The minister who keeps back hell from his people in his sermons is neither a faithful nor a charitable man.
J. C. RyleRead
Since Satan can't destroy the gospel, he has too often neutralized its usefulness by addition, subtraction or substitution.
Interpretation
What this quote means
The quote highlights how the original message of the gospel can be diminished by various alterations that distract from its true meaning.
J. C. Ryle suggests that rather than outrightly defeating the gospel, Satan seeks to undermine its impact by modifying it through addition, subtraction, or substitution. This implies that the purity and core teachings of the gospel can be obscured by introducing elements that divert attention or misrepresent its essence, ultimately leading to a weakening of its transformative power.
Themes
GospelDeceptionTruthFaithSpiritualityChristianity
In practice
Example use cases
In a sermon discussing the importance of understanding the gospel's true message.
More from J. C. Ryle
All quotes →Good hymns are an immense blessing to the Church. They train people for heaven, where praise is one of the principal occupations.
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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.
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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
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Never be satisfied with the world's standard of Christianity!
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Sunday morning, before we go to hear the Word of God preached...let us not rush into God’s 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.
J. C. RyleRead
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