Quotes from Stephen J. Nichols

The church is the real thing when it is not consumed with the assertion of power in culture, but it is driven by service to others. The word ministry translates the Greek word diakonia, which means service. The church must be about serving others. When a church can lay claim to all three criteria, namely, preaching of the Word, being true to its confession, and focusing on serving, then it's a church worth going to. And then it's a church full of sermons worth listening to.

We could summarize all of this background to Bonhoeffer's christology in one sentence, albeit a complex one: The cross was a stumbling block to the Romans; the cross was a stumbling block to the Nazis; the cross was a stumbling block to moderns; and—unless we are humbled and brought low beneath the cross to see its power and beauty—the cross can be a stumbling block to us.

The answer to studied ambiguity, that is, being purposefully vague so as to allow for an elastic interpretation or to allow for latitude on a particular doctrine or view, is precision. Precision and clarity, not ambiguity, serve the church best in remaining faithful to its biblical, historic, and confessional roots. R. C. was learning that in 1965 in his own denomination.

We are not the first Christians trying to make sense of the Bible and trying to proclaim it faithfully and winsomely in the world in which we live.

David McCullough has said, "We are shaped by those we never met.

Nearly all the wisdom that we possess, that is sound and true wisdom, consists of two parts: the knowledge of God and the knowledge of ourselves.

As long as man is persuaded that he can make even the smallest contribution to his salvation, he remains self-confident and does not utterly despair of himself.

R. C. would later say that theology is doxology; that is to say that studying God and knowing God lead to praising God and worshiping God.

Additionally, he liked to make his readers smile. Still in the preface, he writes that he avoided "academic technicalia," to which he adds a footnote. The footnote reads: Semper ubi, sub ubi, which translated means, "Always where, under where." In English it sounds like, "Always wear underwear.

The God-man who is humiliated is the stumbling block to the pious human being and to the human being, period.

Shadows in a cave are given to change. They dance and flicker with ever-changing shape and brightness. To contemplate the truly holy and to go beyond the surface of creaturely things, we need to get out of our self-made cave and walk in the glorious light of God's holiness.

As R. C. learned from Edwards, truths that ignite the passion are both rational ("'Tis Rational") and biblical ("'Tis Biblical"). R. C. was both laying a foundation for his future teaching ministry and establishing a pattern that he would follow all of his life, a pattern of Bible study, not just Bible reading.

Between the influence of the graduates of the small university at Wittenberg and the graduates of the small Academy of Geneva, the world was changed. R.C. Sproul

The schools at Wittenberg and Geneva were like Reformation theology flywheels, their influence spreading far and wide and deep. Luther and Calvin were interested in reforming not simply their respective cities of Wittenberg and Geneva; they were interested in the message spreading. Likewise, they were not content that the gospel be discovered for their generation alone. They were equally concerned about the next generation.

Bonhoeffer has both christology (the doctrine of Christ) and ecclesiology (the doctrine of the church) at the center of his theology, like the hub of a wheel. It might even be better to say that Bonhoeffer's ecclesiology flows from, naturally and necessarily, his christology

The word reformation comes from the Latin verb reformo, which means "to form again, mold anew, or revive." The Reformers did not see themselves as inventers, discoverers, or creators. Instead they saw their efforts as rediscovery. They

They looked back to the Bible and to the apostolic era, as well as to early church fathers such as Augustine (354–430) for the mold by which they could shape the church and re-form it. The Reformers had a saying, "Ecclesia reformata, semper reformanda," meaning "the church reformed, always reforming.

The church simply can't afford to forget the lesson of the Reformation about the utter supremacy of the gospel in everything the church does. Elie

Sola Scriptura, meaning "Scripture alone": The Bible is the sole and final authority in all matters of life and godliness. The church looks to the Bible as its ultimate authority.

Sola Gratia, meaning "grace alone," and Sola Fide, meaning "faith alone": Salvation is by grace alone through faith alone. It is not by works; we come to Christ empty-handed. This is the great doctrine of justification by faith alone, the cornerstone of the Reformation.

Solus Christus, meaning "Christ alone": There is no other mediator between God and sinful humanity than Christ. He alone, based on his work on the cross, grants access to the Father.

Ecclesia reformata, semper reformanda," meaning "the church reformed, always reforming.

Bonhoeffer and Luther draw on Christ's paradox of gaining one's life by losing it. So we come to the ultimate paradox: by service—and ultimately, by sacrifice—we are free, we are happy, we live the good life. True freedom is only freedom in Christ. True freedom, as Luther points out, is found in serving others. Bonhoeffer echoes that notion.

He was not interested in pure analysis; he was interested in helping the church. Second, Sproul draws attention to Luther's claim that a theologian must make assertions. Erasmus, Luther's debate partner on the issue of the bondage of the will, made equivocations.