--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: Nothing that is worth doing can be…" description: "\"“Nothing that is worth doing can be achieved in our lifetime; therefore we must be saved by hope. Nothing which is true or beautiful or good makes comp..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/2ca/reinhold-niebuhr-1881_faith_nothing-that-is-worth-doing-can-be-achie_630216.jpg" --- # Nothing that is worth doing can be achieved in our… ![“Nothing that is worth doing can be achieved in our lifetime; therefore we must be saved by hope. Nothing which is true or beautiful or good makes complete sense in any immediate context of history; therefore we must be saved by faith. Nothing we do, no matter how virtuous, can be accomplished…” quote by Reinhold Niebuhr](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/2ca/reinhold-niebuhr-1881_faith_nothing-that-is-worth-doing-can-be-achie_630216.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/2ca/reinhold-niebuhr-1881_faith_nothing-that-is-worth-doing-can-be-achie_630216.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/2ca/reinhold-niebuhr-1881_faith_nothing-that-is-worth-doing-can-be-achie_630216.jpg) > ““Nothing that is worth doing can be achieved in our lifetime; therefore we must be saved by hope. Nothing which is true or beautiful or good makes complete sense in any immediate context of history; therefore we must be saved by faith. Nothing we do, no matter how virtuous, can be accomplished alone; therefore we must be saved by love.”” [Reinhold Niebuhr](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/reinhold-niebuhr/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. Human beings cannot achieve ultimate meaning or lasting good alone; hope, faith, and love are essential guides beyond temporal limits. **In simple terms:** We need hope, faith, and love to transcend life's limits. Key Takeaway Cultivate hope, faith, and love in daily life. Themes hope faith love human limitation transcendence Mood reflective inspirational Type philosophical spiritual When to use this quote - personal crisis - social activism - spiritual practice - community building Key Concepts Existentialism theology ethics Questions to Reflect On - How do you rely on love when alone feels insufficient? - What role does hope play in your daily decisions? A Different Perspective Hope and faith may be challenged by cynicism or despair. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Faith](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/faith/) [History](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/history/) [Hope](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/hope/) [Love](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/love/) [Matter Virtuous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/matter-virtuous-3129189/) [Religion](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/religion/) [Saved](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/saved/) [Saved Faith](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/saved-faith-366659/) [Virtuous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/virtuous/) ## Related quotes > [Nothing worth doing is completed in our lifetime; therefore, we must be saved by hope. Nothing true or beautiful or good makes complete sense…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/reinhold-niebuhr/nothing-worth-doing-is-completed-in-our-lifetime-therefore-we-must-be/) [Reinhold Niebuhr](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/reinhold-niebuhr/) > [So our lives In acts exemplary, not only win Ourselves good names, but doth to others give Matter for virtuous deeds, by which we…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/george-chapman/so-our-lives-in-acts-exemplary-not-only-win-ourselves-good-names-but/) [George Chapman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/george-chapman/) > [Nothing which is true or beautiful or good makes complete sense in any immediate context of history; therefore we must be saved by faith.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/reinhold-niebuhr/nothing-which-is-true-or-beautiful-or-good-makes-complete-sense-in/) [Reinhold Niebuhr](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/reinhold-niebuhr/) > [In the affairs of this world, men are saved not by faith, but by the want of it.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/benjamin-franklin/in-the-affairs-of-this-world-men-are-saved-not-by-faith-but-by-the/) [Benjamin Franklin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/benjamin-franklin/) > [A Christian has no need of any law in order to be saved, since through faith we are free from every law. Thus all…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/martin-luther/a-christian-has-no-need-of-any-law-in-order-to-be-saved-since-through/) [Martin Luther](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/martin-luther/) > [This insinuation of the interests of the self into even the most ideal enterprises and most universal objectives, envisaged in moments of highest rationality,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/reinhold-niebuhr/this-insinuation-of-the-interests-of-the-self-into-even-the-most/) [Reinhold Niebuhr](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/reinhold-niebuhr/) > [Nothing that is worth doing can be achieved in our lifetime; therefore we must be saved by hope. Nothing which is true or beautiful…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/reinhold-niebuhr/nothing-that-is-worth-doing-can-be-achieved-in-our-lifetime-therefore/) [Reinhold Niebuhr](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/reinhold-niebuhr/) > [“In the Affairs of this World Men are saved, not by Faith, but by the Lack of it.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ben-franklin/in-the-affairs-of-this-world-men-are-saved-not-by-faith-but-by-the-2/) [Ben Franklin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ben-franklin/) > [As a pastor in a Protestant church, my whole ministry centers on the conviction that by grace we are saved through faith. And it's…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kevin-deyoung/as-a-pastor-in-a-protestant-church-my-whole-ministry-centers-on-the/) [Kevin DeYoung](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kevin-deyoung/) > [The blessed Paul argues that we are saved by faith, which he declares to be not from us but a gift from God. Thus…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/fulgentius-of-ruspe/the-blessed-paul-argues-that-we-are-saved-by-faith-which-he-declares/) [Fulgentius of Ruspe](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/fulgentius-of-ruspe/) > [“If a man is to be saved it will be through faith, or not at all. But because he is spiritually lifeless (Eph. 2:1-2),…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/if-a-man-is-to-be-saved-it-will-be-through-faith-or-not-at-all-but/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [To tell a man who has no realization that he is lost, that he may be saved by faith in Christ, means nothing to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/henry-allen-ironside/to-tell-a-man-who-has-no-realization-that-he-is-lost-that-he-may-be/) [Henry Allen Ironside](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/henry-allen-ironside/) > [“The only way sinners can be saved is by faith in the shed blood of Christ (Heb. 9:22; see also Isa. 61:10; Eph. 2:8–9).”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/the-only-way-sinners-can-be-saved-is-by-faith-in-the-shed-blood-of/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [“The genius of the divine way of salvation by faith is that in it we are personally, actively united to Jesus Christ, but in…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sinclair-b-ferguson/the-genius-of-the-divine-way-of-salvation-by-faith-is-that-in-it-we/) [Sinclair B. Ferguson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sinclair-b-ferguson/) > [...it ought not to appear wonderful if many, both Jews and others, who lived before Christ, and many also who have lived since his…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-milton/it-ought-not-to-appear-wonderful-if-many-both-jews-and-others-who/) [John Milton](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-milton/) ## More by Reinhold Niebuhr > [There are evidently limits to the achievements of science; and there are irresolvable contradictions both between prosperity and virtue, and between happiness and ''the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/reinhold-niebuhr/there-are-evidently-limits-to-the-achievements-of-science-and-there/) [Reinhold Niebuhr](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/reinhold-niebuhr/) > [Perhapsthemost sublimeinsights oftheJewishprophets and the Christian gospel is the knowledge that since perfection is love, the apprehension of perfection is at once the means…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/reinhold-niebuhr/perhapsthemost-sublimeinsights-ofthejewishprophets-and-the-christian/) [Reinhold Niebuhr](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/reinhold-niebuhr/) > [The essence of man is his freedom. Sin is committed in that freedom. Sin can therefore not be attributed to a defect in his…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/reinhold-niebuhr/the-essence-of-man-is-his-freedom-sin-is-committed-in-that-freedom/) [Reinhold Niebuhr](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/reinhold-niebuhr/) > [Liberalism makes this mistake in regard to private property and Marxism makes it in regard to socialized property... The Marxist illusion is partly derived…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/reinhold-niebuhr/liberalism-makes-this-mistake-in-regard-to-private-property-and/) [Reinhold Niebuhr](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/reinhold-niebuhr/) > [Human beings are endowed by nature with both selfish and unselfish impulses.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/reinhold-niebuhr/human-beings-are-endowed-by-nature-with-both-selfish-and-unselfish/) [Reinhold Niebuhr](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/reinhold-niebuhr/) > [There are historic situations in which refusal to defend the inheritance of a civilization, however imperfect, against tyranny and aggression may result in consequences…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/reinhold-niebuhr/there-are-historic-situations-in-which-refusal-to-defend-the/) [Reinhold Niebuhr](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/reinhold-niebuhr/) > [God grant me the serenity to accept the things I cannot change; courage to change the things I can; and wisdom to know the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/reinhold-niebuhr/god-grant-me-the-serenity-to-accept-the-things-i-cannot-change/) [Reinhold Niebuhr](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/reinhold-niebuhr/) > [Freedom is necessary for two reasons. It's necessary for the individual, because the individual, no matter how good the society is, every individual has…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/reinhold-niebuhr/freedom-is-necessary-for-two-reasons-it-s-necessary-for-the/) [Reinhold Niebuhr](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/reinhold-niebuhr/) > [The pretensions of final truth are always partlyan effort to obscure a darkly felt consciousness of the limits of human knowledge.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/reinhold-niebuhr/the-pretensions-of-final-truth-are-always-partlyan-effort-to-obscure/) [Reinhold Niebuhr](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/reinhold-niebuhr/) > [All social cooperation on a larger scale than the most intimate social group requires a measure of coercion.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/reinhold-niebuhr/all-social-cooperation-on-a-larger-scale-than-the-most-intimate/) [Reinhold Niebuhr](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/reinhold-niebuhr/) > [Man is always worse than most people suspect, but also generally better than most people dream.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/reinhold-niebuhr/man-is-always-worse-than-most-people-suspect-but-also-generally/) [Reinhold Niebuhr](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/reinhold-niebuhr/) > [When a church reaches up beyond its group and tries to enforce its standards upon a society that doesn't accept these standards, and perhaps…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/reinhold-niebuhr/when-a-church-reaches-up-beyond-its-group-and-tries-to-enforce-its/) [Reinhold Niebuhr](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/reinhold-niebuhr/) > [...(I)ndividual selfhood is expressed in the self's capacity for self-transcendence and not in its rational capacity for conceptual and analytic procedures.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/reinhold-niebuhr/i-ndividual-selfhood-is-expressed-in-the-self-s-capacity-for-self/) [Reinhold Niebuhr](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/reinhold-niebuhr/) > [The whole art of politics consists in directing rationally the irrationalities of men.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/reinhold-niebuhr/the-whole-art-of-politics-consists-in-directing-rationally-the/) [Reinhold Niebuhr](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/reinhold-niebuhr/) > [Religion is so frequently a source of confusion in political life, and so frequently dangerous to democracy, precisely because it introduces absolutes into the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/reinhold-niebuhr/religion-is-so-frequently-a-source-of-confusion-in-political-life-and/) [Reinhold Niebuhr](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/reinhold-niebuhr/) [Explore all 200 Reinhold Niebuhr quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/reinhold-niebuhr/) ## More Faith quotes > [“What I have a problem with is not so much religion or god, but faith. When you say you believe something in your heart…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/penn-jillette/what-i-have-a-problem-with-is-not-so-much-religion-or-god-but-faith/) [Penn Jillette](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/penn-jillette/) > [Eternal Trinity... mystery deep as the sea, You could give me no greater gift than the gift of Yourself. For You are a fire…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/st-catherine-of-siena/eternal-trinity-mystery-deep-as-the-sea-you-could-give-me-no-greater/) [St. Catherine of Siena](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/st-catherine-of-siena/) > [Keep the faith, and keep going strong!](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/doreen-virtue/keep-the-faith-and-keep-going-strong/) [Doreen Virtue](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/doreen-virtue/) > [It’s so important to create in your own voice, to hold onto what makes you unique, and have faith in your vision.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-lasseter/it-s-so-important-to-create-in-your-own-voice-to-hold-onto-what-makes/) [John Lasseter](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-lasseter/) > [Faith gives you a certain structure and meaning to your life.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/riffat-hassan/faith-gives-you-a-certain-structure-and-meaning-to-your-life/) [Riffat Hassan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/riffat-hassan/) > [Democracy is based on the conviction that man has the moral and intellectual capacity, as well as the inalienable right, to govern himself with…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/harry-s-truman/democracy-is-based-on-the-conviction-that-man-has-the-moral-and/) [Harry S. 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Atheism has never healed a disease; faith in…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-hagee/let-me-tell-you-that-atheism-has-never-painted-a-masterpiece-atheism/) [John Hagee](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-hagee/) > [Holiness sincerity, and faith.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/swami-vivekananda/holiness-sincerity-and-faith/) [Swami Vivekananda](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/swami-vivekananda/) > [“The only limitations for your life are the limiting beliefs in your mind. —Matt Morris”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/matt-morris-1/the-only-limitations-for-your-life-are-the-limiting-beliefs-in-your/) [Matt Morris (1](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/matt-morris-1/) > [“Just because your faith is shaken doesn’t mean the faith is shaken. 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