R. A. Torrey Quotes on the Bible, Christ, Salvation and Power
Bible StudyEvangelismChristian LifePrayerRevival
R. A. Torrey was a Yale-trained Bible teacher who spent his life preaching to crowds and training Christian workers. He wrote the way he preached: plain, direct and built on the Bible. He liked to put a truth in one sentence and then prove it from Scripture.
Every quotation below is copied exactly from his books in TheWay Library, with the book and chapter it comes from. His best lines on prayer already have their own page, R. A. Torrey quotes on prayer, drawn from How to Pray. This page gathers the rest: what he said about the Bible, God, Christ, salvation, the Christian life and winning others. For his life, see who was R. A. Torrey, and for a guide to all his books, see R. A. Torrey books.
On the Bible
Torrey taught Bible study for most of his life. He wanted people to study the Bible as God's Word, regularly, and to let it say what it says.
There is a great difference between believing theoretically that the Bible is God's Word and studying it as God's Word.
How to Study the Bible for Greatest Profit, chapter VIII
What regularity in eating is to physical life, regularity in Bible study is to spiritual life.
How to Study the Bible for Greatest Profit, chapter IX: Final Suggestions
One of the greatest faults in Bible study is reading into passages what God never put into them.
How to Study the Bible for Greatest Profit, chapter I: Study of Individual Books
As the Bible is the Word of God and no other book is the Word of God, we should study it as we study no other book.
Is the Bible the Inerrant Word of God?, What to Do with the Bible
It may not fit into our theories, but we must make our theories fit the Word of God, and not the Word of God our theories.
Ought Christians to Keep the Sabbath?
The first thing we have to say about these difficulties in the Bible is, that, from the very nature of the case, difficulties are to be expected.
Difficulties and Alleged Errors and Contradictions in the Bible, chapter I
He could be funny about lopsided Bible students too:
Some never study the Second Coming of Christ and others never study anything but the Second Coming of Christ.
The Importance and Value of Proper Bible Study, chapter II: How Properly to Study the Bible
God's commands are but sign-boards that mark the road to present success and blessedness and to eternal glory.
How to Succeed in the Christian Life, VII: Bible Study
On God
Not only is there a God; but He is the supreme fact of nature, of history, of science, of philosophy, of personal life.
Revival Addresses, chapter I: God
God not only exists from all eternity but He exists from Himself.
The God of the Bible, chapter V: God Is the Eternal
Nothing will demolish self-righteousness like one real sight of God.
What the Bible Teaches, chapter VIII: The Holiness of God
On Jesus Christ
Torrey preached in years when many pulpits offered a Christ without miracles. He kept pointing people back to the Christ of the Gospels.
But the Christ many tell about and urge upon men is not the real Christ.
The Real Christ, chapter I: The Real Christ
There is no Christ but the Christ of the Scriptures; any other Christ is a mere figment of the individual imagination.
Will Christ Come Again?
The prophet who is not of God falls before the test of history, but Jesus Christ stands.
The Voice of God in the Present Hour, chapter I: Not a Word of Christ Shall Ever Fail
The resurrection of Jesus Christ is in many respects the most important fact in history.
Talks to Men about the Bible and the Christ of the Bible, chapter V: Did Jesus Christ Really Rise from the Dead?
Every effect must have an adequate cause, and the only adequate cause that will account for the resurrection of Jesus Christ is God, the God of the Bible.
The Bible and Its Christ, chapter VIII: What the Resurrection of Jesus from the Dead Proves
The human heart demands reality, and Jesus Christ, the Christ Who Rose from the Dead, is reality.
Is the Bible the Inerrant Word of God?, What One Gains by Believing in the Christ Who Rose from the Dead
On salvation
Torrey was an evangelist first. These lines come mostly from the sermons he preached in his campaigns.
Every believer in Jesus Christ is forgiven every sin he ever committed or ever shall commit, because Jesus Christ shed His blood in his place.
The Fundamental Doctrines of the Christian Faith, VIII: The Atonement
The blood of Jesus Christ secures it, faith in Jesus Christ appropriates it.
The Fundamental Doctrines of the Christian Faith, IX: Justification by Faith
Jesus Christ can save any man; but Jesus Christ won't, and Jesus Christ can't, save a man who won't give up his sin.
Real Salvation and Whole-Hearted Service, chapter IX: Who Then Can Be Saved?
A good many men think God must think well of them because men do.
How to Be Saved and How to Be Lost, chapter II: A Good Man Who Went to Hell and a Bad Man Who Went to Heaven
Heart faith, real faith, saving faith, eternal-life-giving faith is the faith that not only enlightens the mind but governs the will and the feelings and the conduct.
The Gospel for To-day, chapter XII
On the Christian life
He wrote a whole book for new converts, and his advice is as practical as a coach's.
There is nothing more important in the Christian life than beginning right.
How to Succeed in the Christian Life, I: Beginning Right
The more you make of Jesus Christ, the more He will make of you.
How to Succeed in the Christian Life, II: The Open Confession of Christ
If you fail anywhere, if you fail, don't be discouraged, don't give up; don't brood over the sin.
Traits and Tracts of Torrey, How to Make a Success of the Christian Life
A true trust in God banishes all fear, under all circumstances, for all time.
Traits and Tracts of Torrey, The Shepherd Psalm
Sooner or later God floods the heart of him who surrenders absolutely to Him with light, and joy, and fills his life with power.
How to Obtain Fulness of Power, chapter V: The Power of a Surrendered Life
On prayer and power
A few more on prayer, from books other than How to Pray.
The devil is not afraid of machinery; he is only afraid of God, and machinery without prayer is machinery without God.
How to Obtain Fulness of Power, chapter IV: The Power of Prayer
Comparatively few of the prayers that go up from this earth today are really unto God.
The Power of Prayer and the Prayer of Power, chapter IV: How to Pray So as to Get What You Ask
The prayer meeting ought to be the most important meeting in the church.
How to Work for Christ, chapter XX: The Church Prayer Meeting
On winning others to Christ
Torrey trained thousands of personal workers. He believed every Christian could lead someone to Christ with an open Bible.
Solid work in soul winning must be accompanied by prayer at every step.
How to Bring Men to Christ, chapter I: The General Conditions of Success
The presence of the Spirit of the living God in our hearts, giving holy unction to the message, is the crowning glory of the revival preacher.
How to Promote and Conduct a Successful Revival, chapter III: The Preaching Needed in Revivals
Do not hit at denominations, but preach Jesus Christ crucified and risen from the dead.
How to Promote and Conduct a Successful Revival, chapter IX: The Importance of Open Air Work
On D. L. Moody
Torrey worked beside Moody for years and wrote two short books on what made him useful.
Power belongs to God. If D. L. Moody had any power, and he had great power, he got it from God.
Why God Used D. L. Moody
If you and I are to be used in our sphere as D. L. Moody was used in his, we must put all that we have and all that we are in the hands of God
Why God Used D. L. Moody
Moody believed in a God who answers prayer; and his life was a constant demonstration that his faith was true.
Lessons from the Life and Death of D. L. Moody
On Christ's return
Now I not only got hold of the truth of our Lord's Return, but that truth got hold of me, and it transformed my life and ministry.
Traits and Tracts of Torrey, The Second Coming of Christ
Where to read more Torrey
If you want one Torrey book to start with, read How to Pray, then How to Study the Bible for Greatest Profit. For the Holy Spirit, read The Person and Work of the Holy Spirit; our summary is a good guide. All his books in the library are on the R. A. Torrey author page.