Practical Religion

The present volume contains a series of chapters about those leading doctrines of the Gospel which are generally considered necessary to salvation. The inspiration of Scripture, sin, justification, forgiveness, repentance, conversion, faith, the work of Christ, and the work of the Holy Spirit, are the principal subjects handled here.

This present volume contains a series of chapters about "practical religion," and treats of the daily duties, dangers, experiences, and privileges of all who profess and call themselves true Christians. Read in conjunction with another work I have previously put out, called "Holiness." [the "Holiness" work will be presented in one of my blogs as soon as I finish one of the present series now in progress.] I think it will throw some light on what every believer ought to be, to do, and expect.

Self-Inquiry

Acts 15:36

The text which leads this page contain a proposal which the Apostle Paul made to Barnabas after their first journey. He proposed to revisit the churches they had been the means of finding, and to see how they were getting on. Were their members continuing steadfast in the faith? Were they growing in grace?

Were they going forward, or standing still? Were they prospering, or falling away? "Let us go again and visit our brethren, and see how they do."

This was a wise and useful proposal. Let us lay it to heart, and apply it to ourselves in the twentieth century.

Let us search our way, and find out how matters stand between ourselves and God. Let us "see how we do." I ask every reader of this volume to begin its perusal by joining me in self-inquiry. If ever self-inquiry about religion was needed, it is needed at the present day.

We live in an age of peculiar spiritual privileges. Since the world began there never was such an opportunity for a man's soul to be saved at this time. There were so many signs of religion in the land, so many sermons preached, so many services held in churches and chapels, so many Bibles sold, so many religious books and tracts printed, so many societies for evangelizing mankind supported, so much outward respect paid to Christianity. Things are done everywhere now much which a hundred years ago would have been thought impossible. Bishops support the boldest and most aggressive efforts to reach the unconverted. Deans and Chapters throw open the cathedrals for Sabbath evening sermons! Clergy of the narrowest High Church School advocate special missions, and vie with their Evangelical brethren in proclaiming that going to church is not enough to take a man to heaven.

In short, there is a stir about religion today to which there has been nothing like since England was a nation,and which the cleverest skeptics and infidels cannot deny. "If the Lord should make windows of heaven might such a thing be." (2 Kings 7:19). But the Lord has opened the windows of heaven.

We live in an age of peculiar spiritual danger. Never perhaps since the world began was there such an immense amount of mere outward profession of religion as there is in the present day. A painfully large proportion of all the congregations in the land consists of unconverted people, who know nothing of heart-religion, never come to the Lord's Table, and never confess Christ in their daily lives. Myriads of those who are always running after preachers, and crowding to hear special sermons, are nothing better than empty tubs, and tinkling cymbals, without a jot of real vital Christianity at home. The parable of the sower is continually receiving most vivid and painful illustrations. The way-side hearers, the stony-ground hearers, the thorny-ground hearers abound on every side.

The life of many religious professors, I fear, in this age, is nothing better than a continual course of spiritual dram-drinking.

They are always morbidly craving fresh excitement; and they seem to care little what it is if they only get it. All preaching seems to come alike to them; and they appear unable to "see differences," so long as they hear what is clever, have their ears tickled, and sit in a crowd.

~J. C. Ryle~

(continued with # 2)