Carl R. Trueman Quotes & Sayings

The answer to the problem of evil does not lie in trying to establish its point of origin, for that is simply not revealed to us. Rather, in the moment of the cross, it becomes clear that evil is utterly subverted for good ... If God can take the greatest of evils and turn them for the greatest of goods, then how much more can he take the lesser evils which litter human history, from individual tragedies to international disasters, and turn them to his good purpose as well. — Carl R. Trueman

The task of the preacher, therefore, is to take the Bible and to do two things in every sermon: destroy self-righteousness and point hearers toward the alien, external righteousness of Christ. — Carl R. Trueman

Cultural relevance can be a cruel mistress. — Carl R. Trueman

If God's words determine reality, then of all the things a pastor does, speaking the words of God to the congregation is the most important. — Carl R. Trueman

We may live in an age when everything has to be "radical" and "revolutionary." For Luther the most radical thing one could do was to learn the basics of the faith with the simple trust of a little child. — Carl R. Trueman

The theology of the cross is not a cerebral thing; it profoundly affects our Christian experience and existence, making demands upon our whole lives and turning theology into something which controls not just our thoughts, but the very way in which we experience the world around and taste the blessing and fellowship of God himself. pp.48-49 — Carl R. Trueman

I always tell students that the first question to ask about any historical action is this: who makes money out of the deal? — Carl R. Trueman

Heresy is usually quite sophisticated, actually has a meaning, and is to be taken very seriously. It is therefore to be carefully distinguished from turgid, pretentious, badly-written Bullsgeshichte, to use the technical German theological term. — Carl R. Trueman

We need a critical theory that seeks to change the world by challenging the world - including the world of evangelicals - in its market-driven, all, consuming consumerist idolatries. — Carl R. Trueman

Luther's doctrine of justification depends upon two things: the constant preaching of the wrath of God in the face of sin; and the realization that every Christian is at once righteous and a sinner, thus needing the hammer of the law to terrify and break the sinful conscience. — Carl R. Trueman

The collapse in evangelical doctrinal consensus is intimately related to the collapse in the understanding of, and role assigned to, Scripture as God's Word spoken within the church. p. 98 — Carl R. Trueman

Drinking beer with friends is perhaps the most underestimated of all Reformation insights and essential to ongoing reform; and wasting time with a choice friend or two on a regular basis might be the best investment of time you ever make. — Carl R. Trueman