Good or God? Quotes

“If you believe in the Gospel what you like, and reject what you don’t like, it is not the Gospel you believe, but yourself.”
― John Bevere, Good or God?: Why Good Without God Isn't Enough

“True worship is revealed by who we obey, not who we sing to.”
― John Bevere, Good or God?: Why Good Without God Isn't Enough

“If there are two churches next to each other, and you know in one of them you might hear words that will deal pointedly with your sinful behavior, and in the other you will only hear an uplifting, encouraging word, you’ll pick the latter. This is what Paul said would eventually happen—people would choose good over God. The correct question is not what is more desirable, but what is more beneficial?”
― John Bevere, Good or God?: Why Good Without God Isn't Enough

“It doesn’t matter how good something looks, how happy it makes you, how much fun it is, how rich and successful you’ll become, how deeply spiritual it appears, how sensible it seems, how popular or accepted it is—and the list goes on and on. If something is contrary to the wisdom (or Word) of God, it will ultimately be detrimental and bring sorrow to your life.”
― John Bevere, Good or God?: Why Good Without God Isn't Enough

“[The Christian] does not think God will love us because we are good, but that God will make us good because He loves us. . . —C.S. Lewis”
― John Bevere, Good or God?: Why Good Without God Isn't Enough

“Church leader. I urge you to teach the whole counsel of God. Make sure your chief motive is feeding the sheep truth and genuinely reaching the lost with the full biblical message of salvation rather than building a big following. If your primary goal is to get those who attend to come back to next week’s service, ask the Holy Spirit to forgive you and refocus your principal strategy on shepherding the flock of God with truth. Stay relevant, fresh, and innovative in method but timeless in message. Believer”
― John Bevere, Good or God?: Why Good Without God Isn't Enough

“In essence he declared, “If I have to choose between Your presence and Your blessing, I’ll take Your presence—even if it’s in a place of lack and hardship—over Your blessing in a great environment.”
― John Bevere, Good or God?: Why Good Without God Isn't Enough

“If Your Presence does not go with us, do not bring us up from here.” (Exodus 33:15) As a reminder, where was here? It was the place of lack, adversity, stress, and hardship—the desert. Moses gave a reply that’s perplexing, even mind-boggling, to the average person. In essence he declared, “If I have to choose between Your presence and Your blessing, I’ll take Your presence—even if it’s in a place of lack and hardship—over Your blessing in a great environment.” Was Moses delusional? Had the desert sun distorted his sense of judgment? No. His internal GPS was set on what was best. It was directing him to make the best choice even when God was offering him a good choice, one that common sense and uncomfortable circumstances would have dictated he accept.”
― John Bevere, Good or God?: Why Good Without God Isn't Enough

“The golden rule for understanding spiritually is not intellect, but obedience. —Oswald Chambers”
― John Bevere, Good or God?: Why Good Without God Isn't Enough

“To fall in love with God is the greatest romance; to seek him the greatest adventure; to find him, the greatest human achievement. —St. Augustine of Hippo O”
― John Bevere, Good or God?: Why Good Without God Isn't Enough

“Because the Western church has emphasized the work Jesus did for us as Savior rather than His position as Lord, lack of submission to His position of authority creates a significant fault in our foundation. Hear”
― John Bevere, Good or God?: Why Good Without God Isn't Enough

“The destined end of man is not happiness, nor health, but holiness. —Oswald Chambers L”
― John Bevere, Good or God?: Why Good Without God Isn't Enough

“Any program about highlighting benevolence, protecting the innocent, or sacrificing time to help the underdog grew in popularity. Included in our list of reality viewing were shows about police or bounty hunters apprehending evil criminals. These too became some of the most-watched programs. To sum it all up, our entertainment is often centered on the good of humanity. Sales and Marketing 101 teaches us that a product must feel, look, sound, taste, or smell good in order to succeed in the marketplace. It must elevate the consumer’s senses or emotions to a better and happier state. We know that good items will sell. After all, who would want to purchase something bad? And only twisted people would desire to procure evil. We hear comments such as “he’s a good man” or “she’s a good woman,” and we normally accept this evaluation at face value. The vulnerable quickly let down their guard and embrace every statement or action from those proclaimed to be good as safe and trustworthy. But are these assessments always accurate? Could we ever fall into the delusional state of calling what’s right wrong or what’s wrong right? Doesn’t everybody know the difference? And we certainly could never fall into the deceived state of calling good evil or evil good. Correct?”
― John Bevere, Good or God?: Why Good Without God Isn't Enough

“It is much better to tell the truth than to compromise truth and have someone believe a lie. It is far better they hear the truth now than that they believe they can keep other idols in their life—and then one day, when it’s too late, shockingly hear the Master say, “Depart; I never knew you, you who were deceived!”
― John Bevere, Good or God?: Why Good Without God Isn't Enough

“Some scholars believe there have been approximately two billion Christians on this earth from the time of Jesus’s resurrection until this day. The chances are very slim, but if it so happens that you’re the least of those two billion believers, you’re still greater than John the Baptist—which means you’re greater than Daniel. The questions that now arise are, do you really know who you are?”
― John Bevere, Good or God?: Why Good Without God Isn't Enough

“The destined end of man is not happiness, nor health, but holiness. —Oswald Chambers”
― John Bevere, Good or God?: Why Good Without God Isn't Enough

“Everything in the universe is good to the degree it conforms to the nature of God and evil as it fails to do so. —A.W. Tozer”
― John Bevere, Good or God?: Why Good Without God Isn't Enough

“We fix our attention, not on things that are seen, but on things that are unseen” (2 Corinthians 4:18 TEV). That which is unseen is the Word of God. His Word is just and accurate.”
― John Bevere, Good or God?: Why Good Without God Isn't Enough

“If Eve could be swayed in a flawless environment, what is our protection in the midst of corruption? It’s none other than Scripture.”
― John Bevere, Good or God?: Why Good Without God Isn't Enough

“Should I not partake of anything the world consumes? If so, how can I live and function in this world?”
― John Bevere, Good or God?: Why Good Without God Isn't Enough

“True love doesn't flatter; it's truthful.”
― John Bevere, Good or God?: Why Good Without God Isn't Enough

“In regard to empowerment, grace gives us the ability to go beyond our natural ability. We didn’t have the ability to deliver ourselves from hell; grace did. We shouldn’t live in freedom, but grace enables us. We couldn’t change our nature; grace did. We don’t have the ability to live holy, but grace enables us. No wonder we call it amazing!”
― John Bevere, Good or God?: Why Good Without God Isn't Enough

“In their Christian walk, many believers have bought into maintaining rather than multiplying—just barely getting by instead of experiencing abundance.”
― John Bevere, Good or God?: Why Good Without God Isn't Enough

“When we fear God, we will… • Obey Him instantly • Obey Him even if it doesn’t make sense • Obey Him even if it hurts • Obey Him even if we don’t see the benefit • Obey Him to completion”
― John Bevere, Good or God?: Why Good Without God Isn't Enough

“On another front, the clever plan of the enemy to design a Christianity devoid of holiness has made the gospel of Jesus Christ appear to be a powerless religion to many who are lost, thus making following Jesus unattractive—when in reality it’s the most fascinating life possible.”
― John Bevere, Good or God?: Why Good Without God Isn't Enough

“Here is the reality: to be changed, we need His presence!”
― John Bevere, Good or God?: Why Good Without God Isn't Enough

“God didn't introduce grace as free gift, salvation, or forgiveness of sins. Let me be clear, I am forever grateful for these amazing benefits. But they are all brought out later in the New Testament. God introduced grace as the impartation of the fullness of Christ. This speaks of possessing the nature and empowerment (John 1:16)”
― John Bevere, Good or God?: Why Good Without God Isn't Enough

“Jesus never used the benefits of the kingdom to entice people to follow him. When he called Peter, James, John, and the others, it wasn’t follow me for what I can do for you, it was follow me for who I am.”
― John Bevere, Good or God?: Why Good Without God Isn't Enough

“There are countless people who attend church, call Jesus their savior, and declare they are children of God but have not given their lives to his Lordship. are they truly saved? Is it possible to birth converts in our christian circles who aren’t children of God? Jesus stated to the children of his day, “you cross land and sea to make one convert, and then you turn that person into twice the child of hell you yourselves are.” Matt 23:15. I’m not saying our leaders in the western church are children of hell, however what I am saying is what kind of converts are we spawning? The consequence of not calling for seekers to lose their lives is converts who have found an improved lifestyle and the promise of an afterlife….but are these converts actually saved? or are they deceived? Thus making it much more difficult for them to hear the actual truth. could this message be what produces the misled followers that led Jesus to declare, depart form me, I never knew you. Is our message the same as his? Is this the way Jesus reaches out to the lost?”
― John Bevere, Good or God?: Why Good Without God Isn't Enough

“It’s possible to want intellectual stimulation, emotional gratification and social usefulness but not to want God. Because if you really want God in your life, you have to give up your own will, and that shows us the difference between someone who is actually trying to use God and someone who is trying to serve God. to use God is to seek him for what we can get out of Him. To serve God, is to be entirely motivated by our love for him.”
― John Bevere, Good or God?: Why Good Without God Isn't Enough