82 year old James I. Packer was born in England, and has lived in Vancouver, Canada since 1979. He is a theologian and a historian, and one of the most prolific Christian writers of the 20th (and now 21st), century. His best known, and, IMHO, best work is Knowing God, written in 1971. He also wrote Evangelism and the Sovereignty of God, Quest for Godliness and many others. He has been a college professor, and is Editor in Chief of the English Standard Version of the Bible, and is an Associate Editor of the Reformation Study Bible of which R. C. Sproul was General Editor.
Some are going to say "Charles, I thought you were a fundamentalist?" I have been classified as that, and also a Calvinist, a hyper-Calvinist, a Puritan, and even an Arminian! Whatever you want to call me is okay, but I prefer to be called a Christian, though I am not worthy to be. Packer is an Anglican Calvinist, and at times he has made some questionable decisions. I am by conviction a Baptist, so there are areas of disagreement. But as Rolfe Barnard has said "I believe that God is going to evangelize the world through Baptists, but He doesn't have to."
Everything I have read by J.I. Packer has been helpful to me. All of has seemed scripturally sound, so the benefits outweigh the problems, at least for me.
Here are some J. I. Packer examples:
CALVARY
"Puritan preaching revolved around CHRIST and HIM crucified, for this is the hub of the Bible. The preacher's commission is to declare the whole counsel of GOD; but the cross is the center of that counsel, and the Puritans knew that the traveler through the Bible Landscape misses his way as soon as he loses sight of the hill called CALVARY." ( from A Quest for Godliness, page 286, Crossway Books Wheaton, IL 60187)
AMERICAN CHRISTIANITY
" North American Christianity is 3000 miles wide and 1/2 inch deep." (also in A Quest for Godliness)
JUSTIFICATION BY FAITH
"Martin Luther described the doctrine of justification by faith as the article of faith that decides whether the church is standing or falling. By this he meant that when this doctrine is understood, believed, and preached, as it was in NewTestament times, the church stands in the grace of God and is alive; but where it is neglected, overlaid, or denied, ... the church falls from grace and its life drains away, leaving it in a state of darkness and death." (World of Quotes) i.e, worldofquotes.com)
PRESENTING THE FAITH
AMERICAN CHRISTIANITY
" North American Christianity is 3000 miles wide and 1/2 inch deep." (also in A Quest for Godliness)
JUSTIFICATION BY FAITH
"Martin Luther described the doctrine of justification by faith as the article of faith that decides whether the church is standing or falling. By this he meant that when this doctrine is understood, believed, and preached, as it was in NewTestament times, the church stands in the grace of God and is alive; but where it is neglected, overlaid, or denied, ... the church falls from grace and its life drains away, leaving it in a state of darkness and death." (World of Quotes) i.e, worldofquotes.com)
PRESENTING THE FAITH
"Our business is to present the Christian faith clothed in modern terms, not to propagate modern thought clothed in Christian terms. Confusion here is fatal." (cma-ministries.org)
GOD ONLY WISE
"What does the Bible mean when it calls God wise? In scripture wisdom is a moral as well as intellectual quality, more that mere intelligence or knowledge, just as it is more than mere cleverness or cunning.To be truly wise, in the Bible sense, one's intelligence and cleverness must be harnessed to a right end. Wisdom is the power to see and the inclination to choose, the best and highest goal, together with the surest means of attaining it.
Wisdom is, in fact, the practical side of moral goodness. As such, it is found in its fullness only in God. He alone is naturally and entirely and invariably wise. 'His wisdom ever waketh', says the hymn, and it is true. God is never other than wise in anything that He does. Wisdom, as the old theologians used to say, is His essence, just as power, and truth, and goodness are His essence --integral elements, that is, in His character." (Knowing God, chapter nine, page 80; 1974 edition; InterVarsity Press, Downers Grove, IL 60515, USA
You can run a google search and find many more small quotes by this man, and even some online books. Hope it is some benefit to all. cw
GOD ONLY WISE
"What does the Bible mean when it calls God wise? In scripture wisdom is a moral as well as intellectual quality, more that mere intelligence or knowledge, just as it is more than mere cleverness or cunning.To be truly wise, in the Bible sense, one's intelligence and cleverness must be harnessed to a right end. Wisdom is the power to see and the inclination to choose, the best and highest goal, together with the surest means of attaining it.
Wisdom is, in fact, the practical side of moral goodness. As such, it is found in its fullness only in God. He alone is naturally and entirely and invariably wise. 'His wisdom ever waketh', says the hymn, and it is true. God is never other than wise in anything that He does. Wisdom, as the old theologians used to say, is His essence, just as power, and truth, and goodness are His essence --integral elements, that is, in His character." (Knowing God, chapter nine, page 80; 1974 edition; InterVarsity Press, Downers Grove, IL 60515, USA
You can run a google search and find many more small quotes by this man, and even some online books. Hope it is some benefit to all. cw
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