are not our own, but bought with a price. Do we live as if it were true? Come, let us take up the position now of being altogether Christ’s own sheep. If the sheep could speak it would say, ‘There is not a fragment of wool on my back that belongs to me: there is no part of me that is my own. I belong to my shepherd, and I am glad to have it so.’ You belong to Christ as absolutely as that.” - C.H. Spurgeon
“The preacher ought to preach so that it shall be almost an impossibility for his hearer to be altogether careless. You Christian people should set such an example in your households that it shall be next door to an impossibility for son or daughter or servant to remain at peace while they remain out of God and out of Christ in a state of sin!” - C.H. Spurgeon
"It was strictly forbidden to preach to other prisoners, as it is in captive nations today. It was understood that whoever was caught doing this received a severe beating. A number of us decided to pay the price for the privilege of preaching, so we accepted their terms. It was a deal: we preached and they beat us. We were happy preaching; they were happy beating us—so everyone was happy." - Richard Wurmbrand (Tortured for Christ).
"Warrior of the cross, fight on! Never rest till thy victory is complete, for thine eternal reward will prove worthy of a life of warfare. See, here is perfect purity for thee! A few in Sardis kept their garments undefiled, and their recompense is to be spotless. Perfect holiness is the prize of our high calling; let us not miss it. See, here is joy! Thou shalt wear holiday robes, such as men put
on at wedding feasts; thou shalt be clothed with gladness and be made bright with rejoicing. Painful struggles shall end in peace of conscience and joy in the Lord. See, here is victory! Thou shalt have thy triumph. Palm, and crown, and white robe shall be thy guerdon; thou shalt be treated as a conqueror and owned as such by the Lord Himself. See, here is priestly array! Thou shalt stand before the Lord in such raiment as the sons of Aaron wore; thou shalt offer the sacrifices of thanksgiving and draw near unto the Lord with the incense of praise. Who would not fight for a Lord who gives such large honours to the very least of His faithful servants? Who would not be clothed in a fool’s coat for Christ’s sake, seeing He will robe us with glory?" - C.H. Spurgeon
"He who hath a crown before him, it will make him run through the pikes or anything to attain it; so faith, having glory, immortality, and the joys of heaven before it, overlooks and despises all oppositions, and sees all things subdued to Christ, as though all were past; whereupon it gathers assurance that it shall triumph over all in him." - Richard Sibbes
"Above all encouragements, the gospel sets before us the sufferings of our Redeemer, and directs all his disciples in sincerity to accustom themselves to the contemplation and expectation of troubles on earth: it tells them it is a branch of their religion, to suffer with him that they may reign with him. And what is more reasonable, than if our Saviour endured superlative sufferings to purchase eternal glory for us, that we should with the same mind bear lighter afflictions to prepare us for it?" - William Bates
"If there be any name, any dignity, or excellency, not known in this life, and which shall be known in the other; yet, be what they may, Christ is above them all." - Matthew Poole
"If we know anything of growth in grace, and desire to know more, let us not be surprised if we have to go through much trial and affliction in this world... it is the experience of nearly all the most eminent saints. Like their blessed Master,
they have been men of sorrows, acquainted with grief, and perfected through sufferings... It is a melancholy fact that constant temporal prosperity, as a general rule, is injurious to a believer's soul... Sicknesses, and losses, and crosses, and anxieties, and disappointments seem absolutely needful to keep us humble, watchful, and spiritual-minded... We shall find that all worked for our good when we reach heaven. Let these thoughts abide in our minds, if we love growth in grace." - J.C. Ryle
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