Philip Graham Ryken > Quotes

“If the opening chapters of Genesis portray God as a creative artist, then it only stands to reason that the people he made in his image will also be artists. Art is an imaginative activity, and in the act of creating, we reflect the mind of our Maker.”
― Philip Graham Ryken, Art for God's Sake: A Call to Recover the Arts

“We belong to Jesus Christ, because we have all been baptized into His body. Now the powerful presence of the Holy Spirit gives us a spiritual unity that overcomes our differences, enabling us to live together in a caring community that stands out like a city on a hill.”
― Philip Graham Ryken, City on a Hill: Reclaiming the Biblical Pattern for the Church

“Art has tremendous power to shape culture and touch the human heart. Its artifacts embody the ideas and desires of the coming generation. This means that what is happening in the arts today is prophetic of what will happen in our culture tomorrow. It also means that when Christians abandon the artistic community, we lose a significant opportunity to coniniu- nicate Christ to our culture.”
― Philip Graham Ryken, Art for God's Sake: A Call to Recover the Arts

“Rather than giving in to meaninglessness and despair, Christian artists know that there is a way out. Thus they create images of grace, awakening a desire for the new heavens and the new earth by anticipating the possibilities of redemption in Christ.”
― Philip Graham Ryken, Art for God's Sake: A Call to Recover the Arts

“No one cares how much we know unless they also know how much we care.”
― Philip Graham Ryken, Loving the Way Jesus Loves

“What we think has a strong influence on what we feel. John”
― Philip Graham Ryken, Loving Jesus More

“When a mind is in love with Jesus, this is what it sees: a world full of the wonders he has made.”
― Philip Graham Ryken, Loving Jesus More

“Martin Luther said, “A Christian is not someone who has no sin or feels no sin; he is someone to whom, because of his faith in Christ, God does not impute his sin.”
― Philip Graham Ryken, Galatians

“The Christian worldview is liturgical as well as cerebral; it culminates with an everlasting crescendo of praise.”
― Philip Graham Ryken, Christian Worldview: A Student's Guide

“At its best, art is able to do what Fujimura's paintings do: satisfy our deep longing for beauty and communicate profound spiritual, intellectual, and emotional truth about the world that God has made for his glory. Is it any wonder that the best artists are celebrated?”
― Philip Graham Ryken, Art for God's Sake: A Call to Recover the Arts

“Why does God call people to be artists? Because he is an Artist, and we are made in his image. When we first meet the God of the Bible, he is busy making things and calling them good. Thus it is only natural for him to take some of the people that he has made, call them to be artists, and hold them to an aesthetic standard.”
― Philip Graham Ryken, Art for God's Sake: A Call to Recover the Arts

“God has high standard for art, and obviously he does not and cannot endorse the content of work that is pornographic or propagandistic, or that violates his character in some other way.”
― Philip Graham Ryken, Art for God's Sake: A Call to Recover the Arts

“The true sons of Abraham are not identified biologically, but Christologically.”
― Philip Graham Ryken, Galatians

“Dietrich Bonhoeffer wisely wrote, “If my sinfulness appears to me to be in any way smaller or less detestable in comparison with the sins of others, I am still not recognizing my sinfulness at all.”3”
― Philip Graham Ryken, Grace Transforming

“It is true enough that sanctification follows justification, but justification never gets left behind. We will never stand before God on the basis of our own righteousness. We can stand before God only on the basis of the righteousness of Jesus Christ. Once and forever, we are justified before God by the righteousness we have received by faith. To be sure, we are becoming more holy all the time. Having been justified, we are now becoming sanctifies. But we cannot use our obedience--aa imperfect as it is--to establish our righteousness before God. To put this another way, we cannot base our justification on our sanctification”
― Philip Graham Ryken, Galatians

“the real issue for most of us is that we always want to place limits on our love. We are ready to give, but only when we have something left over. We are willing to care as long as it isn’t too inconvenient. We are able to love provided that people love us back.”
― Philip Graham Ryken, Loving the Way Jesus Loves

“...the Christian life requires a continual turning away from sin. But it also requires constant faith, for the Christian daily looks to Christ for loving care. The penitent believer never stops trusting in the saving power of the crucified and risen Saviour.”
― Philip Graham Ryken, The Message of Salvation: By God's Grace, for God's Glory

“In the words of the Puritan William Perkins, “The promises made to Abraham are first made to Christ, and then in Christ to all that believe in him.”6”
― Philip Graham Ryken, Galatians

“In the providence of God, some people who hope to become artists never reach their desired goal. This may be for reasons of practical necessity, or because they never reach the level of excellence required to sustain a career in the arts. In such cases it is important not to focus on the frustration of not achieving one's ambitions, but to recognize that there are other meaningful ways to participate in the arts. A full understanding of the arts
recognizes both the unique vocation of the professional artist and the value of other forms of artistic expression. Even if our art must become an avocation rather than a vocation, it should still be pursued with deep joy and a strong sense of purpose. The church can help in this pursuit by serving as a community of encouragement that affirms the calling of artists and nurtures the artistic aspect of every human soul.”
― Philip Graham Ryken, Art for God's Sake: A Call to Recover the Arts

“The composer Igor Stravinsky wisely said, "I take no pride in my artistic talents; they are God-given and I see absolutely no reason to become puffed up over something that one has received."3”
― Philip Graham Ryken, Art for God's Sake: A Call to Recover the Arts

“The call of the new covenant is the same as the old: in loving God, we give him our “all.”
― Philip Graham Ryken, Loving Jesus More

“Artists are called and gifted-personally, by name-to write, paint, sing, play, and dance to the glory of God.”
― Philip Graham Ryken, Art for God's Sake: A Call to Recover the Arts

“God has put his love into our lives by pouring his Spirit into our hearts. So when we desire to love Jesus more, we are not limited to loving him out of our own small affection, but can love him with the abundant love that he freely gives.”
― Philip Graham Ryken, Loving Jesus More

“God is one; . . . this one God is Father, Son, and Holy Ghost; . . . the Father is the Father of the Son; and the Son, the Son of the Father; and the Holy Ghost, the Spirit of the Father and the Son; and . . . in respect of this their mutual relations, they are distinct from each other. (John Owen)1”
― Philip Graham Ryken, Our Triune God: Living in the Love of the Three-in-One

“In Exodus 31 God sanctifies a wide spectrum of artistic gifts by blessing "all kinds of craftsmanship.”
― Philip Graham Ryken, Art for God's Sake: A Call to Recover the Arts

“The example of the tabernacle proves that God loves all kinds of art, in all kinds of media and all kinds of styles-provided, that is, that they are in keeping with the perfections of his character. As John Calvin said, "All the arts come from God and are to be respected as divine inventions."3 Therefore, as Christians we are not limited to crosses and flannelgraphs, or to praise choruses and evangelistic skits.”
― Philip Graham Ryken, Art for God's Sake: A Call to Recover the Arts

“Angels have no interest in being worshipped themselves. They are totally absorbed with God, and all they would have us do is join them in adoring Him.”
― Philip Graham Ryken, Galatians

“God's careful instructions for building the tabernacle remind us that his perfection sets the standard for whatever we create in his name.”
― Philip Graham Ryken, Art for God's Sake: A Call to Recover the Arts

“four fundamental
principles for a Christian theology of the arts: (1) the artist's call and gift come from God; (2) God loves all kinds of art; (3) God maintains high standards for goodness, truth, and beauty; and (4) art is for the glory of God.”
― Philip Graham Ryken, Art for God's Sake: A Call to Recover the Arts

“These men were not selected by a jury of fellow artists, but appointed by the sovereign and electing choice of God.”
― Philip Graham Ryken, Art for God's Sake: A Call to Recover the Arts