Aside from heroes of the faith that are everywhere in our Bible, we can find inspiration and encouragement from Christian giants of the past. Characters found in the Bible and people who we look up to that can’t be seen in action in the Scriptures, serve the same God. That God gave His Son to elect them and the Spirit fuels their boldness and zeal to proclaim His truths.
You can find these Christian giants here in this new book titled 10 Dead Guys You Should Know, written by Ian Maddock, Stuart Coulton, and Rachel Ciano. You can buy the book by clicking here and read the review over my blog. Here’s my favorite quotes from that book:
“Anselm’s world was very different from our own, his commitment to ‘faith seeking understanding’—a deeper knowledge of God motivated by a humble dependence on God—is one that we can aspire to just as much as he did.”
“We must preserve the fundamental truths of the gospel with gentleness and kindness, but with firm conviction also. Athanasius never wavered from the truth he defended. Nor must we.”
“These two truths—Augustine’s right assessment of himself as a sinner, and his right assessment of God’s grace towards him in his sin—are two truths that are arguably his greatest legacy to the Church.”
“Baxter’s heavenly mindedness is at the same time a challenge and comfort to us living in this world today. He encourages us to mimic him in this most beneficial habit of viewing life through the lens of the end, of thinking of two worlds simultaneously, of seeing life on earth as preparation for heaven.”
“While Christians have always privileged the Bible as our ultimate authority in matters of faith and practice, we’ve also typically recognized that the Christian life is both an intergenerational and communal activity.”
“Anything less than a biblical understanding of the divinity of Jesus was a denial of everything that was fundamental and unique to Christianity.”
“Luther reminds us that our study of the Bible, and our reflections upon the deep theological issues of our time, must always lead us into a humble dependence upon God, and a confidence in God and His Word borne out of our own experience of God’s faithfulness to us in the furnace of life.”
“The best life cannot and will not be found in this one, but instead is to be found in the next, when we shall experience perfection in us, perfection in others, and will rejoice forever in the glorious presence of our Lord.”
