“To be convinced in our hearts that we have forgiveness of sins and peace with God by grace alone is the hardest thing.”

— Martin Luther

Source: Commentary on Galatians

Last update Oct. 1, 2023. History

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Martin Luther214

seminal figure in Protestant Reformation 1483–1546

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“O God, if there is a God, forgive him his sins, if there is such a thing as sin.”

Evelyn Waugh book Brideshead Revisited

Brideshead Revisited (1945)

“Cheap grace means grace as a doctrine, a principle, a system. It means forgiveness of sins proclaimed as a general truth, the love of God taught as the Christian "conception" of God. An intellectual assent to that idea is held to be of itself sufficient to secure remission of sins. The church which holds the correct doctrine of grace has, it is supposed, ipso facto a part of that grace. In such a Church the world finds a cheap covering for its sins; no contrition is required, still less any real desire to be delivered from sin. Cheap grace therefore amounts to a denial of the living Word of God, in fact, a denial of the Incarnation of the Word of God.
Cheap grace means the justification of sin without the justification of the sinner. Grace alone does everything, they say, and so everything can remain as it was before.”

Dietrich Bonhoeffer (1906–1945) German Lutheran pastor, theologian, dissident anti-Nazi

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Costly Grace (1937)

“Now, justification in this life is given to us according to these three things: first by the laver of regeneration by which all sins are forgiven; then, by a struggle with the faults from whose guilt we have been absolved; the third, when our prayer is heard, in which we say: ‘Forgive us our debts,’ because however bravely we fight against our faults, we are men; but the grace of God so aids as we fight in this corruptible body that there is reason for His hearing us as we ask forgiveness.”

Aurelius Augustinus (354–430) early Christian theologian and philosopher

Against Julian, Book II, ch. 8, 22. In The Fathers of the Church, Matthew A. Schumacher, tr., 1957, ISBN 0813214009 ISBN 9780813214009pp. 83-84. http://books.google.com/books?id=lxED1d6DAXoC&pg=PA83&lpg=PA83&dq=%22justification+in+this+life+is+given+to+us+according+to+these+three+things%22&source=bl&ots=K9fP-vBQqj&sig=2yV56Mq2aukLy8iM1FvpSfmULqA&hl=en&ei=8ZuCTdXGC4WO0QGCl-HGCA&sa=X&oi=book_result&ct=result&resnum=1&ved=0CBUQ6AEwAA#v=onepage&q=%22justification%20in%20this%20life%20is%20given%20to%20us%20according%20to%20these%20three%20things%22&f=false <br class="br">Contra Julianum

“If a woman sleeps alone it puts a shame on all men. God has a very big heart, but there is one sin He will not forgive. If a woman calls a man to her bed and he will not go.”

Nikos Kazantzakis book Zorba the Greek

Source: Zorba the Greek

“When the sins of our fathers visit us
We do not have to play host.
We can banish them with forgiveness
As God, in his His Largeness and Laws.”

August Wilson Fences

Source: Fences

“We have, now, matter of mourning: for our sin is cause of Christ’s pains; and we have, lastingly, matter of joy: for endless love made Him to suffer. And therefore the creature that seeth and feeleth the working of love by grace, hateth nought but sin: for of all things, to my sight, love and hate are hardest and most unmeasureable contraries. And notwithstanding all this, I saw and understood in our Lord’s meaning that we may not in this life keep us from sin as wholly in full cleanness as we shall be in Heaven. But we may well by grace keep us from the sins which would lead us to endless pains, as Holy Church teacheth us; and eschew venial reasonably up to our might. And if we by our blindness and our wretchedness any time fall, we should readily rise, knowing the sweet touching of grace, and with all our will amend us upon the teaching of Holy Church, according as the sin is grievous, and go forthwith to God in love; and neither, on the one side, fall over low, inclining to despair, nor, on the other side, be over-reckless, as if we made no matter of it; but nakedly acknowledge our feebleness, finding that we may not stand a twinkling of an eye but by Keeping of grace, and reverently cleave to God, on Him only trusting.
For after one wise is the Beholding by God, and after another wise is the Beholding by man. For it belongeth to man meekly to accuse himself, and it belongeth to the proper Goodness of our Lord God courteously to excuse man.”

Julian of Norwich (1342–1416) English theologian and anchoress

Summations, Chapter 52

“Peace needs to be in everyone's life. Of all the things we have tried in this world, there is one thing we have never given a chance. That one thing is peace. If we want to hope for something, maybe we could hope in our heart that peace will come in our life. The peace that we are looking for is within. It is in the heart, waiting to be felt, and I can help you get in touch with it. It is not the world that needs peace; it is people. When people in the world are at peace within, the world will be at peace.”

Prem Rawat (1957) controversial spiritual leader

Undated <br class="br">Source: Wikipedia article http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Prem_Rawat.

“We're more concerned about our own "victory" over sin than we are about the fact that our sins grieve God's heart.”

Jerry Bridges (1929–2016) American writer

Source: The Pursuit of Holiness

“When we by Mercy of God and with His help accord us to Nature and Grace, we shall see verily that sin is in sooth viler and more painful than hell, without likeness: for it is contrary to our fair nature. For as verily as sin is unclean, so verily is it unnatural, and thus an horrible thing to see for the loved soul that would be all fair and shining in the sight of God, as Nature and Grace teacheth.”

Julian of Norwich (1342–1416) English theologian and anchoress

Summations, Chapter 63

“If you are going to sin, sin against God, not the bureaucracy. God will forgive you but the bureaucracy won't.”

Hyman George Rickover (1900–1986) United States admiral

As quoted in The New York Times (3 November 1986)

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