Tullian Tchividjian Quotes

Powerful Tullian Tchividjian for Daily Growth

About Tullian Tchividjian

Tullian Tchividjian was an influential American Christian pastor, author, and speaker, known for his unique style of blending humor, biblical exposition, and personal stories to connect with audiences. Born on March 16, 1962, in Atlanta, Georgia, Tullian was the grandson of Billy Graham's close friend, evangelist Reuben Archer Torrey Jr., and great-grandson of Billy Graham's founder, evangelist R.A. Torrey. Tchividjian earned his Bachelor of Arts degree in Psychology from Wheaton College and later received a Master of Divinity from Reformed Theological Seminary. His pastoral journey began at Coral Ridge Presbyterian Church in Fort Lauderdale, Florida, where he served as the associate pastor for eight years under the leadership of his father, D. James Kennedy. In 2009, Tchividjian became the senior pastor of Coral Ridge, a position he held until his resignation in 2015 due to personal issues. Throughout his career, Tchividjian authored several books, including "Unfashionable: Making a Difference in the World by Living Differently" and "One Thing Remains: Celebrating God's Greatness Through the Son of Man." Tchividjian was renowned for his thought-provoking sermons and books that delved into topics such as grace, faith, and the gospel. His work has resonated with many, inspiring readers to deepen their relationship with God. Despite personal challenges, Tullian Tchividjian's legacy continues to influence Christian communities worldwide. He passed away on May 23, 2019, leaving behind a rich body of work that encourages faith and personal growth.

Interpretations of Popular Quotes

"Grace is not only God's way of cancelling sin; it's also his way of creating faith."

This quote by Tullian Tchividjian suggests that grace, God's unmerited favor, serves a dual purpose in our lives: it not only forgives or "cancels" our sins but also plays a crucial role in fostering faith. In essence, it is through experiencing God's grace that we develop trust and belief in Him. This idea emphasizes the transformative power of divine grace, which not only absolves us from our past mistakes but also empowers us to grow in faith and live a life aligned with God's will.


"The Christian life begins with Christ living in you. The Christian life does not begin by you trying to live in Christ."

This quote by Tullian Tchividjian emphasizes that true Christianity doesn't start with personal human effort or striving to live according to Christ's teachings, but rather the indwelling of Christ within an individual. It suggests that genuine Christian life is a result of accepting Jesus as one's savior and allowing Him to guide and transform our lives from within. In other words, it emphasizes that our relationship with God should not be based on our own efforts or moral accomplishments, but rather on the reality of Christ living in us through faith.


"Jesus never told us to clean ourselves up before we could come to Him, but to come to Him so He can clean us up."

This quote highlights the grace-centered nature of Christianity as expressed by Tullian Tchividjian. It suggests that instead of trying to become worthy or clean before approaching God, we are invited to come to Jesus first for His cleansing power. In other words, it's not about our effort to make ourselves righteous but rather receiving God's forgiveness and transformation through faith in Jesus Christ. This message emphasizes the free gift of salvation that is available to all people, regardless of their past or current state.


"Salvation is by grace alone because it is about God getting the glory, not us improving our behavior."

This quote emphasizes that salvation, which is the act of being saved or rescued from sin and its consequences, is solely a gift of God's grace, not something we earn through improved behavior. The focus here is on God receiving glory, acknowledging His sovereignty and mercy, rather than human effort or improvement in behavior. It underscores the biblical principle that salvation is entirely a work of God, reinforcing our dependence on Him for redemption.


"We are more sinful and flawed in ourselves than we ever dared believe, yet at the very same time we are more loved and accepted in Christ than we ever dared hope."

This quote by Tullian Tchividjian conveys that human beings are deeply flawed and sinful due to their inherent nature, far more so than they may realize or admit. However, the good news is that despite this, they are equally as loved and accepted by Christ as they could ever hope for. This paradox highlights the profound gap between human sinfulness and divine love, emphasizing both our fallen state and the boundless grace of Christ.


The deepest fear we have, 'the fear beneath all fears,' is the fear of not measuring up, the fear of judgment. It's this fear that creates the stress and depression of everyday life.

- Tullian Tchividjian

Stress, Beneath, Measuring, Fear

The gospel alone liberates you to live a life of scandalous generosity, unrestrained sacrifice, uncommon valor, and unbounded courage.

- Tullian Tchividjian

Life, Sacrifice, Valor, Generosity

I ended up dropping out of high school at 16 and getting kicked out of my home. My parents told me, sadly, that because I was so disruptive to the rest of the household, that I could no longer live under their roof.

- Tullian Tchividjian

High, Out, Getting, Kicked

Whether this was explicitly taught or implicitly caught, I grew up with the impression that when it comes to the Christian life, justification was step one and sanctification was step two and that once we get to step two there's no reason to revisit step one.

- Tullian Tchividjian

Reason, Caught, Explicitly, Christian Life

In the Old Testament, we are continually told that our good works are not enough, that God has made a provision. This provision is pointed to at every place in the Old Testament.

- Tullian Tchividjian

Old, Made, Works, Pointed

Performancism is the mindset that equates our identity and value directly with our performance and accomplishments.

- Tullian Tchividjian

Performance, Mindset, Directly

I'm not sure I'll ever fully understand why some Christians get mad when we say that the ultimate hero in the Bible is not Noah, Abraham, Moses, David, Paul, etc... but Jesus.

- Tullian Tchividjian

Bible, Some, Sure, Moses

The Why's of suffering keep us shrouded in a seemingly bottomless void of abstraction where God is reduced to a finite ethical agent, a limited psychological personality, whose purposes measure on the same scale as ours.

- Tullian Tchividjian

Agent, Void, Psychological, Bottomless

The required cheerfulness that characterizes many of our churches produces a suffocating environment of pat, religious answers to the painful, complex questions that riddle the lives of hurting people.

- Tullian Tchividjian

Pat, Religious, Suffocating, Churches

As Luke 24 shows, it's possible to read the Bible, study the Bible, and memorize large portions of the Bible, while missing the whole point of the Bible.

- Tullian Tchividjian

Bible, Study, Read, Missing

To be Biblically balanced is to let our theology and preaching be proportioned by the Bible's radically disproportionate focus on God's saving love for sinners seen and accomplished in the crucified and risen Christ.

- Tullian Tchividjian

Love, Bible, Christ, Risen

The Bible makes it clear that self-righteousness is the premier enemy of the Gospel.

- Tullian Tchividjian

Bible, Clear, Makes, Premier

When we imply that our works are for God and not our neighbor, we perpetuate the idea that God's love for us is dependent on what we do instead of on what Christ has done.

- Tullian Tchividjian

Love, Imply, Works, Perpetuate

Passive righteousness tells us that God does not need our good works. Active righteousness tells us that our neighbor does. The aim and direction of good works are horizontal, not vertical.

- Tullian Tchividjian

Aim, Need, Works, Passive

Jesus is not the man at the top of the stairs; He is the man at the bottom, the friend of sinners, the savior of those in need of one. Which is all of us, all of the time.

- Tullian Tchividjian

Need, Bottom, Which, Savior

The world tells us in a thousand different ways that the bigger we become, the freer we will be. The richer, the more beautiful, and the more powerful we grow, the more security, liberty, and happiness we will experience. And yet, the gospel tells us just the opposite, that the smaller we become, the freer we will be.

- Tullian Tchividjian

Smaller, Different Ways, Richer

When God saved me, He gave me a thirst to learn and to read and to study. I thrived in college. I got a bachelor's degree in philosophy and then went to Reformed Theological Seminary in Orlando.

- Tullian Tchividjian

College, Study, Thirst, Reformed

My failure to lay aside the sin that so easily entangles is the direct result of my refusal to die to my natural proclivity toward attaining my own freedom, meaning, value, worth, and righteousness - not believing that, by virtue of my Spirit - wrought union with Christ, everything I need, I already possess.

- Tullian Tchividjian

Die, Own, Direct, Wrought

The truth is that when it comes to suffering, if we do not go to our graves in confusion, we will not go to our graves trusting. Explanations are a substitute for trust.

- Tullian Tchividjian

Trust, Suffering, Will, Confusion

The Bible is plain that God requires moral perfection. It tells us unambiguously that God is holy and therefore cannot tolerate any hint of unholiness.

- Tullian Tchividjian

Bible, Holy, Any, Perfection

Thankfully, God's restraining grace keeps even the worst of us from being utterly depraved. The worst people who have ever lived could've been worse.

- Tullian Tchividjian

Been, Being, Restraining, Depraved

Our minds are affected by sin. Our hearts are affected by sin. Our wills are affected by sin. Our bodies are affected by sin.

- Tullian Tchividjian

Minds, Hearts, Bodies, Wills

There is no better story in the Old Testament, or perhaps the whole Bible, for depicting the difference between the ladder-defined life and the cross-defined life than that of the Tower of Babel.

- Tullian Tchividjian

Bible, Old, Whole, Babel

There is a strange impulse in many to protect Bible characters and to use them as inspiration... as if sanctification happens as a result of emulation.

- Tullian Tchividjian

Bible, Use, Sanctification, Impulse

The gospel sets us free to become the romantic leaders of our marriages without fright or hesitation. Because we have been forever wooed by Jesus, we are now free to forever woo our wives.

- Tullian Tchividjian

Been, Leaders, Sets, Woo

When everyone in the world spoke the same language, God came down in judgment, breaking the world apart. But at just the right time, he came down again, this time to reconcile that sinful world to himself.

- Tullian Tchividjian

Everyone, Spoke, Again, Reconcile

Christianity affirms that Jesus severed the link between suffering and deserving once for all on Calvary. God put the ledgers away and settled the accounts.

- Tullian Tchividjian

Suffering, Away, Severed, Accounts

When the Christian faith becomes defined by who we are and what we do and not by who Christ is and what he did for us, we miss the gospel - and we, ironically, become more disobedient.

- Tullian Tchividjian

Faith, More, Christ, Defined

I never had an intellectual struggle with the Bible, with the gospel, with the claims of Christ.

- Tullian Tchividjian

Bible, Never, Christ, Struggle

Our assurance is anchored in the love and grace of God expressed in the glorious exchange: our sin for His righteousness.

- Tullian Tchividjian

Love, Righteousness, His, Assurance

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