Quotables

The following is an excerpt from the Ligonier Ministries blog post titled "Are You Intrigued by God's Holiness, or Are You Terrified?". Please go there immediately and read the entire post, even if it means you don't finish reading mine. I'm thankful for this reminder of the absolute centrality of knowing who God is, and of the danger of theology turning into mere religion. The Reformers and other church fathers are sometimes scorned as stern, or having a harsh view of God, but as R.C. Sproul reminds us here they simply have a right view of the holiness of God.

"I had a consultant come to our ministry many, many years ago and say, 'What's the most important thing you can teach non-Christians that they don't know?' And I said, 'That's easy. They don't know who God is. They know that God is, but they don't know who He is. His nature and character have been completely obscured and eclipsed in our day.' Next he said, 'Ok. Let's get back to the church. What's the most important thing Christians don't know that they need to know?' And I said, 'That's easy too. They don't know who God is.' // In my own background studies, there was a big difference between Augustine and Aquinas, Aquinas and Luther, Luther and Calvin, and Calvin and Edwards. But like C.S. Lewis, there's a certain sameness there. When you read those guys, every one of them has been wiped out by their sense of the transcendent majesty and holiness of God. I think as soon as we lose that, theology becomes religion. I think the single most important thing we need to have is an awakening to the character of God." - R.C. Sproul

"Wiped out by their sense of the transcendent majesty and holiness of God."

That's exactly where I want to be.

1 comment:

Ken said...

"I think as soon as we lose that, theology becomes religion."

Helpful thought!