The following are 20 quotes from Sinclair Ferguson’s new book, Worthy: Living in Light of the Gospel. Worthy is the second volume in the Gospel Integrity Series, edited by Michael Reeves.
In this short, accessible guide, Ferguson explains the importance of living worthy of the gospel, why the principle is often forgotten, and how it’s cultivated. Clarifying the difference between biblical obedience and legalism, Ferguson exhorts believers to pursue Christlikeness, offering practical examples from Scripture. The second book of the Growing Gospel Integrity series, Worthy helps Christians, students, pastors, and those preparing for ministry to live as citizens of heaven rather than citizens of the world.
- “Since Eden we have all been legalists by nature. The assumption that somehow or another we have to do something to earn our way into God’s favor is the default position of the human heart.”
- “The gospel tells us to bathe in God’s grace.”
- “Emphasizing God’s grace in Christ in reaction to legalism is not necessarily the same thing as understanding the grace of God in Christ.”
- “The richer and fuller the exposition of the grace of God in Christ, the safer it is to expound the all-demanding commands that flow from it as a result.”
- “Knowing Christ as Savior and knowing him as Lord can never be separated; nor can justification and sanctification. They belong together in Christ.”
- “The grace of God in Christ provides us with a new identity, a heavenly one; it follows that this—and not our natural identity—determines everything we do. Our identity, our citizenship, is heavenly.”
- “Living “worthy of the gospel of Christ” is not a matter of techniques. It involves the development of Christian character. It’s about who and what we become in Christ. It is a slow, all-demanding, and arduous process.”
- “The gospel of Jesus Christ transforms our character and builds Christlikeness into it—a Christlikeness that cannot be hidden and makes its own impression on others. For becoming ‘worthy of the gospel of Christ’ is, in simple terms, becoming more like the Lord Jesus.”
- “God’s indicatives are the foundation for all of his imperatives; his resources are the source of our transformation. We are never thrown back on our own resources but are always invited into his.”
- “The believer is someone who, through his or her faith union with the Lord Jesus, has died to the dominion or lordship of sin and been raised to new life. More than that, our true life is now hidden with Christ in God.”
- “The gospel calls us to a style of walking that is recognizable anywhere.”
- “Because our justification is actually Christ’s justification for us, we can rejoice in the hope of glory.”
- “The greatest saint is no more justified than the newest believer! That justification is sure; it is perfect; it is irreversible; it is therefore final. It is guaranteed!”
- “God’s word preached does not merely tell us to work; it does the work.”
- “Preaching is not merely information being communicated by word of mouth. The exposition of a passage of Scripture is not intended to be a popular-level commentary in spoken form but an encounter with the God who speaks.”
- “At the end of the day, only what is Christlike in your life and character will last for eternity.”
- “Our transformation into the likeness of Jesus Christ has been God’s purpose for us from before the dawn of creation. It is central to his purposes for us. And he will stop at nothing to accomplish it. He will spare nothing to make you like his Son.”
- “The life that is worthy of the gospel inevitably leaves behind a gospel aroma, the scent of the Lord Jesus.”
- “Living in a way that … is ’worthy’ of the gospel means being willing to take the slave’s role of kneeling before others and washing their dirty feet, with our hands full of love.”
- “Christlikeness is produced by the pattern of Christ’s death and resurrection being reproduced in his disciples. This is the ground plan on which the Christian life is built; this is the mold that shapes the new life in Christ.”
