Quotes from Jerry Bridges

Just as the airplane must have both wings to fly, so we must exercise both discipline and dependence in the pursuit of holiness. Just as it is impossible for an airplane to fly with only one wing, so it is impossible for us to successfully pursue holiness with only dependence or discipline. We absolutely must have both.

God sometimes causes government leaders or officials to make foolish decisions in order to bring judgment upon a nation.

our suffering has meaning and purpose in God's eternal plan, and He brings or allows to come into our lives only that which is for His glory and our good.

I realized I knew the truth regarding God's sovereignty. What I had to do was to decide if I would trust Him, even when my heart ached. I realized anew that, just as we must learn to obey God one choice at a time, we must also learn to trust God one circumstance at a time. Trusting God is not a matter of my feelings but of my will. I never

Although we may not perceive the hand of God in the affairs of nations as we view them today, His rule is no less sovereign today than it was in the days of the prophets or the apostles.

Our first problem is that our attitude toward sin is more self-centered than God-centered. We're more concerned about our own "victory" over sin than we are about the fact that our sins grieve God's heart. We cannot tolerate failure in our struggle with sin chiefly because we are success-oriented, not because we know it's offensive to God.

Our first priority in times of adversity is to honor and glorify God by trusting Him. We tend to make our first priority the gaining of relief from our feelings of heartache or disappointment or frustration. This

God recorded in His Word specific instances of His sovereign rule over history in order that we might trust Him in the affairs of history as they unfold before us today.

so God's honor is to take precedence over our feelings. We honor God by choosing to trust Him when we don't understand what He is doing or why He has allowed some adverse circumstance to occur. As we seek God's glory, we may be sure that He has purposed our good and that He will not be frustrated in fulfilling that purpose.

There is no authority except that which God has established. The authorities that exist have been established by God…. For [the ruler] is God's servant to do you good" (Romans 13:1,4).

Confidence in the sovereignty of God in all that affects us is crucial to our trusting Him. if there is a single event in all of the universe that can occur outside of God's sovereign control, then we cannot trust Him.

God rules the world by Providence, not by miracle.

It is much easier to trust in the sovereignty of God when it is the other person who is hurting. We need to be like Jesus, of whom it was said, "A bruised reed he will not break" (Matthew 12:20). Let us not be guilty of breaking a bruised reed (a heavy heart) by insensitive treatment of the heavy doctrine of the sovereignty of God.

And we should remember that God works in history from an eternal perspective, whereas we tend to view the outworking of history from a temporal perspective.

The secret things belong to the LORD our God.

for kings and all those in authority, that we may live peaceful and quiet lives in all godliness and holiness" (1 Timothy 2:2). Prayer is the most tangible expression of trust in God.

No, we are not defeated; we are simply disobedient! It might be good if we stopped using the terms 'victory' and 'defeat' to describe our progress in holiness. Rather we should use the terms 'obedience' and 'disobedience.

When we consider some of the evil tyrants and dictators that have reigned, as well as some of the weak and foolish men who have held high office, even in this century, we are amazed to learn that they have ruled in the sovereign will of God. But that is what Scripture tells us.

There are more than 150 references to the fear of God in the Bible.6 While the majority of these occur in the Old Testament, there are a sufficient number in the New Testament to convince us that fearing God is indeed an attitude of heart we should cultivate today.

That act of the will, though, must be based on belief, and belief must be based on truth.

In fact, there is no such thing as grudging obedience. For an action to be truly obedient to God, it must be done from a motivation of genuine love and gratitude to Him.

I'm accepted by God, not on the basis of my personal performance, but on the basis of the infinitely perfect righteousness of Jesus Christ.

Only conduct arising from love is worthy of the name obedience.

God has called every Christian to a holy life. There are no exceptions to this call. It