Quotes About Grace

Every service of God, established and chosen by people to merit justification and grace, without God's commandment, is wicked

That is why the need was so great for teaching and renewing the doctrine of faith in Christ, so that anxious consciences would not be without consolation but would know that grace, forgiveness of sins, and justification are received by faith in Christ.

Furthermore, we teach that it is necessary to do good works. This does not mean that we merit grace by doing good works, but because it is God's will

It is only by faith, and nothing else, that forgiveness of sins is apprehended.

Sadly, some twist the Gospel into "this for that," which is no gospel at all. But God doesn't work in this way. His Gospel is truly Good News for all people. It is not an "if-then" gospel, but rather a "since-then" Gospel, or even more a "because-therefore" Gospel!

Church teaching misled people into believing that by following such regulations they merited God's grace and favor. Such a theory is entirely contrary to the Gospel, overturns the all-sufficient merit of Jesus Christ, and replaces Him with human works

Consciences cannot be set at rest through any works, but only by faith, when they take the sure ground that for Christ's sake they have a gracious God.

Article XVIII asserts Scripture's teaching that people, apart from God's grace, are wholly incapable of perceiving spiritual things.

Old age, believe me, is a good and pleasant thing. It is true you are gently shouldered off the stage, but then you are given such a comfortable front stall as spectator.

Vengeance is a fine thing, but forgiveness can be just as cruel.

There is a kind of beauty in imperfection.

Phrases can build grace into sentences. Taut declarations lend clarity, but too many of them can start to sound like a Dick-and-Jane story. A strategically placed phrase can turn a staccato burst into a more lyrical sentence. This is what we mean by "turning a phrase"—using our command of language and our mastery of the rhythms of a sentence to affect style as well as substance

The rest of the evening moved with the inevitability of good music.

Recalling and confessing our sin is like taking out the garbage: once is not enough.

To speak of sin without grace is to minimize the resurrection of Jesus Christ, the fruit of the Spirit, and the hope of shalom.

Hold everything in your hands lightly, otherwise it hurts when God pries your fingers open.

Any concern too small to be turned into a prayer is too small to be made into a burden.

Even as the angry vengeful thoughts boiled through me, I saw the sin of them. Jesus Christ had died for this man; was I going to ask for more? Lord Jesus, I prayed, forgive me and help me to forgive him....Jesus, I cannot forgive him. Give me your forgiveness....And so I discovered that it is not on our forgiveness any more than on our goodness that the world's healing hinges, but on His. When He tells us to love our enemies, He gives along with the command, the love itself.

It is not my ability, but my response to God's ability, that counts.

And for all these people alike, the key to healing turned out to be the same. Each had a hurt he had to forgive.

When He tells us to love our enemies He gives, along with the command, the love itself.

If the Gospels were truly the pattern of God's activity, then defeat was only the beginning.

To forgive is to set a prisoner free and discover the prisoner was you.

It is not on our forgiveness any more than on our goodness that the world's healing hinges, but His. When He tells us to love our enemies, He gives, along with the command, the love itself.