Quotes from “The Holiness of God” by R.C. Sproul August 15, 2011
Very few books I’ve read have exploded my paradigms like R. C. Sproul’s “The Holiness of God.” Here are a few favorite quotes:
“It is one thing to fall victim to the flood or to fall prey to cancer; it is another thing to fall into the hands of the living God.: (p 53)
“The Old Testament list of capital crimes represents a massive reduction of the original list. It is an astonishing measure of grace. The Old Testament record is chiefly a record of the grace of God. How so? In creation all sin is deemed worthy of death. Every sin is a capital crime. God put Adam and Eve on probation and said, ‘If you sin, you will die.’ Sin brings the loss of the gift of life. The right to life is forfeited by sin. Once people sin, they forfeit any claim on God to human existence.” (p 114)
“(God) is indeed long-suffering, patient and slow to anger. In fact He is so slow to anger that when His anger does erupt, we are shocked and offended by it. … Instead of taking advantage of this patience by coming humbly to Him for forgiveness, we use this grace as an opportunity to become more bold in our sin.” (p 117)
“The most violent expression of God’s wrath and justice is seen in the cross. If ever a person had room to complain of injustice, it was Jesus. He was the only innocent man ever to be punished by God. If we stagger at the wrath of God, let us stagger at the Cross.” (p 121)
As soon as we talk about deserving something, we are no longer talking about grace; we are talking about justice. Only justice can be deserved. God is never obligated to be merciful. Mercy and grace must be voluntary or they are no longer mercy and grace.” (p 127)
“God is not obligated to treat all people equally.” (p 128)
Access to the Father is ours. But we still must tremble before our God. He is still holy. Our trembling is the tremor of awe and veneration, not the trembling of the coward or the pagan. We are to fear God not with a servile fear like that of a prisoner before his tormentor but as children who do not wish to displease their beloved Father.” (pp 153-4)