GOSPEL-APPLIED
A Christian
is one who recognizes Jesus as the Christ, the Son of the living God, as God
manifested in the flesh, loving us and dying for our redemption; and who is so
affected by a sense of the love of this incarnate God as to be constrained to
make the will of Christ the rule of his obedience, and the glory of Christ the
great end for which He lives.
Charles Hodge
[Only those]
who have learned well to be earnestly dissatisfied with themselves, and to be
confounded with shame at their wretchedness [truly understand the Christian
gospel].
The Epistles of Paul the Apostle to
the Romans and Thessalonians, Eerdmans, www.eerdmans.com,
1979, 8:135.
Men would sooner believe that the gospel is from heaven,
if they saw more such effects of it upon the hearts and lives of those who
profess it. The world is better able to read the nature of religion in a man’s
life than in the Bible.
Richard Baxter
The Reformed Pastor, Chapter 2, Section 1.
The secret of
the gospel is that we actually do more when we hear less about all we need to
do for God and hear more about all that God has already done for us.
Kevin DeYoung
On
Mission, Changing the World, and Not Being Able To Do
It All,” http://thegospelcoalition.org/blogs/kevindeyoung/2009/08/25/on-mission-changing-world-and-not-being.