John R. Rice Quotes of the Week

"Ye will not come to me, that ye might have life." - John 5:40
The fact that sinners do not come to Jesus is sad, but far worse is the sad fact taught in the Saviour's words in John 5:40. The tragedy is not that people DO not come. It is not that they CANNOT come. It is not that they do not KNOW HOW to come. No, it is that they WILL NOT come. - John R. Rice 

A wealth of sadness is in these words, "Ye will not come to me, that ye might have life." What is it that stands between a sinner and salvation? What is it that stands between the sinner and peace, forgiveness, a new heart, everlasting life and Heaven itself? It is simply his own wicked, stubborn will. - John R. Rice

Now, then, I want you to notice a limitless invitation. In Matthew 11:28, Jesus said, "Come unto me, all ye that labour and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest." Who is invited? All. Isn't that a big word! Isn't that a good word! "All ye that labour and are heavy laden" -all the working people, all the labouring people, all the poor people, all the troubled people - so, all the sinning people and all the lost people. "Come unto me," He said, "and I will give you rest." This is an invitation that no honest interpretation can make less than "all." This is an invitation that nobody has a right to cut down to human size - this invitation, "Come unto me, all ye that labour and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest." - John R. Rice

God's invitation is limitless. John 3:16, "For God so loved the world, that He gave his only begotten Son, that whosoever believeth. . . ." - WHOSOEVER! Now is God an honest God that I can take Him at face value? Or is God a schemer and a trickster with words that make merchandise, like some deceitful salesman? You surely know that isn't true. For when God said, "whosoever," He meant "whosoever." When He said God loved the whole world, He meant He loved the whole world. When God said WHOSOEVER believeth should not perish, He meant WHOSOEVER. That is a general invitation for the whole human race. Yes, it is. - John R. Rice

Acts 17:30 "And the times of this ignorance God winked at; but now commandeth all men every where to repent." Notice the command. It is explicit that God "commandeth all men every where to repent" - all men, not only all Jews, not only all those of one generation, not only all those on one continent, not only all those who are moral and upright - but God "commandeth all men every where. . . ." Never mind the color, never mind the age in which they live, never mind the depths of their sin, never mind the blackness and darkness of an uncivilized, barbarous environment. God has commanded all men everywhere to repent. That is a general invitation that means everybody. - John R. Rice

"But of that day and that hour knoweth no man, no, not the angels which are in heaven, neither the Son, but the Father" (Mark 13:32).
No man knows the time. Angels do not know. No doubt Jesus knows now, but He kept Himself from that knowledge when He was here in the flesh. You are no smarter than the angels; not smarter than the Lord Jesus.
Now get that settled. It is plainly stated that nobody knows the time of the second coming. It is not intended for us to know. - John R. Rice

The term "the last days: is mentioned in the New Testament a number of times, and many people have misunderstood that to mean the closing days of this age. But it means the whole New Testament age, as you will see clearly from the Scriptures. - John R. Rice