Why Not Just Be Christians?

“The early Christians did not adjust to the situation; they adjusted the situation!”

“This world is not our rest; it is a training ground for Christian character. You cannot sharpen an axe on a pound of butter.”

“God’s Word is absolute or it is obsolete. It is wired up from heaven and when we make proper contact we get a shock. But if we stay in contact we get a charge!”

These quotations are just a tiny sampling of what you will find in this book of sermons by Vance Havner, a unique servant of God whose spoken ministry spanned over seventy years and whose written ministry extended to almost forty books. Dr. Havner was fond of saying that the preacher’s job is to comfort the afflicted and afflict the comfortable, and you will find plenty of both in these pages.

Warren Wiersbe once said, “Vance Havner is imitated but he will never be duplicated.” Michael Catt, Pastor of Sherwood Baptist Church in Albany, Georgia, concurs: “There was no one like Vance Havner. His preaching style was unique, powerful, and pointed. He was a master at turning a phrase, using humor to set up a point, and then driving the point home like a sharp, two-edged sword. Every Christian should read Vance Havner… If you love A. W. Tozer, you’ll love Vance Havner. He was one of God’s gifts to the church in the 20th century. His ministry and his preaching needs to be heard in the 21st century.”

Havner’s unique style has impacted thousands of God’s people through the years and he is considered by many to be the most quoted preacher in America.

Vance Havner used the Word of God like a sword. You pick any one of his books and you could sense the presence and power of the Holy Spirit leaping off those pages. —Billy Graham