The overarching theme in this book is to share the good news, the gospel with people, and God will change hearts and minds, through His Word. Dr. E. Stanley Jones says, "I present what I have and leave him to come to his own conclusions. I am pressed to show the difference between faiths. I always refuse." Dr. Jones presents the gospel, and lets God do the work.
"Christianity is never to be compared with any other religion; it is always to be contrasted."
"Don't adulterate or tone down your religion."
"I would not walk across the street for religion, but I'm willing to go to (Ukraine) for the sake of the gospel!"
The last Sunday I was at my home church, our pastor, Rich Kannwischer preached on "The Gospel vs. Religion, via the Pharisees." "The best way to avoid Jesus, is to avoid sin." How timely!? And then at my Aunt Sheila and Uncle Driveway's church, Calvary Baptist, the speaker, Chris Price, preached on Religion vs. Gospel.
- Religion is man-made; the gospel is God-given
- Religion is what man does for God; the gospel is what God has done for man
- Religion is good views; the gospel is good news
- Religion says, "attain"; the gospel says, "obtain"
- Religion says, "save yourself"; the gospel says, "surrender yourself"
- Religion says, "do this and do that"; the gospel says, "it is done."
"The Christian faith is Christ, and is what it is because he is what He is."
The following quote I found interesting, because I taught at MacArthur HS, named after General Douglas MacArthur.
"Japan is another clear example of what happens to a spiritual vacuum when the Christian Church fails to move in at the appropriate time. The Japanese people soon discovered they were without a faith (after World War II). A feeling of frustration, hopelessness, and insecurity swept over the land. Sensing the situation, Gen. Douglas MacArthur, commander of the Allied Occupying Forces and a professing Christian, issued a call to the Church in the U.S.A. to send 1,000 missionaries and tens of thousands of bibles to Japan."
