Classic Christian Quotes by Classic Ministers

Classic Christian Quotes by Classic Ministers


A self-loather

(Thomas Brooks

"They will loathe themselves for the evil they have done and for all their detestable practices." Ezekiel 6:9 

True repentance is a daily turning of the soul further and further from sin--and a daily turning of the soul nearer and nearer to God and holiness.

True repentance includes . . .
  a true sense of sin,
  a deep sorrow for sin,
  a hearty loathing of sin, and
  a holy shame and blushing for sin.

A true repenter strives for . . .
  a clean head, and a clean heart; 
  a clean lip, and a clean life.

To repent is for a man to loathe himself, as well as his sin. 

Is this easy for man, who is so great a self-lover, and so great a self-exalter, and so great a self-admirer--to become a self-loather? To repent is to cross sinful self, and to walk contrary to sinful self.

True repentance lies in a daily dying unto sin, and in a daily living unto Him who lives forever.

"Then you will remember your evil ways and wicked deeds, and you will loathe yourselves for your sins and detestable practices." Ezekiel 36:31
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Marthas and Marys

(J. C. Ryle

 Mary & Martha, Luke 10:38-42)

Observe how different the characters and personalities of true Christians may be. The two sisters of whom we read in this passage were both faithful disciples. Both had believed. Both had been converted. Both had honored Christ, when few gave Him honor. Both loved Jesus--and Jesus loved both of them. Yet they were evidently women of very different character! 

Martha was active, stirring and impulsive; feeling strongly, and speaking out all she felt. 
Mary was quiet, still and contemplative; feeling deeply, but saying less than she felt. 

Martha, when Jesus came to her house, rejoiced to see Him, and busied herself with preparing suitable refreshment. 
Mary, also, rejoiced to see Him, but her first thought was to sit at His feet and hear His word. 

Grace reigned in both hearts--but each showed the effects of grace in different ways.

We shall find it very useful to ourselves to remember this lesson. 
We must not expect all believers in Christ to be exactly like one another. 
We must not set down others as having no grace, because their experience does not entirely tally with our own.

The sheep in the Lord's flock have each their own peculiarities. 

The flowers in the Lord's garden are not all precisely alike. 

All true servants of God agree in the principal things of religion. 
All are led by one Spirit. 
All feel their sins, and all trust in Christ. 
All repent, all believe, and all are holy. 
But in minor matters, they often differ widely. 

Let no one despise another on this account. 

There will be Marthas and there will be Marys in the Church, until the Lord comes again.
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We see hands, and feet and side--all distilling crimson streams of precious blood(Charles Spurgeon)

"The precious blood of Christ!" 1 Peter 1:19

Standing at the foot of the cross, we see hands, and feet and side--all distilling crimson streams of precious blood.

It is precious because of its redeeming and atoning efficacy. By it . . .
  the sins of Christ's people are atoned for;
  they are redeemed from under the law;
  they are reconciled to God, made one with Him.

Christ's blood is also precious in its cleansing power. It "cleanses from all sin." "Though your sins be as scarlet--they shall be as white as snow!" Through Jesus' blood, there is not a spot left upon any believer--no wrinkle nor any such thing remains. O precious blood, which makes us clean, removing the stains of abundant iniquity, and permitting us to stand accepted in the Beloved, notwithstanding the many ways in which we have rebelled against our God.

The blood of Christ is likewise precious in its preserving power. We are safe from the destroying angel under the sprinkled blood. Remember it is God's seeing the blood--which is the true reason for our being spared. Here is comfort for us when our eye of faith is dim, for God's eye is still the same.

The blood of Christ is precious also in its sanctifying influence. The same blood which justifies by taking away sin, does in its after-action, quicken the new nature and leads it onward to subdue sin and to follow out the commands of God. There is no motive for holiness so great--as that which streams from the veins of Jesus!And precious, unspeakably precious, is this blood--because it has an overcoming power. It is written, "They overcame through the blood of the Lamb." How could they do otherwise? He who fights with the precious blood of Jesus--fights with a weapon which cannot know defeat.

The precious blood of Jesus!
  Sin dies at its presence.
  Death ceases to be death.
  Heaven's gates are opened.

The precious blood of Jesus! We shall march on, conquering and to conquer, so long as we can trust its power!