JOHN R. RICE QUOTES OF THE WEEK

 God had given plain commands, but Saul had disobeyed partly for religious reasons.

A Christian acknowledged to me that he knew the Bible plan was that a born-again Christian should be buried in the likeness of Christ's death and raised in the likeness of His resurrection in Christian baptism, as an open profession of faith. But he said, "My mother was the best Christian I ever saw, and she had me sprinkled when I was a baby. Why, it would be sacrilegious to go back on what my mother did!" Mother instead of God! The church instead of the Bible! The form instead of the substance! Sacrifices instead of obedience! - John R. Rice

Here was one prophet, Micaiah, against four hundred others. Surely God would be with the majority, would He not? No, God was with the one man and not with the majority. Any one man who goes to God directly, not seeking to please men, is more likely to know the will of God than four hundred prophets who serve an idolatrous, wicked king like Ahab! The majority is not always right, and certainly the majority was not right this time! - John R. Rice

And we should remember, too, that the only kind of men God has to use are imperfect men. Dr. J. B. Gambrell, famous Southern Baptist of a generation ago, used to say, "God can hit some mighty straight licks with some mighty crooked sticks." And I am glad that God in mercy puts His treasure in earthen vessels. I am glad that He calls people to preach and counts them worthy who are unworthy, as Paul said he was. - John R. Rice

However great the revival, God will not get the whole world converted. There never was a revival that got unanimous results for God. Jezebel was untouched in the great revival at Mount Carmel and we do not know that Ahab was genuinely turned to God. You who criticize evangelists and say that "the results do not last" are only saying the same thing that people said after the Mount Carmel revival, and that they said after the revival at Pentecost, and after every other great revival that God ever gave. The human race is still a fallen race. Even Christians are carnal and frail. We will never have a revival that will settle things with this human race until Jesus Christ returns and casts out of His kingdom all things that offend. - John R. Rice

 

We suppose that John the Baptist was a Nazarite, a man wholly separated to the Lord, according to the strict standard given in Numbers 6. God likens John the Baptist to Elijah. He comes "in the spirit and power of Elijah." And in the context of all the three Old Testament prophecies which clearly speak of John the Baptist, there is some reference to the Second Coming, so that some godly people feel that John the Baptist may be one of the two witnesses to announce the return of Jesus Christ to reign and the regathering of Israel. I do not know about that, but I know that John was great in the sight of the Lord. - John R. Rice

 

Five minutes after we meet the Saviour it will not matter a penny's worth what all the newspapers said about us or what the important people thought of our lives or ministries. The only greatness that will matter will be greatness in the sight of the Lord! - John R. Rice

 

Once a preacher said to me, "You talk about Satan's opposing God's work and attacking God's workers. I could not say that he bothers me. I am not conscious of direct attack."
I answered, "If you twisted Satan's tail as much as I do, he would bother you! The man whose ministry gets drunkards converted, re-establishes broken homes, and delivers young people from the cursed unbelief of modernism, as God has allowed my poor ministry to do in so many thousands of cases, would be hated by Satan and attacked." - John R. Rice