Carl wrote:
> =
> In the following lesson, J.C. Ryle teaches about the fruits created by
> Christianty.
> =
> May God bless,
> Carl
> my website -- http://www.nettally.com/saints/
> my blog -- http://www.anniemayhem.com/cgi-bin/wordpress/
> =
> ---
> =
> Tried By Its Fruits
> by J.C. Ryle
> =
> "Every tree is known by his own fruit."-(Luke 6:44)
=2E...Right..........A kind of 'early anecdote - a parable -
good advice from 'one of the elder ones'
Frightening isn't it that today otherwise intelligent humans
can be influenced by such
feeble nonsense and then go on to use it to proliferate a
pack of lies?
In other cir***stances such behavior would attract a
criminal charge
> =
> [First published by Drummond's Tract Depot, Stirling, Scotland]
> =
> Our lot is cast in times when there is a tendency to try all ancient
> institutions by their results. Schools, colleges, universities,
> cor****ations, old endowed charities, all are successively put into the
> crucible, and placed in the furnace. "Will an institution stand the fir=
e? Is
> the result of the operation dross or good metal?" These are the only
> questions which men require to be answered.
> =
> Now, I wish to apply this great principle to the religion which our Lor=
d
> Jesus Christ brought into the world nineteen hundred years ago. Some me=
n
> tell us that it is an effete and worn-out thing, utterly unsuited to th=
e
> twentieth century. Christianity, in short, is regarded with contempt by=
many
> who call themselves leaders of thought in modern times. Like an old alm=
anac,
> its work is done, and it may be thrown aside! Its Bible and its Sundays=
, its
> ministers and its wor****p, its prayers and its sacraments, all are unwo=
rthy
> of the notice of intellectual men, and may be safely neglected, smiled =
at,
> and handed over to the ignorant and the poor! Such is the line of think=
ing,
> writing, and talking in too many quarters.
> =
> Now, my simple object in this paper is to point out the unreasonablenes=
s,
> not to say dishonesty, of ignoring the enormous results and effects whi=
ch
> Christianity has produced in the world. I ask the sceptic and the agnos=
tic
> to try Christianity by its fruits. I defy them to deny the existence of=
> those fruits. I say that mankind owes a huge debt to Christianity, whet=
her
> mankind knows it or not, of which the amount can never be calculated. I=
n
> short, the fruits of Christianity are an unanswerable proof to my own m=
ind
> of its Divine origin, and a stupendous difficulty in the way of infidel=
ity,
> which has never been fairly grappled with or explained away. They deman=
d
> attention. They court investigation.
> =
> There are only two points to which I shall invite the attention of my
> readers.
> =
> I. For one thing, let us consider briefly some of the fruits which
> Christianity has produced in the world.
> =
> II. For another, let us consider the leading doctrines by whose agency =
these
> fruits have been produced.
> =
> I do not for a moment pretend to bring forward anything new or deep. I =
am
> going to speak of ancient, familiar things, which anyone of average
> intelligence can understand. But it is precisely the simplicity of my
> argument which makes many overlook it. We have so many great swelling w=
ords
> in this day from the enemies of Christianity, about "laws of nature,
> development, matter, germs, force," and the like, that we are apt to fo=
rget
> the immense mass of evidence in favour of revealed religion which is ly=
ing
> close by our side.
> =
> I. In the first place, what fruits has Christianity produced in the wor=
ld?
> =
> We are not fit to consider this question, unless we realize the actual
> condition of the world when Christianity was introduced. We must rememb=
er
> that the Augustan age, when the Lord Jesus Christ was born and His Chur=
ch
> founded, was the era when heathenism had carried art and literature to =
the
> highest pitch of excellence. Even at this day the temples of Luxor and
> Carnac, the Parthenon at Athens, and the Coliseum at Rome, are among th=
e
> most remarkable buildings in the world. The works of Homer, and Herodot=
us,
> and Thucydides, and Eschylus, and Sophocles, and Euripides, and Plato, =
among
> the Greeks,-of Cicero, and Tacitus, and Virgil, and Horace, among the
> Romans,-are admired and read by almost all educated men, and in their w=
ay
> are unsurpassed after nineteen centuries have passed away. In short, if=
the
> education of mind, and reason, and intellect, and the cultivation of ar=
t and
> literature, could make men holy and happy in this life, and give them a=
good
> hope for the life to come, the world, before Christ, did not need the
> introduction of Christianity.
> =
> But what was the world before Christ, even the most polished and refine=
d
> ****tion of it, in the matter of religion and morality? That is the ques=
tion.
> The answer may be given in the words of St. Paul, "The world by wisdom =
knew
> not God" (1 Coy. i. 21). Darkness, thick darkness, covered the earth. A=
thens
> and Rome were full of magnificent temples, in which men wor****pped imag=
es of
> gold, and silver, and wood, and stone, the work of their own hands. The=
> greatest philosophers, such as Socrates, groped, as in the night. The
> doctrine of the Being of the true God seems to have been completely los=
t,
> and in its place the most debasing idolatry and grovelling superstition=
> universally prevailed.
> =
> The following passage from Bishop Wilson admirable Lectures on Christia=
n
> Evidences (vol. 1, p. 47, 2nd edition), contains a picture which I beli=
eve
> is not one bit over-coloured:-"Whether you consider the barbarian natio=
ns,
> or those which were most polished,-whether you look back to the earlies=
t
> times of which we have any authentic history, or those nearer the birth=
of
> our Lord,-all was one thick, impenetrable mass of moral disorder and ru=
in.
> The most abject and disgusting idolatry, the wor****p of the beasts and
> birds, of stocks and stones, the deification of kings and warriors, of =
human
> virtues and vices, of insects and creeping things, and even of that mos=
t
> disgusting of all reptiles, the serpent, prevailed. Practices the most
> flagitious were interwoven with the histories and ceremonies of these
> wretched deities. From this source, aided by the corrupt heart of man,
> flowed out a torrent of vices and abominations in public and private li=
fe.
> Fraud, theft, rapine, revenge, suicide, fornication, adultery, murder o=
f
> infants, unnatural crimes, the atrocious cruelties of war, the slavery =
and
> oppression of captives, gladiatorial shows, not only abounded, but were=
> patronized, countenanced by the great body of men, connived at, if not
> practised, by statesmen and philosophers-publicly reprobated by none."
> =
> Hear what the worthy Bishop says in another passage,-"The heathen were
> impure and abominable even in their religion. Their gods and goddesses =
were
> profligate, impure, revengeful, odious. 'The very light that was in the=
m was
> darkness.' For what could the histories of Jupiter, Juno, and Bacchus, =
and
> Mercury, and Venus teach, but vice and drunkenness, and lewdness, and t=
heft,
> and fraud? What were the Floralia, and Bacchanalia, and Saturnalia? 'It=
is a
> shame,' observes the great Apostle, 'even to speak of those things whic=
h are
> done of them in secret' (Ephes. v. 12). Christians, as individuals, may=
be
> wicked and unjust, and, alas! often are so. But this is notwithstanding=
> their religion, and in spite of it, as Bishop Warburton has fairly rema=
rked,
> and therefore cases of the grossest iniquity are rare. The heathen, on =
the
> contrary, were impure and abominable in consequence of their religion, =
and
> because of it; and therefore a depravity of which we have scarcely a
> conception prevailed, and cases of virtue and comparative purity were r=
are
> and uncommon."
> =
> Now I believe this terrible picture of the world before Christ is not o=
ne
> bit overdrawn. I believe it would be easy to confirm its accuracy by
> reference to Greek and Latin authors. But it would be impossible to do =
so
> without bringing forward things of which "it is a shame even to speak."=
I
> only ask Christians to remember that the first chapter of the Epistle t=
o the
> Romans, which is often not read through in public, contains a plain,
> unvarnished description of heathenism as it really was in the days of S=
t.
> Paul.
> =
> But what was the agency by which this awful state of things in the heat=
hen
> world was altered, amended, and gradually swept away throughout all the=
> Roman empire? That it has been swept away is a simple historical fact. =
But
> what wrought the change? What was it that emptied the heathen temples,
> destroyed the vocation of the idolatrous priesthood, raised the whole
> standard of morality, and, to use the words of Scripture, "turned the w=
orld
> upside down?" (Acts xvii. 6). I answer, unhesitatingly, the introductio=
n and
> progress of Christianity. How vast, and wide, and deep the change was w=
e can
> hardly realize at this present day. What is before our eyes in Europe w=
e
> know. What was, when heathenism reigned supreme, we cannot grasp and ta=
ke
> in.
> =
> I ask your attention to the following eloquent passage from the pen of =
a
> writer.
> =
> "The argument which meets us first in surveying the history of Christia=
nity,
> and in estimating the outstanding and singular features of its success,=
is
> its early, wide, and within certain limits absolutely irresistible
> diffusion. Other facts attest this: but I select one as to which there =
can
> be no controversy, the extirpation by it of idolatry such as existed in=
the
> old Roman world. That system, from the Euphrates to the furthest shore =
of
> Britain, from the Nile to the forest of Germany, has utterly passed awa=
y.
> The whole regions around the Mediterranean, to the limits of civilizati=
on,
> and beyond them, 'have changed their gods;' and, though something, as t=
ime
> advanced, may be claimed for Mohammedanism, the great decisive,
> all-prevailing impulses have come from Christianity. The classic Pagani=
sm,
> Greek and Roman, the Assyrian, the Egyptian and North African, the Drui=
dic,
> and ultimately the Teutonic, have all fallen to rise no more; and at th=
is
> moment there is not on the face of the earth a single wor****pper of the=
> 'great goddess Diana,' or, 'the image that fell down from Jupiter,' of =
Baal
> or Dagon, of Isis or Serapis, of Thor or Odin. They are preserved in
> imperishable literature, and in equally imperishable art. Homer and the=
> great tragedians have enshrined them. Virgil and Ovid record them, and =
even
> Milton in his Paradise Lost; to say nothing of that wonderful Book, whi=
ch,
> in revealing their abominations, will be found to have carried furthest=
and
> widest their memory. But not a single shrine remains to them in the pro=
per
> sense of the word, not even where the Apollo, or Venus, the Minerva, or=
> Hercules, enchain universal admiration. They are abolished as idols, wh=
ile
> immortalized as relics; and not even the exquisite beauty lavished upon=
them
> can hide the moral deformity to which they owe their downfall. It is lo=
ng
> centuries since one simple soul regarded them with anything of the feel=
ing
> with which the African trembles before the rudest fetish, or the Hindoo=
> before the most unsightly of his divinities. Another conquest so comple=
te
> and absolute does not mark the history of the world. All ranks and clas=
ses
> passed through the revolution. The husbandman had to give up his offeri=
ngs
> to Liber and Ceres, the sailor his votive tablets to Neptune, the soldi=
er
> his chaplets to Mars. The youth had to forget his place in the processi=
on,
> the virgin her part in the dance, or secular games. The senator had to
> forego his libation on entering the senate, the general his search afte=
r the
> omens before battle, the very emperor the honour of his own coins and t=
itles
> of divinity. What but an immense and boundless power could have wrought=
this
> change, and wrought it, not by constraint, but willingly, through the f=
orce
> of persuasion?" (The Success of Christianity, by Principal Cairns, pp. =
5,
> 6).
> =
> Will any of those who profess to deny the truth of Christianity deny th=
e
> facts which this passage contains? It is impossible. He will find all
> history against him. But if he cannot deny the facts, he ought to tell =
us
> how they can on his principles be accounted for. We say they are
> irrefragable and unanswerable proofs that Christianity came down from G=
od.
> =
> Great, however, as the fruits of Christianity have been in the overthro=
w and
> destruction of idolatry, they are fully equalled, if not surpassed, by =
the
> enormous practical results which Christianity has produced on the moral=
> standard and social conduct of mankind. About human life and property,-=
about
> women, children, servants, and the poor,-about justice and equity betwe=
en
> man and man,-about decency, purity, and charity,-about all these subjec=
ts
> the standard of public opinion has been entirely changed since the Gosp=
el
> leavened the Roman world.
> =
> Once more I ask attention to a passage in which another writer has ably=
> summed up the practical results of Christianity.
> =
> "We fear no challenge when we affirm that in its purest form Christiani=
ty
> has fostered the ideas, and encouraged the habits out of which all true=
> civilization springs. It has fostered regard for man as essentially a n=
oble
> being, having an immortal soul made in God's image, with boundless
> capacities of expansion and improvement; regard for woman as the helpme=
et
> and companion of man-not his drudge, or slave, or concubine; regard for=
> marriage as a holy contract entered into before God, not to be lightly =
set
> aside; regard for children as the heritage of the Lord-not burdens or
> en***brances, but lent by the Lord to be brought up for Him; regard for=
the
> family as a divine institution, intended to be a fountain of holy joys,=
and
> a nursery of all estimable habits, and all kindly affections: regard fo=
r the
> sick, the infirm, and the aged, whose sorrows we are ever to pity, and =
whose
> privations we are to make up in some measure from our more ample stores=
=2E The
> very word Christian, in its true spirit, has been identified with all t=
hese
> ideas and habits; in that sense it has a glory all its own, and no more=
> damaging criticism can be passed on persons outraging truth and rectitu=
de,
> than that they are a disgrace to the Christian name." (Christianity and=
> Secularism, by Dr. Blaikie, p. 5).
> =
> It would be perfectly easy to add to the statements contained in this
> passage if time and space permitted. The difficulty in the matter is no=
t so
> much the discovery of evidence as the selection of it. The mass of fact=
s
> which might be adduced to show the rich and blessed fruits of Christian=
ity
> is simply enormous, and I pity the sceptic who refuses to look at it. T=
o
> those who care to investigate the subject more fully I strongly recomme=
nd
> two volumes which have recently been published. One is called "Gesta
> Christi," by an American writer named Brace. The other is called Modern=
> Missions and Culture, by Dr. Werneck, a German. Each of these volumes
> contains a vast quantity of valuable information which is accessible to=
few
> English readers, and will richly repay perusal.
> =
> I admit, most fully, that there have been periods during the last ninet=
een
> centuries, when the fruits of Christianity have been miserably scanty a=
nd
> poor, and the tree which bore them has seemed rotten and only fit to be=
cut
> down. I do not forget the corruption of faith and practice in the dark
> ages,-the hideous immorality of many bishops of Rome,-the vile doings o=
f
> many monasteries and nunneries,-the ignorance and superstition of
> priests,-the grovelling superstition of laymen. These are things I do n=
ot
> pretend to deny. I grant that the tide of truth sometimes ebbed so low =
that
> it was almost out of sight, and the light was so dim that it was well-n=
igh
> extinguished. But it must be remembered that in the worst times there w=
ere
> always some men who protested loudly against the wickedness around them=
,
> such as Bradwardine, and Grost=EAte, and Wycliffe, and John Huss, and J=
erome
> of Prague, and Savonarola. And there were always some scattered bodies =
of
> Christians who, by life and doctrine, witnessed faithfully against
> corruption, such as the Valenses and Albigenses, the Waldensian Churche=
s,
> and the Lollards. And, after all, if the state of the Roman world in th=
e
> days of the Apostle, and the state of the world at this day could be fa=
irly
> compared, there is not the slightest doubt what the verdict would be. T=
he
> change for the better would be found so vast that no words could descri=
be
> it. The fruits of Christianity are such, in spite of all failures and
> defects, that the moral difference between the world before Christ and =
the
> world after Christ is the difference between gold and dross, sweet and
> bitter, white and black, darkness and light.
> =
> The plain truth is, that we are all so familiar with the public blessin=
gs
> Christianity has insensibly conferred on the world, that we cannot real=
ize
> the condition of things from which it has delivered us. Few men take th=
e
> trouble to read or think about anything except eating, drinking, dressi=
ng,
> business, politics, recreation, money, and tem****alities. The many neve=
r
> reflect on the enormous debt which they daily owe to the effects of Bib=
le
> religion, and the very Christianity which so many pretend to despise. D=
oes
> the infidel, who lies in some hospital for weeks, tenderly nursed and c=
ared
> for, reflect that without Christianity there would have been no hospita=
l at
> all? I doubt it. Does the British workman, who never goes to a place of=
> wor****p, and never reads his Bible, and often sneers at parsons, reflec=
t
> that without Christianity he would never have been sure of his wages, a=
nd
> would have often been treated as a bond-slave and a serf? I doubt it. D=
oes
> the high-born woman of fa****on, who makes a god of dress and amusement,=
and
> regards "religious people" with ill-disguised contempt, ever reflect th=
at
> without Christianity she would have enjoyed little liberty of action, l=
ittle
> independence of thought or choice, and her very honour would have been
> little respected. I doubt it. Does the scientific agnostic, who sits at=
home
> at ease, or travels about on Sundays, and despises churches, clergymen,=
and
> Bibles, and ignores his soul,-does he ever fairly and honestly reflect =
that
> without Christianity he would have had little safety for property, home=
, or
> person, little liberty of thought, and little chance of justice if he c=
ame
> in collision with the ruling power? Does he, I say, think of all this? =
Once
> more, I say, I doubt it. In short, I am firmly convinced that of all th=
e
> debts which have been repudiated since creation, there never was one so=
> shamefully ignored and repudiated as the debt which the world owes to
> Christianity. If revealed religion could only be fairly tried by its fr=
uits,
> there is no doubt what the verdict would be. Secularism, agnosticism,
> scepticism, and infidelity would be confounded and silenced for ever.
> =
> II. I will now turn to the other point which I undertook to consider. L=
et us
> inquire what were the leading doctrines of Christianity by the agency o=
f
> which its fruits have been produced.
> =
> I regard this point as one of great im****tance. It is certain that not
> everything called Christianity is the Christianity which was taught by
> Christ and His Apostles. It is equally certain that nothing but "the tr=
ee"
> that they planted will ever bear good fruit. To expect good fruit from =
the
> grossly unscriptural religion of pre-Reformation days, or from the vagu=
e,
> hazy, broad, boneless, jelly-fish teaching, which many call religion in=
the
> twentieth century, is unreasonable and absurd. Such religions never yet=
bore
> good fruit: they never can and they never will.
> =
> Fruit-bearing Christianity has never been a mere vicarious religion. By=
that
> I mean a religion which teaches men to put their souls in the hands of =
a
> priest, and to leave him to settle matters between them and God. Nor ye=
t has
> it been a mere formal and ceremonial religion. By that I mean a religio=
n
> which teaches men to rest in the observation of times and seasons, and
> gestures and postures, and bodily acts, in which the heart and soul hav=
e
> nothing to do.-Nor yet has it been a religion of mere asceticism. By th=
at I
> mean a religion which teaches men and women that the way to please God =
is to
> shut ourselves up in monasteries and nunneries, and leave the world to
> itself. Nor yet has it been a mind-cramping religion. By that I mean a
> religion which teaches men that they must not think and read for themse=
lves,
> but must shut their eyes, and hear the Church, and believe whatever the=
y are
> told. Christianity of these kinds, I repeat emphatically, has never bor=
ne
> good fruit. Whenever and wherever it has prevailed, in any country or a=
t any
> era, such religion has done little or no good to the world. It has made=
no
> mark on lives or characters. It has been no better than a refined and
> polished heathenism, a stuffed carcase, a whitened sepulchre, a body wi=
thout
> life. It has certainly supplied no evidence to silence the sceptic, or =
to
> prove the truth of Divine revelation.
> =
> The Christianity which I call fruit-bearing,-which shows its Divine ori=
gin
> by its blessed effects on mankind,-the Christianity which you may safel=
y
> defy infidels to explain away,-that Christianity is a very different th=
ing.
> Let me show you some of its leading marks and features.
> =
> (a) For one thing, fruit-bearing Christianity has always taught the
> inspiration, sufficiency, and supremacy of Holy Scripture. It has told =
men
> that "God's Word written" is the only trustworthy rule of faith and pra=
ctice
> in religion, that God requires nothing to be believed that is not in th=
is
> Word, and that nothing is right which contradicts it. It has never allo=
wed
> reason, the verifying faculty, or the voice of the Church, to be placed=
> above, or on a level with Scripture. It has steadily maintained that,
> however imperfectly we may understand it, the Old Book is meant to be t=
he
> only standard of life and doctrine.
> =
> (b) For another thing, fruit-bearing Christianity has always taught ful=
ly
> the sinfulness, guilt and corruption of human nature. It has told men t=
hat
> they are born in sin, deserve God's wrath and condemnation, and are
> naturally inclined to do evil. It has never allowed that men and women =
are
> only weak and pitiable creatures, who can become good when they please,=
and
> make their own peace with God. On the contrary, it has steadily declare=
d man's
> danger and vileness, and his pressing need of a Divine forgiveness and
> satisfaction for his sins, a new birth or conversion, and an entire cha=
nge
> of heart.
> =
> (c) For another thing, fruit-bearing Christianity has always set before=
men
> the Lord Jesus Christ as the chief object of faith and hope in religion=
, as
> the Divine Mediator between God and men, the only source of peace of
> conscience, and the root of all spiritual life. It has never been conte=
nt to
> teach that He is merely our Prophet, our Example, and our Judge. The ma=
in
> things it has ever insisted on about Christ are the atonement for sin H=
e
> made by His death, His sacrifice on the cross, the complete redemption =
from
> guilt and condemnation by His blood, His victory over the grave by His
> resurrection, His active life of intercession at God's right hand, and =
the
> absolute necessity of simple faith in Him. In short, it has made Christ=
the
> Alpha and the Omega in Christian theology.
> =
> (d) Last, but not least, fruit-bearing Christianity has always honoured=
the
> Person of God the Holy Ghost, and magnified His work. It has never taug=
ht
> that all professing Christians have the grace of the Spirit in their he=
arts,
> as a matter of course, because they are baptized, or because they belon=
g to
> the Church, or because they are communicants. It has steadily maintaine=
d
> that the fruits of the Spirit are the only evidence of having the Spiri=
t,
> and that those fruits must be seen,-that we must be born of the Spirit,=
led
> by the Spirit, sanctified by the Spirit, and feel the operations of the=
> Spirit,-and that a close walk with God in the path of His commandments,=
a
> life of holiness, charity, self-denial, purity, and zeal to do good, ar=
e the
> only satisfactory marks of the Holy Ghost.
> =
> Such is true fruit-bearing Christianity. Well would it have been for th=
e
> world if there had been more of it during the last nineteen centuries! =
Too
> often, and in too many parts of Christendom, there has been so little o=
f it,
> that Christ's religion has seemed extinct, and has fallen into utter
> contempt. But just in pro****tion as such Christianity as I have describ=
ed
> has prevailed, the world has benefited, the infidel been silenced, and =
the
> truth of Divine revelation been acknowledged. The tree has been known b=
y its
> fruit.
> =
> This is the Christianity which, in the days of the Primitive Church, "t=
urned
> the world upside down." It was this that emptied the idol temples of th=
eir
> wor****ppers, routed the Greek and Roman philosophers, and obliged even
> heathen writers to confess that the followers of the "new superstition,=
" as
> they called it, were people who loved one another, and lived very pure =
and
> holy lives.
> =
> This is the Christianity which, after dreary centuries of ignorance,
> priestcraft, and superstition, produced the Protestant Reformation, and=
> changed the history of Europe. The leading doctrines which were preache=
d by
> Luther and Zwingli on the Continent, and by Latimer and his companions =
in
> England, were precisely those which I have briefly described. That they=
bore
> rich fruit, in an immense increase of general morality and holiness, is=
a
> simple fact which no historian has ever denied.
> =
> This is the Christianity which, in the middle of last century, delivere=
d our
> own Church from the state of deadness and darkness into which she had
> fallen. The main truths on which Whitfield, and Wesley, and Romaine, an=
d
> Venn, and their companions, continually insisted, were the truth about =
sin,
> Christ, the Holy Ghost, and holiness. And the results were the same as =
they
> were in the primitive days, and at the era the Reformation. Men persecu=
ted
> and hated all who taught these truths. But no one could say that they d=
id
> not make men live and die well.
> =
> This is the Christianity which is doing good at this day, wherever good=
is
> done. Search the missionary stations in Africa, India, or China. Visit =
the
> great over-grown, semi-heathen parishes in colliery districts or
> manufacturing towns in our own land. In every case you will find the sa=
me
> re****t must be made. The only religious teaching which can show solid,
> positive results, is that which gives prominence to the doctrines which=
I
> have endeavoured to describe. Wherever they are rightly taught, Christi=
anity
> can point to fruits which are an unanswerable proof of its Divine origi=
n.
> =
> So much for fruit-bearing Christianity. I leave the subject with one re=
mark
> about it. Let it never be forgotten that its leading principles are tho=
se
> which are least likely to please the natural man. On the contrary, they=
are
> precisely those which are calculated to be unpopular and to give offenc=
e.
> Proud man does not like to be told that he is a weak, guilty sinner,-th=
at he
> cannot save his own soul, and must trust in the work of another,-that h=
e
> must be converted and have a new heart,-that he must live a holy,
> self-denying life, and come out from the world. Surely the mere fact th=
at
> this kind of unpopular teaching characterizes successful Christianity, =
and
> bears fruit in the world, is a strong evidence that Christianity is a D=
ivine
> revelation, and really comes from God.
> =
> And now I will conclude this paper with four words of practical applica=
tion,
> which I shall address to four different cl***** of people.
> =
> 1. In the first place, I have a word for those who are tempted to give =
way
> to scepticism and unbelief, and are half disposed to throw overboard
> Christianity altogether. What shall I say to you? Listen, and I will te=
ll
> you.
> =
> I entreat you, before you go any further, to deal honestly with the rel=
igion
> of faith and those who profess it, and try it by its fruits. That there=
is
> such a religion in the midst of us, and that there are thousands who pr=
ofess
> it, are simple facts which nobody can deny. These thousands believe wit=
hout
> doubting certain great truths of Christianity, and live and die in thei=
r
> belief. Let it be admitted that, in some points, these men of faith do =
not
> agree,-such as the Church, the ministry, and the sacraments. But after =
every
> deduction, there remains an immense amount of common theology, about wh=
ich
> their faith is one. On such points as sin, and God, and Christ, and the=
> atonement, and the authority of the Bible, and the im****tance of holine=
ss,
> and the necessity of prayer, and self-denial, and the value of the soul=
, and
> the reality of heaven and hell, and judgment, and eternity,-on such poi=
nts
> as these, I say, these men of faith are very much of one mind.
> =
> Now, I ask all sceptics and agnostics, is it honest to turn away from t=
hese
> men of faith and their religion with contempt, because they have many
> weaknesses and infirmities? Is it fair to despise their religion, and w=
rap
> yourself up in unbelief, because of their controversies and strifes, th=
eir
> feeble literature and their party spirit? Is it fair to ignore the frui=
ts of
> peace, and hope and comfort, which they enjoy? Mark the solid work whic=
h,
> with all their faults, they do in the world, in lessening sorrow and si=
n,
> and increasing happiness, and improving their fellow-men. What fruits a=
nd
> work can unbelief show which will bear comparison with the fruits of fa=
ith?
> What good has secularism, or agnosticism, or deism, done to mankind? Wh=
at
> missions have they sent forth to the world? What cities or countries on=
> earth have they civilized, purified, and made more holy and happy? What=
have
> the gods which some despisers of revelation seem to wor****p,-evolution,=
> development, matter, force, destiny,-what have they done to enable men =
to
> meet the many ills to which all flesh is heir? What aching consciences =
have
> they relieved? What broken hearts have they bound up? What sick-beds ha=
ve
> they cheered? What bereaved parents and widows have they comforted? We =
ask
> in vain. We shall get no answer. Look these facts in the face and deal
> honestly with them. Systems ought to be judged by their "fruits" and
> results. When the so-called systems of modern unbelief and scepticism, =
and
> free thought, can point to as much good done in the world by their adhe=
rents
> as simple faith has done by the hand of its friends, we may give them s=
ome
> attention. But till they do that, I boldly say that the simple,
> old-fa****oned religion of faith has a just claim on our respect, esteem=
, and
> obedience, and ought not to be lightly esteemed, ridiculed, or despised=
=2E
> =
> 2. In the second place, I have a word for those professing Christians w=
ho
> have no life or reality about their religion, and are only nominal memb=
ers
> of Christ's Church. I need hardly say there are myriads of people in th=
is
> condition. They are not sceptics, and would be justly offended if you c=
alled
> them infidels or agnostics. Yet, if truth must be spoken, except going =
to
> church or chapel on Sundays, they give no sign of Christianity. If you =
mark
> their daily life, they seem neither to think, nor feel, nor care for th=
eir
> souls, or God, or eternity.
> =
> Now, I warn any readers of this paper who are in this state, and I say =
it
> with pain, that you are the true cause of a vast pro****tion of infideli=
ty. I
> remember a careless sceptic saying,-"Do you think I am going to believe=
your
> Christianity when I see so many of your church-goers behaving as they d=
o? Do
> you mean to tell me that they think their creed is true, and that they
> really believe in a resurrection and a judgment to come? It will be tim=
e
> enough for me to believe when I see your people really believing. At pr=
esent
> your Christianity seems a great sham and a mere form." Alas! such talk =
as
> this is only too much justified by facts. Nothing, nothing, I am convin=
ced,
> does so much to help the progress of modern infidelity as the utter abs=
ence
> of reality and earnestness among professing Christians. Men and women w=
ho
> crowd churches on Sundays, and then live worldly selfish lives all the =
week,
> are the best and most efficient allies of scepticism. "If you believed =
what
> you repeat under the pulpit," the sceptic says, "you would never live a=
s you
> live at home." Oh! that people would think of the mischief done by
> inconsistency. "Awake, thou that sleepest, and arise from the dead." It=
is
> bad enough to ruin your own soul. But do not add to your sin by ruining=
> others.
> =
> 3. In the third place, I have a word for those sincere but weak-minded
> Christians who are surprised and frightened at the unbelief of these la=
tter
> days, and live in a constant state of panic and alarm. What shall I say=
to
> you? Listen, and I will tell you.
> =
> I ask you, then, to look to your Bibles, and lay aside your fears. Ther=
e is
> nothing in unbelief which ought to surprise you. Search the Scriptures,=
and
> you will find that the unbelief of the twentieth century is only an old=
> enemy in a new dress, an old disease in a new form. Since the day when =
Adam
> and Eve fell, the devil has never ceased to tempt men not to believe Go=
d,
> and has said, directly or indirectly, "Ye shall not die even if you do =
not
> believe." In the latter days especially we have warrant of Scripture fo=
r
> expecting an abundant crop of unbelief:-"When the Son of Man cometh, sh=
all
> he find faith on the earth?"-"Evil men and seducers shall wax worse and=
> worse."-"There shall come in the last days scoffers." (Luke xviii. 5; 2=
Tim.
> iii. 13; 2 Peter iii. 3). Here in England scepticism is that natural re=
bound
> from semi-popery and superstition, which many wise men have long predic=
ted
> and expected. It is precisely that swing of the pendulum which far-sigh=
ted
> students of human nature looked for; and it has come.
> =
> But as I tell you not to be surprised at the widespread scepticism of t=
he
> times, so also I must urge you not to be shaken in mind by it, or moved=
from
> your steadfastness. There is no real cause for alarm. The ark of God is=
not
> in danger, though the oxen seem to shake it. Christianity has survived =
the
> attacks of Hume and Hobbes and Tindal,-of Collins and Woolston and
> Bolingbroke and Chubb,-of Voltaire and Payne and Holyoake. These men ma=
de a
> great noise in their day, and frightened weak people: but they produced=
no
> more effect than idle travellers produce by scratching their names on t=
he
> pyramid of Egypt. Depend on it, Christianity in like manner will surviv=
e the
> attacks of the clever writers of these times. The startling novelty of =
many
> modern objections to Revelation, no doubt, makes them seem more weighty=
than
> they really are. It does not follow, however, that hard knots cannot be=
> untied because our fingers cannot untie them, or that formidable
> difficulties cannot be explained because our eyes cannot see through or=
> explain them. When you cannot answer a sceptic, be content to wait for =
more
> light; but never forsake a great principle. In religion, as in many
> scientific questions, said Faraday, "the highest philosophy is often a
> judicious suspense." We can afford to wait.
> =
> 4. In the last place, I have a word for all true believers who lament t=
he
> spread of unbelief, though their own faith is unshaken. What shall I sa=
y to
> them? What advice shall I offer? Listen, and I will tell you.
> =
> I must plainly say, and I say it with sorrow, that we who profess faith=
, and
> are never troubled with unbelief, are not altogether free from blame. T=
oo
> often our faith is little better than a mere "otiose assent" to certain=
> theological propositions, but not a living, burning, active principle, =
which
> works by love, purifies the heart, overcomes the world, and brings fort=
h
> much fruit of holiness and good works. It is not the faith which made
> primitive Christians rejoice under Roman persecution, and made Luther s=
tand
> up boldly before the Diet of Worms, and made Ridley and Latimer "love n=
ot
> their lives to the death," and made Wesley give up his position at Oxfo=
rd to
> become an evangelist of England. We are verily guilty in this matter. I=
f
> there was more real living faith on earth, I suspect there would be les=
s
> unbelief. Scepticism, in many a case, would shrink, and dwindle, and me=
lt
> away, if it saw faith more awake, and alive, and active, and stirring. =
Let
> us, for Christ's sake, and the sake of souls, amend our ways in this ma=
tter.
> Let us pray daily, "Lord, increase our faith." Let us live, and move, a=
nd
> have our being, and deal with men, as if we really believed every jot a=
nd
> tittle of our creeds, and as if a dying, risen, interceding, and coming=
> Christ were continually before our eyes. We may depend on it the old sa=
ying
> is true,-"the inconsistency of believers is the infidel's best argument=
=2E"
> =
> This, I am firmly convinced, is the surest way to oppose and diminish
> unbelief. Let the time past suffice us to have lived content with a col=
d,
> tame assent to creeds. Let the time to come find us living, active
> believers. It was a solemn saying which fell from the lips of an eminen=
t
> minister of Christ on his death-bed," We are none of us more than half
> awake." If believers were more thorough, and real, and whole-hearted in=
> their belief, there would be far less unbelief in the world.
> =
> The words at the head of this paper contain a mine of truth,-"Every tre=
e is
> known by his own fruit." If the tree of Christianity bore more fruit, t=
he
> axe of infidelity would never harm it, and would be laid to its root in=
> vain.
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