What They Said

“Contentment, as it relates to this subject, is a cheerful satisfaction in the place and calling wherein God hath set us.”

Richard Steele
Speaking on ones trade

(From: The Religious Tradesman)

“Justice obliges the tradesman to make conscientious bargains;  that he neither sells too dear, nor buys too cheap;  but does by others as he would be dealt by himself.”

Richard Steele

(From: The Religious Tradesman)

“Diligence, as it relates to trade, is an habitual employment of our bodily and mental powers about our proper calling, in a just and happy medium between idleness, supineness, and trifling curiosity on the one hand, and slavish drudging and immodertate care on the other.”

Richard Steele

(From: The Religious Tradesman)

“The first thing necessary for a happy progress in business, is prudence or discretion.  This, as it relates to trade, is a habit of mind enabling us to conduct our affairs in the wisest and best manner; or, in other words, it is pursuing the proper end, by the best means, and in the fittest time.”

Richard Steele

(From: The Religious Tradesman)

“Let the study of the sacred scriptures constantly employ some part of your leisure hours;  these are the surest guides to duty and happiness.”

Richard Steele

(From: The Religious Tradesman)

“In words and practice the Church must also, as a corporate body, show that it takes holiness and love, and love and communication seriously.  And how can it do this unless it consciously practices holiness and love, and love and communication, both towards those inside the church group and those Christians outside their group?”

Francis Schaeffer

(From: True Spirituality)

“Christian faith is never faith in faith.  Christian faith is never without content.  Christian faith is never a jump in the dark.  Christian faith is always believing what God has said.  And Christian faith rests upon Christ’s finished work on the cross.”

Francis Schaeffer

(From: True Spirituality)

“According to the Bible, we are to be living a supernatural life now, in this present existence, in a way we shall never be able to do again through all eternity.  We are called upon to live a supernatural life here and now by faith, before we see Jesus face to face.”

Francis Schaeffer

(From: True Spirituality)

“The Christian is not called to present merely another message in the same way as all the other messages are presented.  We must understand that it is not only important what we do, but how we do it.”

Francis Schaeffer

(From: True Spirituality)

“Our generation is overwhelmingly naturalistic.  There is an almost complete commitment to the concept of uniformity of natural causes in a closed system.  This is its distinguishing mark.  If we are not careful, even though we say we are biblical Christians and supernaturalists, nevertheless the naturalism of our generation tends to come in upon us.  It may infiltrate our thinking without our recognizing its coming, like a fog creeping in through a window opened only half an inch.  As soon as this happens, Christians begin to lose the reality of their Christian lives.”

Francis Schaeffer

(From: True Spirituality)

“The glory of Christ’s exaltation cannot be seen or understood in this world except by faith fixing itself on divine revelation.  We cannot behold the glory of Christ by conjuring up pictures of Him in the mind and by trying to form the shape of a person in heaven in our imaginations.  The way to behold the glory of Christ is by the steady exercise of faith on the revelation of this glory of Christ given to us in Scripture.  It is our duty, therefore, constantly to mediate on the glory of Christ.  This will fill us with a joy which will,  in turn, move us to meditate on His glory more and more.”

John Owen

(From: The Glory of Christ)

“We are not so foolish as to think we can learn a trade without the diligent use of helps.  Shall we think that we may become spiritually skillful and wise in the understanding of this mystery without making any real effort to use the helps God has given us?  The most important of them is fervent prayer.  Pray with Paul that ‘the eyes of your understanding may be enlightened to behold’ the glory of God in Christ”

John Owen

(From: The Glory of Christ)

“It is by beholding the glory of Christ by faith that we are spiritually edified and built up in tis world, for as we behold His glory, the life and power of faith grow stronger and stronger.  It is by faith that we grow to love Christ.”

John Owen

(From: The Glory of Christ)

“No man shall ever behold the glory of Christ by sight in heaven who does not, in some measure, behold it by faith in this world.  Grace is necessary preparation for glory and faith for sight.  The soul unprepared by grace and faith is not capable of seeing the glory of Christ in heaven.”

John Owen

(From: The Glory of Christ)

“Only a sight of His glory, and nothing else, will truly satisfy God’s people.  The hearts of believers are like a magnetized needle which cannot rest until it is pointing north.  So also, a believer, magnetized by the love of Christ, will always be restless until he or she comes to Christ and beholds His glory.”

John Owen

(From: The Glory of Christ)

“Our relationship with each other is the criterion the world uses to judge whether our message is truthful - Christian community is the final apologetic.”

Francis Schaeffer

“Sin always acts so:  it puts the stamp of God’s image on its counterfeit currency and misuses its God given powers to imitate God’s activity.  Itself powerless, without creative ideas of it’s own, sin lives solely by plagiarising the ideas of God.”

Abraham Kuyper

“If you love someone who is ruining his or her life because of faulty thinking, and you don't do anything about it because you are afraid of what others might think, it would seem that rather than being loving, you are in fact being heartless.”

William Wilberforce

“We can easily manage if we will only take, each day, the burden appointed to it. But the load will be too heavy for us if we carry yesterday's burden over again today, and then add the burden of the morrow before we are required to bear it.”

John Newton