The World's Great Sermons, Volume 03: Massillon to Mason
Religion
The World's Great Sermons, Volume 03: Massillon to Mason
Sermons
There are a great many now who may say, Well, we believe all this; but
there is a great difference betwixt talking and feeling. Did you ever
feel the want of a dear Redeemer? Did you ever feel the want of Jesus
Christ, upon the account of the deficiency of your own righteousness?
And can you now say from your heart Lord, thou mayest justly damn
me for the best duties that ever I did perform? If you are not thus
brought out of self, you may speak peace to yourselves, but yet there
is no peace.
But then, before you can speak peace to your souls, there is one
particular sin you must be greatly troubled for, and yet I fear there
are few of you think what it is; it is the reigning, the damning sin
of the Christian world, and yet the Christian world seldom or never
think of it. And pray what is that?
It is what most of you think you are not guilty of--and that is, the
sin of unbelief. Before you can speak peace to your heart, you must be
troubled for the unbelief of your heart But can it be supposed that
any of you are unbelievers here in this churchyard, that are born in
Scotland, in a reformed country, that go to church every Sabbath? Can
any of you that receive the sacrament once a year--oh, that it were
administered oftener!--can it be supposed that you who had tokens for
the sacrament, that you who keep up family prayer, that any of you do
not believe in the Lord Jesus Christ?
I appeal to your own hearts, if you would not think me uncharitable,
if I doubted whether any of you believed in Christ: and yet, I fear
upon examination, we should find that most of you have not so much
faith in the Lord Jesus Christ as the devil himself. I am persuaded
that the devil believes more of the Bible than most of us do. He
believes the divinity of Jesus Christ; that is more than many who call
themselves Christians do; nay, he believes and trembles, and that is
more than thousands amongst us do.
My friends, we mistake a historical faith for a true faith, wrought
in the heart by the Spirit of God. You fancy you believe because you
believe there is such a book as we call the Bible--because you go to
church; all this you may do and have no true faith in Christ. Merely
to believe there was such a person as Christ, merely to believe there
is a book called the Bible, will do you no good, more than to believe
there was such a man as Caesar or Alexander the Great. The Bible is a
sacred depository. What thanks have we to give to God for these lively
oracles! But yet we may have these and not believe in the Lord Jesus
Christ.
Public-domain text, read in full here on John Shaqi.
Reviews
Reviews
No reviews yet
Be the first to share your thoughts on this work.
Elsewhere in the archive
Join the Discussion
Join the discussion
Sign in to leave a comment or review.
Sign InorCreate an account