American-Dutch Reformed theologian (1873-1957)
Moreover, true repentance never exists except in conjunction with faith, while on the other hand, wherever there is true faith, there is also real repentance. The two are but different aspects of the same turning--a turning away from sin in the direction of God.
LOUIS BERKHOF
Systematic Theology
Faith is on the one hand the gift of God wrought in the sinner unto justification, the means by which He carries the declaration of pardon into the heart. But it is also on the other hand the instrument by which man appropriates Christ and all His precious gifts.
LOUIS BERKHOF
Manual of Christian Doctrine
Christ is indeed the center of God's revelation, but for that very reason cannot be the startingpoint.
LOUIS BERKHOF
Reformed Dogmatics
God reveals Himself in nature and history, but the study of these is not necessarily theology, since both can be studied simply as they are in themselves apart from their revelational implications.
LOUIS BERKHOF
Reformed Dogmatics
Some have mistaken the notion that sanctification consists merely in the strengthening of the new life that is implanted in regeneration by presenting positive human influences to the will and thus persuading man to increase in holiness. In reality, it is a divine operation in the soul whereby the holy disposition imparted in regeneration is strengthened and its holy exercises are increased. It is essentially a work of God, partly immediate and partly long term. In so far as God uses means, man is expected to cooperate by the proper use of the means at his disposal.
LOUIS BERKHOF
Manual of Christian Doctrine
If the Church on earth is the militant Church, the Church in heaven is the triumphant Church.
LOUIS BERKHOF
Systematic Theology