Christian Experience Quotes

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

Every day of our Christian experience should be a day of relating to God on the basis of His grace alone. We are not only saved by grace, but we also live by grace every day. ~ Jerry Bridges

It is a strange misunderstanding to make Paul either a fatalist or a particularist; he is the strongest opponent of blind necessity and of Jewish particularism, even in the ninth chapter of Romans. But he aims at no philosophical solution of a problem which the finite understanding of man cannot settle; he contents himself with asserting its divine and human aspects, the religious and ethical view, the absolute sovereignty of God and the relative freedom of man, the free gift of salvation and the just punishment for neglecting it. Christian experience includes both truths, and we find no contradiction in praying as if all depended on God, and in working as if all depended on man. This is Pauline theology and practice. ~ Philip Schaff

Love is kindled in a flame, and ardency is its life. Flame is the air which true Christian experience breathes. It feeds on fire; it can withstand anything rather than a feeble flame; but when the surrounding atmosphere is frigid or lukewarm, it dies, chilled and starved to its vitals. True prayer must be aflame. ~ Edward McKendree Bounds

The truth is the real Christian experience is truly about repenting every day because there is no Christian that doesn't sin. ~ Stephen Baldwin

The full Christian experience, however, is not an individual experience which may be isolated from all else; it is, unconditionally, an experience within the context of the Church. It is 'a personal history which is imbedded in the greater history of the Church - a spiritual becoming which is incarnate and is lived within the Church's own process of becoming. It is the effort to develop what has been given, to discover what is hidden, the effort to attain to oneself by attaining, though the Church and within her, to the mystery of Christ, the Saviour'. ~ Hans Urs Von Balthasar

Is it not true that for most of us who call ourselves Christians there is no real experience? We have substituted theological ideas for an arresting encounter; we are full of religious notions, but our great weakness is that for our hearts there is no one there. Whatever else it embraces, true Christian experience must always include a genuine encounter with God. ~ A.W. Tozer

When we learn to read the story of Jesus and see it as the story of the love of God, doing for us what we could not do for ourselves
that insight produces, again and again, a sense of astonished gratitude which is very near the heart of authentic Christian experience. ~ N. T. Wright

Christian experience is rightly used when it helps to convince us that the events narrated in the New Testament actually did occur; but it can never enable us to be Christians whether the events occurred or not. It is a fair flower, and should be prized as a gift of God. But cut it from its root in the blessed Book, and it soon withers away and dies. ~ J. Gresham Machen

the abuse of the subjective in some circles cannot exclude the 'mystical' and emotional dimensions of Christian experience. ~ Timothy J. Keller

Is your Christian experience a set of definitions, a list of orthodox doctrines, or a living relationship with God? ~ Warren W. Wiersbe

Many's very human habit of trusting in himself is generally the last great obstacle blocking his pathway to victory in Christian experience. ~ A.W. Tozer

I have no doubt that for some to become a Christian may involve an experience of ecstasy. Yet I do not think such an experience is necessary for someone to be a Christian. ~ Stanley Hauerwas

It is a fact beyond question that there are two kinds of Christian experience, one of which is an experience of bondage, and the other an experience of liberty. ~ Hannah Whitall Smith

If you have trouble hearing God speak, you are in trouble at the very heart of your Christian experience. ~ Henry Blackaby

To know God and to find one's full satisfaction in that knowledge is the ultimate goal of Christian experience. The Lord's greatest delight comes when His people discover the ultimate value lies in the knowledge of God. Nothing in the material world can complete with the delights that are present in His Person. ~ Max Anders

Living our vocation to be protectors of God's handiwork is essential to a life of virtue; it is not an optional or a secondary aspect of our Christian experience. ~ Pope Francis

The highest point of Christian experience is to press forward. It is a distinguishing trait in the character of every good man that he grows in grace. Grace in the heart as certainly improves and advances, as a tree thrives in a kindly and well watered soil. ~ Gardiner Spring

Spiritual joy is what you experience when you choose to give thanks to God no matter what happens - even when things go wrong. ~ Jim George

Evermore the Law must prepare the way for the gospel. To overlook this in instructing souls is almost certain to result in false hope, the introduction of a false standard of Christian experience, and to fill the Church with false converts ... Time will make this plain. ~ Charles Grandison Finney

Obedience unlocks the riches of the Christian experience. Prayer prompts and nurtures obedience, putting the heart into the proper "frame of mind" to desire obedience.
Of ~ R.C. Sproul

I feel that the Christian experience and the Jewish one have much to give each other. If this open society continues and there is no return to political anti-Semitism, then this encounter, deeper than any theology, may happen. ~ Lionel Blue

We have become outsiders just as Jesus was an outsider. We are marginal in our culture because Jesus is marginal. The cross is the ultimate expression of marginalization and to follow him is to take up our cross daily. It is daily to experience marginalization and hostility. Being on the margins is normal Christian experience. Christendom was the aberration. Rather than assume we should have a voice in the media or on Main Street, we need to regain the sense that anything other than persecution is an unexpected ~ Tim Chester

I grew up in a church-going family, a very sort of ordinary, middle-of-the-road Anglican family where nobody really talked about personal Christian experience. It was just sort of assumed like an awful lot of things in the 1950's were just sort of taken for granted. ~ N. T. Wright

And in my own pastoral and personal Christian experience, I can say that I've never known a man or woman who came to spiritual maturity except through discipline. Godliness comes through discipline. ~ Donald S. Whitney

Billy Graham once wrote, Everywhere I go I find that God's people lack something. They are hungry for something. Their Christian experience is not all that they expected and they often have recurring defeat in their lives. Christians today are hungry for spiritual fulfillment. The most desperate need of the nation today is that men and women who profess Jesus be filled with the Holy Spirit.1 ~ Simon Ponsonby

You may be going through a season in your Christian experience when it seems as if God is silent. You may sense the sweetness of His presence, but He doesn't appear to be saying much of anything. More often than not we interpret this to mean that He's somehow upset with us. We think it's a sign of disapproval or separation. But I believe there are times when even our Bridegroom God steps back and simply admires us. Overcome with emotions for His bride, He is moved beyond words. This may stretch our imaginations, but this is how deeply He cares for us. ~ S.J. Hill

Genuine Christian experience must always include an encounter with God Himself. ~ Aiden Wilson Tozer

The word church as applied to the Christian society was first used by Jesus Himself when He told Peter, "Upon this rock I will build my church" [Matthew 16:18]. He is the foundation of all Christian experience. ~ Billy Graham

The Christian experience, from start to finish, is a journey of faith. ~ Watchman Nee

You wish they understood, as you do, that there is no escape and never was, that from the moment two cells combined to become one they were doomed. You wish they understood that there is joy in this fact, greater joy and love in just this one last moment than they experienced in the entirety of their lives. Because even in this last moment there is still Everything, whole galaxies and eons, the sum total of every experience across time, shrunk to the head of a pin, theirs for the asking, right here, right now. And so anything, anything, anything is possible. ~ Ron Currie Jr.

It is doubtful we can be Christian in anything unless we are Christian in everything. ~ Aiden Wilson Tozer

I do think that fashion may end up being the 'killer app' for wearable augmented reality systems. This is in part because it's not simply task-oriented - like finding a restaurant or where your friend is currently lounging about - but experience-oriented. It becomes part of your life. ~ Jamais Cascio

One of the things about being raised British in Africa is that you get this double whammy of toughness. The continent in place itself made you quite tough. And then you've got this British mother whose entire being rejects 'coddling' in case it makes you too soft. So there's absolutely nothing standing between you and a fairly rough experience. ~ Alexandra Fuller

In the battle of faith, money is usually the last stronghold to fall. ~ Ronald Dunn

As to the Christian system of faith, it appears to me as a species of Atheism - a sort of religious denial of God. It professes to believe in a man rather than in God. It is a compound made up chiefly of Manism with but little Deism, and is as near to Atheism as twilight is to darkness. It introduces between man and his Maker an opaque body, which it calls a Redeemer, as the moon introduces her opaque self between the earth and the sun, and it produces by this means a religious, or an irreligious, eclipse of light. It has put the whole orbit of reason into shade. ~ Thomas Paine

Whether it succeeded or not was of secondary importance; first, I had to do it. Then I would experience the fullness of life as I went along. That was my only possible way of living. ~ Tetsuo Miura

When he did think - when his brain began the slow chugging of rusty gears - the only thoughts that came were unspeakable things like, what's the worst age a child can die? Worse yet was - after hours spent staring at the ceiling until it became a real-life Escher print with fans on the floor, useless windowsills, and dresser drawers that spilled underwear when opened - worse yet was when his mind found answers to those questions. Two-years-old isn't so bad, he mused. They barely had a life. Twenty? At least they got to experience life! But fourteen ... fourteen was the worst. ~ Jake Vander Ark

Something of a person's character may be observed by how they smile. Some never smile they only grin. ~ Christian Nestell Bovee

Pray with expectation to get an answer. ~ Lailah Gifty Akita

I nod, and taking my tea, I head into the library. It's my refuge. I dig my BlackBerry out of my purse and contemplate calling Christian. I know it's a shock for him - but he really did overreact. When does he not overreact? ~ E.L. James

Life in the Church means experiencing leaders who are not always wise, mature, and deft. In fact, some of us are as bumpy and uneven as a sackful of old doorknobs. Some of the polishing we experience is a result of grinding against each other. How vital submissiveness is in such circumstances, especially if the lubrication of love is not amply present.
In a church established, among other reasons, for the perfecting of the Saints
an ongoing process
it is naive to expect, and certainly unfair to demand, perfection in our peers. A brief self-inventory is wise before we "cast the first stone." Possessing a few rocks in our own heads, it is especially dangerous to have rocks too ready in our hands. ~ Neil A. Maxwell

It may be too much to expect that nations should be governed in their relations towards each other by the precepts of Christian morality, but surely it is not too much to ask that they should conform to the code of courtesy and good breeding recognized among gentlemen in the intercourse of social life. ~ George Stillman Hillard

Whether we are Christians or Muslims or nationalists or agnostics or atheists, we must first learn to forget our differences. If we have differences, let us differ in the closet; when we come out in front, let us not have anything to argue about until we get finished arguing with the man. If the late President Kennedy could get together with Khrushchev and exchange some wheat, we certainly have more in common with each other than Kennedy and Khrushchev had with each other. ~ Malcolm X

If your attitude is one of gratefully searching for God's truth & goodness in any situation, it will change your life. ~ Stormie O'martian

By sad experience I know what sorrows She must endure, who marries into a family unwilling to receive her. ~ Matthew Gregory Lewis

The experience of shame may tend to lend legitimacy to the structure of authority that occasions it, for the majesty of judgment is affirmed in its very capacity to injure. ~ Sandra Lee Bartky

We lose the fear of making decisions, great and small; as we realize that should our choice prove wrong we can, if we will, learn from the experience. ~ Bill W.

You are a Christian because somebody cared. Now it's your turn. ~ Warren W. Wiersbe

Let no one hope to find in contemplation an escape from conflict, from anguish or from doubt. On the contrary, the deep, inexpressible certitude of the contemplative experience awakens a tragic anguish and opens many questions in the depths of the heart like wounds that cannot stop bleeding. For every gain in deep certitude there is a corresponding growth of superficial "doubt." This doubt is by no means opposed to genuine faith, but it mercilessly examines and questions the spurious "faith" of everyday life, the human faith which is nothing but the passive acceptance of conventional opinion. This false "faith" which is what we often live by and which we even come to confuse with our "religion" is subjected to inexorable questioning… Hence, is it clear that genuine contemplation is incompatible with complacency and with smug acceptance of prejudiced opinions. It is not mere passive acquiescence in the status quo, as some would like to believe – for this would reduce it to the level of spiritual anesthesia. ~ Thomas Merton

Practically every mental health care practitioner, from the most erudite psychoanalysts to untrained self-help gurus, tell us that it is infinitely more fulfilling and we are all saner if we tell the truth, yet most of us are not rushing to stand up and be counted among the truth tellers. Indeed, as someone committed to being honest in daily life I experience the constant drag of being seen as a 'freak,' for telling the truth, even when I speak truthfully about simple matters. If a friend gives me a gift and asks me to tell him or her whether I like it, I will respond honestly and judiciously; that is to say I will speak the truth in a positive, caring manner. Yet even in this situation, the person who asks for honesty will often express annoyance when given a truthful response. ~ Bell Hooks

The first year of the Boot Ride was an amazing experience. Seeing people come out from all over, ride and, most importantly, put on their boots, was an inspiration. ~ Theo Rossi

It is better to experience sorrow than happiness.Many life lessons are learnt in moments of sorrow. ~ Lailah Gifty Akita

This will be the racing competition to end all racing competitions, .. I am extremely pleased to be working with Electronic Arts on this exciting opportunity giving music and gaming fans the chance to live the Need for Speed TM experience. ~ Jay Kay

Your divine design dictates your future direction. ~ Aubrey Malphurs

I don't believe people are looking for the meaning of life as much as they are looking for the experience of being alive. ~ Joseph Campbell

We love and we value peace; we know its blessings from experience. We abhor the follies of war, and are not untried in its distresses and calamities. ~ Thomas Jefferson

If I just think of the churches in my little town here because I've been to every one of them, there are 27, there aren't that many where you walk in and say wow, people are excited about their faith. A lot of them, it's just what you do on Sunday at 10:00 or 11:00 and that's not true in other countries. In some other countries, it's still a very lively, vibrant experience. ~ Philip Yancey

I don't know if you have had the same experience, but the snag I always come up against when I'm telling a story is this dashed difficult problem of where to begin it. ~ P.G. Wodehouse

We are all wont to make mistakes, but if we learn from each trick, each error, and refuse to allow it to happen again, then the experience is not a loss, but a lifelong gain. Our pride may sting for the moment, but our future will be the better for it. ~ Karen Hawkins

When you realize that suffering and discomfort are the call to inquiry, you may actually begin to look forward to uncomfortable feelings. You may even experience them as friends coming to show you what you have not yet investigated thoroughly enough. ~ Byron Katie

Rather than reacting with our usual attachment or aversion, taking everything personally and feeling the need to do something about it, we relax into the experience, seeing it clearly and letting it be as it is. ~ Noah Levine

Not by the Platonic device of uniting the strong and fair with the strong and fair, regardless of sentiment and morality, nor yet by his other device of combining dissimilar natures (Statesman), have mankind gradually passed from the brutality and licentiousness of primitive marriage to marriage Christian and civilized. Few ~ Plato

The more of God's Word you know and love, the more of God's Spirit you will experience. ~ John Piper

[2 Corinthians 1:21-22] says that God has anointed us, has sealed us, and has given us the pledge, the foretaste, of the Spirit. If we are going to minister something of Christ to others, we have to experience Christ by the working of the cross, and the working of the cross is for the anointing, the sealing, and the pledge of the Spirit. ~ Witness Lee

A pacifist will often - at least nowadays - be an internationalist and vice versa. But history shows us that a pacifist need not think internationally. ~ Christian Lous Lange