Private Judgment # 5

Private Judgment # 5

I might easily show that the divisions of Protestants are exceedingly exaggerated, and that most of them are upon points of minor importance. I might show that, with all the "varieties of Protestantism," as men call them, there is still a vast amount of fundamental unity and substantial agreement among Protestants. No man can read the "Harmony of Protestant Confessions" without seeing that.

But grant for a moment that private judgment had led to divisions, and brought about varieties. I say that these divisions and varieties are but a drop of water when compared with the torrent of abominations that have arisen from the Church of Rome's practice of disallowing private judgment altogether! Place the evils in two scales - the evils that have arisen from private judgement, and those that have arisen from no man being allowed to think for himself. Weigh the evils one against another, and I have no doubt as to which will be the greatest!

Give me Protestant divisions, certainly - rather than Popish unity, with the fruit that it beings forth! Give me Protestant variations - rather than Romish ignorance, Romish superstition, Romish darkness, and Romish idolatry. Let the two systems be tried by their fruits - the sysemt that says, "Prove all things", and the system that says, "Dare to have no opinion of your own" - let them be tried by their fruits in the hearts, in the intellects, in the lives, in all the ways of men - and I have no doubt as to the result.

In any case, let us not be moved by the specious argument, that it is humility to disallow private judgment and to have no opinion of our own, that it is the part of a true Christian not to think for himself!

I tell men boldly that such humility is a false humility - a humility that does not deserve that blessed name. Call it rather laziness, ldleness, and sloth, it makes a man strip himself of all his responsibility, and throw the whole burden of his soul into the hands of the minister and the Church. It gives a man a mere vicarious religion, a religion by which he places his conscience and all his spiritual concerns under the care of others. He need not trouble himself! He need no longer think for himself! He has embarked in a safe ship, and placed his soul under a safe pilot, and will get to Heaven!

Oh, let us beware of supposing that this deserves the name of humility! It is refusing to exercise the gift that God has given us. It is refusing to employ the sword of the Spirit which God has forged for the use of our hand. Blessed be God, our forefathers did not act upon such principles! Had they done so, we would never have had the Reformation. Had they done so, we might have been bowing down to the image of the Virgin Mary as this moment, or praying to the departed saints, or having a service performed in Latin. From such humility, may the good Lord evder deliver us!

As long as we live, let us resolve that we will read for ourselves, think for ourselves, judge of the Bible for ourselves, in the great matters of our souls. Let us dare to have an opinion of our own. Let us never be ashamed of saying, "I think that this is right, because I find it in the Bible" and "I think that this is wrong, because I do not find it in the Bible." "Let us prove all things," and prove them by the Word of God.

As long as we live, let us beware of the blindfold system, which many commend in the present day - the system of following the leader, and having no opinion of our own - the system which practically says, "Only keep to your Church, only receive the Sacraments, only believe what the ordained ministers are set over you tell you - and then all shall be well." I warn men that this will not do. If we are content with this kind of religion, we are imperiling our immortal souls. Let the Bible, and not any Church upon earth, or any minister upon earth, be our rule of faith. "Prove all things" by the Word of God.

Above all, as long as we live, let us habitually look forward to the great day of judgment. Let us think of the solemn account which every one of us will have to give in that day before the judgment seat of Christ. We shall not be judged by Churches. We shall not be judged by whole congregations. We shall be judged individually, each by himself. What shall it profit us in that day to say, "Lord, Lord, I believed everything the Church told me! I received and believed everything ordained ministers set before me. I thought that whatever the Church and the ministers said must be right."

What shall it profit us to say this, if we have held some deadly error? Surely, the voice of Him who sits upon the throne will reply, "You had the Scriptures. You had a book plain and easy to him who will read it and search in a child-like spirit. Why did you not use the Word of God when it was given to you? You had a reasonable soul given you to understand that Bible. Why did you not prove all things, and thus keep celar of error?" If we refuse to exercise our private judgment - then let us think of that solemn day, and beware!

~J. C. Ryle~

(continued with # 6)