Sinclair B. Ferguson quotes - page 2

The problem is not in the clarity of the revelation. The problem is in the darkness of the human mind. (Sinclair B. Ferguson)
We discover the will of God by a sensitive application of Scripture to our own lives. View quote
Sinclair B. Ferguson
Most Christians have more Bibles than they know what to do with, but have little understanding of what is in them. View quote
Sinclair B. Ferguson
There is a difference between a well-instructed congregation and a well-nourished one. View quote
Sinclair B. Ferguson
The weakest faith gets the same strong Christ as does the strongest faith. View quote
Sinclair B. Ferguson
There is nothing more important to learn about Christian growth than this: Growing in grace means becoming like Christ. View quote
Sinclair B. Ferguson
We are far too good at analyzing what is wrong with the culture and far too myopic at analyzing what is wrong in the church. View quote
Sinclair B. Ferguson
Failure to deal with the presence of sin can often be traced back to spiritual amnesia – forgetting our new, true, real identity. As a believer, I am someone who has been delivered from the dominion of sin and who therefore is free and motivated to fight against the remnants of sin in my heart. You must know, rest in, think through, and act upon your new identity – you are in Christ. View quote
Sinclair B. Ferguson
The foundation of our love for the Lord lies in the recognition of His holiness, our sinfulness, and His grace. View quote
Sinclair B. Ferguson
The real test that I believe that God is love is that tragedies don't separate me from the conviction that God is love. View quote
Sinclair B. Ferguson
This, then, is the foundation of sanctification in Reformed theology. It is rooted, not in humanity and their achievement of holiness or sanctification, but in what God has done in Christ, and for us in union with him. Rather than view Christians first and foremost in the microcosmic context of their own progress, the Reformed doctrine first of all sets them in the macrocosm of God's activity in redemptive history. It is seeing oneself in this context that enables the individual Christian to grow in true holiness. (Sinclair B. Ferguson)
The only thing of my very own which I contribute to my redemption is the sin from which I need to be redeemed. View quote
Sinclair B. Ferguson
God's promises are not fortune cookies. We do not use them in order to get a spiritual "fix" for the day. View quote
Sinclair B. Ferguson
It's the centrality of the Word and not the person who preaches it that's important. View quote
Sinclair B. Ferguson
God made everything else but man "after its kind"' - that is, according to the purpose and destiny he envisaged for it. But he made man in His own image. Man is patterned on God! He was made to represent God - in created, human form. View quote
Sinclair B. Ferguson
There are actually only ever two pastoral problems you will ever encounter. The first is this: persuading those who are under the dominion of sin that they are under the dominion of sin. That's the task of evangelism. And [second], persuading those who are no longer under the dominion of sin that they are no longer under the dominion of sin because they're Christ's. View quote
Sinclair B. Ferguson
Don't tell me that you have a Reformed Church in the tradition of Calvin until you have the preaching of the Word every day of the week, devote Wednesday's to prayer and have the church gather together for prayer. View quote
Sinclair B. Ferguson
The conviction that Christian doctrine matters for Christian living is one of the most important growth points of the Christian life. View quote
Sinclair B. Ferguson
Our thinking about who we are as Christians should not begin with what we can discover about ourselves by self-analysis. Rather, it begins with what God says about those who trust in Christ. View quote
Sinclair B. Ferguson
If you are justified, you can no more be unjustified than Christ can be pulled down from heaven. View quote
Sinclair B. Ferguson
We [should not] make the mistake of thinking that marriage will provide the ultimate satisfaction for which we all hunger. To assume so would be to be guilty of blasphemy. Only God satisfies the hungry heart. Marriage is but one of the channels He uses to enable us to taste how deeply satisfying His thirst-quenching grace can be. (Sinclair B. Ferguson)
Where God is at the center of things, worship inevitably follows. Where there is no spirit of worship, there God has been dethroned and displaced. View quote
Sinclair B. Ferguson
You do not become a master musician by playing just as you please, by imagining that learning the scales is sheer legalism and bondage! No, true freedom in any area of life is the consequence of regular discipline. It is no less true of the life of prayer. View quote
Sinclair B. Ferguson
Twentieth-century man needs to be reminded at times that work is not the result of the Fall. Man was made to work, because the God who made him was a 'working God.' Man was made to be creative, with his mind and his hands. Work is part of the dignity of his existence. View quote
Sinclair B. Ferguson
Jesus has a special, compassionate concern for those who are broken and needy. View quote
Sinclair B. Ferguson