H. A. Ironside Quotes on Holiness, Grace, the Spirit and the Word
HolinessHoly SpiritBible Study
H. A. Ironside taught the Bible for some sixty years, from street corners in California to the pulpit of the Moody Church in Chicago. He had little formal schooling, but he knew his Bible thoroughly and could put a truth in one clear sentence. His great theme was that everything the believer needs is found in Christ: righteousness, holiness, peace and power.
Every quotation below is copied exactly from his books in TheWay Library, with the book and chapter it comes from, so you can read each one in its setting. For his life story, see who was H. A. Ironside. For a guide to all his books, see H. A. Ironside books.
On holiness found in Christ
As a young Salvation Army officer, Ironside spent years trying to reach sinless perfection. In Holiness: The False and the True he tells how he found rest at last.
I had been looking at the wrong man — all was in another Man, and in that Man for me!
Holiness: The False and the True, The Struggle Ended
We realized that the same grace that had saved us at first alone could carry us on.
Holiness: The False and the True, The Struggle Ended
I can but praise Him for the matchless grace that caused Him to set me free from introspection, and gave me to see that perfect holiness and perfect love were to be found, not in me, but in Christ Jesus alone.
Holiness: The False and the True, The Struggle Ended
But these blessed fruits spring, not from self-occupation, but from occupation with Christ in the power of the Holy Spirit.
Holiness: The False and the True, Observations on the Holiness Movement
Let a full Christ be preached, a finished work be proclaimed, the truth of the indwelling Spirit be scripturally taught, and all these excrescences disappear.
Holiness: The False and the True, Observations on the Holiness Movement
He was just as firm that being set apart to God in Christ calls for a holy walk.
One may be set apart to God in Christ, and yet need exhortation to a practical separation from all uncleanness and worldliness.
Holiness: The False and the True, Sanctification: Its Meaning
God sees them in Him, and looks at them as He looks at His Son.
Holiness: The False and the True, Sanctification by the Blood of Christ: Eternal
If any still are in fear, as they think of meeting God, it is because they have not fully seen what His love has done.
Holiness: The False and the True, Dead to Sin, and Perfect Love
He who is by faith united to the Righteous One is himself a righteous man.
Holiness: The False and the True, The Believer's Two Natures
The Christian is simply told to walk in the Spirit; and if he does, he will not be found fulfilling the desires of the flesh.
Holiness: The False and the True, The Believer's Two Natures
On the cross and the risen Christ
He does not save men by His life before the cross; He saves by His death.
The Mission of the Holy Spirit, The Holy Spirit's Mission to the World
My sin put Christ, the Son of God, on the cross, but God's righteousness raised Him from the dead and placed Him, the risen Man, beside the Father in heaven.
The Mission of the Holy Spirit, The Holy Spirit's Mission to the World
There is no power for it like heart-occupation with the risen Christ.
The Mission of the Holy Spirit, The Holy Spirit's Mission to the World
All who trust Him are instantly cleansed from every sin by His precious blood.
Notes on the Minor Prophets, Zechariah 11: Thirty Pieces of Silver
Be sure that your peace is one founded on the blood of Christ shed upon the cross, and you will then have that peace which is true and lasting.
Lectures on Daniel the Prophet, Nebuchadnezzar's Humbling: Gentile Subjugation Typified
On grace
Ironside loved the Old Testament prophets because they show God's love holding on to a failing people.
What more wonderful picture could we have of grace, not only to the undeserving, but to those who had deserved the very opposite?
Notes on the Minor Prophets, Hosea 1: The Blood of Jezreel
Man in his best estate is altogether vanity; but grace abounds over all our sin and failure.
Notes on the Minor Prophets, Postscript
Surely, nothing should have so powerful an effect upon our ways, as the fact that our waywardness has not, cannot, quench His love.
Notes on the Minor Prophets, Hosea 4: Joined to Idols
Sin becomes hateful the moment one gets into the presence of God.
Notes on the Minor Prophets, Hosea 14: Restoration and Blessing
The Lord in grace stooped to the dust of death to save all who turn to God in repentance.
Notes on the Prophecy and Lamentations of Jeremiah, Sin Where the Blood Should Be!
On the Holy Spirit
These come mostly from The Mission of the Holy Spirit, five addresses on the Spirit's work.
There must be divine testimony before there can be faith.
The Mission of the Holy Spirit, The Witness of the Spirit
He who would live in practical deliverance from the power of sin must, therefore, feed upon the Word of God.
The Mission of the Holy Spirit, Three Words That Transform Human Lives
It is impossible to be filled with the Spirit if consciously grieving Him.
The Mission of the Holy Spirit, Three Words That Transform Human Lives
To be filled with the Spirit, I must let the word of Christ dwell in me richly.
Holiness: The False and the True, Concluding Remarks on "The Higher Christian Life"
On the Word of God and prayer
Ironside believed every true revival starts with a return to the Bible. Many of these are from his Notes on the Book of Nehemiah.
It was the recovery of the Word that brought about the Reformation of the 16th century, and every true awakening since has been based upon Bible study and Bible practice.
Notes on the Book of Nehemiah, The Great Bible-Reading
The word of God is all-sufficient for every experience of life.
Notes on the Book of Nehemiah, The Great Bible-Reading
The believer should be a man holding the even balance of learning from the Word and cultivating the spirit of prayer.
Notes on the Book of Nehemiah, The Word and Prayer
Earnest, devout study of the Scriptures must never be divorced from believing prayer.
Holiness: The False and the True, Concluding Remarks on "The Higher Christian Life"
Alas, how ready are well-meaning people to put the ministry of human teachers in the place of the Holy Scriptures
The Four Hundred Silent Years, The Jews Under Priestly Rule
The Word will illumine each step before you as you take the one already pointed out.
Lectures on Daniel the Prophet, The Needed Moral Condition to Know and Understand God's Mind
On faithfulness in hard days
Mark you, the only way to go on with God is by being faithful in little things.
Lectures on Daniel the Prophet, The Needed Moral Condition to Know and Understand God's Mind
It is important to observe that only he who has thus learned of God in the school of obscurity is likely to shine in the blaze of publicity.
Notes on the Minor Prophets, Amos: Introduction
Nature sees the Assyrian armies: faith looks up to the God of battles.
Notes on the Minor Prophets, Nahum 1: Faith's Refuge
It is into the ear of God, not of man, that he pours his complaint.
Notes on the Minor Prophets, Habakkuk 1: The Prophet's Perplexity
Many of God's people can do little in a public way in His service, but they can each be concerned about maintaining the wall over against their own houses.
Notes on the Book of Nehemiah, The Gates of Jerusalem
It is impossible to ask in faith when clinging to something that is grieving the Holy Spirit and dishonoring the Lord Jesus Christ.
Notes on the Prophecy and Lamentations of Jeremiah, Let Us Search and Try Our Ways
When the saints of God are enjoying Christ, others are attracted to Him and to them.
Notes on the Minor Prophets, Zechariah 8: The Light of the Future Shining on the Present Path
Read Ironside for yourself
These lines read best in context, where Ironside opens the passage behind them. Start with Holiness: The False and the True, then try The Mission of the Holy Spirit. All seven of his books are on the H. A. Ironside author page.