Elyshia > Elyshia's Quotes

“Cheap grace is the grace we bestow on ourselves. Cheap grace is the preaching of forgiveness without requiring repentance, baptism without church discipline, Communion without confession...Cheap grace is grace without discipleship, grace without the cross, grace without Jesus Christ, living and incarnate.”
― Dietrich Bonhoeffer

“The biblical math could not be simpler; if a person who professes to be a Christian lives like the devil, he is of the devil.”
― Todd Friel, Judge Not: How A Lack of Discernment Led to Drunken Pastors, Peanut Butter Armpits, & the Fall of A Nation

“We also hate lying because it is more than just fibbing, it is a personal slight. It is the liar’s way of saying, “I don’t respect you.” That is precisely what we tell God when we lie. Lying is our special way of saying to God, “I hate the truth. I hate you.”
― Todd Friel, Jesus Unmasked: The Truth Will Shock You

“The next time an unbeliever tells you they would believe in God "if He would just do a miracle," you will know that is not true. Miracles do not convert people, God converts people.”
― Todd Friel, Jesus Unmasked: The Truth Will Shock You

“You might think your life is a mess right now, but God doesn’t. And we know that God causes all things to work together for good to those who love God, to those who are called according to His purpose. For those whom He foreknew, He also predestined to become conformed to the image of His Son, so that He would be the firstborn among many brethren; and these whom He predestined, He also called; and these whom He called, He also justified; and these whom He justified, He also glorified (Romans 8:28–30). The world wants one thing for you; God wants another. z The world offers you finer wine; God wants you to act like His Son. z The world offers you a bigger house; God wants you to think like His Son. z The world offers you a fancier wardrobe; God wants you to be clothed in the righteousness of His Son. The world offers things that are relatively easy to obtain. God offers you profound things that require more effort than online shopping. The world wants you to conform to its image. God wants you to be transformed to think and act the way human beings were created to act: like image bearers of Almighty God. To accomplish this, He is causing all things to work together for your good.”
― Todd Friel, Stressed Out: A Practical, Biblical Approach to Anxiety

“We are born in sin. When we are born again, God changes our hearts and desires. More than that, He actually changes us into His image. . . . since you laid aside the old self with its evil practices, and have put on the new self who is being renewed to a true knowledge according to the image of the One who created him (Colossians 3:9–10). How does God change us to be like Him? By giving us true knowledge. Where is true knowledge found? The Bible.”
― Todd Friel, Stressed Out: A Practical, Biblical Approach to Anxiety

“Instead of beseeching men to be reconciled to God, we find ministers wasting their time in giving Sunday lectures about all kinds of subjects. Rome is burning and Nero is playing his fiddle. Souls are perishing and minsters are amusing them.”
― Todd Friel, Judge Not: How A Lack of Discernment Led to Drunken Pastors, Peanut Butter Armpits, & the Fall of A Nation

“The Bible doesn’t miraculously make everything better simply by reading it. The Bible is meant to be studied, believed, and applied. As we do that, the Holy Spirit progressively changes us into the image of the Son. Do not be discouraged if your anxiety doesn’t immediately disappear”
― Todd Friel, Stressed Out: A Practical, Biblical Approach to Anxiety

“It is safe to say that the majority of evangelical churches today are busy teaching their flock how to be better goats, but they are not preaching Bible-centered messages that grow religious affections.”
― Todd Friel, Judge Not: How A Lack of Discernment Led to Drunken Pastors, Peanut Butter Armpits, & the Fall of A Nation

“Whatever the reason, if we don’t read the Bible and see God’s love for sinners, we miss one of the greatest truths in the Bible. To be clear, the Bible is about one thing and one thing only: the redemptive work of Jesus Christ. From Genesis 1 to Revelation 22, the Bible relentlessly points to the Cross. God sent His Son to die for sinners to demonstrate His mercy, grace, and loving-kindness. Everything in this universe exists to serve Him and bring Him glory. However, if we overlook God’s love for us as we read the Bible, we miss the very thing He is trying to demonstrate. We also miss a lot of comfort, security, hope, and joy. It is easy to fall into one of two ditches when we read about God’s love. We can focus only on how much He loves us and conclude the universe exists for us. Unfortunately, we can fall into the other ditch of forgetting that God really does love us and we can become rather despondent. In order to appreciate God’s true love for us and remain humble, we must read our Bibles with balance.”
― Todd Friel, Stressed Out: A Practical, Biblical Approach to Anxiety

“In prayer it is better to have a heart without words than words without a heart. ”
― John Bunyan

“Prayer will make a man cease from sin, or sin will entice a man to cease from prayer.”
― John Bunyan

“One leak will sink a ship, and one sin will destroy a sinner.”
― John Bunyan

“In the end, I've come to see that hell is not only necessary, it is ultimately loving and just. If someone desires sin and corruption now, what would make me think he would desire to be separated from sin and corruption for eternity? If someone continually chooses to hate God and reject his gift of reconciliation in this life, what would make me think she will desire to be in his Kingdom forever in the next? And here's something to ponder: If someone wants to bring their self-serving sin into heaven, what would it say about God if he allowed it in?”
― Alisa Childers, Another Gospel?: A Lifelong Christian Seeks Truth in Response to Progressive Christianity

“To love at all is to be vulnerable. Love anything and your heart will be wrung and possibly broken. If you want to make sure of keeping it intact you must give it to no one, not even an animal. Wrap it carefully round with hobbies and little luxuries; avoid all entanglements. Lock it up safe in the casket or coffin of your selfishness. But in that casket, safe, dark, motionless, airless, it will change. It will not be broken; it will become unbreakable, impenetrable, irredeemable. To love is to be vulnerable.”
― C.S. Lewis, The Four Loves

“The true gospel is a call to self-denial. It is not a call to self-fulfillment.”
― John MacArthur

“We should not be entertained by the sins for which Christ died.”
― John MacArthur

“People act what they truly believe.”
― John MacArthur

“Scripture does what psychoanalysis can't do-it pierces the heart, penetrates deep into the soul and judges the motives. To see yourself in the light of Scripture, is to see yourself as you really are.”
― John MacArthur Jr.

“The cross is proof of both the immense love of God and the profound wickedness of sin.”
― John F. MacArthur Jr., The Vanishing Conscience: Drawing the Line in a No-Fault, Guilt-Free World

“Ponder this quote by John MacArthur until it is written in the corridors of your mind: “We need to adjust our presentation of the gospel. We cannot dismiss the fact that God hates sin and punishes sinners with eternal torment. How can we begin a gospel presentation by telling people on their way to hell that God has a wonderful plan for their lives?” It is true that God has a wonderful plan for their lives—but it is that they would repent and trust the Savior, and receive the righteousness of Christ.”
― Comfort , Ray, The School of Biblical Evangelism

“The truth is, it doesn't matter what a verse means to me, to you, or to anyone else. All that matters is what the verse means!”
― John F. MacArthur Jr., Charismatic Chaos

“It is a sad twist of irony that those who claim to be most focused on the Holy Spirit are in actuality the ones doing the most to abuse, grieve, insult, misrepresent, quench, and dishonor Him. How do they do it? By attributing to Him words He did not say, deeds He did not do, phenomena He did not produce, and experiences that have nothing to do with Him. They boldly plaster His name on that which is not His work.”
― John F. MacArthur Jr., Strange Fire: The Danger of Offending the Holy Spirit with Counterfeit Worship

“The New Testament tells us plenty about Judas—enough to accomplish two things: First, the life of Judas reminds us that it is possible to be near Christ and associate with Him closely (but superficially) and yet become utterly hardened in sin. Second, Judas reminds us that no matter how sinful a person may be, no matter what treachery he or she may attempt against God, the purpose of God cannot be thwarted. Even the worst act of treachery works toward the fulfillment of the divine plan. God's sovereign plan cannot be overthrown even by the most cunning schemes of those who hate Him.”
― John F. MacArthur Jr., Twelve Ordinary Men: How the Master Shaped His Disciples for Greatness, and What He Wants to Do with You

“Our responsibility has never been to moralize the unconverted; it's to convert the immoral. Our responsibility is redemptive, not political. We do not have a moral agenda; we have a redemptive agenda. We can't reform the kingdom of darkness that Satan rules.”
― John MacArthur, Nothing But the Truth: Upholding the Gospel in a Doubting Age

“Forgiveness also frees you from the unbearable weight of holding on to an offense. It has been said that holding on to unforgiveness is like drinking poison while hoping the other person dies. When we refuse to forgive others, we give them a level of control over us. Some of us are being controlled by a person who is no longer alive as a direct result of our unwillingness to forgive. We hold the debt close to us like a cherished possession, not realizing that we are in fact the one being possessed. Let it go, friend.”
― Voddie Baucham Jr., Joseph and the Gospel of Many Colors: Reading an Old Story in a New Way

“People tell me judge not lest ye be judged. I always tell them, twist not scripture lest ye be like satan.”
― Paul Washer

“Avoid trivial pursuits. You are a child of God, destined for glory, and called to do great things in His Name. Do not waste your life on hobbies, sports, and other recreational pursuits. Do not throw away the precious moments of your life on entertainment, movies, and video games. Though some of these things can properly have a 'small place' in the Christian’s life, we must be careful not to give undue attention to temporal and fruitless activities. Do not waste your life. Employ the time of your youth in developing the character and skills necessary to be a useful servant of God.”
― Paul David Washer

“There is something worse than holding our silence while the lost of this world run headlong into hell: the crime of preaching to a different gospel than the one passed down to the saints. For this reason, we must shun the gospel of contemporary evangelicalism, for it is a watered-down, culturally carved, truncated gospel that allows men to hold to a form of godliness while denying its power, to profess to know God while denying Him with their deeds, and to call Jesus “Lord, Lord,” while not doing the Father’s will.15 Woe to us if we do not preach the gospel, but even greater woe is due us if we preach it incorrectly!16”
― Paul Washer, The Gospel's Power & Message

“the proof or validation of genuine conversion is that the one who professes faith in Christ perseveres in that faith and grows in sanctification throughout the full course of his life. If a person professes faith in Christ and yet falls away or makes no progress in godliness, it does not mean that he has lost his salvation. It reveals that he was never truly converted.”
― Paul Washer, The Gospel's Power & Message