Sinclair B. Ferguson Quotes & Sayings

What the prophets of God did spiritually, the Prophet of God did quite literally and physically. — Sinclair B. Ferguson

Where God is at the center of things, worship inevitably follows. — Sinclair B. Ferguson

Thus the motivation, energy and drive for holiness are all found in the reality and power of God's grace in Christ. And so if I am to make any progress in sanctification, the place where I must always begin is the gospel of the mercy of God to me in Christ Jesus. — Sinclair B. Ferguson

Spiritual growth depends on two things: first a willingness to live according to the Word of God; second, a willingness to take whatever consequences emerge as a result. — Sinclair B. Ferguson

growing in faith and love for Christ, revealed as He is in Scripture, will be the greatest of all preservatives against being led astray. The person who is saturated in the teaching and spirit of the Gospels will have his or her senses "trained ... to distinguish good from evil" (Heb. 5:14, NIV) and to know what is truly Christ-like and Christ-honoring. — Sinclair B. Ferguson

In Christ we are no longer dominated by the flesh, but by the Spirit; but we are not yet delivered from the flesh. So long as this eschatological tension exists for the believer, so long will there be - in Calvin's view - a gap between the definition of faith and the actual experience of the believer: — Sinclair B. Ferguson

Karl Barth once wittily remarked, One can not speak of God simply by speaking of man in a loud voice. — Sinclair B. Ferguson

What is a godly pastor, after all, but one who is like God, with a heart of grace; someone who sees God bringing prodigals home and runs to embrace them, weeps for joy that they have been brought home, and kisses them - asking no questions - no qualifications or conditions required? — Sinclair B. Ferguson

Jesus undid everything that Adam did, and did everything Adam failed to do. — Sinclair B. Ferguson

No short-cut that tries to bypass the patient unfolding of the true character of God, and our relationship to him as his children, can ever succeed in providing long-term spiritual therapy. — Sinclair B. Ferguson

This, then, is the foundation of sanctification in Reformed theology. It is rooted, not in humanity and their achievement of holiness or sanctification, but in what God has done in Christ, and for us in union with him. Rather than view Christians first and foremost in the microcosmic context of their own progress, the Reformed doctrine first of all sets them in the macrocosm of God's activity in redemptive history. It is seeing oneself in this context that enables the individual Christian to grow in true holiness. — Sinclair B. Ferguson

True discernment means not only distinguishing the right from the wrong; it means distinguishing the primary from the secondary, the essential from the indifferent, and the permanent from the transient. And, yes, it means distinguishing between the good and the better, and even between the better and the best. — Sinclair B. Ferguson

Remember that you are not saved by increased levels of holiness, however desirable it is that you should reach them ... It is Christ who saves us-through faith. Your faith is a poor and crumbling thing, as is your spiritual service. Jesus Christ alone is qualified and able to save you because of what He has done. — Sinclair B. Ferguson

There had been occasions when David could have seized position and power by means that would have compromised his commitment to the Lord. — Sinclair B. Ferguson

Be obedient even when you do not know where obedience may lead you. — Sinclair B. Ferguson

When I look at the cross, I learn to say: 'The Son of God loved me, and gave Himself for me' (Galatians 2:20). I begin to believe with Paul that if God did not spare His own Son, but gave Him up to the cross for me, then He loves me so much He will always give me only what will bring me blessing (Romans 8:32). — Sinclair B. Ferguson

salvation becomes ours in Christ and not merely through Christ. — Sinclair B. Ferguson

Thankfulness grows best in the seed-bed of conviction, just as some plants must be placed in the soil in the winter if they are to flower in the summer. — Sinclair B. Ferguson

This is thought to be Jesus's best-loved parable, usually because our eyes are on the prodigal and his father. But as with jokes, so with parables: there is a principle in both of "end stress." The "punch line" comes at the end. That being the case the alarming message here is that the spirit of the elder brother, the legalist, is more likely to be found near the father's house than in the pig farm - or in concrete terms, in the congregation and among the faithful. And sometimes (only sometimes?), it appears in the pulpit and in the heart of the pastor. — Sinclair B. Ferguson

The fear of the Lord tends to take away all other fears ... This is the secret of Christian courage and boldness. — Sinclair B. Ferguson

The offer of the gospel is to be made not to the righteous or even the repentant, but to all. There are no conditions that need to be met in order for the gospel offer to be made. — Sinclair B. Ferguson

As the early church fathers delighted in saying, Christ took what was ours so that we might receive what was His. — Sinclair B. Ferguson

...we are always entertaining the delusion that we will go on forever in this world. The result is that the very things which ought to be of assistance to us in our pilgrimage through life, become chains which bind us. — Sinclair B. Ferguson

You must first have Christ himself, before you can partake of those benefits by him.19 — Sinclair B. Ferguson

Repentance, turning from sin, and degrees of conviction of sin do not constitute the grounds on which Christ is offered to us. They may constitute ways in which the Spirit works as the gospel makes its impact on us. But they never form the warrant for repentance and faith. — Sinclair B. Ferguson

Only God-the One through whom "all things were made" (1:3, cf. v. 10), in whom "was life" and "light" (v. 4)-can reverse creation's death and dissipate the darkness caused by sin.
2. But since that death and darkness are within creation, within man, the Word must become flesh in order to restore it from within. The Creator must enter His own creation, groaning as it is under the burden of alienation from Him. — Sinclair B. Ferguson

I've often reflected on the rather obvious thought that when his disciples were about to have the world collapse in on them, our Lord spent so much time in the Upper Room speaking to them about the mystery of the Trinity. If anything could underline the necessity of Trinitarianism for practical Christianity, that must surely be it! — Sinclair B. Ferguson

Anyone who comes to grips with the issues raised in The Marrow of Modern Divinity will almost certainly grow by leaps and bounds in understanding three things: the grace of God, the Christian life, and the very nature of the gospel itself. — Sinclair B. Ferguson

The true church is too different for the world to tolerate it. — Sinclair B. Ferguson

Contentment is an undervalued grace. — Sinclair B. Ferguson

True faith takes its character and quality from its object. Its strength therefore depends on the character of Christ. Even those of us who have weak faith have the same strong Christ as others! — Sinclair B. Ferguson

We [should not] make the mistake of thinking that marriage will provide the ultimate satisfaction for which we all hunger. To assume so would be to be guilty of blasphemy. Only God satisfies the hungry heart. Marriage is but one of the channels He uses to enable us to taste how deeply satisfying His thirst-quenching grace can be. — Sinclair B. Ferguson

Christians have a new identity. We are no longer 'in Adam' but 'in Christ'; no longer in the flesh but in the Spirit ... — Sinclair B. Ferguson

Yes, people will tell us they believe in a "God of love." But they are self-deceived, and their lives reveal it. They neither love Him with heart, soul, mind, and strength in return, nor do they worship Him with zeal and energy. The truth is that their mantra "My God is a God of love" is a smokescreen, a phantasm of their imagination. Underneath it all is a deep mistrust of God - otherwise, why not yield the whole of life in joyful abandon to whatever He says or asks? — Sinclair B. Ferguson

God can be trusted even when he cannot be seen or understood. — Sinclair B. Ferguson

Christianity is Christ because there isn't anything else. There is no atonement that somehow can be detached from who the Lord Jesus is. There is no grace that can be attached to you transferred from Him. All there is, is Christ and your soul. — Sinclair B. Ferguson

Worship is not something we "work up," it is something that "comes down" to us, from the character of God. — Sinclair B. Ferguson

There is a difference between a well-instructed congregation and a well-nourished one. — Sinclair B. Ferguson

The goal of theology is the worship of God. The posture of theology is on one's knees. The mode of theology is repentance. — Sinclair B. Ferguson

These considerations give us some clues as to why legalism and antinomianism are, in fact, nonidentical twins that emerge from the same womb. Eve — Sinclair B. Ferguson

Don't tell me that you have a Reformed Church in the tradition of Calvin until you have the preaching of the Word every day of the week, devote Wednesday's to prayer and have the church gather together for prayer. — Sinclair B. Ferguson

It's the centrality of the Word and not the person who preaches it that's important. — Sinclair B. Ferguson

The weakest faith gets the same strong Christ as does the strongest faith. — Sinclair B. Ferguson

God possesses personal being in a unified, uncreated, eternal, tri-personal manner. — Sinclair B. Ferguson

God has chosen us. Our status is not a matter of our worthiness, but of His love. — Sinclair B. Ferguson

What was injected into Eve's mind and affections during the conversation with the Serpent was a deep-seated suspicion of God that was soon further twisted into rebellion against him. The root of her antinomianism (opposition to and breach of the law) was actually the legalism that was darkening her understanding, dulling her senses, and destroying her affection for her heavenly Father. Now, like a pouting child of the most generous father, she acted as though she wanted to say to God, "You never give me anything. You insist on me earning everything I am ever going to have. — Sinclair B. Ferguson

Those who are most conscious of forgiveness are invariably those who have been most acutely convicted of their sin. — Sinclair B. Ferguson

The knowledge of our union with Christ ... gives us confidence in prayer. It was when Jesus had begun to expound the closeness of this union that he also began to introduce the disciples to the true heart of prayer. If Christ abides in us and we abide in him, as his word dwells in us, and we pray in his name, that God hears us (Jn 15:4-7). But all of these expressions are simply extensions of the one fundamental idea: If I am united to Christ, then all that is his is mine. So long as my heart, will and mind are one with Christ's in his word, I can approach God with the humble confidence that my prayers will be heard and answered. — Sinclair B. Ferguson

The conviction that Christian doctrine matters for Christian living is one of the most important growth points of the Christian life. — Sinclair B. Ferguson

Regeneration, however it is described, is a divine activity in us, in which we are not the actors but the recipients. — Sinclair B. Ferguson

But it is serpentine logic, for it simply compounds the old legal spirit. It is the natural instinct of the once-antinomian prodigal who, when awakened, thinks in terms of working his way back into the favor of his father.38 — Sinclair B. Ferguson

Every day we need our gaze redirected from ourselves to God. — Sinclair B. Ferguson

When man became the measure of all things what was lost was man. — Sinclair B. Ferguson

This is the key to the enjoyment of assurance precisely because assurance is our assurance that he is a great Savior and that he is ours. — Sinclair B. Ferguson

The problem is not in the clarity of the revelation. The problem is in the darkness of the human mind. — Sinclair B. Ferguson

God is God; you are but one of His creatures. Your only joy is to be found in obeying Him, your true fulfillment is to be found in worshiping Him, your only wisdom is to be found in trusting and knowing Him. — Sinclair B. Ferguson

Jesus Christ is able to set us free because He has dealt with the sin that enslaves us. — Sinclair B. Ferguson

An inability to encourage someone else is usually rooted in an absorption
with self that is blind to the needs or gifts of others, or a pride that cannot bring itself to praise God's grace in them. — Sinclair B. Ferguson

Knowing God is your single greatest privilege as a Christian. — Sinclair B. Ferguson

Man's insulting God is not reversed by our insulting man. — Sinclair B. Ferguson

Thinking that I deserve heaven is a sure sign I have no understanding of the gospel. — Sinclair B. Ferguson

The fallacy here? The subtle movement from seeing forsaking sin as the fruit of grace that is rooted in election, to making the forsaking of sin the necessary precursor for experiencing that grace. Repentance, which is the fruit of grace, thus becomes a qualification for grace. This — Sinclair B. Ferguson

The Father did not require the death of Christ to persuade Him to love us. Christ died because the Father loves us. — Sinclair B. Ferguson

The jewels of spiritual service are always quarried in the depths of spiritual experience. Never is this more true than in revival. Bend the church and save the people. — Sinclair B. Ferguson

Christian contentment, therefore, is the direct fruit of having no higher ambition than to belong to the Lord and to be totally at His disposal in the place He appoints, at the time He chooses, with the provision He is pleased to make. — Sinclair B. Ferguson

Twentieth-century man needs to be reminded at times that work is not the result of the Fall. Man was made to work, because the God who made him was a 'working God.' Man was made to be creative, with his mind and his hands. Work is part of the dignity of his existence. — Sinclair B. Ferguson

God's promises are not fortune cookies. We do not use them in order to get a spiritual "fix" for the day. — Sinclair B. Ferguson

How do we bring glory to God? The Bible's short answer is: by growing more and more like Jesus Christ. — Sinclair B. Ferguson

Inerrancy matters because it honors the Spirit, who wants to honor the Son, who wants to honor the Father. — Sinclair B. Ferguson

Secular humanism debases the human. — Sinclair B. Ferguson

It is God who gives us the spirit of worship (Psalm 133:3), and it is what we know of God that produces this spirit of worship. We might say that worship is simply theology, doctrine, what we think about God, going into top gear! Instead of merely thinking about Him, we tell Him, in prayer and praise and song, how great and glorious we believe Him to be! — Sinclair B. Ferguson

We best defend the Lord's glory by speaking first TO Him about unbelieving men rather than speaking first ABOUT Him to unbelieving men. — Sinclair B. Ferguson

Commandments are the railroad tracks on which the life empowered by the love of God poured into the heart by the Holy Spirit runs. Love empowers the engine; law guides the direction. They are mutually interdependent. The notion that love can operate apart from law is a figment of the imagination. It is not only bad theology; it is poor psychology. It has to borrow from law to give eyes to love. — Sinclair B. Ferguson

The real test that I believe that God is love is that tragedies don't separate me from the conviction that God is love. — Sinclair B. Ferguson

There is a difference between going to a service "for the worship" and going to a service "to worship the Lord." The distinction appears to be a minor one, but it may imply the difference between the worship of God and the worship of music! — Sinclair B. Ferguson

Evil deeds are the fruit of an evil heart. They are not an aberration from our true self but a revelation of it. — Sinclair B. Ferguson

Our first priority in ministry must be love. Love for His Word, love for His people, and love for His appearing. — Sinclair B. Ferguson

When the New Testament speaks about the fullness of grace which we find in Christ, it does not mean only forgiveness, pardon and justification. Christ has done much more for us. He died for us, but he also lived for us. Now he has sent his own Spirit to us so that we might draw on his strength. He grew in grace, and when we draw on his power we shall likewise grow in grace. — Sinclair B. Ferguson

You do not become a master musician by playing just as you please, by imagining that learning the scales is sheer legalism and bondage! No, true freedom in any area of life is the consequence of regular discipline. It is no less true of the life of prayer. — Sinclair B. Ferguson

In the New Testament the basic command of old covenant life, 'Be holy as I am holy', now means, 'Become like Jesus.' God involves himself in this work as the triune Lord: the Father commands it; the Son has died to provide the resources for it; the Spirit indwells us in order to effect it in our lives. As Augustine famously prayed, God commands what he wills and gives what he commands. — Sinclair B. Ferguson

I am not asking you to do that because the tree is ugly - actually it is just as attractive as the other trees. I don't create ugly, ever!11 You won't be able to look at the fruit and think, That must taste horrible. It is a fine-looking tree. So it's simple. Trust me, obey me, and love me because of who I am and because you are enjoying what I have given to you. Trust me, obey me, and you will grow. — Sinclair B. Ferguson

Humility is not simply feeling small and useless - like an inferiority complex. It is sensing how great and glorious God is, and seeing myself in that light. — Sinclair B. Ferguson

The holiness of God teaches us that there is only one way to deal with sin- radically, seriously, painfully, constantly. If you do not so live, you do not live in the presence of the Holy One of Israel. — Sinclair B. Ferguson

You cannot open the pages of the New Testament without realizing that one of the things that makes it so 'new,' in every way, is that here men and women call God 'Father.' This conviction, that we can speak of the Master of the universe in such intimate terms, lies at the heart of the Christian faith. — Sinclair B. Ferguson

For worship is, essentially, the reverse of sin. Sin began (and begins) when we succumb to the temptation, "You shall be as gods." We make ourselves the center of the universe and dethrone God. By contrast, worship is giving God his true worth; it is acknowledging Him to be the Lord of all things, and the Lord of everything in our lives. He is, indeed, the Most High God! — Sinclair B. Ferguson

Without the spirit of the Lord Jesus, we will look upon 'the least of these' simply as the least. — Sinclair B. Ferguson

By way of contrast he wanted to stress that the gospel's center is found in Jesus Christ himself, who has been crucified for sin and raised for justification, with the inbuilt implication that Christ himself thus defined and described should be proclaimed as able to save all who come to him. — Sinclair B. Ferguson

Thoughts for Young Men abounds in reliable counsel and says - with a rare combination of seriousness and graciousness - the very things we need to hear. Young men, for whom it was written, will find it invaluable; but all Christians, men or women, young or old, can read it with lasting benefit. It deserves to be widely read and circulated, and will do spiritual good to every reader. — Sinclair B. Ferguson

We discover the will of God by a sensitive application of Scripture to our own lives. — Sinclair B. Ferguson

God made everything else but man "after its kind"' - that is, according to the purpose and destiny he envisaged for it. But he made man in His own image. Man is patterned on God! He was made to represent God - in created, human form. — Sinclair B. Ferguson

True Christian liberty, unlike the various "freedom" or "liberation" movements of the secular world, is not a matter of demanding the "rights" we have. — Sinclair B. Ferguson

If the benefits of Christ's work (justification, reconciliation, adoption, and so on) are abstracted from Christ himself, and the proclamation of the gospel is made in terms of what it offers rather than in terms of Christ himself, the question naturally arises: To whom can I offer these benefits? — Sinclair B. Ferguson

you cannot destroy love for the world merely by showing its emptiness. The world-centered love of our hearts can be expelled only by a new love and affection-for God and from God. The love of the world and the love of the Father cannot coexist in the same heart — Sinclair B. Ferguson

Biblical repentance, then, is not merely a sense of regret that leaves us where it found us. It is a radical reversal that takes us back along the road of our sinful wanderings, creating in us a completely different mind-set. We come to our senses spiritually (Luke 15:17). Thus the prodigal son's life was no longer characterized by the demand "give me" (v. 12) but now by the request "make me . . ." (v. 19). This lies on the surface of the New Testament's teaching. Regret there will be, but the heart of repentance is the lifelong moral and spiritual turnaround of our lives as we submit to the Lord. — Sinclair B. Ferguson

The determining factor of my existence is no longer my past. — Sinclair B. Ferguson

Marriage, and the process of coming to it, is not heaven! It is the bonding together of two needy sinners in order to make a partnership which is substantially greater than either of them alone. — Sinclair B. Ferguson

The Son of God came to dwell in human flesh for us in order that He might come to dwell in us by His Spirit. — Sinclair B. Ferguson

We can never reflect too much on God's grace. — Sinclair B. Ferguson

Repentance is a characteristic of the whole life, not the action of a single moment. — Sinclair B. Ferguson

Probably no theologian in English language has ever rivaled Owen stressing the absolute centrality of Christ's penal substitution and therefore his as Priest ... For that reason alone The Priesthood of Christ is worth all the time it takes to read it with humility, care, and reflection. — Sinclair B. Ferguson