Quotes about Grace

there is inconceivably more evil and guilt in the evil of thy heart that doth remain, than there would be in so much sin if thou hadst no grace at all.

Wherefore, as grace is primarily given unto us for ourselves, and secondarily for the good of others; so gifts are bestowed in the first place for the edification of others, and secondly for our own spiritual advantage also.

Not to be daily mortifying sin, is to sin against the goodness, kindness, wisdom, grace, and love of God, who hath furnished us with a principle of doing it.

And it cannot be denied but that the work and actings of the Spirit of grace in and towards believers with respect unto the duty of prayer are more frequently and expressly asserted in the Scripture than his operations with respect unto any other particular grace or duty whatever.

We do it by love. Christ as crucified is the great object of our love, or should so be; for he is therein unto sinners "altogether lovely." Hence one of the ancients cried out, "My love is crucified, and why do I stay behind?" In the death of Christ do his love, his grace, his condescension, most gloriously shine forth.

We can have no power from Christ unless we live in a persuasion that we have none of our own.

So the first consequence of Christ's withdrawing himself from us is that inward graces grow weak and we tend to rely more and more on outside helps. Above all, we lose the desire for holy meditation and we spend less and less time with Christ. Just as frost withers the plants in the garden, so the grace in our hearts also withers when the 'Sun of Righteousness' withdraws and hides himself.

God says, 'Here is one, if he could be rid of this lust I should never hear of him more; let him wrestle with this, or he is lost'" (chapter 8). Astonishing! God ordains to leave a lust with me till I become the sort of warrior who will still seek his aid when this victory is won. God knows when we can bear the triumphs of his grace.

This some call the "grace of prayer" that is given us by the Holy Ghost, as I suppose improperly, though I will not contend about it; for prayer absolutely and formally is not a peculiar grace distinct from all other graces that are exercised in it, but it is the way and manner whereby we are to exercise all other graces of faith, love, delight, fear, reverence, self-abasement, and the like, unto certain especial ends.

A truly gracious, praying frame (wherein we pray always) is utterly inconsistent with the love of or reserve for any sin. To

Wherefore as condemnation is not the infusing of a habit of wickedness into him that is condemned, nor the making of him to be inherently wicked, who was before righteous, but the passing a sentence upon a man with respect to his wickedness; no more is justification the change of a person from inherent unrighteousness to righteousness, by the infusion of a principle of grace, but a sentential declaration of him to be righteous.

There is no death of sin without the death of Christ.