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Quotes by Sam Storms

301

One of the most serious threats to the human spirit is boredom. Boredom is the breeding ground for wickedness. Bored people are easy targets of the flesh and the Devil. It is like putting a bull’s-eye on your chest with a sign: “Tempt me. I’m easy!” Why? Because boredom is contrary to the natural, God-given impulse for fascination, excitement, pleasure, and exhilaration.

302

This [boredom] is why people are so prone to an addictive lifestyle. Many people who fall into sinful addictions are people who were once terminally bored. The reason why addictions are so powerful is that they tap into that place in our hearts that was made for transcendent communion and spiritual romance. These addictive habits either dull and deaden our yearnings for a satisfaction we fear we’ll never find or they provide an alternative counterfeit fulfillment that we think will bring long-term happiness, counterfeits like cocaine, overeating, illicit affairs, busyness, efficiency, image, or obsession with physical beauty. They all find their power in the inescapable yearning of the human heart to be fascinated and pleased and enthralled. Our hearts will invariably lead us either to the fleeting pleasures of addiction or to God.

303

Whom else do you know that is high, yet humble; strong, yet sensitive; righteous, yet gracious; powerful, yet merciful; authoritative, yet tender; holy, yet forgiving; just, yet compassionate; angry, yet gentle; (and) firm, yet friendly?

304

What qualifications are essential for…apostleship?

1. Eye-Ear Witness to the Risen Christ: To be an apostle one must have both seen and heard the risen Christ. This is implied by Acts 1:21-22; 1 Corinthians 9:1, and 15:6-9. But simply seeing the risen Christ did not make someone an apostle, for many saw and heard Him (e.g. 1 Cor. 15:6) who were not apostles.

2. A Personal Call and Commission from Jesus: This is evident from the statements of Paul himself (Gal. 1:1; Rom. 1:1, 5; 1 Cor. 1:1; 2 Cor. 1:1; etc.).

305

There are other features or characteristics of apostolic ministry that must be noted. Whereas the presence of these factors does not make one an apostle, their absence may well call into question the authenticity of one’s claim to that office. One would be hard-pressed to find an apostle in the NT whose life was not characterized by these features:

1. Success in ministry (1 Cor.9:2; cf. 2 Cor. 3:1-3; [Paul appealed to the reality of their conversion as evidence of the authenticity of his apostolic calling]; but non-apostles also have great evangelistic success; see Philip in Acts 8).

2. Signs and Wonders (Ac. 5:12; Rom. 15:19; 2 Cor. 12:12; but non-apostles also performed signs and wonders; see Stephen in Acts 6 and Philip in Acts 8).

3. Extreme suffering (Col. 1:24; 2 Cor. 4:7-15; 11:23-33; etc.; certainly countless others also suffer).

4. Christ-like life and humility (2 Cor. 1:12; 2:17; 3:4-6; 4:2; 5:11; 6:3-13; 7:2; 10:13-18; 11:6,23-28; but there is no reason why a non-apostolic believer might not live at this same level of maturity).

5. Special insight into divine mysteries (Eph. 3:1-6; 1 Tim. 3:16; Rom. 11:25-32; 2 Cor. 12:1-4, 7).

6. Authority and the power to enforce it (Ac. 5:1-11; 1 Cor. 4:18-21; 5:5; 2 Cor. 10:8; 13:10; 1 Tim. 1:20).

7. God-orchestrated stigma (1 Cor. 4:9-13; 2 Cor. 6:3-10; 12:1-10). I often wonder if those who quickly accept the title of “Apostle” have bothered to read these texts, especially 1 Cor. 4:9-13.

306

It is widely assumed that an essential part of apostleship is the authority to write inspired Scripture. There are three problems with this view:

1. Scripture nowhere asserts that all apostles could write Scripture simply because they were apostles.

2. Several of the apostles did not, in fact, write Scripture. Does this disqualify them from being apostles?

3. People other than apostles did, in fact, write Scripture (Mark, Luke, the author of Hebrews, Jude).

307

The doctrine of the Incarnation means that two distinct natures (divine and human) are united in one Person: Jesus. Jesus is not two people (God and man). He is one Person: the God-man. Jesus is not schizophrenic. When the Word became flesh He did not cease to be the Word. The Word veiled, hid, and voluntarily restricted the use of certain prerogatives. But God cannot cease to be God. In other words, when the Word became flesh He did not commit divine suicide.

308

The Word became flesh! God became human! The invisible became visible! The untouchable became touchable! Eternal life experienced temporal death! The transcendent one descended and drew near! The unlimited became limited! The infinite became finite! The immutable became mutable! The unbreakable became fragile! Spirit became matter! Eternity entered time! The independent became dependent! The almighty became weak! The loved became hated! The exalted was humbled! Glory was subjected to shame! Fame turned into obscurity! From inexpressible joy to tears of unimaginable grief! From a throne to a cross! From ruler to being ruled! From power to weakness!

309

[Job’s three friends] simply assumed that sin and suffering are always inexorably bound together in a cause/effect relationship. Whenever and wherever there is one, there is the other. Notwithstanding what they knew to be true about Job’s character, they refused to budge. They refused to allow the possibility that on occasion, as mysterious as it might seem, a righteous man might suffer greatly.

310

God’s name is qualified by the adjective “holy” in the Old Testament more often than all other qualities or attributes combined.

311

A heart full of thoughts about the splendor of who God is and what God does can no more conceive of an end of praise than it can conceive of an end of God.

312

Self-image, the concept we have of ourselves, must begin not by looking in the mirror but by looking into the face of God.

313

The doctrine of Lordship Salvation views saving faith neither as passive nor fruitless. The faith that is the product of regeneration, the faith that embraces the atoning sacrifice of Jesus on the cross energizes a life of love and obedience and worship. The controversy is not a dispute about whether salvation is by faith only or by faith plus works. All agree that we are saved by grace through faith, apart from works (Eph. 2:8-10). But the controversy is about the nature of the faith that saves. According to Lordship Salvation, Sola fides iustificat (faith alone justifies), sed non fides quae est sola (but not the faith which is alone).

314

The truth is that the God of the Bible is the kind of God whose greatest delight comes not from making demands but from meeting needs.

315

My satisfaction in Him is incomplete until expressed in praise of Him for satisfying me.

316

The term “glory” refers to the visible splendor or moral beauty of God’s manifold perfections. The “glory” of God is the exhibition of His inherent excellence; it is the external manifestation of His internal majesty. To “glorify God” is to declare, draw attention to, or publicly announce and advertise His glory.

317

Now, how would a God like this go about loving us? Would it not be by providing us with the highest good possible? And is not God Himself the highest good? Therefore, if God really loves us, He must work to bring us into the enjoyment of who He is (there’s our happiness) and thereby win from our hearts praise for Himself (there’s His glory). He must do everything in His infinite power to lead us into praise and honor of His name. By winning for Himself our worship as the God of all glory, we experience the greatest possible satisfaction, namely, enjoying God. There’s our happiness again. And God is most glorified by our enjoyment of Him. Or, to put it in words we already heard, God is most glorified in us when we are most satisfied in Him.

318

He was conceived by the union of divine grace and human disgrace. He who breathed the breath of life into the first man is now Himself a man breathing His first breath. The King of kings now sleeping in a cow-pen. The Creator of oceans and seas and rivers afloat in the womb of His mother. God sucking His thumb. The Alpha and Omega learning His multiplication tables. He who was once surrounded by the glorious stereophonic praise of adoring angels now hears the lowing of cattle, the bleating of sheep, the stammering of bewildering shepherds. He who spoke the universe into being now coos and cries. Omniscient Deity counting His toes… From the robes of eternal glory to the rags of swaddling clothes. The omnipresent Spirit, whose being fills the galaxies, confined to the womb of a peasant girl. Infinite power learning to crawl.

319

Although God is gracious in His eternal being, He need not be gracious or shower His grace upon anyone. If grace were at any time an obligation of God, it would cease to be grace. God’s grace, therefore, is distinguishing. He graciously saves some but not all, not based on anything present in the creature either possible or actual, foreseen or foreordained, but wholly according to His sovereign good pleasure.

320

You weren’t created for boredom or burnout or bondage to sexual lust or greed or ambition but for the incomparable pleasure and matchless joy that knowing Jesus alone can bring. Only then, in Him, will you encounter the life-changing, thirst-quenching, soul-satisfying delight that God, for His glory, created you to experience.

321

The single most important principle I ever discovered is this: the goal or purpose of the Christian is precisely the pursuit of happiness – in God. The reason for this is that there is no greater way to glorify God than to find in Him the happiness that my soul so desperately craves.

322

One of the worst injustices the church has perpetuated against its members is proclaiming a message of the evil of desire. God created us with a longing to be thrilled, hungry for the joy of being fascinated. Yet we have told people to stop wanting and to stop yearning; we’ve urged them to ignore, suppress, or anesthetize their desire for happiness. And, if such teachings should fail, we have worked hard to make them feel the sting of guilt and shame. All this will do is drive passion underground, so to speak, only to have it erupt at some moment of weakness when temptation offers a fleeting fulfillment.

323

It’s a simple matter of logic: Satan is an angel. All angels were created (Colossians 1:16; John 1:1-3). Therefore, Satan was created. He is, therefore, God’s Devil. Satan is not the equal and opposite power of God (contra dualism). He is not eternal. His power is not infinite. He does not possess divine attributes. In sum, he is no match for God! If anything, Satan is the equal and opposite power of the archangel Michael, but not God.

324

Sin turns ugly and is subject to defeat only when seen in the light of Christ’s beauty.

325

The only way to liberate the heart from servitude to the passing pleasures of sin is by cultivating a passion for the joy and delight of beholding the beauty of God in the face of Jesus. What breaks the power of sin is faith in the promise that the pleasures of sin are temporary and toxic but at God’s right hand are pleasures evermore (see Psalm 16:11).

326

Volitional restraint and abstinence are only effective against sin when the soul embraces a pleasure superior to the one denied. There is little sanctifying value in depriving our souls of fleshly entertainment if steps are not taken to feast on all that God is for us in Jesus. Suppressed desire will always resurface, desperate for satisfaction. Finding fullness of joy and everlasting pleasure in God’s presence alone will serve to woo our wayward hearts from the power of the world, the flesh, and the Devil. Therefore, falling in love with the Son of God is the key to holiness.

327

How do you fight the pleasure of sin? I’ll tell you: with another pleasure. Holiness is not attained, at least not in any lasting, life-changing way, merely through prohibitions, threats, fear, or shame-based appeals. Holiness is attained by believing in, trusting, banking on, resting in, savoring, and cherishing God’s promise of a superior happiness that comes only by falling in love with Jesus. The power that the pleasures of sin exert on the human soul will ultimately be overcome only by the superior power of the pleasures of knowing and being known, loving and being loved by God in Christ.

328

What will turn our hearts from the passing pleasures of sin? What can strengthen our wills to reject the temptations of the flesh? What will energize our souls to turn from world delusions? What has the power to transform our desires and reconfigure our longings and stir our emotional chemistry that we might love what God loves and hate what He hates? Only one thing. Not rules and threats and fear and punishment. Only one thing. Jesus, in all His beauty. Jesus, in all that He is for us now and will be tomorrow.

329

How do we distinguish between satanic accusation and divine conviction? Among other things, the former comes in the shape of condemnation that breeds feelings of hopelessness. We are told that our sin has put us beyond the hope of grace and the power of forgiveness. Satan’s accusations are devoid of any reference to the sufficiency of the cross. Divine conviction for sin, on the other hand, comes with a reminder of the sufficiency and finality of Christ’s shed blood, together with a promise of hope and the joy of forgiveness.

330

One will never know if what motivates us is moral conviction or moral convenience until we are forced to suffer loss for standing our ground or keeping our word.

331

To say that worship is either about glorifying God or finding personal satisfaction is to put asunder what God has joined together. His glory and your gladness are not separate tracks moving in opposite directions. Rather His glory is in your gladness in Him.

332

God doesn’t simply give us His Spirit, He gives the Spirit “into” us. Not just “to” us, but by an act of what can only be called intimate impartation His Spirit resides within to encourage, energize, and enable. The Spirit isn’t just here, He’s inside.

333

Premarital sex defrauds the future marriage partner of the person with whom you are involved. You are robbing that person of the virginity and single-minded intimacy that ought to be brought into a marriage. Thus, sexual impurity is as much a social injustice against others as it is a personal sin against God.

334

Ten Arguments against the use of birth control and a response to each: 1. Genesis 1:28; 9:1. But: a. If this were a specific command to every individual, every man and woman would be required to marry. But clearly marriage is not a universal obligation (Jesus, Paul, 1 Cor. 7). b. This text does address the responsibility to bear children but says nothing about how many or for how long. Nothing in the text explicitly requires us to have as many children as is biologically possible. c. Gen. 1:28 must be read in the light of 1:26. 2. Deut. 23:1 – The argument is that this prohibition reflects God’s displeasure with any means of birth control. But: a. There is nothing to indicate that these men were castrated as a means of birth control. b. In all likelihood, this refers “not to states of infertility produced by illness or accident, but to deliberate acts of castration at times associated with pagan worship in the ancient Near East” (Davis, p. 37). 3. Genesis 38:6-10 (Deut. 25:5-10). But: a. Onan’s sin was not that he violated the general command to have children, but that he violated the specific obligation in the law of levirate marriage. His action was sinful not because he used a form of birth control, but because he disobeyed a legal responsibility to raise up seed in his deceased brother’s name (probably because he didn’t want to assume the personal and financial obligation of raising them). b. Lev. 20:10-21 lists specific sexual crimes punishable by death under the Mosaic Code. If coitus interruptus, such as that committed by Onan, were regarded as an abuse or sin, one would expect to see it in this list. 4. Psalms 127:3-5; 128:1-6 – No one would dare disagree that children are a wonderful blessing from the Lord. But: a. Why should we conclude from these texts that we are morally obligated to have as many children as is biologically possible? b. As with all God’s blessings, we must be wise and prudent stewards in the enjoyment of them. 5. The purpose of sex in marriage is procreational, not recreational. But: a. The Bible reveals at least [four other] purposes for sex in marriage. b. “If sex were intended only for procreation, then it would be strange that nature has it that women can procreate less than half of their married life…and then only at a very limited time each month” (Geisler, p. 215-16). c. If this argument were valid, it would be sinful for a married couple to have sexual relations subsequent to female menopause or a hysterectomy or in cases where either husband or wife is sterile. 6. Birth control is unnatural and artificial. Common sense suggests that the purpose for human sexual organs is reproduction. Anything that prohibits or interrupts the sex organs from performing their appointed role is thus sinful. But: a. “If the sole purpose of sexual intercourse is procreation, then why did God give women the desire for sexual intercourse at times when they cannot become pregnant? Does not the natural order of things, then, demonstrate that procreation is not the only purpose of sex?” (Feinbergs, p. 175-176). b. We do many so-called unnatural things that run counter to and hinder so-called nature, none of which any of us would regard as immoral or unbiblical: shaving, air-travel, mowing the lawn, etc. c. If we consistently applied this principle we would be forced never to employ medical assistance, medication, or surgery. d. Those who employ this argument concede the use of the rhythm method and abstinence during times of ovulation, none of which is itself natural (charting or scheduling intercourse based on body temperature, etc., is hardly natural; and abstinence runs counter to the natural sex drive). 7. Birth control betrays a lack of trust or faith in the sovereignty of God. He is Lord over the womb. If God wants us to have children, He should be free to bestow them. If He doesn’t want to, He (and He alone) should have the power and prerogative to prevent conception. But: a. We must be careful that our trust in God is not simply irresponsible behavior. b. If this argument were consistently applied, we should never work, use locks or alarms on our homes, save money for emergencies, purchase life or health insurance, wear safety goggles when using a weed-eater, use sun-screen when outside, or support the police or national defense. 8. Birth control has the potential to alter in a destructive way our concepts and experience of love and commitment. But: a. The fact that birth control may yield negative consequences does not itself make birth control wrong. The absence of intimacy, promiscuity, etc., are wrong, not because one may have employed a contraceptive device, but because such things are declared to be wrong in the Bible. 9. Birth control encourages promiscuity among both married and unmarried people. But: a. We must distinguish between an object and the purpose or use to which an object is put. Cars are not sinful simply because people can use them to escape the scene of a crime they’ve just committed. The fact that an object can be used for immoral purposes does not necessarily prove the object is in and of itself immoral. 10. Birth control devices have negative side-effects and are detrimental to one’s health. Since our bodies are the temple of the Holy Spirit, we should not employ those things that do damage to our physical constitution. But: a. If a birth control device is found conclusively to have physical destructive side-effects, it should not be used. But such scientific evidence does not exist for all methods of contraception.

335

Temptation almost always begins in the flesh (James 1:14). Our flesh sets fire to sin. Satan simply fans the flames. Satan is powerless until we first say “yes” to sin. He exploits our sinful decisions, most often by intensifying the course of action we have already chosen (Eph. 4:26-27).

336

The only reason integrity should be a burden to you is if you enjoy being dishonest.

337

Integrity…does not mean sinless, but it does describe a person who by God’s grace “sin less.”

338

God takes pleasure in your obedience because everything He commands is for your good. All of God’s commands are like a doctor’s prescription or a physician’s therapy. They may not always be immediately pleasant, but they are intended and designed for your health and happiness. If occasionally there are painful side effects, it is because the disease is so bad that severe medication may be required. God, our spiritual physician, takes pleasure in our obedience to His commands because the doctor really does care whether or not we get well.

339

The reason we resist God’s laws and pursue our own sinful strategies is because we believe that we can do better at securing our happiness than God can.

340

I want to insist that, contrary to popular opinion, fasting is not the suppression of desire but the intense pursuit of it. We fast because we want something more than food. We say No to food for a season only to fill ourselves with something far more tasty, far more filling, far more satisfying. That is to say, if one suppresses the desire for food it is only because he or she has a greater and more intense desire for something more precious – something of eternal value.

341

It is important to note that as Jesus was standing on the brink of the most important public ministry the world had ever seen [Mt. 4:1-11], He chose to fast! Have you ever paused to reflect on the eternal consequences of what transpired in the wilderness of Judea those forty days? Heaven and hell hung in the balance. Had Jesus wavered, had He faltered, had He balked, all hope of heaven would have been dashed on the very rocks with which the enemy tempted Him. Of the dozens of things Jesus might have done to withstand temptation, He is led by the Spirit to fast.

342

The ironic thing about fasting is that it really isn’t about not eating food. It’s about feeding on the fullness of every divine blessing secured for us in Christ. Fasting tenderizes our hearts to experience the presence of God. It expands the capacity of our souls to hear His voice and be assured of His love and be filled with the fullness of His joy… The point is that fasting is a feast. Fasting is all about eating! It is all about ingesting the Word of God, the beauty of God, the presence of God, the blessings of God. Fasting is all about spiritual gluttony! It is not a giving up of food for its own sake. It is about a giving up of food for Christ’s sake.

343

[Examples of biblical fasting]:

1. Fasting was practiced to avert God’s judgment and displeasure against His people (1 Sam. 7:6; Joel 2:12; Jonah 3:5-8; Jud 20:26; 1 Ki. 21:9; Jer. 36:6, 9.

2. The people of God often fasted in preparation for war, with a view to seeking God’s protection and blessing (2 Chron. 20:1-4; Joel 2:15.

3. Fasting was one way of seeking God’s help for deliverance from personal troubles and opposition (1 Ki. 21:27-29).

4. Fasting was often an expression of sincere and heartfelt repentance from sin and humility before God (Neh. 9:1-2; Psm. 35:13; Dan. 9:3; Joel 2:12-13; Jonah 3:5-8).

5. Fasting also signified or expressed mourning, sorrow, deep grief, and sadness (1 Sam. 20:34; 31:13; 2 Sam. 1:12; 12:15-23).

6. Ezra fasted as part of his request that God provide him with a safe journey (Ez. 8:21-23).

7. Fasting is a way of expressing one’s concern for the success of God’s work (Neh. 1:3-4; Dan. 9:3).

8. Fasting serves to humble and rebuke us as it reveals how much of our happiness depends on the external pleasures of eating (Psm. 69:10).

9. Fasting teaches us self-control and self-discipline (Phil. 3:19; Rom. 16:18; 1 Cor. 9:25-27).

344

We are not going to simply wake up one morning and discover that we suddenly hate what we used to love. The things of this world will never appear as “dung” when viewed in and of themselves. They will smell good and taste good and feel good and bring satisfaction and we will treasure and value them and fight for them and work for them and find every excuse imaginable to get them at any and all cost; they will retain their magnetic appeal and allure and power until they are set against the surpassing value and beauty of Christ Jesus.

345

The strength of temptation also comes from a tendency to push virtues to such an extreme that they become vices. For example, it is all too easy for the joy of eating to become gluttony, or for the blessing of rest to become sloth, or for the peace of quietness to become non-communication, or for industriousness to become greed, or for liberty to be turned into an excuse for licentiousness. We all know what it’s like for pleasure to become sensuality, or for self-care to become selfishness, or for self-respect to become conceit, or for wise caution to become cynicism and unbelief, or for righteous anger to become unrighteous rage, or for the joy of sex to become immorality, or for conscientiousness to become perfectionism. The list could go on endlessly…

346

Belief is confidence placed in the truth of what God has revealed to us in Scripture about who He is and our relationship to Him through Jesus. Belief does not hover aimlessly in mid-air, but plants itself in the firm foundation of inspired, revelatory words inscripturated for us in the Bible.

347

I’m baffled continually at how easily Christian people treat as moral law those things that God has neither forbidden nor required. Some feel an irresistible urge to speak loudly whenever the Bible is silent. They find the ethical stipulations of Scripture inadequate for living the Christian life and feel compelled to supplement the Word of God with countless little do’s and dont’s that they are persuaded are essential to winning God’s favor and blessing.

348

Legalism itself comes in two forms. On the one hand are those legalists who insist on obedience to the law, especially their law, as a condition for acceptance with God. To be saved one must submit to rules and regulations, sometimes biblical ones, sometimes not. But at the heart of this variety of legalism is the idea that works are a condition for justification… The other kind of legalist may well affirm salvation by grace through faith, but demands that others submit to his image of what constitutes true spirituality. Invariably he or she sets extra-biblical guidelines, identifies morally proscribed activities, and then severely judges those who fail to measure up.

349

Joy is not necessarily the absence of suffering, it is the presence of God.

350

For the ascetic, the body is a thing to be punished, denied, even abused. The body is regarded as evil and the only way to defeat it is to starve it of anything that might a spark desire… In brief, asceticism is the belief that if you add up enough physical negatives you will get a spiritual positive. Mere avoidance becomes the pathway to holiness.

351

Nowhere in the Bible is the “mind,” per se, described as evil or unworthy of being the means by which God communicates with us. What the Bible does denounce is intellectual pride, but not the intellect itself. It is humility that we need, not ignorance. I stand opposed to arrogant and cynical intellectualism. But that is not the same thing as using the mind God has given us, with the help of the Holy Spirit and the instruction of Scripture, to evaluate and discern and critically assess what is happening in both the church and the world. Whereas some things that God says and does are transrational, insofar as they are mysterious and often go beyond our ability to fully comprehend, God never does things that are irrational in the sense that they might violate the fundamental laws of logic or the reasonable and rational truths of Holy Scripture.

352

Many mistakenly think of God as if He were an insecure bully who likes to flex His heavenly muscles by putting down those who are weaker than He is. But God loves to show off His greatness and glory by being an inexhaustible source of strength to build up weak people like you and me. We honor God not by pretending to give Him what we arrogantly think He needs, but by praying for and posturing ourselves to receive all that He is and has obtained for us in Jesus.

353

While standing in line at the grocery story I made the mistake of scanning the covers of several rather tawdry tabloids. The heading on one of them virtually shouted at unwary customers: “The Greatest Sex You’ve Ever Had!” No, I resisted the urge to read the article. Because I have read the book! The Bible! God, yes God, has a prescription for great sex for His people.

354

You can’t escape your passion for pleasure. It will haunt you in the night. It will whisper to you in the day. You will feel its impulse in all you do and think and say. The problem is not that we desire. The problem is that we desire sin rather than God. The problem is that we have been duped by the Devil. We have believed what is perhaps the most pernicious lie ever told, namely, that the pleasures and delights of the world, the flesh, and the Devil are more enjoyable and satisfying than who God is for us in Jesus.

355

Do you fear that it might one day run dry, that the capacity of God to “entertain” and “thrill” your soul with Christ will soon dissipate as eventually do all earthly pleasures? Then you have not yet considered the inexhaustible resources for joy in the inexhaustible heart of God.

356

God has, as it were, placed Himself on display in the art gallery of the universe. He beckons His people, you and me, to stand in awe as we behold the symmetry of His attributes, the harmony of His deeds, the glory of His goodness, the overwhelming and unfathomable grandeur of His greatness; in a word, His beauty. God is infinitely splendid and invites us to come and bask in His beauty that we might enjoy Him to the fullest.

357

My principal motivation in life must be to increase my pleasure in God. In fact, my prayer every day is “Oh God, mobilize all Your power on my behalf to maximize my pleasure and delight in You.” Don’t misunderstand what I’m suggesting. I’m not saying that pleasure is put above God, nor that pleasure is God. I’m saying that our pleasure must be in God. The pleasure or satisfaction we seek is God Himself. God is not a tool for finding pleasure. God is not the shovel, so to speak, with which we dig for buried jewels. God is Himself that treasure. The Christian’s pursuit of happiness is consummated when we find in God our all in all. He and He alone is our exceeding great reward. He is not a means to a higher end. He is the end.

358

There is a sense in which the human soul has caved in on itself and is now held captive by a fixation with its own states and conditions and concerns. The soul has become parasitic on itself, feeding on its needs and cravings by excessive introspection and elaborate attempts to elevate its sense of self-worth. Your soul was never meant for this. You were designed for something better. You were built for the contemplation of something infinitely more complex, something incomparably more fascinating than your own “self.” You were created for the joyful contemplation of God.

359

Theological ignorance won’t take us very far, at least not in the right direction. Excitement uninformed by truth invariably leads either to idolatry or fanaticism. If we don’t know the God we enjoy, we may end up enjoying the wrong god!

360

In God alone are perfect proportion, harmony, unity, and diversity in delicate balance, stunning brilliance, and integrity. God is beautiful! If we were able to think of God as a painting, we would say that there are no random brush strokes, no clashes of colors. God is aesthetically exquisite. In God there is absolute resolution, integration, the utter absence of even one discordant element.

361

Thus the Calvinist says that God elects unbelievers and predestines them to become believers. The Arminian, on the other hand, says that God elects believers and predestines them to become His children… The question…is this: Are faith and repentance produced by free will and thus the cause of election, or are they produced by the Holy Spirit and thus the effect of election? According to Arminianism, election is that act of God whereby He foreordains to eternal life those whom He foresees will respond in faith to the gospel. According to Calvinism, election is that act of God whereby He foreordains to eternal life those who, because of sin, cannot respond in faith to the gospel.

362

God has a holy temper, but He has a very long fuse! Even those who deny and blaspheme His name are recipients of His patience and long-suffering. He permits His enemies to live, to spew forth their horrid blasphemies, all the while blessing them with food and air and earthly pleasures (see Romans 2:4-5).

363

I know this sounds strange, but there is a way of “serving God” that belittles Him, insults Him, and thus robs Him of glory. We must beware of serving Him in a way that implies a deficiency on His part or asserts our indispensability to Him. God is not in need of our service or help. We are in need of His. His purpose in the earth is not sustained by our energy. Rather, we are sustained and strengthened by His. We have nothing of value that is not already His by right.

364

[Are we] so much in love with Jesus, so utterly enthralled with the transcendent beauties of [our] Savior, so swallowed up in the adequacy of the Son of God in all things that nothing appear[s] so sweet to [us] as obedience to His commands?

365

To say that worship is either about glorifying God or finding personal satisfaction is to put asunder what God has joined together. His glory and your gladness are not separate tracks moving in opposite directions. Rather His glory is in your gladness in Him.

366

There is always design in our distress. God so values our trust in Him alone that He will graciously take away everything else in the world that we might be tempted to rely on: even life itself if necessary. His desire is that we grow deeper and stronger in our confidence that He Himself is all we need.

367

Our giving is but a reflex of God’s giving.

368

If offense is to be taken at the gospel, let it be because of the gospel, not the one who proclaims it.

369

Remorse, regret, sorrow, and the pain provoked by sin will only increase and intensify the longer we are Christians. Maturity in the faith does not lead to less sorrow over sin, but more. The pain does not diminish; it deepens.

370

What is repentance? 1. Recognition – [Repentance is] an awareness of having defied God by embracing what He despises and despising what He adores. 2. Remorse – Repentance is never a pleasure. It always entails pain. It demands brokenness of heart (Ps. 51:17; Isa. 57:15). [It is not] out of fear of reprisal, rather than from a hatred of sin. 3. Request – We must ask God for forgiveness and for strength. 4. Repudiation – We must repudiate all sins in question and take active, practical steps to avoid anything that might provoke stumbling. 5. Reformation – There must be an overt determination to pursue purity, to do what pleases God (1 Thes. 1:9).

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