Quotes from Jerry Bridges

You may have sought and tried to obtain instant godliness. There is no such thing....We want somebody to give us three easy steps to godliness, and we'll take them next Friday and be godly. The trouble is, godliness doesn't come that way. ~Jay Adams~

Grace is not a matter of God's making up the difference, but of God's providing all the "cost" of salvation through His Son, Jesus Christ.

all sin without distinction — is lawlessness.

Prayer is the most tangible expression of trust in God.

The point of this good-day-bad-day comparison is this: Regardless of our performance, we are always dependent on God's grace, His undeserved favor to those who deserve His wrath. Some days we may be more acutely conscious of our sinfulness and hence more aware of our need of His grace, but there is never a day when we can stand before Him on our own two feet of performance, when we are worthy enough to deserve His blessing.

For an action to be truly obedient to God, it must be done from a motivation of genuine love and gratitude to Him.

Holiness is the perfection of all His other attributes: His power is holy power; His mercy is holy mercy; His wisdom is holy wisdom. It is His holiness more than any other attribute that makes Him worthy of our praise.

But the reality is that many people are facing nonphysical persecution because of their stand for righteousness.

The debate between politicians over the size of our nuclear arsenal and the number of aircraft carriers and submarines our navy should have is, in a sense, a futile debate. Both sides are ultimately trusting in military muscle; they only differ in how much is necessary. The Christian, however, must trust in God, not military might of any size.

holiness is not only expected; it is the promised birthright of every Christian. Paul's

While it is certainly true that God's love for us does not protect us from pain and sorrow, it is also true that all occasions of pain and sorrow are under the absolute control of God. If God controls the circumstances of the sparrow, how much more does He control the circumstances that affect us? God does not walk away and leave us to the mercy of uncontrolled random or chance events.

If any adversity coming across our path were not beneficial, God would not allow it or send it: "He does not willingly bring affliction or grief to anyone" (Lamentations 3:33, NIV). God does not delight in our suffering. He brings only that which is necessary, but He does not shrink from that which will help us grow.

I've asked people why they think God would probably not use them to share the gospel with someone on a "bad" day. A typical reply is, "I wouldn't be worthy," or "I wouldn't be good enough." Such a reply reveals an all-too-common misconception of the Christian life: the thinking that, although we are saved by grace, we earn or forfeit God's blessings in our daily lives by our performance.

The holiness described in the Bible calls us to do more than separate ourselves from the moral pollution of the world around us. It calls us to obey God even when that obedience is costly, when it requires deliberate sacrifice and even exposure to danger.

So who needs grace? All of us, the saint as well as the sinner. The most conscientious, dutiful, hardworking Christian needs God's grace as much as the most dissolute, hard-living sinner. All of us need the same grace. The sinner does not need more grace than the saint

Sin is not only a series of actions, it is also an attitude that ignores the law of God. But it is even more than a rebellious attitude. Sin is a state of heart, a condition of our inmost being. It is a state of corruption, of vileness, yes, even of filthiness in God's sight.

Let us throw off everything that hinders and the sin that so easily entangles, and let us run with perseverance the race marked out for us. Let us fix our eyes on Jesus, the Author and Perfecter of our faith, who for the joy set before Him endured the cross, scorning its shame, and sat down at the right hand of the throne of God' (Hebrews 12:1-2). Jesus was motivated to endure by anticipating the joy of His reward. No amount of hardship and struggle could deprive Him of that anticipation.

God is serious about holiness in the lives of His people, and He will discipline us to attain it.

But on the whole, we appear to be more concerned about the sins of society than we are the sins of the saints. In fact, we often indulge in what I call the "respectable" or "acceptable" sins without any sense of sin. Our

believe this truth, that we are fellow members of the body of Christ and that God loves each of us, could serve to diffuse a lot of hostility and disagreement among fellow believers. I am grateful that God taught me this lesson early in my training to be a Navigator staff member.

God expects every Christian to live a holy life. But holiness is not only expected; it is the promised birthright of every Christian.

God's grace does not operate on a reward for works basis. It is much better than that.

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.

Christ died for our sins. Jesus Christ, the eternal Son of God, took upon Himself a human nature and died a horrible death on our behalf. That is the reason for the cross. He suffered what we should have suffered. He died in our place to pay the penalty for our sins.