Quotes from Jerry Bridges

Even as Christians our best efforts are still marred with imperfect performance and impure motives. But God no longer "sees" either our deliberate disobedience or our marred performances. Instead He "sees" the righteousness of Christ, which He has already imputed to us.

What can wash away my sin? Nothing but the blood of Jesus."2

And the God who ruled absolutely in the life and fortunes of the most powerful monarch of that time still rules in the fortunes and destinies of governments today. No government or dictator is so powerful as to be beyond the sway of His sovereign rule over all the nations of the earth. GOD

The sovereignty of God is often questioned because man does not understand what God is doing. Because He does not act as we think He should, we conclude He cannot act as we think He would. GOD

Nothing is so small or trivial as to escape the attention of God's sovereign control; nothing is so great as to be beyond His power to control it.

If you are going to experience the joy of your freedom in Christ, you have to decide whether you will please God or people.

Sin, in the final analysis, is rebellion against the sovereign Creator, Ruler, and Judge of the universe. It resists the rightful prerogative of a sovereign Ruler to command obedience from His subjects. It says to an absolutely holy and righteous God that His moral laws, which are a reflection of His own nature, are not worthy of our wholehearted obedience.

The same grace that brings salvation teaches us to renounce ungodly living.

Because we have a natural tendency to look within ourselves for the basis of God's approval or disapproval, we must make a conscious daily effort to look outside ourselves to the righteousness of Christ, then to stand in the present reality of our justification.

Biblical community, then, incorporates this idea of an active partnership in the promotion of the gospel and the building up of believers.

Without this relationship with God, there can be no spiritual relationship with one another.

The Bible never speaks of God's grace as simply making up our deficiencies--as if salvation consists in so much good works (even a variable amount) plus so much of God's grace. Rather the Bible speaks of "a God who justifies the wicked" (Romans 4:5) who is found by those who do not seek Him, who reveals Himself to those who do not ask for Him (see Romans 10:20).

The knowledge of His sovereignty is meant to be an encouragement to pray, not an excuse to lapse into a sort of pious fatalism.

This is devotion to God - the fear of God, which is an attitude of reverence and awe, veneration, and honor toward Him, coupled with an apprehension deep within our souls of the love of God for us, demonstrated preeminently in Christ's atoning death. These two attitudes complement and reinforce each other, producing within our souls an intense desire for this One who is so awesome in His glory and majesty, yet so condescending in His love and mercy.

There is a familiar play on the word "justification" that it means "just as if I'd never sinned." But there is another way of saying this that is even better---justification means "just as if I'd always obeyed." That's the way we stand before God: clothed in the imputed righteousness of Jesus Christ. And that's the way we can live with the discomfort of the justified life.

Too many of us focus on the outward structure of character and conduct without taking the time to build the inward foundation of devotion to God. This often results in a cold morality or legalism, or, even worse, self-righteousness and spiritual pride.

Christ's whole demeanor was such that people were often restful in His presence. This effect is another outworking of the grace of gentleness. People are at rest, or at ease, around the Christian who is truly gentle.

Our goal in the pursuit of godliness should be to grow more in our conscious awareness that every moment of our lives is lived in the presence of God; that we are responsible to Him and dependent on Him. This goal would include a growing desire to please Him and glorify Him in the most ordinary activities of life. Of

Even Christians taking in the teaching of the Bible can be deceived about our own sins. We somehow feel that consent to the teaching of scripture is equivalent to obedience.

cada vez que pecamos, hacemos algo que Dios aborrece. Aborrece nuestros pensamientos lujuriosos, nuestro orgullo y nuestros celos, nuestros desplantes temperamentales, y el razonamiento falto de que el fin justifica los medios. Se tiene que interiorizar en nosotros el hecho de que Dios aborrece todas estas cosas. Nos acostumbramos tanto a nuestro pecado, que a veces caemos en un estado de coexistencia pacífica con él; pero Dios no deja de aborrecerlos jamás.

Debido al carácter engañoso de nuestro corazón, algunas veces jugamos con la tentación, abrigando la idea de que siempre es posible confesar y pedir perdón posteriormente, este modo de pensar resulta absolutamente peligroso.

What was in the cup Jesus drank at His crucifixion? It was the wrath of God.

How sweetly we relish the opportunity to speak critically of someone else—even when we are unsure of our facts. We forget that "a man who stirs up dissension among brothers" by criticizing one to another is one of the "six things which the Lord hates" (Proverbs 6:16-19).

It is relatively easy to serve those above us — even the world expects this — but Jesus served downward.