God's Word says that your righteousness is only as filthy rags in His sight (Isa. 64:6). You appear good to men, but you are not good. Your outward goodness covers over an unregenerate, wicked heart. That guilty heart must be cleansed, your sins must be forgiven, your nature must be changed before you can ever meet God in peace. - John R. Rice [What Must I Do to Be Saved?, pg. 126-127]
The Lord Jesus came to seek and to save that which was lost. He died to save sinners. I would make sure today that I was not depending on anything else in the world except that Christ died for me and God had promised me forgiveness when I trusted Him. - John R. Rice [What Must I Do to Be Saved?, pg. 132-133]
Abraham prayed and wept over Lot and begged God to spare him. Then when the angels came, they said, "Lot, hurry and get out. Come on, Lot, you tarry too long. Lot, we can't do anything until you get out." Isn't that wonderful? "You have our hand tied; God won't let us touch a thing, Lot, until you get out of here. Abraham prayed for you and God is merciful and won't let us get the fire going until you get out. We can't do anything."
Oh, the concern of Abraham! He prayed through about Lot. Though Lot's loved ones were not saved, yet he was saved. God spared him. - John R. Rice [Sweet Family Ties in Heaven and Hell, pg. 14]
You cannot hold on to the Christ of the Bible unless you hold on to the Bible itself. Anybody who is ashamed of the Word of Jesus Christ is ashamed of Christ. They stand or fall together. The Bible is the Word of Christ, and the words are the words of Christ, "Whosoever therefore shall be ashamed of me and of my words in this adulterous and sinful generation; of him also shall the Son of man be ashamed, when he cometh in the glory of his Father with the holy angels. - John R. Rice [Sweet Family Ties in Heaven and Hell, pg. 28]
In 2 Timothy 3:16, "All Scripture is given by inspiration of God, and is profitable. . . ." All Scripture is inspired of God. We talk about the inspiration of the Scripture. That is a little unfortunate because actually what the Lord says there in the original is not so much that the Bible is inspired, not that God breathed upon the Bible or even that He breathed into the Bible, but that God breathed OUT the Bible. The Bible is the breath of God. The Bible proceeded from out of the being of God. God breathed out the Bible. It is not only that God breathed on men who wrote, but that what came out, the Bible itself, came out from God, breathed out from God. - John R. Rice [Sweet Family Ties in Heaven and Hell, pg. 29]
Incidentally, as you know, in the Greek the term for "breath" or "wind," and the word for "spirit," are the same. So the Holy Spirit of God came upon men and God breathed out through His Spirit the Word of God. Notice, not that God supervised men; not that God touched men, but that God moved men to say what He breathed out Himself. The Bible is breathed out from God. It is a product of God, and so the Word of God. - John R. Rice [Sweet Family Ties in Heaven and Hell, pg. 29]
God Himself moved the men when they wrote the Scriptures. Inspiration. What do you mean then? Not just supervision, not just some correction of mistakes, but the words come from God. The Scriptures were breathed out from God. The men who wrote held the pen, but God held the man who held the pen. Literally, then, this is the Word of God and not the word of men. The words are the words of God, not simply the words of men. - John R. Rice [Sweet Family Ties in Heaven and Hell, pg. 30]
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