Cornelius "Neal" Plantinga, Jr. (born 14 February 1946 in Jamestown, North Dakota) was president of Calvin Theological Seminary in Grand Rapids, Michigan from 2002 through 2011.
To speak of sin without grace is to minimize the resurrection of Jesus Christ, the fruit of the Spirit, and the hope of shalom.
People tethered to God by faith can let themselves go because they know they will get themselves back.
Patience is like good motor oil. It doesn't remove all the contaminants. It just puts them into suspension so they don't get into your works and seize them up. Patient people have, so to speak, a large crankcase. They can put a lot of irritants into suspension.
A humble person is more likely to be self confident. . . a person with real humility knows how much they are loved.
Recalling and confessing our sin is like taking out the garbage: once is not enough.
We know the excitement of getting a present - we love to unwrap it to see what is inside. So it is with our children. They are gifts we unwrap for years as we discover the unique characters God has made them.
To try deliberately for self-actualization is like trying very hard to fall asleep or to have a good time.
. . . the way to thrive is to help others thrive; the way to flourish is to help others flourish; the way to fulfill yourself is to spend yourself.
All sin is equally wrong, but not all sin is equally bad.
At every stage, addiction is driven by one of the most powerful, mysterious, and vital forces of human existence. What drives addiction is longing--a longing not just of brain, belly, or loins but finally of the heart.
Because they are human beings, addicts long for wholeness, for fulfillment, and for the final good that believers call God. Like all idolatries, addiction taps this vital spiritual force and draws off its energies to objects and processes that drain the addict instead of fulfilling him.
In the Bible, shalom means universal flourishing, wholeness, and delight--a rich state of affairs in which natural needs are satisfied and natural gifts fruitfully employed, a state of affairs that inspires joyful wonder as its Creator and Savior opens doors and welcomes the creatures in whom he delights. Shalom, in other words, is the way things ought to be.
For the Christian church. . . . to ignore, euphemize, or otherwise mute the lethal reality of sin is to cut the nerve of the gospel. For the sober truth is that without full disclosure on sin, the gospel of grace becomes impertinent, unnecessary, and finally uninteresting.
To be a responsible person is to find one's role in the building of shalom, the re-webbing of God, humanity and all creation in justice, harmony, fulfillment and delight. To be a responsible person is to find one's own role and then, funded by the grace of God, to fill this role and to delight in it.
It must be an odd feeling to be thankful to nobody in particular. Christians in public institutions often see this odd thing happening on Thanksgiving Day. Everyone in the institution seems to be thankful 'in general. ' It's very strange. It's a little like being married in general.