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.

Sam Storms on being In Christ

On "...in Christ at Colossae" (Col 1v2): "Remember... whatever geographical location you call home that you are in Christ. They are true simultaneously. You do not live in Christ only while you are at church, on your knees, or in a home group, then return to being simply in your city when you leave that more holy atmosphere. Your 'in-Christness' is not simply a heavenly reality that obtains only somewhere up there. You are in Christ even when you are in sin, although the reality of the former ought to progressively diminish your experience of the later."

Sam Storms - "The Hope of Glory" - Crossway Books, 2007 - p22

Rob Rufus on not being ignored

"It is better to cause a riot or a revival than be ignored."

Rob Rufus - There's a flood of glory coming! - City Church International - 13 April 2008

Peter Day on True Christian Unity

"When it says "Be of one mind" - it doesn't mean that we are all clones ... we are set free from human regulation and we haven't all got to look the same, sing the same, speak the same and be exactly the same in every single aspect of our lives. That's not what it means! "Being of one mind" does not mean we become narrow clones of each other.

You will even find that sometimes the men of the church begin to dress and speak like the preacher. You go to churches where if the preacher's head is shaved, the men start shaving their heads. It happens! They become clones! Yes there are godly standards but we are not all meant to look the same ... God has created us all different so His gracious, glorious character shines through your life!".

Peter Day - "Sunday Morning Sermon" - Lansdowne Evangelical Free Church - Sunday 6th April 2008.

Peter Day on Christian Identity

"If you are a Christian today - you are NO ordinary person! You have the very Presence of heaven by the Holy Spirit in your life! So there is power ... for transformed attitudes and transformed speech and the purpose of this is that there will be unity in the Church because where there is unity, God commands the blessing!".

Peter Day - "Sunday Morning Sermon" - Lansdowne Evangelical Free Church - Sunday 6th April 2008.

Ryan Rufus on Sanctification as Want To

"Sanctification is not a 'have to', it's an overflow of what has already taken place inside of you. Take off the have tos and the want tos will arise...

Take the have tos off the body of Christ and you will discover that all the want tos that got put in at the point of salvation will start to come out."

Ryan Rufus - Sanctification by Grace - City Church International - 30 March 2008.

Ryan Rufus on Law and Sanctification

"A lot of sanctification teaching today is people trying to use something we're no longer under to restrain something that we no longer have. People are trying to use the law that we're no longer under to try to restrain the sinful nature that we no longer have."

Ryan Rufus - Sanctification by Grace - City Church International - 30 March 2008.

Rob Rufus on Letting God Impress Us

“Son I long for the day when My people will stop trying to impress Me. I long for the day when My people will let Me impress them. I am not impressed with man’s rituals and ceremonies. I long for the day when man will be impressed with the gift of righteousness I have given them and believe it!”

Rob Rufus - Invading the Impossible 10 - City Church International - 15 March 2008

Terry Virgo on Freedom to Risk All

"Grace should never lead to passivity, but to outrageous adventure, a lifestyle that baffles those who play safe. It threatens the status quo not only of tentative religion, but of cynical unbelief. It sets the church free to risk all for the praise of him who freely gave all for us."

Terry Virgo - God's Lavish Grace - Monarch - 2004 - p185

Don Carson on Freedom from Rules

Commenting on Philippians 1v9-10:

"Paul refuses to set up an arbitrary set of checkpoints against which Christians are to measure themselves; he refuses to erect hoops through which believers must jump. Rather, he simply prays to his heavenly Father and asks him that these believers may pursue what is best."

D A Carson - A Call to Spiritual Reformation - Baker - 1992
(Quoted by Terry Virgo - God's Lavish Grace - Monarch - 2004 - p136)

Terry Virgo on Grace and Gifts

"If you are in Christ, his righteousness not only saves you, it also qualifies you to receive amazing gifts of the Holy Spirit."

Terry Virgo - God's Lavish Grace - Monarch - 2004 - p92

Bill Johnson on the Tragedy of a Narrow Vision

"Vision starts with identity and purpose. Through a revolution in our identity, we can think with divine purpose. Such a change begins with a revelation of Him.

One of the tragedies of a weakened identity is how it affects our approach to Scripture. Many, if not most, theologians, make the mistake of taking all the good stuff contained in the prophets and sweeping it under that mysterious rug called, the Millenium... The mistaken idea is this: if it is good, it can't be for now.

A cornerstone of this theology is that the condition of the Church will always be getting worse and worse; therefore, tragedy in the church is just another sign of being in the last days. We are so entrenched in unbelief that anything contrary to this worldview is thought to be of the devil...

We are often more convinced of our unworthiness than we are of His worth. Our inability takes on greater focus that does His ability. But the same One who called fearful Gideon a Valiant Warrior and unstable Peter a Rock has called us the Body of His Beloved Son on earth."

Bill Johnson - When Heaven Invades Earth - Destiny Image - 2003 - p 34.

Dave Campbell on Manifestations of the Spirit

The quote was part of a sermon which covered the way in which people have criticised some of the physical manifestations that can take place when people are filled with the Holy Spirit.

"God is totally convinced He is God. So He can do what He likes, when He likes, if He likes, how He likes... whatever we like. We say 'that can't be God.' But what we are really thinking is 'if I were God I wouldn't do that.'

In case we didn't know, the job of God has already been taken! All applications for the post of God are closed... He is God!!"

Dave Campbell - Life in the Spirit 2008 - "Imparting the Anointing of the Spirit" - 27 February 2008

Bill Johnson on the Normal Christian Life

"It is abnormal for a Christian not to have an appetite for the impossible. It has been written into our spiritual DNA to hunger for the impossibilities around us to bow at the name of Jesus."

Bill Johnson - When Heaven Invades Earth - Destiny Image - 2003 - p 25.

Rob Rufus on God's view of sickness

"God hates sickness as much as He hates sin because He dealt with both at the same place."

Rob Rufus - "Session 1" - Grace and Glory Conference Dubai - 29 January 2008

Rob Rufus on Total Grace

"The gospel is not balanced; it's insane, it's radical, it is a scandal. The Holy God of Israel justifies freely sinners - that's a scandal.

The New Covenant is radical; it cannot be balanced. You cannot balance love with hate, you cannot balance cruelty with kindness, you cannot balance law with grace - they do not mix.

Jesus plus anything equals nothing. Jesus plus nothing equals everything."

Rob Rufus - "Pharisees and Legalists" - "Grace and Glory Conference" - Hong Kong, Wednesday 24th October 2007.

Rob Rufus on Acts

"The book of Acts is the lowest level and we are going to another level in these days... If you lose heart you will sell out and you will try to lower the Word of God down to the level of your experience but God wants us to trust Him to raise the level of our experience up to the promises of the Word of God.

If you sell out to the voice of reason and the voice of theology that says cessationism and that God's not moving at the same level, if you sell out to those lying spirits, you will develop theologies that rationalise and legitimise abnormal, subnormal Christianity. On the planet today the normal is rare but it's becoming more and more known on the earth."

Rob Rufus - "Pharisees and Legalists" - "Grace and Glory Conference" - Hong Kong, Wednesday 24th October 2007.

Rob Rufus on the New Testament

"The New Testament is a love letter from Jesus. The New Testament is not a prescription on how you should live; it is a description of what happens to people when the Spirit of God fills their lives.

If you try and live up to the New Testament as a prescription and not a description then you are going to be more under bondage than if you just lived under the old covenant. They only had 10 laws. But if you try and make the New Testament something you've got to live up to as a prescription you're finished, you're absolutely finished. And when the New Testament is being preached as a prescription of how we should live... - no it's not a prescription, it's a description of the result, the fruit, of not sowing to the flesh but sowing to the Spirit.

And when you walk in the Spirit and live in the Spirit you won't satisfy the desire of human effort, the flesh. You will come into rest and you will manifest the fruit of the Spirit and the gifts of the Spirit."

Rob Rufus - "Pharisees and Legalists" - "Grace and Glory Conference" - Hong Kong, Wednesday 24th October 2007.

Rob Rufus on the vital need for the supernatural in the church

"If you don't feed people they will eat even poison."

Rob Rufus - "Pharisees and Legalists" - "Grace and Glory Conference" - Hong Kong, Wednesday 24th October 2007.

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