God’s names are not empty sounds (like the names of people), but they have meaning and contribute to our knowledge of God.

Geerhardus Vos, Reformed Dogmatics, trans. & ed. Richard B. Gaffin Jr., 13.

That we are able to know God truly rests on the fact that God has made us in His own image, thus an impression of Himself, albeit from the greatest distance. Because we ourselves are spirit, possess a mind, will, etc., we know what it means when in His Word God ascribes these things to Himself.

Geerhardus Vos, Reformed Dogmatics, trans. & ed. Richard B. Gaffin Jr., 12.

Spurgeon puts it this way: “Holiness is not the way to Christ; Christ is the way of holiness.” Outside of Him, there is no holiness. Holiness is not a mere list of dos and don’ts; it is a life in Jesus Christ. Christ is the way of sanctification (1 Cor. 1:30).

Joel R. Beeke, Living for God’s Glory, Loc. 2838.

Can you recall a time in your life when someone has said something to you that changed the way you saw the world? . . .

A few years ago, I was preparing to teach at a recovery ministry event. A fellow leader and I were discussing some nuances on how I could best communicate a key point. This may seem a bit obscure, but he shared a phrase from the Protestant Reformation that forever shifted my thinking. These words have both haunted my theological point of view and given me great comfort ever since. It’s the crescendo statement of Martin Luther’s Heidelberg Disputation, “God’s love does not find, but creates, that which is pleasing to it.” . . . Let it seep into your bones.

Matt Johnson, Getting Jesus Wrong, 102-103.

The Christian life isn’t a climb to spiritual excellence and achievement; it’s a pattern of death and resurrection. Repentance and forgiveness. This is the circular pattern of the Christian life. Where the Law has said “do this and live” (and it never gets done), Jesus says, “I have done it all,” and the believer rests in that finished work. Repentance and forgiveness, repentance and forgiveness until we get that big old dirt nap. As we’ve said all along, God deals in death and resurrections, so it’s going to work out.

Matt Johnson, Getting Jesus Wrong, 91.

Sometimes I wonder why God used bread and wine to deliver grace to us. But then I think, maybe it’s because when we’re eating it’s the only time we shut up and stop talking. We stop talking about our future plans or even our own failures. While our mouths are busy consuming, God gives us the pure gift of himself. You don’t have to do anything special or be anywhere special in order to receive that.

Matt Johnson, Getting Jesus Wrong, 58.

It’s true. We Christians can buy into some pretty dumb things sometimes.

Matt Johnson, Getting Jesus Wrong, 13.

It’s only by faith that we can grasp that God reveals his character on the cross. On the cross, God subverted everything we intuitively understand about power.

Matt Johnson, Getting Jesus Wrong, 10.

In 2012, a scholarly study came out that attempted to answer how Christians can come to such opposing conclusions when they look at political issues through the eyes of their faith. The basic gist of the study was that Christians characterize Jesus in their own image and project their politics and priorities onto the divine will.

Matt Johnson, Getting Jesus Wrong, 7.

Even Jesus’s disciples — the twelve men who had spent three years with him — continually missed the point of who he was and what he was up to. They wanted a king to overthrow the Romans and restore their people to cultural, political, and religious significance. They thought they needed a powerful military leader unafraid of storming the castle. Instead, they got a Savior who died on a cross.

Matt Johnson, Getting Jesus Wrong, 5.