The Good News We Almost Forgot Quotes

“I’ll forever be grateful to my childhood pastor for making me read the Heidelberg Catechism and meet in his office with him to talk about it before I made a profession of faith in the fourth grade. I was nervous to meet with him, even more nervous to meet before all the elders. But both meetings were pleasant. And besides, I was forced to read through all 129 questions and answers at age nine.That was a blessing I didn’t realize at the time. Ever since then I’ve had a copy of the Catechism and have grown to understand it and cherish it more and more over the years.”
― Kevin DeYoung, The Good News We Almost Forgot: Rediscovering the Gospel in a 16th Century Catechism

“We must be given a new heart. We must be regenerated. We must be converted. We must be changed. The Christian life-the life of faith in God, hope in Christ, and love for others-necessitates, first of all, a life that has been given a supernatural new start by the Holy Spirit. We must be born again.”
― Kevin DeYoung, The Good News We Almost Forgot: Rediscovering the Gospel in a 16th Century Catechism

“We are not our own: in so far as we can, let us therefore forget ourselves and all that is ours.”
― Kevin DeYoung, The Good News We Almost Forgot: Rediscovering the Gospel in a 16th Century Catechism

“The gospel is “believe in the Lord Jesus, and you will be saved” (Acts 16:31), not “believe in the Lord Jesus Christ and cooperate with transforming grace and you shall be saved.” There is nothing we contribute to our salvation but our sin, no merit we bring but Christ’s, and nothing necessary for justification except for faith alone.”
― Kevin DeYoung, The Good News We Almost Forgot: Rediscovering the Gospel in a 16th Century Catechism

“A second mark of crusty Christians is approachability, as in, not having any. There is a sizing up-ness that makes some theological types unnecessarily prickly. They are bright and opinionated and quickly analytical. They can also be incessantly critical. Crusty Christians are hard to be around. They are intimidating instead of engaging and growling instead of gracious. They are too willing to share their opinions on everything and unable to put any doctrine in any category not marked “absolutely essential.”
― Kevin DeYoung, The Good News We Almost Forgot: Rediscovering the Gospel in a 16th Century Catechism

“47. Q. BUT ISN’T CHRIST WITH US UNTIL THE END OF THE WORLD AS HE PROMISED US? A. Christ is truly human and truly God. In His human nature Christ is not now on earth; but in His divinity, majesty, grace, and Spirit He is not absent from us for a moment.”
― Kevin DeYoung, The Good News We Almost Forgot: Rediscovering the Gospel in a 16th Century Catechism

“35. Q. WHAT DOES IT MEAN THAT HE “WAS CONCEIVED BY THE HOLY SPIRIT AND BORN OF THE VIRGIN MARY”? A. That the eternal Son of God, who is and remains true and eternal God, took to Himself, through the working of the Holy Spirit, from the flesh and blood of the virgin Mary, a truly human nature so that He might become David’s true descendant, like His brothers in every way except for sin.”
― Kevin DeYoung, The Good News We Almost Forgot: Rediscovering the Gospel in a 16th Century Catechism

“J. I. Packer, author of the classic Knowing God, once summarized the gospel in just three words: “adoption through propitiation.” Now, it strikes me as close to cheating when your simple summary uses two big Latinate words that beg for further explanation, but I have to hand it to Packer; his definition is elegantly profound. The short and sweet of the gospel is this: The wrath of God has been turned away from sinners because of the death of Christ so that we might be reconciled to God and brought into His family.”
― Kevin DeYoung, The Good News We Almost Forgot: Rediscovering the Gospel in a 16th Century Catechism

“Providence is nothing more than a belief in God the Father almighty, creator of heaven and earth, brought to bear on our present blessings and troubles and buoying our hope into the future.”
― Kevin DeYoung, The Good News We Almost Forgot: Rediscovering the Gospel in a 16th Century Catechism

“We often hear that all religions are basically the same in that they all encourage us to love our neighbors, help the poor, forgive others, and generally be kind, compassionate people. Even if this were true (which it isn’t when you get down to specifics), it would miss the point, because Christianity is not a religion mainly about a moral code to keep. Christianity is about a God who saves people who don’t keep the moral code. The”
― Kevin DeYoung, The Good News We Almost Forgot: Rediscovering the Gospel in a 16th Century Catechism