John R. Rice Quotes of the Week

One time Eve held a little baby in her arms, rocked him and said, "I've gotten a man from the Lord." That baby turned out to be a murderer. Every child in this world has the seed of sin and death and Hell in him. Children of the Devil. "Ye are of your father the devil." Children of wrath, children of disobedience, children of this world. That is what the Bible says. Everybody in this world is a child of the devil until he has a new heart given him by the miracle of God's grace when he is converted, when he is born again. People are not by nature the children of God. They are by nature the children of the Devil, children of wrath, children of this world, children of darkness, the children of disobedience, the Bible says. - John R. Rice

Are all people in the world brothers? No. A lawyer called me on the telephone when I was pastor at Dallas and said, "Dr. Rice, I just can't believe that God would send one of His children to Hell. Why, I wouldn't send one of my children to hell, no matter what he did."
I said, "God doesn't send His children to Hell either. It's just the Devil's children that God sends to Hell. Why should God look after the Devil's children." - John R. Rice

I remember some years ago, Dr. Joe Macaulay came to see me at Wheaton. He was then pastor of Wheaton Bible Church. He came to talk to me about holding revival services in the Wheaton Bible Church. We sat on the back steps. the young people were playing croquet on the lawn. Joy, my baby girl, was then three years old. She was nearby, and she found a crooked piece of cardboard. I sat on the porch steps, whittling and talking to Dr. Macaulay about this revival. The other folks l...eft us alone. It was a pretty important time. I did not have much time at home, and the good pastor had come to see me. We were planning and praying and talking about the revival, and what we would do about it. My little baby came up to me with this little bit of cardboard. She had figured out that one end of it was not square. She held it out there like she wanted it. She held it out to my hands and interrupted our conversation. She said, "Daddy, cut that off." I stopped, took my pocket knife and cut it off so as to make the thing square as she wanted it.
She said, "Thank you, Daddy," and went on about her work. I turned to Brother Macaulay and said, "Any time I want anything, if the Lord God of Heaven and earth is having a conference with all of the archangels, I am going to butt in and say, 'My Father, will You do this for me?' And He will do it!" I have a right to come to my Father. I am born of God, a child of God, inheritor of all the blessings from God. - John R. Rice

One cannot tell a Christian by his fruits because the first fruit, the main fruit of a Christian, is inside, and only God can see the heart. But you can tell a false prophet by his fruit, which is his prophecy- that which he teaches. You can tell a false teacher, and you have a right to judge a false teacher by his fruits, his teaching, the Bible says. [Mt. 7:15-16] - John R. Rice

The first baby ever born in this world was Cain, a murderer. He didn't grow up in a pool hall. He didn't have a bad environment. There wasn't anybody he could lay it on. It was built-in wickedness. Every child ever born has the same wickedness but the innocent, blameless Son of God. He is the righteous one, bless God. - John R. Rice

How am I going to have assurance? How will I know I am saved?
Brother, when you have Jesus that settles the whole business. "And this is the record, that God hath given to us eternal life, [not sold it to us-given to us!] and this life is in his Son. He that hath the Son hath life; and he that hath not the Son of God hath not life. These things have I written unto you that believe on the name of the Son of God; that ye may know that ye have eternal life, and that ye may believe on the name of the Son of God" (I John 5:11-13). All of it is yours when you have Jesus. You have the whole business. - John R. Rice

God counted Jesus a sinner when he was not a sinner, so now God has a right to count me righteous when I am not righteous. That is imputed righteousness. - John R. Rice