Acceptable Quote by Joseph Alleine
“A man may as well hew marble without tools, or paint without colors or instruments, or build without materials, as perform any acceptable service without the graces of the Spirit, which are both the materials and instruments in the work.”
About This Quote
Source Sermon: The Christian Virtue of Grace, 17th century
Without divine grace, human effort lacks the essential tools and material to be truly effective.
In simple terms: Grace is the essential tool for good work.
Key Takeaway
Seek spiritual grace before acting.
Themes
faith
grace
human effort
spiritual dependence
Mood
contemplative
serene
Type
theological
inspirational
When to use this quote
- mission work
- daily decision making
- creative projects
- ethical dilemmas
Key Concepts
theology
metaphor of craftsmanship
dependence on divine aid
Questions to Reflect On
- How does grace influence your daily actions?
- Can you achieve good works without explicit spiritual belief?
A Different Perspective
The quote assumes all success depends on grace, potentially minimizing human agency.
![“The court is like a palace built of marble; I mean that it is made up of very hard but very polished people. [Fr., La cour est comme un edifice bati de marbre; je veux dire qu'elle est composee d'hommes fort durs mais fort polis.]” quote by Jean de la Bruyere](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/img-quotes/fcf/jean-de-la-bruyere-575_built_the-court-is-like-a-palace-built-of-marb_77288.jpg)
![“In any case, open-seat presidential elections like 2008 just are different in character from incumbent reelects, and I think that's the most important thing about this election - is that once there's an incumbent running for reelection, most of the debate is about, "Has he [Barack Obama] done a…” quote by William Kristol](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/img-quotes/0b0/william-kristol-9091_acceptable_in-any-case-open-seat-presidential-elect_36353.jpg)