Practical Religion: Being Plain Papers on the Daily Duties, Experience, Dangers, and Privileges of Professing ChristiansRyle, J. C. (John Charles)
Religion
Practical Religion: Being Plain Papers on the Daily Duties, Experience, Dangers, and Privileges of Professing Christians
Ryle, J. C. (John Charles)
Christian life -- Anglican authors
I press on the attention of all my readers the five points which I have
just named. There is nothing like coming to particulars about these
matters. If you would know whether your religion is "real," genuine, and
true, measure it by the five particulars which I have now named. Measure
it fairly: test it honestly. If your heart is right in the sight of God,
you have no cause to flinch from examination. If it is wrong, the sooner
you find it out the better.
And now I have done what I proposed to do. I have shown from Scripture
the unspeakable importance of reality in religion, and the danger in
which many stand of being lost for ever, for want of it. I have given
five plain tests, by which a man may find out whether his Christianity
is real. I will conclude all by a direct application of the whole
subject to the souls of all who read this paper. I will draw my bow at a
venture, and trust that God will bring an arrow home to the hearts and
consciences of many.
(1) My first word of application shall be _an inquiry_. Is your own
religion real or unreal? genuine or base? I do not ask what you think
about others. Perhaps you may see many hypocrites around you. You may be
able to point to many who have no "reality" at all. This is not the
question. You may be right in your opinion about others. But I want to
know about yourself. Is your own Christianity real and true? or nominal
and base?
If you love life, do not turn away from the question which is now before
you. The time must come when the whole truth will be known. The judgment
day will reveal every man's religion, of what sort it is. The parable of
the wedding-garment will receive an awful fulfilment. Surely it is a
thousand times better to find out _now_ your condition, and to repent,
than to find it out too late in the next world, when there will be no
space for repentance. If you have common prudence, sense, and judgment,
consider what I say. Sit down quietly this day, and examine yourself.
Find out the real character of your religion. With the Bible in your
hand, and honesty in your heart, the thing may be known. Then resolve to
find out.
(2) My second word of application shall be a _warning_. I address it to
all who know, in their own consciences, that their religion is not real.
I ask them to remember the greatness of their danger, and their
exceeding guilt in the sight of God.
An unreal Christianity is specially offensive to that Great God with
whom we have to do. He is continually spoken of in Scripture as the God
of Truth. Truth is peculiarly one of His attributes. Can you doubt for a
moment that He abhors everything that is not genuine and true? Better, I
firmly believe, to be found an ignorant heathen at the last day, than to
be found with nothing better than a nominal religion. If your religion
is of this sort, beware!
Public-domain text, read in full here on John Shaqi.
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