Quotes from G.C. Berkouwer

Faith is decisively determined by the object of faith, namely, God and His Word. This does not ... imply that Scripture ... derives its authority from the believer's faith: this idea is already rendered untenable by the very nature of faith, which rests on and trusts in the Word of God.

in the sacraments we encounter not merely fragments of earthly reality, but rather, signs in which the living God himself acts, taking up the earthly element as a testimony to his trustworthy promise.

The confession of the testimony of the Spirit was not intended to give a rational and theoretical solution or explanation to the relationship between Word and Spirit ... the mystery of Word and Spirit remains unfathomable ... Every attempt to somehow clarify the mystery remains revealingly unsatisfactory ... The mystery cuts across every exclusive formulation.

The hesitations and doubts that are present at many points (in contemporary theology) do not in themselves indicate a deep final uncertainty, an alienation from the gospel.

A feeling of subjective certainty does not guarantee irrefutable certainty. It is not the certainty, but the truth in the certainty that makes us free.

The authority of God's Word is not an arbitrary, external authority. It is a wooing and conquering authority. Scripture's authority does not demand blind obedience, rather a subjection that spells redemption, a subjection to Christ whereby he is never out of view in which acceptance occurs with joy and willingness.

Whoever reflects on the origin of sin cannot engage himself in a merely theoretical dispute; rather, he is engaged, intimately and personally, in the problem of sin's guilt.

The church may not function as a fearful border guard, but rather as one who brings good tidings (Romans 10:15; Isaiah 52:7 ... For Christ died for us 'while we were yet sinners, while we were enemies' (Romans 5:8,10). All hardness, imprudence and rashness can only be signs that she has forgotten the gracious overstepping of the boundaries at her birth.

The perspective of Thomas' confession - 'My Lord and God' - must prevail through all our thinking and all our reinterpretations ... All reinterpretation should be tested by whether it can participate in this confession.

One cannot mount from reality to the righteousness of God, because reality can only be known through the explaining word of revelation. The Light that illumines the world is found only in faith.

It is possible to speak concretely about God's providnce only on the basis of the blood of the cross ... He who sees things this way will never succumb to the temptation to identify prosperity with blessing and adversity with curse. In faith ... one can accept prosperity as the gift of God and adversity as God's hand graciously leading him to faith.

There is room for a humble and courageous defence of Christianity. The combination of humility and courage is the combination that Christianity in our day sorely needs.