Bryan Chapell Quotes

To believe Daniel is writing prophecy, as he claims, and not history, as the level of detail would seem to suggest, would require belief that what is written was supernaturally inspired. And if God has thus spoken, then his Word has far more authority over our lives than we may wish, and his far-reaching knowledge is far more real than we may want on the days that we want to go our own way.

By preserving a person named Daniel, God was preserving a nation called Israel in order to send a Savior named Jesus to save persons like us and ten thousand times ten thousand more of the same. Daniel's willingness to risk everything to make that redeeming God powerfully known expresses how great and precious is the incomparable grace of God toward those who will trust in him.

There is nothing more effective than guilt to get people to obey God's standards, and nothing less efficacious in sanctifying them to God.

The efficacy of the truths in God's message rather than any virtue in the messenger transforms hearts.

The inevitable consequence of obedience without delight is the erosion of holiness.

Belief in God's sovereignty coupled with his promises to reward those who diligently seek him (Heb. 11:6) provides even more powerful incentive to pray.

What a difference it makes in my life and yours when we believe that the trials as well as the accomplishments, the difficulties as well as the joys, are not simply the products of brute forces in the universe but actually are all part of God's eternal plan for his glory and our good. Do we have any assurance that such astounding truths do apply to us? Yes.

Guilt should drive us to the cross, but grace must lead us from it.

The love we show is the love we know.

By praying in Jesus' name, we petition God to make our life shine for Christ's glory and eternity's purposes.

Love for him compels us to live for him.

Repentance is not about earning grace but entering it; not about quenching his wrath but quieting the accusations of our hearts; not about unlocking his mercy but releasing our sin-sick sorrow to the Savior, who already rejoices to receive it.

God's care precedes his commands.

Why should we take care to maintain focus on the gospel of grace in our interpretations of Daniel? The first reason is to keep our messages Christian. We are not Jews, Muslims, or Hindus whose followers may believe our status with God is determined by our performance. We believe that Christ's finished work is our only hope. To make Daniel simply an example of one who fulfills God's moral imperatives and thus earns his blessing is essentially an unchristian message. Apart from God's justifying, enabling, and preserving grace, no human can do what God requires to be done. Jesus said, "Apart from me you can do nothing" (John 15:5). Interpretations of Daniel devoid of the enabling grace of Christ - even in its Old Testament forms of unmerited divine provision - implicitly deny the necessity of Christ.

Sin and Satan deceive our hearts with lies that God is distant. His hand of discipline declares he is never nearer.

I asked God for strength, that I might achieve. I was made weak, that I might humbly learn to obey. I asked for health, that I might do greater things. I was given infirmity, that I might do better things. I asked for riches, that I might be happy. I was given poverty, that I might be wise. I asked for power, that I might have the praise of men. I was given weakness, that I might feel the need of God. I asked for all things, that I might enjoy life. I was given life, that I might enjoy all things. I got nothing that I asked for, but everything that I hoped for. Almost despite myself, my unspoken prayers were answered. I among all men am most richly blessed.[1]

Knowledge of our unchanging relationship grants us the will to fight and to reenter the fray when we have fallen,

Sin gains power over us not by its indomitable force but by our divided heart.

Somehow proper prayer must put more trust in God's will than in human wants; otherwise failure to get the things we want will force us to doubt either the power of prayer or the ability of God.

Jesus loves us not because we are good but because he is.

…The identity I tried to establish by obedience to the Law is dead, the life Jesus lived to fulfill the Law is mine.

Not only do our prayers please God, the Holy Spirit uses them to accomplish heaven's purpose on earth.

We know our skills are insufficient for an activity with such vast consequences. We recognize that our hearts are too lacking in purity to lead others to holiness. Honest evaluation inevitably causes us to conclude that we do not have sufficient eloquence, wisdom, or character to be capable of turning others from spiritual death to eternal life.

Repetition of a sin is no reason to abandon confession.

John Calvin said he constantly studied to be simple.

Jesus does not love any child (young or old) because the child is good. Jesus loves his children because he is good.

We are not to mimic witches spicing their caldrons with a little eye of newt and tail of squirrel when we add Jesus' name to our prayers.

The reality of the ordinary progress of Christian understanding should not escape our notice: early believers "know no answers"; immature believers "know all the answers"; and mature believers "know the limits of our answers.

We sin not because we do not love Christ at all but because we don't love him above all.

Paul preaches without shame in his delivery skills because he trusts that the Spirit of God will use the Word the apostle proclaims to shatter the hardness of the human heart in ways no stage technique or philosophical construct can rival.

Faith results in being faithful despite what comes, not telling God what should come.

Grace overwhelms us with God's love, and as a result our heart resonates with the desires of God: His purposes become our own.