Joel R. Beeke > Quotes

“Christ will receive all who come to Him, but
Christ will not be sweet to them until sin is first bitter in them.”
― Joel R. Beeke

“The love of Christ is insatiable. The more you experience His redeeming love, the more you desire it. The more you desire it, the more you want to dwell on it. The more you dwell on it, the more you cherish it and are satisfied by it. You can never 'mind' Christ's love too often, since his love knows no bounds.”
― Joel R. Beeke

“Faith is not bare knowledge or passive persuasion but the
embrace of Christ by the heart, resulting in personal knowledge of God.
The heart must therefore be prepared by the law awakening the sinner
to his need of Christ. The law beats on the stony heart as a hammer to
smooth its surface before God writes His Word upon it. Though some
men called this repentance, Calvin preferred to think of it as preparation
for faith, which in turn leads to true repentance.”
― Joel R. Beeke

“You can do more than pray after you have prayed, but you cannot do more than pray until you have prayed," John Bunyan writes. "Pray often, for prayer is a shield to the soul, a sacrifice to God, and a scourge to Satan."24”
― Joel R. Beeke, Living for God's Glory: An Introduction to Calvinism

“In short, doctrinally, Puritanism was a kind of vigorous Calvinism; experientially, it was warm and contagious; evangelistically, it was aggressive, yet tender; ecclesiastically, it was theocentric and worshipful; and politically, it aimed to be scriptural and balanced.”
― Joel R. Beeke, Church History 101: The Highlights of Twenty Centuries

“Many forget that most of the greatest theologians God has given to the church were also pastors and teachers in the local church.”
― Joel R. Beeke, A Puritan Theology: Doctrine for Life

“There is no thought, no word, no act, and no area of human life that is not affected by sin.”
― Joel Beeke

“The conferring and comparing of Scriptures is an excellent means of coming to an acquaintance with the mind and will of God in them. —JOHN OWEN”
― Joel R. Beeke, A Puritan Theology: Doctrine for Life

“the Scriptures of the Old and New Testaments, once completed, became for the church the “only external means of divine supernatural illumination.”
― Joel R. Beeke, A Puritan Theology: Doctrine for Life

“Preaching was uniquely honored by God “in that it serveth to collect the church and to accomplish the number of the elect” and also “it driveth away the wolves from the folds of the Lord.”
― Joel R. Beeke, A Puritan Theology: Doctrine for Life

“The constant challenge in Christian theology is to preach the whole counsel of God, while not emphazing one point of doctrine in a way that denies another.”
― Joel R. Beeke

“Christ did not come to earth simply to be our moral teacher. If that were His only mission, He could have come as He did in former times, as the Angel of the Lord, without our flesh and blood to encumber Him. Instead, He had to become like us so that He could raise us up to be like Him.”
― Joel R. Beeke, Why Christ Came: 31 Meditations on the Incarnation

“the ultimate expression of truth appeared on this earth in the person of the Lord Jesus Christ.”
― Joel R. Beeke, Why Christ Came: 31 Meditations on the Incarnation

“God, through the Law, His alien
work, brings man to despair and humility and to a recognition of his
need, and through the Gospel, His appropriate work, He gives man faith
and the knowledge of His forgiveness.”
― Joel R. Beeke

“Give yourself-not just your time-to prayer. Remember that prayer is not an appendix to your life and your work, it is your life your real, spiritual life-and your work. Prayer is the thermometer of your soul.”
― Joel R. Beeke, Living for God's Glory: An Introduction to Calvinism

“It is possible to be saved without assurance, but it is scarcely possible to be a healthy Christian without assurance.”
― Joel R. Beeke, Knowing And Growing in Assurance of Faith

“The enjoyment of God is the only happiness with which our souls can be satisfied. To go to heaven, fully to enjoy God, is infinitely better than the most pleasant accommodations here. Fathers and mothers, husbands, wives, or children, or the company of earthly friends, are but shadows; but God is the substance. These are but scattered beams, but God is the sun. These are but streams, but God is the fountain. These are but drops; but God is the ocean.16”
― Joel R. Beeke, Living for God's Glory: An Introduction to Calvinism

“At the core of sin is hatred against God as our creator and lawgiver…. Sin rejects this relationship and replaces a humble, filial love with proud independence, so that natural love descends into the pit of self-deification. The image of God and the covenant with Adam engage man as God’s covenant servant according to the threefold office of prophet, priest, and king. Sin twists man into a false prophet who refuses to receive God’s Word by faith and speaks lies; an unholy priest who pollutes God’s worship and seeks after created idols; and a rebellious king who transgresses God’s law and incurs liability to his sovereign retribution.”
― Joel R. Beeke, Reformed Systematic Theology, Volume 3: Spirit and Salvation

“Puritan Thomas Gataker (1574–1654) said, “There is no society [relationship][3] more near, more entire, more needful, more kindly, more delightful, more comfortable, more constant, more continual, than the society of man and wife.”[4] By the grace of God, such friendship between husbands and wives is possible and practical and should be our priority.”
― Joel R. Beeke, Friends and Lovers: Cultivating Companionship and Intimacy in Marriage

“Now I know not anything that will contribute more to the furtherance of this good work than the bringing of family religion more into practice and reputation. Here the reformation must begin.”
― Joel R. Beeke, A Puritan Theology: Doctrine for Life

“As Thomas Brooks (1608–1680) said, “A family without prayer is like a house without a roof, open and exposed to all the storms of heaven.”
― Joel R. Beeke, A Puritan Theology: Doctrine for Life

“Death breaks the union between the body and the soul but perfects the union between Christ and the soul.”
― Joel R. Beeke, Dying and Death: Getting Rightly Prepared for the Inevitable

“Time taken from family activity and business to seek God’s blessing is never wasted.”
― Joel R. Beeke, Family Worship

“The New England divine Cotton Mather puts it this way: "Exhibit as much as you can of a glorious Christ. Yea, let the motto upon your whole ministry be: Christ is all. Let others develop the pulpit fads that come and go. Let us specialize in preaching our Lord Jesus Christ.”
― Joel R. Beeke, Living for God's Glory: An Introduction to Calvinism

“Do not discipline in an attempt to control your children. You will soon discover you cannot. Children have their own wills, and we are not God. Discipline is a form of human guidance.”
― Joel R. Beeke, How to Lead Your Family: A Guide for Men Wanting to Be More

“While you hope that you will still have a voice in their lives as a trusted counselor and friend, you will never return to the days when you picked up your baby and put him in the pack and play to keep him safe. You will stand at the door and watch him drive away to live his own life.”
― Joel R. Beeke, How Do We Plant Godly Convictions in Our Children?

“Si alguna vez estamos inclinados a enorgullecernos de nuestro conocimiento bíblico, debemos abrir cualquier volumen de John Owen, Thomas Goodwin, o Thomas Brooks, observar cómo se cita algún pasaje desconocido de Nahum seguido de un pasaje conocido de Juan —donde ambos ilustran perfectamente el punto que está planteando el escritor—, luego comparar nuestro conocimiento con el de ellos.”
― Joel R. Beeke, Evangelización puritana: Un enfoque bíblico

“can”
― Joel R. Beeke, Family Worship Bible Guide

“teológica, grandeza divina y pasión humana. Ellos exaltaban a Cristo a lo más alto como un Salvador tanto objetivo como subjetivo, y abatían al hombre a lo más bajo. No les preocupaba herir la autoestima de los oyentes. Mucho más les importaba estimar al Dios trino: el Padre que nos creó con dignidad a su imagen; el Hijo que restaura esa dignidad en nosotros mediante la redención y la adopción como hijos; y el Espíritu Santo que mora en nosotros y hace de nuestro cuerpo y nuestra alma su Templo. Ellos habrían visto los mensajes de autoestima que no se centran en un Dios trino como mensajes de «autoengaño». No hay nada que estimar en nosotros aparte de Dios, decían los puritanos. Aparte de su gracia, estamos caídos, somos desdichados, indignos, y estamos destinados al infierno.”
― Joel R. Beeke, Evangelización puritana: Un enfoque bíblico

“To be Reformed is to stress the comprehensive, sovereign, fatherly lordship of God over everything: every area of creation, every creature’s endeavor, and every aspect of the believer’s life. Calvin and Calvinism’s ruling motif is “In the beginning God” (Gen. 1:1).”
― Joel R. Beeke, Calvin on Sovereignty, Providence, and Predestination