Unless I am convinced by scripture or by clear reason - for I do not trust the Pope or Church councils, since everyone knows that they can make mistakes and contradict themselves - I am bound by the scriptures I have quoted. My conscience is held captive by the Word of God. I cannot and will not take back anything, because it is neither safe nor right to go against conscience. Here I stand, I can do no other. God help me. Amen. Diet of Worms, Defense against Catholic accusations
Here, then, is the real problem of our negligence. We fail in our duty to study God's Word not so much because it is difficult to understand, not so much because it is dull and boring, but because it is work. Our problem is not a lack of intelligence or a lack of passion. Our problem is that we are lazy. Knowing Scripture (Page 20)
If we ultimately appeal to human reason, or to logic, or to historical accuracy, or to scientific truth, as the authority by which Scripture is shown to be God's words, then we have assumed the thing to which we appealed to be a higher authority than God's words and one that is more true or more reliable. Systematic Theology (78)
We're either building our life on the reality of what God is truly like and what he's about, or we're basing our life on our own imagination and misconceptions. We're all theologians. The question is whether we will be good theologians or bad theologians, whether what we know about God is true or false.Dug Down Deep
The Bible appears like a symphony orchestra, with the Holy Spirit as its Toscanini; each instrumentalist has been brought willingly, spontaneously, creatively, to play his notes just as the great conductor desired, in full harmony with each other, though none of them could ever hear the music as a whole. God Has Spoken (99)
If there is any verse that you would like left out of the Bible, that is the verse that ought to stick to you, like a blister, until you really attend to its teaching.
I am a great advocate of schemes of Bible reading, but we have to be careful that in our use of such schemes we are not content just to read the portion for the day and then to rush off without thought and meditation.Studies in the Sermon on the Mount (6)
And let us not take it into our heads either to seek out God anywhere else than in his Sacred Word, or to think anything about him that is not prompted by his Word, or to speak anything that is not taken from that Word.John Calvin, Institutes, Book 1
How can we claim to know and love Jesus and yet be indifferent toward his bride, his temple, his family, his own body? Can I say that I love Jesus but hate the wife he cherishes? Can I say I enjoy spending time with him but refuse to enter his house? Can I claim friendship with Jesus but think his body is repulsive? It's not possible.Dug Down Deep (198)
Every day of faith is a day of the supernatural work of the Spirit in our lives. Every time we're filled with love for God, every time we become aware of how glorious Jesus is, every time ewe read God's Word and understand and believe it, every time we choose to obey God and turn away from sin, every time we selflessly use our abilities to serve others-the Holy Spirit is powerfully working in us.Dug Down Deep (187)
Then Piper asked what the basic riddle of the universe really is. Is it the question, why is there suffering in the world? No, said Piper, not for the person with a biblical mind-set. The question for this God-centered person is, why is there any goodness for a sinner like me? How can God-a holy and righteous God-pass over the sins of man?Dug Down Deep (47)
God's love is perceived as amazing only when we realize that the one thing we truly deserve from him is righteous wrath and eternal punishment for our disobedience and disloyalty.Dug Down Deep (46)
No matter how extensive one's scriptural knowledge, or how amazing one's memory, it is self deception if that is all there is. True knowledge is the prelude to action, and it is the obedience to the Word that counts in the end. New International Biblical Commentary: James (Peabody, MA: Hendrickson, 1983), (Page 41)
Don't let the world shape you, so that this [Bible] looks boring. God almighty has spoken! It can't be boring! It can't be boring! We're the problem. Sermon January 10, 2010
I charge every reader of this chapter to ask himself frequently what the Bible is to him. Is it a Bible in which you have found nothing more than good moral precepts and sound advice? Or is it a Bible in which you have found Christ? Is it a Bible in which "Christ is all"? If not, I tell you plainly, you have hitherto used your Bible to very little purpose. You are like a man who studies the solar system and leaves out in his studies the sun, which is the center of all. It is no wonder if you find your Bible a dull book! Holiness (Chapter 20)
To stay away from Christianity because part of the Bible's teaching is offensive to you assumes that if there is a God he wouldn't have any views that upset you. Does that belief make sense? The Reason for God (112)
To reject the Bible as regressive is to assume that you have now arrived at the ultimate historic moment, from which all that is regressive and progressive can be discerned. That belief is surely as narrow and exclusive as the views in the Bible you regard as offensive. The Reason for God (111)