Thoughts from J.C. Ryle:
"Be very sure of this - people never reject the Bible because they cannot understand it. They understand it too well; they understand that it condemns their own behavior; they understand that it witnesses against their own sins, and summons them to judgment. They try to believe it is false and useless, because they don't like to believe it is true. An evil lifestyle must always raise an objection to this book. Men question the truth of Christianity because they hate the practice of it. "
From Thoughts for Young Men, Published by Vision Forum.
From Thoughts for Young Men, Published by Vision Forum.
posted by Nate at 9:49 PM
2 Comments:
Amen, and amen. Thank you for posting this quote! It made a wonderful addition to my devotions today. I was reading random chapters in Isaiah, and realized yet again how many times God calls His children to repentance, warning them of the consequences of their actions, and pleading with them to return to the paths of righteousness. And yet Israel still strayed. Why? Because they heard the dire warnings of the consequences of their sin and refused to belive that the definition of sin, and thus the consequences, applied to them. They refused to allow God's word to truly penetrate their hearts and their consciences, and convict them of their sin. So often we remind ourselves of God's promises of faithfulness, love, mercy, forgiveness, etc., but how often do we remind ourselves of God's righteousness, justice, and wrath towards those who knowingly break His laws? While I do belive that it is important to remind ourselves of the goodness of God (look at the Psalms), I also belive that our "Christian" culture has leaned so far to the "God is love" side of the board that we have a whole generation of Christians who have no concept of God's justice. As one of our church shepherds so aptly said "God is love AND God is just. There is no "but" there. It is because of God's infinite love that He must be infinately just."
Just a thought...
Jen,
Great thoughts! It seems that you and I have been thinking about many of the same things recently.
Sadly, many in our culture view God either as a doting grandfather who gives us all our wishes and desires, or as a vengeful father whose only desire is to make us miserable. They cannot see, as you so aptly pointed out, that "it is because of God's infinite love that He must be infinitely just".
There are many such things that the world cannot understand. The doctrine of the incarnation (Christ was fully God, and yet fully man), the doctrine of total depravity (how can man, if totally depraved, be responsible for his actions), and many other such things. It is only as the Holy Spirit opens our eyes to the truths of God's Word, that even we as Christians are able to begin to comprehend the depths of God's love for us, and his incredible justice.
Even we Christians, as fallen creatures, tend to become callous to our sin. This is why we are told in Joshua 1:8 that "This book of the law shall not depart out of thy mouth; but thou shalt meditate therein day and night, that thou mayest observe to do according to all that is written therein: for then thou shalt make thy way prosperous, and then thou shalt have good success."
It is very important that we be doers of the Word, and not hearers only (James 1:22-24), lest we too begin to question the truths of Christianity.
P.S.
Love you lots, little sis! Thanks again for your thoughts!
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