Here are 20 quotes that caught my attention as I read Gary Millar’s excellent new book, Need To Know. (You can read a proper review here).
- “When you’re trying to explain to someone what it means when you say you’re a Christian, remember this: Christianity is not a mindset or a worldview or a philosophy of life (although it does produce all these). Christianity is founded on and flows from and leads to knowing and enjoying God the Trinity forever.” (18)
- “Jesus is a person, not a bunch of facts — but he is a person who is known through the Scriptures. It’s possible to read the Scriptures without knowing Jesus any better or deeper. But it’s impossible to know Jesus better and deeper without reading the Bible.” (22)
- “If I had to define the gospel in a tweet, I’d say this: the announcement of what the triune God has done in Christ to make it possible for us to know him and enjoy him forever.” (25)
- “The gospel is at the heart of becoming a Christian, living as a Christian, and keeping going as a Christian.” (28)
- “Reading the Bible is not an intellectual thing but a spiritual thing. It’s not magic, but it is spiritual—and wonderfully, God can and does work through the Bible to bring people to new life and maturity in Christ.” (37)
- “Real prayer isn’t a form of meditation that twists God’s arm; nor is it just good for our mental health! It’s about enjoying our relationship with our loving Heavenly Father.” (39)
- “When it comes down to it, the Christian life might be hard, but it isn’t all that complicated. God himself speaks to us by the Spirit through his word, working the gospel of the Lord Jesus deeper into our hearts and minds. And what do we do? We ask God to do what he has promised as we pray. And then we repeat! This is the gospel-shaped life.” (42)
- “The gospel-shaped life is one which takes seriously the horrible truth about what we are actually like. There is nothing naïve or defensive or self-protective or arrogant or hypocritical about authentic Christianity because the gospel reveals what we are truly like: we are so precious to God that he sent Christ to die for us, but we are so rebellious that he had to die for us.” (49)
- “The beauty of the gospel is not simply that God forgives us but that he gives us a way out — he transforms through the painful recognition, exposure and overcoming of our sin.” (53)
- “Show me someone who is not repenting, day by day, week by week, and I’ll show you someone who is proud and who is not living out the gospel of the Lord Jesus.” (55)
- “The Bible gives us hope that while suffering is painful, it is not pointless. God is committed to using suffering to bring about great good in the lives of his people.” (71)
- “Someone who claims to be a Christian but who has zero interest in other people in church — or who isn’t part of a church and has no interest in joining one — has missed the point. “God is love”, and so the gospel-shaped life is a life of love for the God of love and his people.” (83)
- “When we share bread and wine together to remember Jesus’ death and resurrection, it is a tangible, “taste-able” demonstration of the gospel, which spurs us on to keep living for Christ.” (86)
- “The most loving thing we can do for anyone is to share the momentous news of Jesus Christ with them.” (89)
- “It’s pretty obvious that in the Bible we’re not always going to be able to find a fully spelled-out, step-by-step guide to handling the issues that we face in our time and place. But that doesn’t mean that God has nothing to say about how to live, now that we’re “in Christ”. In fact, he’s given us everything we need to look at the world through the gospel.” (94)
- “And the truth is, sometimes living God’s way hurts. There’s something painful about the basic shift from running our own lives and forming our own opinions to living with God at the centre.” (97)
- “While the Christian life sometimes costs, we’ll never be short-changed. The astonishing thing is that God only ever asks us to do what’s both good for us and glorifying for him…. Following the manufacturer’s instructions is always the best bet. While it may sometimes look unattractive in the world’s eyes, God promises that the gospel-shaped life is genuinely beautiful. And living his way will, in time, show the watching world something of the Lord Jesus.” (98)
- “Jesus is not out to limit your life or make it less fun. He came to give you life — a life that overflows with joy, love, and satisfaction, both now and for eternity. So his commands to us in the Bible are not cruel or arbitrary or limiting. He loves us. We can trust that doing what God says never involves missing out in the long term. The gospel-shaped life is the best life there is.” (99)
- “Our job or career, our physical power or appearance, our sexual orientation, our academic ability or even our personality can’t ultimately carry the weight of providing us with the sense of significance we long for. Only Jesus Christ can do that.” (107-108)
- “There is no choice, no subject, and no opinion which the reality of being in Christ doesn’t reshape and direct. The gospel-shaped life really is an “all-in” thing. God has invited and enabled us to live the beautiful life — the gospel-shaped life — with him. So don’t settle for anything less.” (109)