The Power of the Gospel: A Year in Romans by R.C. Sproul. Ligonier Ministries. 535 pages. 2024
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This devotional book is based on the preaching ministry of R.C. Sproul at Saint Andrews Chapel in Sanford, Florida. Portions of the devotional were previously published under the title Romans: An Expositional Commentary. The book includes readings and an “Application” for Monday through Saturday each week of the year. I used this book as a part of my devotional reading in 2025.
Below are 30 helpful quotes from the book:
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BOOK REVIEW ~ More of this review…
BOOK NEWS ~ Links to Interesting Articles
BOOK CLUB ~ Tim Keller on the Christian Life: The Transforming Power of the Gospel by Matt Smethurst
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- The gospel is under attack in the church today. I cannot stress enough how important it is to get the gospel right and to understand both the objective aspect of the person and work of Jesus and the subjective dimension of how we benefit from that by faith alone.
- People say that God is a God of love, not a God of wrath, but that is not the God of Scripture. The God of love revealed in Scripture is also angry with sin. He is the God of justice, righteousness, and holiness.
- The idea that people are basically good strikes at the heart of the gospel. Every sin, even the most “minor” sin, is rebellion against God and a violation of His law.
- Our justification is by faith alone, but our rewards in heaven will be distributed according to our works.
- Making a verbal confession of faith is no guarantee of salvation. What is in the heart determines our redemption.
- No one seeks after Christ until he has first been found by Christ—that begins the seeking of the kingdom.
- The good news of the gospel is that God pronounces people just, astonishingly enough, while they are still sinners because of the righteousness of Christ.
- Our faith is not the meritorious basis for our justification. Rather, Christ and His righteousness alone merit our justification. Faith, however, is the means by which we take hold of His righteousness.
- Christ as our substitute took upon Himself the wrath that we deserve, to pay the penalty that was due for our guilt to satisfy the demands of God’s justice.
- If all He did was maintain His righteousness without extending the imputation of that righteousness to us, He would not be the justifier. He is both just and justifier, which is the marvel of the gospel.
- The sacraments of the church are an important part of a vibrant faith because they are means of grace, reminders to us of our justification that provide us with greater measures of assurance.
- The purpose of worship is to ascribe glory to God, to honor and revere Him, to adore Him in the excellence of His being.
- Be sure that when doubts assail you, you rehearse truth to yourself. The great remedy to false doctrine is true doctrine, for which you must go to God’s Word.
- The very essence of the gospel is that someone else’s righteousness counts for us.
- The only way that we can have any assurance of salvation is by looking at grace, not at our performance or achievements. That is why we have to get justification by faith in our bloodstream every minute of every day.
- The primary business of the Christian life is the quest for righteousness.
- What our morality can never achieve, God can achieve. What our behavior and performance are incapable of attaining, God can attain for us. That is the gospel. We cannot; He can. It is that simple.
- Remember that we are never alone in our suffering and that we will one day experience glory in a manner like Christ. Our present suffering will be incomparable to what we will enjoy on that day.
- When the Spirit, who searches the deep things of God and knows our souls and the mind of the Father, helps us to pray as we ought, we begin to pray according to the will of God.
- We have nothing to fear from the afflictions we have to endure in this present life, because all these things are every moment working together under the sovereignty of God for good. If we love Him, good is working for the believer.
- Personal, redemptive, spiritual knowledge of God comes only as a result of the work of the Holy Spirit within our hearts and minds.
- Justification is not just an abstract doctrine, and we must never negotiate it. It is the very heart and soul of the gospel.
- God reserves to Himself the sovereign, absolute right to give grace to some and withhold that grace from others.
- I venture to say that at least 80 percent of Christian church members in our country believe that they can get to heaven through their good works.
- The gospel is proclaimed universally, but its benefits are offered only to believers, those who hear the Word and are brought to faith in and through the Word.
- When the Lord God exercises His redeeming call on someone, it is final; He never takes it back.
- Human life is so sacred that if you rise up without just cause and kill your neighbor, you forfeit all rights and privileges to your own life.
- The principle is easy: we are always to obey the authorities over us unless those authorities command us to do something that God forbids, or forbids us from doing something that God commands.
- Life in the kingdom is about loving the things of God and loving those for whom Christ died. That is the recipe for mature Christian unity.
- We must be acquainted with true doctrine to spot false doctrine.
- The Gospel Coalition 2025 Book Awards. Andrew Spencer writes that the annual list of best books from the Gospel Coalition “is a list of 22 books we recommend as helpful resources for the church and for individual believers.”
- Study, Savor and Share Scripture: Becoming What We Behold. My wife Tammy has published a book about HOW to study the Bible. The book is available on Amazon in both a Kindle and paperback edition. She writes “Maybe you have read the Bible but want to dig deeper and know God and know yourself better. Throughout the book I use the analogy of making a quilt to show how the Bible is telling one big story about what God is doing in the world through Christ. Quilting takes much patience and precision, just like studying the Bible, but the end result is well worth it.”
- Here are some other “favorite books of 2025 lists” – Trevin Wax, Kevin DeYoung, and Tim Challies.
Won’t you read along with us?
Tim Keller on the Christian Life: The Transforming Power of the Gospel by Matt Smethurst
Pastor and author Timothy Keller (1950–2023) built a lasting legacy in Christian ministry, planting Redeemer Presbyterian Church and cofounding the Gospel Coalition. With sharp biblical insight that has shaped countless church leaders, along with counsel on the Christian life that has stirred and strengthened audiences worldwide, Keller’s teaching promises to influence generations to come.
Synthesizing Keller’s work topic by topic, each chapter of this book highlights a key aspect of the Christian life—covering his views on prayer, suffering, friendship, vocation, intimacy with God, and more. Written by pastor Matt Smethurst, Tim Keller on the Christian Life draws from Keller’s nearly 50 years of sermons, conference messages, and books to share practical theological insight that will galvanize leaders and laypeople alike.
As we read through this book, we now look at Chapter 4: Friends on Purpose How the Gospel Transforms Relationships. Here are a few helpful quotes from this chapter:
- Friendship should matter to us because it matters so deeply to God.
- There are few things that dehumanize us more than loneliness—and few things that bring life to us more than friendship.
- Authentic friendship will be forged only to the degree that each person is willing to be vulnerable—truly open and honest.
- The gospel is the most radical act of friendship in the history of the world.
- The cross is the pinnacle of burden bearing—and the burden crushed him to death because he’s the ultimate Friend.
- In gospel friendship, we get the privilege of watching the Great Sculptor chisel away at his masterpieces—beginning with ourselves.
