Quotes from Tullian Tchividjian

Because Jesus came to secure for us what we could never secure for ourselves, life doesn't have to be a tireless effort to establish ourselves, justify ourselves, validate ourselves.

The gospel is not about a lifestyle that we live, it's about the law-fulfilling life that Christ lived.

There is no better story in the Old Testament, or perhaps the whole Bible, for depicting the difference between the ladder-defined life and the cross-defined life than that of the Tower of Babel.

I was afraid that if I surrendered my life over to God, God would tell me not to do those things that I desperately wanted to do.

For the life of the believer, one thing is beautifully and abundantly true: God's chief concern in your suffering is to be with you and be himself for you.

The gospel is for the defeated, not the dominant.

The gospel sets us free to become the romantic leaders of our marriages without fright or hesitation. Because we have been forever wooed by Jesus, we are now free to forever woo our wives.

Jesus is not the man at the top of the stairs; He is the man at the bottom, the friend of sinners, the savior of those in need of one. Which is all of us, all of the time.

Because the church has moved away from the gospel anytime you move away from the gospel, you at the same time move toward pretense, you move toward image-keeping, you move toward the need to pretend.

Sanctification consists of the daily realization that in Christ we have died, and in Christ we have been raised.

Even political insiders recognize that years of political effort on behalf of Evangelical Christians have generated little cultural gain.

The emphasis of the Bible is on the work of the Redeemer, not on the work of the redeemed.

Passive righteousness tells us that God does not need our good works. Active righteousness tells us that our neighbor does. The aim and direction of good works are horizontal, not vertical.

The Bible is plain that God requires moral perfection. It tells us unambiguously that God is holy and therefore cannot tolerate any hint of unholiness.

From the time God saved me at 21 years old, I've always been fascinated by the parables of Jesus.

Legalism says God will love us if we change. The gospel says God will change us because He loves us.

Contrary to popular assumptions, the Bible is not a record of the blessed good, but rather the blessed bad. That's not a typo. The Bible is a record of the blessed bad. The Bible is not a witness to the best people making it up to God; it's a witness to God making it down to the worst people.

Because of total depravity, you and I were desperate for God's grace before we were saved. Because of total depravity, you and I remain desperate for God's grace even after we're saved.

If you look at the gospel, it just doesn't break things apart. The gospel brings things together. One of the great demonstration of the gospel's power is reconciliation.

Our deepest fear is judgment. Our deepest longing is love. The gospel of grace removes the one and provides the other.

Grace is love that seeks you out when you have nothing to give in return. Grace is love coming at you that has nothing to do with you. Grace is being loved when you are unlovable.

Our assurance is anchored in the love and grace of God expressed in the glorious exchange: our sin for His righteousness.

I was always in places where I was widely accepted, approved and loved and I was finally in a place where people did not approve of me, did not accept me and did not love me. It was killing me.

Explanations are a substitute for trust.