Home / Authors / William Barclay

William Barclay

William Barclay Quotes

Author

William Barclay, born on December 5, 1907 in Scotland, was a prominent British author. His works covered a wide range of subjects including biblical studies, religious philosophy, and theology, which had a profound impact on religious thought in the 20th century.

Filter quotes by topic

All Men Christian Jesus Way Christ Ifs Christianity World May Prayer

Famous William Barclay Quotes

“For the Christian, heaven is where Jesus is. We do not need to speculate on what heaven will be like. It is enough to know that we will be for ever with Him.”

Knows Needs Enough Christian Jesus Heaven

Book:The Gospel of John

Source: The Gospel of John

“Pride is the ground in which all the other sins grow, and the parent from which all the other sins come.”

Christian Grows Parent Sin Pride Christian Inspirational

Book:Day by Day with William Barclay: Selected Readings for Daily Reflection

Source: Day by Day with William Barclay: Selected Readings for Daily Reflection

“We reverence God and we hallow God's name when our life is such that it brings honor to God and attracts others to Him.”

Christian Life Is Names Our Lives Honor Christian Inspirational Reverence

Author:William Barclay

“The greatest thing is a life of obedience in the routine things of everyday life. No amount of fine feeling can take the place of faithful doing.”

Life Feelings Faith Fine Amount Everyday Obedience Faithful Routine Everyday Life

Author:William Barclay

“Prayer will never do our work for us; what it will do is to strengthen us for work which must be done.”

Book:Barclay on the Lectionary: Mark, Year B

Source: Barclay on the Lectionary: Mark, Year B

“It is the simple truth to say that the New Testament books became canonical because no one could stop them doing so.”

Book Simple Testament New Testament Simple Truths

Book:The Making of the Bible

Source: The Making of the Bible

“Religion fails if it cannot speak to men as they are.”

Ifs Men Speak Failing

Author:William Barclay

“So often we have a kind of vague, wistful longing that the promises of Jesus should be true. The only way really to enter into them is to believe them with the clutching intensity of a drowning man.”

Men Way Should Believe Kind Jesus Promise Longing Being True Intensity Vague Drowning

Author:William Barclay

“The Christian is a [person] of joy... A gloomy Christian is a contradiction of terms, and nothing in all religious history has done Christianity more harm than its connection with black clothes and long faces.”

Persons Long Done Christian Faces Joy Black Term Religious Christianity Clothes Connections Harm Contradiction Gloomy Religious History Black Clothes

Book:Growing in Christian Faith: A Book of Daily Readings

Source: Growing in Christian Faith: A Book of Daily Readings

“Self-defense is a part of the law of nature; nor can it be denied the community, even against the king himself.”

Self Law Community Kings Equality Defense Denied Laws Of Nature Self Defense Right To Bear Arms Bearing Arms

Author:William Barclay

“We have a duty to encourage one another. Many a time a word of praise or thanks or appreciation or cheer has kept a man on his feet. Blessed is the man who speaks such a word.”

Men Speak Feet He Man Duty Praise Blessed Appreciation Thanks Cheer

Author:William Barclay

“If we are to accept the teaching of Jesus at all, then the only test of the reality of a man's religion is his attitude to his fellow men. The only possible proof that a man loves God is the demonstrated fact that he loves his fellow men.”

Ifs Men Facts Reality Jesus Attitude Accepting Teaching Tests Fellows Proof God Love Fellow Man

Author:William Barclay

“But the best definition of it is to say that heaven is that state where we will always be with Jesus, and where nothing will separate us from Him any more”

States Jesus Heaven Definitions

Book:The Gospel of John

Source: The Gospel of John

“More people have been brought into the church by the kindness of real Christian love than by all the theological arguments in the world.”

People World Has Beens Real Christian Religion Church Kindness Argument Theological Christian Love

Book:New Testament Words

Source: New Testament Words

“Jesus is the yes to every promise of God.”

Book:Barclay on the Lectionary: Mark, Year B

Source: Barclay on the Lectionary: Mark, Year B

“Jesus’ coming is the final and unanswerable proof that God cares.”

Care Jesus Finals Proof

Author:William Barclay

“Prayer is not a way of making use of God; prayer is a way of offering ourselves to God in order that He should be able to make use of us.”

Way Should Use Able Order Prayer Offering Praying To God God Prayer

Author:William Barclay

“It may be that one of our great faults in prayer is that we talk too much and listen too little. When prayer is at its highest we wait in silence for God's voice to us; we linger in His presence for His peace and His power to flow over us and around us; we lean back in His everlasting arms and feel the serenity of perfect security in Him.”

Feels May Littles Christian Religion Waiting Voice Prayer Perfect Silence Too Much Security Arms Highest Flow Faults Serenity Everlasting

Author:William Barclay

“The essential fact of Christianity is that God thought all men worth the sacrifice of his son.”

Men Facts Christianity Sacrifice Son Essentials

Book:Day by Day with William Barclay: Selected Readings for Daily Reflection

Source: Day by Day with William Barclay: Selected Readings for Daily Reflection

“There is no joy in the world like the joy of bringing one soul to Christ.”

World Soul Joy Christ

Author:William Barclay

“Certainly Christianity is an experience, but equally clearly the validity of ane experience has to be tested. There are people in lunatic asylums who have the experience of being the Emperor Napoleon or a poached egg. It is unquestionably an experience, and to them a real experience, but for all that it has no kind of universal validity. It is necessary to go far beyond simply saying that something comes from experience. Before any such thing can be evaluated at all, the source and character of the experience must clearly be investigated.”

Christianity Personal Experiences

Author:William Barclay

“Prayer is not flight, prayer is power. Prayer does not deliver a man from some terrible situation; prayer enables a man to face and to master the situation.”

Men Doe Faces Prayer Situation Masters Terrible Flight

Author:William Barclay

“Faith is not only commitment to the promises of Christ; it is also commitment to his demands.”

Christ Promise Demand Commitment

Author:William Barclay

“It may well be a sign of the decadence of the Church and the failure of Christianity that gifts have to be coaxed out of people, and that often they will not give at all unless they get something for their money in the way of entertainment or of goods. Giving which is real giving has a certain recklessness in it.”

People Way Giving Wells May Real Certain Church Christianity Entertainment Goods Decadence Recklessness

Author:William Barclay

“Instead of our petulant, fretful, irritable human hastiness we should cultivate in our souls the patience which has learned to wait on God.”

Should Humans Soul Waiting

Author:William Barclay

“Christian freedom does not mean being free to do as we like; it means being free to do as we ought.”

Mean Doe Christian Ought Being Free Christian Freedom

Book:The Letters of James and Peter

Source: The Letters of James and Peter

“Real repentance means coming not only to be sorry for the consequences of sin but to hate sin itself.”

Men Mean Real Hate Sin Consequence Sorry Repentance

Author:William Barclay

“The danger of prosperity is that it encourages a false independence.”

Danger Independence Prosperity

Author:William Barclay

“When we love anyone with our whole hearts, life begins when we are with that person; it is only in their company that we are really and truly alive.”

Heart Persons Whole Company Alive

Book:The Gospel of John

Source: The Gospel of John

About the Author

Born: December 5, 1907
Died: January 24, 1978
Known for: Author
Quotes: 79

Related Topics

Men Christian Jesus Way Christ Ifs Christianity World May Prayer

Popular Topics

People Ifs Thinking Knows Men World Way Want Love Life Inspirational Needs Giving Feels Should Writing Trying Years Mind Firsts

Books & Sources

The Gospel of JohnRelated source material

Barclay on the Lectionary: Mark, Year BRelated source material

Day by Day with William Barclay: Selected Readings for Daily ReflectionRelated source material

Good Tidings of Great Joy: The Birth of Jesus the MessiahRelated source material

Growing in Christian Faith: A Book of Daily ReadingsRelated source material

New Testament WordsRelated source material

The Gospel of Matthew, Volume TwoRelated source material

Bible Commentaries the revelation of johnRelated source material

Introducing the BibleRelated source material

Many Witnesses, One LordRelated source material

Similar Authors

Charles SpurgeonBrowse related quotes
Aiden Wilson TozerBrowse related quotes
Oswald ChambersBrowse related quotes
J. C. RyleBrowse related quotes
Dietrich BonhoefferBrowse related quotes
Billy GrahamBrowse related quotes
Dwight L. MoodyBrowse related quotes
George WhitefieldBrowse related quotes
Timothy KellerBrowse related quotes
John PiperBrowse related quotes