27 Walter J. Chantry Quotes

As Christ struggled up Calvary's hill and bled upon it, His aim was to eradicate self-love and implant the love of God in the hearts of men. One can only increase as the other decreases.

The only lasting and fully satisfying joys for any man lie on the other side of a cross.

There are no easy steps to witnessing! No painless, unembarrassing methods! You must bring men to see that they are filthy sinners under the wrath of God who must flee to Christ for mercy. That is offensive. And there is no way to coat it with honey.

Not one man has ever sacrificed for his Lord without being richly repaid. If the cross is only contrasted with earthly pleasures lost, it may seem hard and threatening. But when the cross is weighed in the balances with the glorious treasures to be had through it, even the cross seems sweet.

It is not enough to ask yourself, "Does God's Word permit me to use these good things of the world?" You must also inquire, "Will it serve the glory of God?" and, "Will it edify my fellow Christians?"

At each stage of [spiritual] growth, more self-denial is required, more painful blows to self, more reckless decision to serve the Lord Christ with consequent abandonment of one's own life.

It is to be feared that what we often have, instead of equivalency attainment, is much zeal and sincerity not systematic preparation in the Word.

The Bible as a whole speaks more of God's holiness than of His love.

Some preachers never appreciate the compliment given them when a saint disagrees with the pastor's exposition of a text. At least the Christian under his care is devoted more to Scripture than to the man in the pulpit. Under his ministry the child of God has reached a maturity to think through issues for himself and has imbibed a Berean spirit (Acts 17:11).

When a sinner refuses to come to Christ, he is guilty because he has made a free choice. It reflects his own state of mind, feeling and attitude toward GOD and His Son. He has acted voluntarily without coercion. It is his decision.

God never forces men to act against their wills. By workings of outward providence or of inward grace, the Lord may change men's minds, but He will not coerce a human being into thoughts, words or actions.

Our Good Shepherd has become the model for under-shepherds. His great concern is the good of the sheep. A good shepherd gives himself to the sheep. A thief comes to get something form the flock - wool or mutton. Jesus our Lord made every personal claim subservient to the blessing of his flock; even to giving His life that they might live.

Bearing a cross is an elaboration of Christ's demand for self-denial. Bearing a cross is every Christian's daily, conscious selection of those options which will please Christ, pain self, and aim at putting self to death.

Christian liberty then does not teach that there are things in the world in which you are free to indulge yourself. It does not suggest that you may do anything you wish with God's creation. But it teaches that there are things which you are free to enjoy and use as you serve the Lord.

Self-denial is a practice which lies very near to the heart of true religion. Without its exercise there can be no conversion to Christ. Qualities most basic to a Christian frame of heart - notably humility and meekness - would dissolve without its active expression.

Failure to see Jesus Christ as the final revelation of truth is a major error that will open the door of the church to a multitude of heresies, taught in the name of truth. Every true movement initiated by the Spirit of God leads men back to the words of Christ which were inscripturated by His own inspiration.

There is something childish and legalistic about churches in which all of the saints observe precisely the same standards. When all lives begin to sink into the same mould of denial and exercise of liberty, something is amiss.

Most of those who fail to experience the joy of the Lord have refused to take up a cross!

If you have never felt your soul poured out before the Lord with a consequent exhaustion, it is doubtful whether you have advanced far in the school of prayer.

Nothing leads to self-repudiation so much as spiritual meditation on the corruption and wickedness of your heart. If your soul has grasped human depravity you have been forced to deny yourself... No man can conclude in his heart, 'in me dwelleth no good thing' (Romans 7:18) and then continue to live for himself.

Indeed, in conversion, a man must make a decision. We shy away from that term because in modern jargon a "decision" has come to be identified with an outward expression, such as raising the hand or going forward to the front. While such external acts have nothing to do with forgiveness of sins, the heart must make a decision to be saved.

Selfishness is the controlling force of sinful living. It is this motive which pulsates through the natural mind, emotions and will - self-pleasing, self-serving, living for self.

Men are not sinners because they choose to sin; they choose to sin because they are sinners.

Self-denial corrects two evil tendencies ever attacking Christian ethics. There is a tendency to give more attention to outward standards than to the inward state of the heart. And there is a tendency to be strict with others and lenient with oneself... These two dragons are slain by the sword of self-denial when their heads appear in the land of Christian liberty.

The sinful emotions are stirred most deeply by self-love.

Liberty may be an instrument for giving glory to the Most High, or it may be a curtain used to shield base indulgence of the flesh (I Peter 2:16). You may discover by self-examination of your heart which function liberty serves in your life.

Self must be denied as to time and attention for prayer. All-prayer cannot be wielded without the expenditure of time. "A minute with God" seldom lays hold of Him. Sustained prayer is necessary. Such time may only be found by snatching it from personal pursuits, however legitimate they may be.