9 Notable Quotes from The Gospel Comes with a House Key

This article is part of the Notable Quotes series.

Light in the Dark

The Bible teaches that hospitality is not an option, but a requirement, for Christians. We have the opportunity to shine the light of Christ in dark places—even by opening our doors to those who may not know him. Be encouraged by the following quotes excerpted from The Gospel Comes with a House Key: Practicing Radical Hospitality in Our Post-Christian World by Rosaria Butterfield.

“We come to Christ with nothing—we bring nothing useful for our own salvation.”

“Through union with and growth in Christ, we are made new. We are redeemed, forgiven, and embraced as adopted children of God. We are called to die to ourselves and our choice sins, even those that have been our kind company for as long as we can remember. We are called to repent of the original sin that distorts us, the actual sin that distracts us, and the indwelling sin that manipulates us. This is a high and hard calling.”

“Radically ordinary hospitality shows this skeptical, post-Christian world what authentic Christianity looks like.”

The Gospel Comes with a House Key

Rosaria Butterfield

With engaging stories from her own life-changing encounter with radically ordinary hospitality, Butterfield equips Christians to use their homes as a means to showing a post-Christian world what authentic love and faith really look like.

“Those who live out radically ordinary hospitality see their homes not as theirs at all but as God’s gift to use for the furtherance of his kingdom. They open doors; they seek out the underprivileged. They know that the gospel comes with a house key. They take biblical theology seriously, as well as Christian creeds and confessions and traditions.”

“Jesus dined with sinners, but he didn’t sin with sinners. Jesus lived in the world, but he didn’t live like the world. This is the Jesus paradox.”

“Radically ordinary hospitality characterizes those who don’t fuss over different worldviews represented at the dinner table. The truly hospitable aren’t embarrassed to keep friendships with people who are different.”

“Knowing your personality and your sensitivities does not excuse you from ministry. It means that you need to prepare for it differently than others might.”

“Let God use your home, apartment, dorm room, front yard, community gymnasium, or garden for the purpose of making strangers into neighbors and neighbors into family. Because that is the point—building the church and living like a family, the family of God.”

“Radically ordinary and daily hospitality is the basic building block for vital Christian living. Start anywhere. But do start.”


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