kelby’s Reviews > Knowing God > Status Update

"the point stands that the Christian's primary motive for holy living is not negative, the hope (vain!) that hereby he may avoid chastening, but positive, the impulse to show his love and gratitude to his adopting God by identifying himself with the Father's will for him."

"...God adopts us out of free love, not because our character and record show us worthy to bear his name, but despite the fact that they show the very opposite. We are not fit for a place in God's family; the idea of his loving and exalting us sinners as he loves and has exalted Christ Jesus sounds ludicrous and wild---yet that, and nothing less than that, is what our adoption means."

While justification is the basis of the Gospel, the biggest, loveliest, sweetest part of the Gospel is adoption of believers into the family of God!! Justification is a law thing, and is absolutely a show of God's love for us, but it doesn't have to be. On the other hand, adoption implies a personal, intimate relationship with God that, when fully considered, is CRAZY!! THATS THE CREATOR OF THE WORLD!! MY FATHER!!!!!

I read a solid 4 pages and then J.I, jokester that he is, said "I recommend you take an hour to read the gospel of Mark all the way through ☺️ right now ☺️ do it now ☺️" and I have nothing to say in response to that, mostly because I just googled it and J.I. Packer dies four years ago. So I literally can't argue with him.

"Christians... are not to dwell on God's goodness alone, nor on his severity alone, but to contemplate both together. Both are attributes of God---aspects, that is, of his revealed character. Both appear alongside each other in the economy of grace. Both must be acknowledged together if God is to be truly known."!!!!!

The hard truth of the wrath of God makes so much sweeter the gift of His salvation :)

"God's love is holy love. The God whom Jesus made known is not a God who is indifferent to moral distinction, but a God who loves righteousness and hates iniquity, a God whose ideal for his children is that they should 'be perfect ... as your heavenly Father is perfect' (Mt 5:48). He will not take into his company any person, however orthodox in mind, who will not follow after holiness of life." !!

"True Christians are independent folks, for they use the Word of God as a touchstone by which to test the various views that are put to them, and they will Not Touch Anything Which They Are Not Sure That Scripture Sanctions."

If scripture even implies that something could separate us from God, it's in our best interest to steer clear of whatever it is. Which is hard!! But is necessary

"We talk glibly of the 'Christmas spirit,' rarely meaning more by this than sentimental jollity on a family basis. But ... the phrase should in fact carry a tremendous weight of meaning. It ought to mean the reproducing in human lives the temper of him who for our sakes became poor at the first Christmas. And the Christmas spirit itself ought to be the mark of every Christian all the year round."

"It needs to be said with the greatest possible emphasis that those who hold themselves free to think of God 'as they like' are breaking the second commandment. At best, they can only think of God in the image of man ... But God is not any sort of man. We were made in his image, but we must not think of him as existing in ours. To think of God in such terms is to be ignorant of him, not to know him."