God is inherently
kind, naturally compassionate, and everlastingly merciful. And never is it
necessary that any influence be brought to bear upon the Father to call forth
his loving-kindness. The creature’s need is wholly sufficient to insure the
full flow of the Father’s tender mercies and his saving grace. Since God knows
all about his children, it is easy for him to forgive. The better man understands
his neighbor, the easier it will be to forgive him, even to love him.
P.38
The farseeing and
courageous Isaiah effectively eclipsed the nationalistic Yahweh by his sublime
portraiture of the majesty and universal omnipotence of the supreme Yahweh, God
of love, ruler of the universe, and affectionate Father of all mankind. Ever
since those eventful days the highest God concept in the Occident has embraced
universal justice, divine mercy, and eternal righteousness. In superb language
and with matchless grace this great teacher portrayed the all-powerful Creator
as the all-loving Father. P.1070
"No
religionist may hope to attain the enlightenment of immortal wisdom who
persists in being slothful, indolent, feeble, idle, shameless, and selfish. But
whoso is thoughtful, prudent, reflective, fervent, and earnest—even while he
yet lives on earth—may attain the supreme enlightenment of the peace and
liberty of divine wisdom. Remember, every act shall receive its reward. Evil
results in sorrow and sin ends in pain. Joy and happiness are the outcome of a
good life. Even the evildoer enjoys a season of grace before the time of the
full ripening of his evil deeds, but inevitable there must come the full
harvest of evil-doing. Let no man think lightly of sin, saying in his heart:
‘The penalty of wrongdoing shall not come near me.’ What you do shall be done
to you, in the judgment of wisdom. Injustice done to your fellows shall come
back upon you. The creature cannot escape the destiny of his deeds.
P.1447
Jesus made plain to
his apostles the difference between the repentance of so-called good works as
taught by the Jews and the change of mind by faith—the new birth—which he
required as the price of admission to the kingdom. He taught his apostles that
faith was the only requisite to entering the Father’s kingdom. John had taught
them "repentance—to flee from the wrath to come." Jesus did not speak
like a prophet, one who comes to declare the word of God. He seemed to speak of
himself as one having authority. Jesus sought to divert their minds from
miracle seeking to the finding of a real and personal experience in the
satisfaction and assurance of the indwelling of God/s spirit of love and saving
grace. P.1545
"Salvation is
by the regeneration of the spirit and not by the self-righteous deeds of the
flesh. You are justified by faith and fellowshipped by grace, not by fear and
the self-denial of the flesh, albeit the Father’s children who have been born
of the spirit are ever and always masters of the self and all that pertains to
the desires of the flesh. When you know that you are saved by faith, you have
real peace with God. And all who follow in the way of this heavenly peace are
destined to be sanctified to the eternal service of the ever-advancing sons of
the eternal God. Henceforth, it is not a duty but rather your exalted privilege
to cleanse yourselves from all evils of mind and body while you seek for
perfection in the love of God. P.1610
In all praying,
remember that sonship is a gift. No child has aught to do with earning the
status of son or daughter. The earth child comes into being by the will of its
parents. Even so, the child of God comes into grace and the new life of the
spirit by the will of the Father in heaven. Therefore must the kingdom of
heaven—divine sonship—be received as by a little child. You earn
righteousness—progressive character development—but you receive sonship by
grace and through faith. P.1621
"When men and
women ask what shall we do to be saved, you shall answer, Believe this gospel
of the kingdom; accept divine forgiveness. By faith recognize the indwelling
spirit of God, whose acceptance makes you a son of God. Have you not read in
the Scriptures where it says, ‘In the Lord have I righteousness and strength.’
Also where the Father says, ‘My soul shall be joyful in the love of my God, for
he has clothed me with the garments of salvation and has covered me with the
robe of his righteousness.’ Have you not also read of the Father that his name
‘shall be called the Lord our righteousness.’ ‘Take away the filthy rags of
self-righteousness and clothe my son with the robe of divine righteousness and
eternal salvation.’ It is forever true, ‘the just shall live by faith.’
Entrance into the Father’s kingdom is wholly free, but progress—growth in
grace—is essential to continuance therein. P.1682
Jesus spread good
cheer everywhere he went. He was full of grace and truth. His associates never
ceased to wonder at the gracious words that proceeded out of his mouth. You can
cultivate gracefulness, but graciousness is the aroma of friendliness which
emanates from a love-saturated soul. P.1874
Goodness always
compels respect, but when it is devoid of grace, it often repels affection.
Goodness is universally attractive only when it is gracious. Goodness is
effective only when it is attractive. P.1874
"To every one
who has, more shall be given, and he shall have abundance; but from him who has
not, even that which he has shall be taken away. You cannot stand still in the
affairs of the eternal kingdom. My Father requires all his children to
grow in grace and in a knowledge of the truth. You who know these truths must
yield the increase of the fruits of the spirit and manifest a growing devotion to
the unselfish service of your fellow servants. And remember that, inasmuch as
you minister to one of the least of my brethren, you have done this service to
me. P.1917
"Peace be upon
you. You rejoice to know that the Son of Man has risen from the dead because
you thereby know that you and your brethren shall also survive mortal death.
But such survival is dependent on your having been previously born of the
spirit of truth seeking and God-finding. The bread of life and the water
thereof are given only to those who hunger for truth and thirst for
righteousness—for God. The fact that the dead rise is not the gospel of the
kingdom. These great truths and these universe facts are all related to this
gospel in that they are a part of the result of believing the good news and are
embraced in the subsequent experience of those who, by faith, become, in deed
and in truth, the everlasting sons of the eternal God. My Father sent me into
the world to proclaim this salvation of sonship to all men. And so send I you abroad
to preach this salvation of sonship. Salvation is the free gift of God, but
those who are born of the spirit will immediately begin to show forth the
fruits of the spirit in living service to their fellow creatures. And the
fruits of the divine spirit which are yielded in the lives of spirit-born and
God-knowing mortals are loving service, unselfish devotion, courageous loyalty,
sincere fairness, enlightened honesty, undying hope, confiding trust, merciful
ministry, unfailing goodness, forgiving tolerance, and enduring peace. If
professed believers bear not these fruits of the divine spirit in their lives,
they are dead; the Spirit of Truth is not in them; they are useless branches on
the living vine, and they soon will be taken away. My Father requires of the
children of faith that they bear much spirit fruit. If, therefore, you are not
fruitful, he will dig about your roots and cut away your unfruitful branches.
Increasingly, must you yield the fruits of the spirit as you progress
heavenward in the kingdom of God. You may enter the kingdom as a child, but the
Father requires that you grow up, by grace, to the full stature of spiritual
adulthood. And when you go abroad to tell all nations the good news of this
gospel, I will go before you, and my Spirit of Truth shall abide in your
hearts. My peace I leave with you." P.2054
Christianity has dared to lower its ideals before the challenge of human greed, war-madness, and the lust for power; but the religion of Jesus stands as the unsullied and transcendent spiritual summons, calling to the best there is in man to rise above all these legacies of animal evolution and, by grace, attain the moral heights of true human destiny. P.2083
Quotes are from the Urantia Book.