John R. Rice Quotes of the Week

I shall not go into the argument pro and con, but it is not well proven, I think, that Christmas was a former heathen holiday. But if it were, that would not change the fact that heathen people did something on every day, and we cannot do away with all the days that heathen people used, whether for worship, or for ceremonies about sowing, or about reaping, or about the solstices, or the new moons. We use the same sun that heathen people worshiped, and we love the sun rising and sun setting, though we do not have heathen ceremonies about that. This argument is not important. - John R. Rice

"Best wishes for a happy Christmas." May yours be the joy of loved ones about you, of presents that represent loving thoughts. May you have the beautiful Christmas cards from those who are away, and gifts under the Christmas tree. May the Christmas table be loaded with good things to eat. Yes, we wish you a happy Christmas.
But far more important than these pleasant trappings and customs of Christmas is that you have the Christ of Christmas and His joy. So we wish that the green of the Christmas tree may picture eternal life springing up in your heart. May the lights strung there by loving hands picture Christ the Light of the world, shining in your heart. - John R. Rice

In Rome I went to the little Church of the Holy Stairs and there counted twenty-eight people climbing those long stairs on their knees, many of them stopping to kiss each step before they went on. Sometimes their knees were bloody, oftentimes their faces were raining tears as they climbed on their knees these "Holy Stairs." I do not think it is provable, but it is said these are the stairs brought from Pilate's Judgment Hall in Jerusalem, the stairs Jesus walked that day when He was condemned. I don't think that is true, but these people, bless their hearts, are hungry-hearted and trying to reach God and have peace. Oh, there is a nearer way to God than that! So here is a Ladder to Heaven and anybody may come. Jesus is that Ladder. - John R. Rice

Now one should have a church home. I am sad for those who live where there is no good church where the Gospel is preached. I could not go to a church and hear a man mock at the blood and deny the virgin birth, a man who is really an infidel, though he has on a bishop's robe. I couldn't sit supinely by and hear that kind of talk in a pulpit. I couldn't have fellowship in a church that doesn't believe the Bible and is not for Christ. I feel sorry for anybody who is far off from some good fundamental church. - John R. Rice

Oh, set a time and place and seek the face of God, to praise Him for His mercy, to ask Him for guidance and leadership, and maybe to ask Him for forgiveness and cleansing. - John R. Rice

Here the command is, "Thou shalt not kill." Notice this is after the command, "Honour thy father and thy mother," for the one who grows up with proper obedience and respect for dad and mother will have disciplined character. You are not likely to be a murderer. You are going to have to get that settled early, then you grow good Christian character about other matters. - John R. Rice

We must distinguish between murder and capital punishment. Now, first don't confuse two separate things. Here the Bible says, "Thou shalt not kill." But other Scriptures say that certain people shall be put to death. Now is that a conflict? Oh, no. The word here in "Thou shalt not KILL" is the word for do no murder. There are a number of different words for killing, but they mean slightly different things. You can say kill, or slay, or assassinate, or slaughter, or execute. To execute would mean somebody, by the rule of law, is put to death. To assassinate would mean for political purposes primarily, to kill somebody by assassination. And to slaughter might mean like you kill an animal for beef. But the word here in "Thou shalt not KILL" is the word for murder. "Thou shalt not murder" would be a correct translation here. No Christian or an other person has a right to murder, that is, to kill personally because of your own hate or in your own sense of judgment. That is left for the government. - John R. Rice