The minister who keeps back hell from his people in his sermons is neither a faithful nor a charitable man.
J. C. RyleRead
People will never set their faces decidedly towards heaven, and live like pilgrims, until they really feel that they are in danger of hell.
Interpretation
Individuals are motivated to pursue a higher purpose only when they acknowledge the consequences of their current actions.
This quote by J. C. Ryle emphasizes the idea that a sense of urgency or imminent danger can drive individuals to seek salvation or a higher moral standard. It suggests that without recognizing the consequences of a life poorly lived, people are unlikely to strive for spiritual or moral improvement, much like a pilgrim's journey towards a better destination when threatened by dire circumstances.
In practice
In a sermon discussing the importance of faith in difficult times, this quote serves as a reminder of the consequences of ignoring spiritual health.
The minister who keeps back hell from his people in his sermons is neither a faithful nor a charitable man.
Good hymns are an immense blessing to the Church. They train people for heaven, where praise is one of the principal occupations.
When I speak of a man growing in grace, I mean simply this - that his sense of sin is becoming deeper, his faith stronger, his hope brighter, his love more extensive, his spiritual mindedness more marked.
Those who confine God's love exclusively to the elect appear to me to take a narrow and contracted view of God's character and attributes....I have long come to the conclusion that men may be _x000D_ more systematic in their statements than the Bible, and may be led into grave error by idolatrous veneration of a system
Never be satisfied with the world's standard of Christianity!
Sunday morning, before we go to hear the Word of God preached...let us not rush into Godβs presence careless, reckless, and unprepared, as if it mattered not in what way such work was done. Let us carry with us faith, reverence, and prayer. If these three are our companions, we will hear with profit, and return with praise.
Que sΓ§ais-je?" (What do I know?)
The pain is there; when you close one door on it, it knocks to come in somewhere else.
Satan rejoiced when Adam (peace be upon him) came out of Paradise, but he did not know that when a diver sinks into the sea, he collects pearls and then rises again.
I've never tried to block out the memories of the past, even though some are painful. I don't understand people who hide from their past. Everything you live through helps to make you the person you are now.
To make a contented slave it is necessary to make a thoughtless one. It is necessary to darken the moral and mental vision and, as far as possible, to annihilate the power of reason.
The appreciation of pleasure can be the anchor of humanity.
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