Steven J. Lawson > Quotes

“Salvation is not a reward for the righteous, it is a gift for the guilty.”
― Steven Lawson

“We do not merely add Jesus Christ to our lives and continue in the same direction. Following Christ means we stop, turn around, and pursue Him.”
― Steven J. Lawson

“If you please God, it does not matter whom you displease. And if you displease Him, it does not matter whom you please.”
― Steven J. Lawson, The Kind of Preaching God Blesses

“As you preach, stay in the text, give honor to Christ and He will use you”
― Steven Lawson

“You cannot have Christ for your Savior unless you also have Him as your Lord.”
― Steven J. Lawson, The Gospel Focus of Charles Spurgeon

“May I beg you carefully to judge every preacher, not by his gifts, not by his elocutionary powers, not by his status in society, not by the respectability of his congregation, not by the prettiness of his church, but by this—does he preach the word of truth, the gospel of your salvation?”43”
― Steven J. Lawson, The Gospel Focus of Charles Spurgeon

“It matters to God what is preached. And it matters to Him how it is preached. No man is free to preach whatever and however he so chooses.”
― Steven J. Lawson, The Kind of Preaching God Blesses

“Expository preaching consists in the explanation and application of a passage of Scripture. Without explanation it is not expository; without application it is not preaching."32”
― Steven J. Lawson, The Expository Genius of John Calvin

“A cross without offense in the world is a cross without power in the world.”
― Steven Lawson

“All men of God must take forth the banner of truth, and once more valiantly proclaim the magnificent sovereignty of God in man’s regeneration. May such preaching ring from pulpits today.”
― Steven J. Lawson, Foundations of Grace, 1400 BC - AD 100

“Every decision and direction must come under this overarching goal of bringing glory to God.”
― Steven J. Lawson, The Unwavering Resolve of Jonathan Edwards

“To be like Christ requires us to be full of joy and gladness.”
― Steven J. Lawson, Philippians For You: Shine With Joy as You Live by Faith

“In Christ God loved us, His elect and chosen, before the world began, and reserved us unto the knowledge of his Son and of His holy gospel.30”
― Steven J. Lawson, The Daring Mission of William Tyndale

“It is desperately essential in this hour that preachers recover a soaring vision of the supremacy of God. Life-changing, history-altering preaching will come only when pastors reclaim a high view of God's blazing holiness and are overshadowed by His absolute sovereignty. Towering thoughts of God's transcendent glory must captivate preachers' souls.”
― Steven J. Lawson, The Expository Genius of John Calvin

“The high ground of Christ & Him crucified must be claimed in our preaching. Any other footing is a slippery slope that inevitably descends downward into vain rhetoric and mere words. To the contrary, every pulpit must present a towering vision of the unique person and saving work of Jesus Christ. All preaching must point to His sin-bearing, substitutionary death for sinners. All exposition must lift up this Sacrificial Lamb who became a sin-bearing Substitute for all who believe. Every message must exalt this Christ, who was raised from the dead, exalted to the right hand of God the Father, and entrusted with all authority in heaven and earth.”
― Steven J. Lawson

“For many years I thought I was a Christian when in fact I was not. It was only later that I came to see that I had never been a Christian and became one.… What I needed was preaching that would convict me of sin.… But I never heard this. The preaching we had was always based on the assumption that we were all Christians.”
― Steven J. Lawson, The Passionate Preaching of Martyn Lloyd-Jones

“No preacher, regardless of where he serves, is free to reinvent preaching.”
― Steven J. Lawson, The Kind of Preaching God Blesses

“The pastor who cares about the spiritual growth of his people must make God and His Word the centerpiece of his ministry.”
― Steven J. Lawson, The Kind of Preaching God Blesses

“The blessing of heaven will not accompany the preaching that is done in a worldly manner.”
― Steven J. Lawson, The Kind of Preaching God Blesses

“If we want revivals, we must revive our reverence for the Word of God. If we want conversions, we must put more of God’s Word into our sermons.”8 His gospel preaching was grounded”
― Steven J. Lawson, The Gospel Focus of Charles Spurgeon

“The only true reformation is that which emanates from the Word of God.”
― Steven J. Lawson, The Daring Mission of William Tyndale

“He who has ceased to learn has ceased to teach. He who no longer sows in the study will no more reap in the pulpit.”
― Steven J. Lawson, The Gospel Focus of Charles Spurgeon

“Souls must be converted here, and if there be not many born to Christ, may the Lord grant to me that I may sleep in the tomb and be heard of no more. Better indeed for us to die than to live, if souls be not saved.”
― Steven J. Lawson, The Gospel Focus of Charles Spurgeon

“The doctrines known as Calvinism are not something that emerged late in church history, but rather are that which takes its origins in the teachings of Jesus.1 —James Montgomery Boice”
― Steven J. Lawson, Foundations of Grace, 1400 BC - AD 100

“o step into the pulpit is to enter onto holy ground. To stand behind an open Bible demands no trifling with sacred things. To be a spokesman for God requires utmost concern and care in handling and proclaiming the Word. Rightly does Scripture warn, "Not many of you should become teachers, my brothers, for you know that we who teach will be judged with greater strictness" (James 3:1).”
― Steven J. Lawson, The Expository Genius of John Calvin

“All pulpits must passionately declare Christ to be the eternal Son of the living God, the only Savior of sinners. All preaching must boldly announce Him as the reigning Lord of heaven and earth. He must be fearlessly announced as the One before whom every knee will bow and every tongue will confess. All preaching must assert that this Jesus is the final Judge of every human life. To fulfill this sacred duty, every preacher must proclaim the full counsel of God. Every doctrine in Scripture must be delivered. Every truth must be taught. Every sin must be exposed. Every warning must be issued. And every promise must be offered. If God is to bless our preaching, the supreme majesty of Jesus Christ Himself must be expounded in our sermons. All the lines of our preaching must intersect at this highest pinnacle—Jesus Christ and Him crucified.”
― Steven J. Lawson, The Kind of Preaching God Blesses

“Miracles of grace must be the seals of our ministry; who can bestow them but the Spirit of God? Convert a soul without the Spirit of God! Why, you cannot even make a fly, much less create a new heart and a right spirit.”48”
― Steven J. Lawson, The Gospel Focus of Charles Spurgeon

“Lloyd-Jones believed the man who is called to preach comes under a sobering humility. He believed that this person is overwhelmed with a deep sense of his own personal unworthiness for such a high and holy task and is often hesitant to move forward to preach for fear of his own inadequacies.”
― Steven J. Lawson, The Passionate Preaching of Martyn Lloyd-Jones

“No man is too weak for God to use, only too strong.”
― Steven J. Lawson, The Kind of Preaching God Blesses

“What God has to say to man is infinitely more important than what man has to say to God.”
― Steven J. Lawson, The Expository Genius of John Calvin