Dr Martyn Lloyd-Jones on the Possible "Abuse" of Grace

"The true preaching of the gospel of salvation by grace alone always leads to the possibility of this charge being brought against it. There is no better way to test as to whether a man is really preaching the New Testament gospel of salvation than this, that some people might misunderstand it and misinterpret it to mean that because you are saved by grace alone it does not matter at all what you do; you can go on sinning as much as you like because it will rebound all the more to the glory of grace".

Dr Martyn Lloyd-Jones - "Romans; An Exposition of Chapter 6; The New Man" - Banner of Truth Trust, Edinburgh (1972) - (p8).

Jerry Bridges on the "Danger" of License

"Paul realised that his unqualified presentation of the grace of God left him open to being misunderstood. Paul himself knew that his insistence on the pure grace of God without any admixture of commitment or discipline or obedience on our part could cause us to misunderstand him. He knew his readers could respond with this attitude; "Well if that's true, let's go out and sin all we want. The more we sin, the more we cause God's grace to abound".

This type of response is always a possibility. In fact if our concept of grace does not expose us to that possible misunderstanding then we do not throughly understand grace. I believe it is because we are afraid of this attitude that we often change the doctrine of grace into a doctrine of works".

Jerry Bridges - "Transforming Grace - Living Confidently in God's Unfailing Love" - Navpress (1991) - (p74).

Jerry Bridges on the Promises of God

"The Bible is full of God's promises to provide for us spiritually and materially, to never forsake us, to give us peace in times of difficult circumstances, to cause all circumstances to work together for our good and finally to bring us safely home to glory. Not one of those promises is dependent on our performance. They are all dependent on the grace of God given to us through Jesus Christ".

Jerry Bridges - "Transforming Grace - Living Confidently in God's Unfailing Love" - Navpress (1991) - (p71).

Jerry Bridges on the Operative Kingdom Principle

"In the Kingdom of heaven the operative principle is not merit but grace".

Jerry Bridges - "Transforming Grace - Living Confidently in God's Unfailing Love" - Navpress (1991) - (p62).

R C Sproul on Relying on God's Grace

"Perhaps the most difficult task for us to perform is to rely on God's grace and God's grace alone for our salvation. It is difficult for pride to rest on grace. Grace is for other people - for beggars. We don't want to live by a heavenly welfare system. We want to earn our own way and atone for our own sins. We like to think that we will go to heaven because we deserve to be there".

R C Sproul - "Suffering and Merit?" - Tabletalk Magazine - Volume 13 - No 1 - (February 1989) - Ligonier Ministries - Orlando, Florida - (p5).

Jerry Bridges on Experiencing God's Grace (or Not)

"Perhaps the larger reason why we do not experience more of God's grace is our misconception that, having been saved by grace, we must now at least to some degree, "pay our own way" and earn God's blessings in our daily lives ... In fact this misconception that we must pay our own way is more than a mistaken theological notion. It actually springs from the perverse disposition of our hearts - the disposition of pride".

Jerry Bridges - "Transforming Grace - Living Confidently in God's Unfailing Love" - Navpress (1991) - (p58).

Luther on Grace and Peace

"These two words, grace and peace, do contain in them the whole sum of Christianity. Grace containeth the remission of sins; peace a quiet and joyful conscience. For peace of conscience can never be had, unless sin first be forgiven. But sin is not forgiven for the fulfilling of the law; for no man is able to satisfy the law. The law doth rather show sin, accuse and terrify the conscience, declare the wrath of God, and drive to desperation. Much less is sin taken away by the works and inventions of men, but sin is rather increased by works. So there is no means to take away sin, but grace alone. Therefore Paul in all the greetings of his epistles, sets grace and peace against sin and an evil conscience."

Martin Luther - "Commentary on Galatians" - Kregel (1979) - p6.

Jerry Bridges on Salvation Grace and Living Grace

"My observation of Christendom is that most of us tend to base our personal relationship with God on our performance instead of on His grace. If we've performed well - whatever "well" is in our opinion - then we expect God to bless us. If we haven't done so well, our expectations are reduced accordingly. In this sense we live by works rather than by grace. We are saved by grace but we are living by the "sweat" of our own performance".

Jerry Bridges - "Transforming Grace - Living Confidently in God's Unfailing Love" - NavPress (2008) - (pp 9-10).

Terry Virgo on being free from performance

"You don't have to justify yourself. You don't have to impress others. You don't even have to impress God. In putting all your trust in Jesus and his cross you are saying that you have found one who has already impressed God on your behalf!"

Terry Virgo, God's Lavish Grace, Monarch, 2004, p67