John R. Rice Quotes of the Week

 God can bring the pressure of loving invitation or stern warnings, to cause a man to weigh the consequences and the moral issues and decide. But God can not make all the moral decisions without leaving Himself to be the only moral being in the universe. When He creates other moral beings, accountable, subject to laws and subject to rewards and punishments, then God Himself thus deliberately limits His control over those beings. Without understanding this, one cannot understand the problem of evil in this world. If God did not leave man's will uncoerced to choose right or wrong, then God Himself would be responsible for the sin and evil in the world. - John R. Rice [Predestined for Hell? No!, pg.92]

We have already seen that in some sense Christ, lifted up, draws all men in the world to Him (John 12:32). We have seen that He is the "Light, which lighteth every man that cometh into the world" (John 1:9). But God goes further than that. He makes sure that everyone who follows what light he has can have more light. Everyone whose heart is open to truth hears the truth. Oh, God goes to such length to save everyone who would be saved that it is wicked to blame Him if any man remains lost! - John R. Rice [Predestined for Hell? No!, pg.94]

Hyper-Calvinism is the enemy of soul winning, of missions, it tends to satisfy the heart not willing to pay the price for soul winning. It appeals to the arrogant, the proud, and tends toward spiritual ruin for individuals. - John R. Rice [Predestined for Hell? No!, pg103]

Soul winning is the dearest thing to the heart of God. It is the one thing for which Jesus came into the world and died (I Tim. 1:10, Luke 19:10). It is the one great matter that causes rejoicing to everybody in Heaven (Luke 15:7, 10). - John R. Rice [Great Truths for Soul Winners, pg. 40]

If there were in apostolic times any so-called "Bible teachers" who felt called to "gather around the Word" and to teach the letter of the Scriptures, without feeling called to plead with sinners, or to hold revivals, or to win souls, God counts them as nobodies. They are not mentioned. There is no approval on anybody in the New Testament as a fervent Christian pleasing to God except those who were soul winners! I challenge any reader to find one person greatly praised or held up as an example or given favorable spiritual prominence in the New Testament times who was not an ardent and successful soul winner. - John R. Rice [Great Truths for Soul Winners, pg. 45]

In Romans, chapter 3, after giving fourteen indictments of the wickedness of the whole human race (vss. 9-18), God says in verse 19, "Now we know that what things soever the law saith, it saith to them who are under the law: that every mouth may be stopped, and all the world may become guilty before God."

What does God want, sinner? He wants you to shut your mouth! He wants you to make not a single excuse. He does not want any alibis. He does not want you to claim one bit of merit. And so He continues after telling of the wonderful grace of God which justifies "freely by his grace through the redemption that is in Christ Jesus" (vs. 24). He says in verse 27, "Where is boasting then? It is excluded." God is determined to shut out boasting on the matter of salvation. So God will do it all. Man does none of it. He has no claim on God's mercy except his sinful need of mercy. - John R. Rice [Great Truths for Soul Winners, pg. 73]

I take no pleasure in people who stand in prayer meeting and declare, "I am determined to make Heaven my home." Determination will not do it! I am not pleased when people ask others, "Pray for me that I will hold out faithful to the end." As far as salvation is concerned, no sinner was ever faithful any ten minutes of his life and never will be until he awakes in the likeness of Christ. We are not saved by our faithfulness or our holding out. All dependence on human faithfulness, human merit or human zeal is wicked and tends to boasting. - John R. Rice [Great Truths for Soul Winners, pg. 74]