John R. Rice Quotes of the Week

You think I preach too plain, perhaps, but God hates sin. It was sin that took Jesus to the cross. It is sin that fills every hospital and every jail and causes every disease and disappointment and all the broken hearts. It is sin that is populating Hell. I have a good reason to hate it, and you ought to hate it. The Bible says of the man who makes a joke of sin, that man is a fool. - John R. Rice

Some say, "Well, young people have to have a good time. They have to sow their wild oats." No, they do not have to sow their wild oats. But there is one thing they do have to do: they have to reap them if they do sow them. That is what you have to do. And the man is a fool who thinks sin is a joke, and you are a fool if you think you can get by with sin and do not want to be warned about sin, do not want to repent of your sin, and you are irritated by my preaching on sin. If you think sin is a light matter, if you think sin is a joke, you are a fool and you do not have any sense. You are going to wake up butting your head against God's wall of judgment one of these days. You will go around a corner and suddenly meet God! One who thinks sin is a joke is a fool, God says. - John R. Rice

Hell is not filled with people who say there is no God. By the time they get to the fire they already say, "Yes, there is a God." Oh, yes. But Hell is filled up with the kind who say, "I am going to be saved; I am going to be saved, but not now; I have plenty of time." That is the kind of folly that has filled Hell. The biggest fool is the man who is not rich toward God and yet spends his time with other things instead of getting saved. Are you that kind of fool? I hope you are not. Oh, it would be a horrible thing if on the road home tonight God should say to you, "Thou fool, this night thy soul shall be required of thee." Wouldn't that be a horrible thing? - John R. Rice 

In Acts, chapter 2, the people said, "What shall we do?" Peter answered them in verses in 38 and 39, "Repent, and be baptized every one of you in the name of Jesus Christ for the remission of sins." Notice now that "repent" is for salvation, and " baptized" is pointing to , or with reference to that salvation. A study of the Greek shows that the word "for" is really a translation of the little Greek word "eis" which means "with reference to." So it is not a matter of being baptized because of, or pointing to, or with reference to the remission of sins you got when you repented. Baptism does not save anybody. It is a good testimony you have been saved, if you have. - John R. Rice

Now turn with me to the nineteenth chapter of Acts. "And it came to pass, that, while Apollos was at Corinth, Paul having passed through the upper coasts came to Ephesus: and finding certain disciples [notice, these people were disciples], He said unto them, Have ye received the Holy Ghost since ye believed?" Now these had trusted in Christ. "He that believeth on the Son hath everlasting life" (John 3:36). These were converted people. These were saved people. These were disciples who had trusted in Christ. "He said unto them, Have ye received the Holy Ghost since ye believed?" Now Christians ought to, along with, or following conversion, have another experience. At conversion one receives an indwelling of the Spirit, but a baptism or filling with the Holy Spirit for soul-winning power and witnessing was needed. Paul referred to this filling. - John R. Rice

I want you to first see what was the secret and principle of Pentecost. What was the meaning of Pentecost? The meaning of Pentecost is simply this: it was an old-fashioned, specimen revival when God's people got power to win souls and won them. - John R. Rice

Many have misunderstood the meaning of Pentecost. When you talk about Pentecost, there are many people who think, "Well, that is the time the Holy Spirit came into the world." Oh, no! The Holy Spirit had come on Christians all down through the ages. Every sinner that was ever convicted and saved was done so by the Holy Spirit. The Holy Spirit is the One who regenerates. And people were filled with the Spirit and witnessed for Jesus before Pentecost. No! No! The Holy Spirit did not just come into the world at Pentecost. Sometimes people talk about the descent of the Holy Spirit as if He had been in Heaven all the time. That is not the point. - John R. Rice