Top 10 D.L. Moody Quotes with Commentary

D.L. Moody was one of the greatest preachers of all time and one of the greatest witnesses for Christ.  Read some of his greatest quotes.

We are told to let our light shine, and if it does, we won’t need to tell anybody it does. Lighthouses don’t fire cannons to call attention to their shining- they just shine.

One thing that Christians should do is to let the light of the World shine out of them and into the unsaved world (John 1).  Matthew 5:14-16 says “You are the light of the world. A city set on a hill cannot be hidden.  Nor do people light a lamp and put it under a basket, but on a stand, and it gives light to all in the house.  In the same way, let your light shine before others, so that[a] they may see your good works and give glory to your Father who is in heaven.”  This doesn’t mean we shine this light in people’s faces because light in the eyes hurts, but even a candle in a cave lights the dark.  We are not the source of this light but like the moon reflects the sun, so we too should reflect Jesus Christ Who is the light of the world. He said “I am the light of the world. Whoever follows me will not walk in darkness, but will have the light of life” (John 8:12).

No man can resolve himself into Heaven.

This is similar to what Paul wrote to the Corinthians, saying “For our sake he made him to be sin who knew no sin, so that in him we might become the righteousness of God” (2 Cor 5:21). Just as we can’t save ourselves, we cannot get there by our works.  D.L. Moody was saying that our works don’t get us to heaven but our works do follow us there. Salvation is fully a work of God and it is God who initiates our redemption (Eph 1, 2).  That is the best of news for if our salvation depended upon us this means that our falling from grace could come as a result our inabilities.

It is a masterpiece of the devil to make us believe that children cannot understand religion. Would Christ have made a child the standard of faith if He had known that it was not capable of understanding His words?

Adults too often make the gospel too complicated.  So do some preachers.  Jesus told the disciples “Who is the greatest in the kingdom of heaven?”  And calling to him a child, he put him in the midst of them and said, “Truly, I say to you, unless you turn and become like children, you will never enter the kingdom of heaven.  Whoever humbles himself like this child is the greatest in the kingdom of heaven” (Matt 18:1-6). When Jesus said “unless you turn” He was speaking about repentance which is what the word means; to turn around and go the opposite way.  Then He said they should “become like children” meaning that they weren’t already like that, otherwise He wouldn’t have said we need to “become like children.”  Children are humble, teachable and speak truthfully.  They are not embarrassed to say they don’t know something but the gospel is simple enough that even a child can understand it.

We can stand affliction better than we can prosperity, for in prosperity we forget God.

D.L. Moody knows his Bible for this theme is frequently repeated in God’s Word.  In Deuteronomy 8:12-14 the Lord said “when you have eaten and are full and have built good houses and live in them, and when your herds and flocks multiply and your silver and gold is multiplied and all that you have is multiplied, then your heart be lifted up, and you forget the Lord your God.”  When we have all of our needs met, we tend to forget God because we don’t need Him but when we are hungry or have financial difficulties, we are forced to call upon His name.

Church attendance is as vital to a disciple as a transfusion of rich, healthy blood to a sick man.

None of us would survive if we had only one meal a week yet some do not even have this.  Christians who are disobedient by forsaking the assembling in the Body of Christ, the church, are spiritually starving themselves (Heb 10:24-25).  How can we serve one another by being “lone ranger” Christians (1 Cor 13, Rom 12)? The fact is we cannot. We need to be fed by godly, Bible-believing pastors, by well-versed Sunday school teachers, and by one another. How can you have communion alone which is commanded to be done with the church?  Every believer needs the Bread that comes down from heaven and where Jesus said that the gates of hell will not prevail against the church, can we honestly say that it has prevailed in our lives by our forsaking Jesus’ Church (Matt 16:18). He is the Head of His church and if you are detached from the Body, does He really know you (Matt 7:21-23)?

Character is what a man is in the dark.

Luke 12:2-3 states that “Nothing is covered up that will not be revealed, or hidden that will not be known. Therefore whatever you have said in the dark shall be heard in the light, and what you have whispered in private rooms shall be proclaimed on the housetops.” What a scary thought. How would we like it if the church or our family got to see a video about our life?  Wouldn’t you feel embarrassed at some of the things you did in private?  I know I would.  Character is revealed by what you do when no one is looking, not by what people see.

If I take care of my character; my reputation will take care of itself.

We can certainly bring shame to the Name of Christ by our bad witness.  We can either glorify Christ by our words and works or we can hurt our witness and give the church a black eye.  Paul understood that we should “abstain from every appearance of evil” so that we won’t give people an occasion to speak evil of us (1 Thess 5:22).  Paul was concerned about even giving the appearance of evil. I once counseled a man and woman who were living together and professing to be Christians.  They told me that is was for financial reasons.  I asked them if they were more worried about paying their bills than offending a holy God Who owns all things?  They claimed that they were not having premarital sex but they lost the chance to be effective witnesses to their neighbors because people thought that they were Christians and should have known better. The human imagination is a powerful thing.

For More D. L. Moody Quotes check out these articles:

http://www.whatchristianswanttoknow.com/top-40-d-l-moody-quotes/

http://www.goodreads.com/author/quotes/5083573.D_L_Moody

Small numbers make no difference to God. There is nothing small if God is in it.

Zechariah 4:10 says “For whoever has despised the day of small things shall rejoice, and shall see the plumb line in the hand of Zerubbabel.” God is no respecter of persons any more than He is no respecter of size.  Some of the most effective churches and ministries are small in number but God frequently takes the smallest numbers and causes them do the greatest things.  This is how God is glorified.

Some day you will read in the papers that D.L. Moody of East Northfield, is dead. Don’t you believe a word of it! At that moment I shall be more alive than I am now.

In Paul’s last days on earth he wrote “For I am already being poured out as a drink offering, and the time of my departure has come.  I have fought the good fight, I have finished the race, I have kept the faith.  Henceforth there is laid up for me the crown of righteousness, which the Lord, the righteous judge, will award to me on that Day, and not only to me but also to all who have loved his appearing” (2 Tim 4:6-8). Paul was wearing a crown moments after he had his head chopped off. Gravesites are not burial grounds but resurrection grounds.

There are many of us that are willing to do great things for the Lord, but few of us are willing to do little things.

Jesus said “One who is faithful in a very little is also faithful in much, and one who is dishonest in a very little is also dishonest in much” (Luke 16:10). He didn’t say if we are faithful in big things but also in very little things.  As D.L. Moody said, not many do the little things…like empty the trash a church, clean the toilets, do the dishes in the church kitchen, take care of children in the nursery or clean up the carpet when someone gets sick.  Far too many believe that it is below their dignity or their calling to do such menial tasks but there is greatness in smallness.

Conclusion

D.L. Moody once made a vow to never let a day go by without witnessing to at least one person.  One late winter night about ten o’clock, he realized that he had not witnessed to anyone.  He had set his mind to never let a day pass without sharing the gospel with at least one person and so he went out into the night and found a man standing under a lamppost.  He asked the man if he was a Christian. The man flew into a violent rage. The man stormed into the church elder’s office and said that this man is “doing more harm than good.”  The elder tried to talk Moody out of what he was doing.  Thankfully Moody kept doing what he was already doing. Three months passed when the man came to Moody’s home late one night and apologized for the way he treated Moody.  The man then asked about the state of his soul.  That man was saved that very night and became one of the church’s greatest Sunday school teachers.  How often have you shared the gospel with the lost?  The vast majority of believers have never led more than one person to saving faith in Christ.  I pray you will be inspired by this great evangelist.  He was so humble and contrite.  He never thought too highly of himself.  He admitted his mistakes and never considered himself about anyone else.  This is the very reason that God used him mightily for the Kingdom.  How about you and I would ask myself…how about me!?

Article by Pastor Jack Wellman

Jack Wellman is Senior Writer at What Christians Want to Know whose mission is to equip, encourage, and energize Christians and to address questions about the believer’s daily walk with God and the Bible. You can follow Jack on Google Plus or check out his book Blind Chance or Intelligent Design