Prove All Things
by J. C. Ryle
"Prove all things—hold fast that which is good." 1
Thessalonians 5:21
You live in days when the text before your eyes is one of
the first importance. The truths it contains are especially truths for the
times. Give me your attention for a few minutes, and I will try to show you
what I mean.
There were three great doctrines or principles which won
the battle of the Protestant Reformation:
first, the sufficiency and supremacy of Holy Scripture
secondly, the right of private judgment
thirdly, justification by faith alone, without the deeds
of the law.
These three principles were the keys of the whole
controversy between the Reformers and the Church of Rome. Keep firm hold of
them when you argue with a Roman Catholic, and your position is
unassailable; no weapon that the Church of Rome can forge against you shall
prosper. Give up any one of them, and your cause is lost. Like Samson, with
his hair shorn, your strength is gone. Like the Spartans, betrayed at
Thermopylae, you are outflanked and surrounded. You cannot maintain your
ground. Resistance is useless. Sooner or later you will have to lay down
your arms, and surrender at discretion. Remember this.
The Roman Catholic controversy is upon you once more. You
must put on the old armor, if you would not have your faith overthrown. The
sufficiency of Holy Scripture, the right of private judgment, justification
by faith alone—these are the three great principles to which you must always
cling. Grasp them firmly, and never let them go. Reader, one of the three
great principles to which I have referred appears to me to stand forth in
the verse of Scripture which heads this tract—I mean the right of private
judgment. I wish to say something to you about that principle.
The Holy Spirit, by the mouth of Paul, says to us, "Prove
all things. Hold fast that which is good." In these words you have two great
truths:
I. The right, duty, and necessity of private judgment.
"Prove all things."
II. The duty and necessity of keeping firm hold upon
truth. "Hold fast that which is good."
I propose to dwell a little on both these heads.
I. Let me speak first, of the right, duty, and necessity
of private judgment.
"Prove all things." When I say the right of
private judgment, I mean that every individual Christian has a right to
judge for himself by the Word of God, whether that which is put before him
as religious truth, is God's truth, or is not. When I say the duty of
private judgment, I mean that God requires every Christian man to use the
right of which I have just spoken—to compare man's words and man's writings
with God's revelation, and to make sure that he is not deluded and taken in
by false teaching. And when I say the necessity of private judgment, I mean
this—that it is absolutely needful for every Christian who loves his soul
and would not be deceived, to exercise that right, and discharge that duty
to which I have referred; seeing that experience shows that the neglect
of private judgment has always been the cause of immense evils in the Church
of Christ!
Now the Apostle Paul urges all these three points upon
your notice when he uses those remarkable words, "Prove all things." I ask
your particular attention to that expression. In every point of view it is
most weighty and instructive. Here, you will remember, the Apostle Paul is
writing to the Thessalonians, to a Church which he himself had founded. Here
is an inspired Apostle writing to young inexperienced Christians, writing to
the whole professing Church in a certain city, containing laity as well as
clergy, writing too with especial reference to matters of doctrine and
preaching, as we know by the verse preceding the text: "Despise not
prophesyings." And yet mark what he says: "Prove all things." He does not
say, "Whatever apostles, whatever evangelists, pastors and teachers,
whatever your leaders, whatever your ministers tell you is truth--that you
are to believe." No! he says, "Prove all things." He does not say, "Whatever
the universal Church pronounces true--that you are to hold." No! he says,
"Prove all things."
The principle laid down is this, "Prove all things by the
Word of God. All ministers, all teaching, all preaching, all doctrines, all
sermons, all writings, all opinions, all practices—prove all by the Word of
God. Measure all by the measure of the Bible. Compare all with the standard
of the Bible. Weigh all in the balances of the Bible. Examine all by the
light of the Bible. Test all in the crucible of the Bible. That which can
abide the fire of the Bible--you are to receive, hold, believe and obey.
That which cannot abide the fire of the Bible--you are to reject, refuse,
repudiate, and cast away."
Reader, this is private judgment. This is the right you
are to exercise if you love your soul. You are not to believe things in
religion merely because they are said by Popes or Cardinals—by Bishops or
Priests—by Presbyters or Deacons—by Churches, Councils, or Synods—by
Fathers, Puritans, or Reformers. You are not to argue, "Such and such things
must be true--because these men say so." You are not to do so. You are to
prove all things by the Word of God.
I know such doctrine sounds shocking in some men's ears.
But I write it down advisedly, and believe it cannot be disproved. I want to
encourage no man in ignorant presumption or ignorant contempt. I praise not
the man who seldom reads his Bible, and yet sets himself up to pick holes in
his minister's sermons. I praise not the man who knows nothing but a few
texts in the New Testament, and yet undertakes to settle questions in
divinity which have puzzled God's wisest children. But still I hold with
Bilson, that "all hearers have both liberty to discern, and a charge to
beware of seducers; and woe to them that do it not." And I say with Davenant,
"We are not to believe all who undertake to teach in the Church, but must
take care and weigh with serious examination, whether their doctrine is
sound or not."
Reader, men may dislike the doctrine of private judgment,
but there is no doubt that it is continually taught in the Word of God. This
is the principle laid down in the eighth chapter of Isaiah, 19th verse.
These words were written, remember, at a time when God was more immediately
King over His Church, and had more direct communication with it than He has
now. They were written at a time when there were men upon earth who had
direct revelations from God. Yet what does Isaiah say? "To the law and to
the testimony! If they do not speak according to this word, it is because
there is no light or truth in them." If this be not private judgment what
is?
This again is the principle laid down by our Lord Jesus
Christ in the Sermon on the Mount. Remember what He says: "Beware of false
prophets which come to you in sheep's clothing, but inwardly they are
ravening wolves. You shall know them by their fruit." (Matt. 7:15.) How is
it possible that men shall know these false prophets, except they exercise
their private judgment as to what their fruits are?
This is the practice you find commended in the Bereans,
in the Acts of the Apostles. They did not take the Apostle Paul's word for
granted, when he came to preach to them. You are told, that they searched
the Scriptures daily, whether those things were so," and "therefore," it is
said, "many of them believed." (Acts 17:11, 12.) What was this again but
private judgment?
"The people of God are called to test the truth, to judge
between true and false, between light and darkness. God has made them the
promise of His Spirit, and has left unto them His Word. The Christians of
Berea, when they heard the preaching of Paul, searched the Scriptures daily,
to ascertain whether those things which Paul taught were true. So must you.
Give heed to instruction--and yet do not receive any teachings without proof
and trial that they are the wholesome doctrine of the Word of God." Jewell.
This is the spirit of the advice given in 1 Cor. 10:15,
"I speak as unto wise men—you judge what I say." Coloss. 2:18, "Beware lest
any man spoil you through philosophy and vain deceit." 1 John 4:1, "Beloved,
believe not every spirit, but test the spirits, whether they are of God." 2
John 10, "If there come any unto you, and bring not this doctrine, receive
him not into your house." If these passages do not recommend the use of
private judgment, I do not know what words mean. To my mind they seem to say
to every individual Christian, "Prove all things."
Reader, whatever men may say against private judgment,
you may be sure that it cannot be neglected without immense danger to your
soul. You may not like it, but you never know what you may come to, if you
refuse to use it! No man can say into what depths of false doctrine you may
be drawn—if you will not do what God requires of you, and "Prove all
things."
Suppose that, in fear of private judgment, you resolve to
believe whatever the Church believes. Where is your security against
error? The Church is not infallible. There was a time when almost the whole
of Christendom embraced the Arian heresy, and did not acknowledge the Lord
Jesus Christ to be equal with the Father in all things. There was a time,
before the reformation, when the darkness over the face of Europe was a
darkness which might be felt. The General Councils of the Church are not
infallible. When the whole Church is gathered together in a General Council,
what says our Twenty-first Article? "They may err, and sometimes
have erred, even in things pertaining unto God. Wherefore things
ordained by them as necessary to salvation, have neither strength nor
authority, unless it may be declared that they he taken out of Holy
Scripture."
The particular branches of the Church are not infallible.
Anyone of them may err. Many of them have fallen foully, or have been swept
away. Where is the Church of Ephesus at this day? Where the Church of Sardis
at the present time? Where the Church of Hippo in Africa? Where the Church
of Carthage? They are all gone! Not a vestige of any of them is left! Will
you then be content to err merely because the Church errs? Will your erring
in company with the Church, remove your responsibility for your own soul?
Oh, reader, it were surely a thousand times better for a man to stand alone
and be saved—than to err in company with the Church, and be lost! It were
better to prove all things, and go to heaven—than to say, "I dare not think
for myself," and go to hell.
But suppose that, to cut matters short, you resolve to
believe whatever your minister believes. Once more I ask, Where is
your safety? Where is your security? Ministers are not infallible, any more
than Churches. All of them have not the Spirit of God. The very best of them
are only men. Call us Bishops, Priests, Deacons, or whatever names you
please—we are all earthen vessels. I speak not merely of Popes, who have
promulgated awful superstitions and led abominable lives. I would rather
point to the very best of Protestants and say, "Beware of looking upon them
as infallible—beware of thinking of any man (whoever that man may be)—that
he cannot err!"
Luther held to consubstantiation—that was a mighty error.
Zwingle, the Swiss Reformer, went on to battle, and died in the fight—that
was a mighty error. Calvin, the Geneva Reformer, advised the burning of
Servetus—that was a mighty error. Cranmer and Ridley urged the putting of
Hooper into prison because of some trifling dispute about vestments—that was
a mighty error. Whitgift persecuted the Puritans—that was a mighty error.
Wesley and Toplady in the last century, quarreled fiercely about
doctrine—that was a mighty error. All these things are warnings—if you will
only take them. All say, "Cease from trusting in man." All show us that if a
man's religion hangs on ministers, whoever they may be, and not on the Word
of God—it hangs on a broken reed!
Never make ministers into Popes. Follow us so far
as we follow Christ, but not a hair's breadth further. Believe whatever we
can show you out of the Bible, but do not believe a single word more.
Neglect the duty of private judgment, and you may find, to your cost, the
truth of what Whitby says: The best of overseers do sometimes make
oversights. You may live to experience the truth of what the Lord said
to the Pharisees: When the blind lead the blind, both fall into the ditch!
Reader, be very sure no man is safe against error, unless
he acts on Paul's injunction—unless he "proves all things" by the Word of
God. Reader, I have said that it is impossible to overrate the evils that
may arise from neglecting to exercise your private judgment. I will go
further, and say that it is impossible to overrate the blessings which
private judgment has conferred both on the world and on the Church. I ask
you to remember that the greatest discoveries in science and in
philosophy, have arisen from the use of private judgment. To this we owe the
discovery of Galileo, that the earth went round the sun, and not the
sun round the earth. To this we owe Columbus' discovery of the new
continent of America. To this we owe Harvey's discovery of the
circulation of the blood. To this we owe Jenner's discovery of
vaccination. To this we owe the printing press, the steam engine, the
power-loom, the electric telegraph, railways, and gas. For all these
discoveries we are indebted to men who dared to think for themselves. They
were not content with the beaten path of those who had gone before. They
were not satisfied with taking for granted that what their fathers believed
must be true. They made experiments for themselves. They brought old
established theories to the proof; and found that they were worthless. They
proclaimed new systems, and invited men to examine them, and test their
truth. They bore storms of obloquy and ridicule unmoved. They heard the
clamor of prejudiced lovers of old traditions without flinching. And they
prospered and succeeded in what they did. We see it now. And we who live in
the nineteenth century are reaping the fruit of their use of private
judgment.
And, reader, as it has been in science—so also it has
been in the history of the Christian religion. The martyrs who stood alone
in their day, and shed that blood which has been the seed of
Christ's Gospel throughout the world—the Reformers, who, one after another,
rose up in their might to enter the lists with the Church of Rome—all did
what they did, suffered what they suffered, proclaimed what they proclaimed,
simply because they exercised their private judgment about what was Christ's
truth.
Private judgment made the Waldenses, the Albigenses, and
the Lollards, count not their lives dear to them, rather than believe the
doctrines of the Church of Rome. Private judgment made Wyckliffe search the
Bible in our land, denounce the Romish Friars, and all their impostures,
translate the Scriptures into the vulgar tongue, and become "the morning
star" of the Reformation. Private judgment made Luther examine Tetzel's
abominable system of indulgences by the light of the Word. Private judgment
led him on, step by step, from one thing to another, guided by the same
light, until at length the gulf between him and Rome was a gulf that could
not be passed, and the Pope's power in Germany was completely broken.
Private judgment made our own English Reformers examine for themselves, and
inquire for themselves, as to the true nature of that corrupt system under
which they had been born and brought up. Private judgment made them cast off
the abominations of Popery, and circulate the Bible among the laity. Private
judgment made them brake the fetters of tradition, and dare to think for
themselves. They refused to take for granted, Rome's pretensions and
assertions. They examined them all by the Bible, and because they would not
abide the examination, they broke with Rome altogether. All the blessing of
Protestantism in England, all that we are enjoying at this very day, we owe
to the right exercise of private judgment.
Surely if we do not honor private judgment, we are
thankless and ungrateful indeed! Reader, I warn you not to be moved by the
common argument, that the right of private judgment is liable to be
abused—that private judgment has done great harm, and should be avoided as a
dangerous thing. Never was there a more miserable argument! Never was there
one which when thrashed proves so full of chaff! Private judgment has
been abused! I would like the objector to tell me what good gift of God has
not been abused! What high principle can be named that has not been employed
for the very worst of purposes? Strength may become tyranny when it
is employed by the stronger to coerce the weaker, yet strength is a blessing
when properly employed. Liberty may become licentiousness when every
man does that which is right in his own eyes, without regarding the rights
and feelings of others; yet liberty, rightly used, is a mighty blessing.
Because many things may be used improperly, are we, therefore, to give them
up altogether? Because opium is used improperly by some, is it
not to be used as a medicine on any occasion at all? Because money may be
used improperly, is all money to be cast into the sea? You cannot have good
in this world without evil. You cannot have private judgment without some
abusing it, and turning it to bad account.
But private judgment, people say, has done more
than good! What harm has private judgment done, I would like to know, in
matters of religion, compared to the harm that has been done by the
neglect of it? Grant, for a moment, that among Protestants who allow private
judgment, there are divisions. Grant that in the Church of Rome, where
private judgment is forbidden, there are no divisions. I might easily show
that Romish unity is far more seeming than real. Bishop Hall,
in his book called The Peace of Rome, numbers up no less than three
hundred differences of opinion maintained in the Romish Church. 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 has 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 judgment, 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 brings 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 system
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!
Reader, I warn you above all things not to be moved by
the specious argument, that it is humility to disallow private judgment,
that it is humility to have no opinion of your own, that it is the part of a
true Christian not to think for himself! I tell you that such humility is a
false humility, a humility which does not deserve that blessed name.
Call it rather laziness! Call it rather idleness. Call it
rather 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, beware of supposing that this deserves the name of
humility. It is refusing to exercise the gift that God has given you. It is
refusing to employ the sword of the Spirit which God has forged for the use
of your hand. Blessed be God, our forefathers did not act upon such
principles! Had they done so, we should never have had the Reformation. Had
they done so, we might have been bowing down to the image of the virgin Mary
at this moment, or praying to the spirits of departed saints, or having a
service performed in Latin. From such humility, may the good Lord ever
deliver you!
Reader, as long as you live—resolve that you will read
for yourself; think for yourself, judge of the Bible for yourself; in the
great matters of your soul. Have an opinion of your own. 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." "Prove all
things," and prove them by the Word of God. As long as you live, beware of
the blindfold system, which many commend in the present day—the
system of following a leader, and having no opinion of their own—the
system which practically says, "Only keep your Church, only receive the
sacraments, only believe what the ordained ministers who are set over you
tell you—and then all shall be well."
I warn you, that this will not do. I warn you that if you
are content with this kind of religion, you are periling your immortal soul.
Let the Bible, and not any Church upon earth, or any minister
upon earth, be your rule of faith.
"Prove all things" by the Word of God. And, above all, as
long as you live, look forward to the great day of judgment. Think of the
solemn account which every one of us shall 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 you 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 that will read it and search it in a childlike spirit. Why did you not
use the Word of God when it was given to you? You had a reasonable mind
given you to understand that Bible. Why did you not 'Prove all things,' and
thus keep clear of error?" Oh, reader, if you refuse to exercise your
private judgment, think of that awful day—and beware!
II. And now let me speak of the duty and necessity of
keeping firm hold upon truth.
The words of the Apostle on
this subject are pithy and forcible. "Hold fast," he says, "that which is
good." It is as if he said to us, "When you have found the truth for
yourself; and when you are satisfied that it is Christ's truth—that truth
which the Scriptures set forth—then get a firm hold upon it, grasp it, keep
it in your heart, never let it go!" He speaks as one who knew what the
hearts of all Christians are. He knew that our grasp of the Gospel, at our
best, is very cold—that our love soon waxes feeble—that our faith soon
wavers—that our zeal soon flags—that familiarity with Christ's truth often
brings with it a species of contempt—that, like Israel, we are apt to be
discouraged by the length of our journey—and, like Peter, ready to sleep one
moment and fight the next—but, like Peter, not ready to watch and pray.
All this Paul remembered, and, like a faithful watchman,
he cries, by the Holy Spirit, "Hold fast that which is good!" He speaks as
if he foresaw by the Spirit that the good tidings of the Gospel would soon
be corrupted, spoiled, and plucked away from the Church at Thessalonica. He
speaks as one who foresaw that Satan and all his agents would labor hard to
cast down Christ's truth. He writes as though he would forewarn men of this
danger, and he cries, "Hold fast that which is good." Reader, the advice is
always needed as long as the world stands.
There is a tendency to decay in the very best of
human institutions. The best visible Church of Christ is not free from this
liability to degenerate. It is made up of fallible men. There is always in
it a tendency to decay. We see the leaven of evil creeping into many a
Church, even in the Apostle's time. There were evils in the Corinthian
Church, evils in the Ephesian Church, evils in the Galatian
Church. All these things are meant to be our warnings and beacons in
these latter times! All show the great necessity laid upon the Church to
remember the Apostle's words: "Hold fast that which is good!"
Many a Church of Christ since then has fallen away for
the lack of remembering this principle. Their ministers and members forgot
that Satan is always laboring to bring in false doctrine. They forgot that
he can transform himself into an angel of light—that he can make darkness
appear as light, and light appear as darkness; truth appear as falsehood,
and falsehood appear as truth. If he cannot destroy Christianity, he
ever tries to corrupt it. If he cannot prevent the form of godliness,
he endeavors to rob Churches of the power. No Church is ever safe which
forgets these things, and does not bear in mind the Apostle's injunction:
"Hold fast that which is good!"
Reader, if ever there was a time in the world when
Churches were put upon their trial, whether they would hold fast the truth
or not—that time is the present time, and those Churches are the Protestant
Churches of our own land. Popery, that old enemy of our nation, is coming in
upon us in this day like a flood. We are assaulted by open enemies without,
and betrayed continually by false friends within. The numbers of Roman
Catholic churches, and chapels, and schools, and convents and monasteries,
are continually increasing around us. Month after month brings tidings of
some new defection from the ranks of the Church of England, to the ranks of
the Church of Rome. Already the clergy of the Church of Rome are using great
swelling words about things to come, and boasting that, sooner or later,
England shall once more be brought back to the orbit from whence she fell,
and take her place in the Catholic system! Already the Pope is parceling our
country into his bishoprics, and speaks like one who thinks that by-and-by
he shall divide the spoil. Already he seems to foresee a time when England
shall be as Rome, when London shall be as the Vatican itself. Surely, now or
never, we ought all of us to awake, and "Hold fast that which is good."
We supposed, some of us, in our blindness, that the power
of the Church of Rome was ended. We dreamed, some of us, in our folly, that
the Reformation had ended the Popish controversy, and that if Romanism did
survive, Romanism was altogether changed. If we did think so, we have lived
to learn that we made a most grievous mistake! Rome never changes! It is her
boast that she is always the same. The snake is not killed! He was
wounded at the time of the Reformation, but was not destroyed. The Romish
Antichrist is not dead. He was cast down for a little season, like the
fabled giant buried under Etna, but his deadly wound is healed, the grave is
opening once more, and Romish Antichrist is coming forth! The unclean spirit
of Popery is not laid in his own place. Rather he seems to say, "My house in
England is now swept and garnished for me; let me return to the place from
whence I came forth."
And, reader, the question is now, whether we are going to
abide quietly, sit still, and fold our hands, and do nothing to resist the
assault. Are we really men of understanding of the times? Do we know the day
of our visitation? Surely, this is a crisis in the history of our Churches
and of our land. It is a time which will soon prove whether we know the
value of our privileges, or whether, like Amalek, "the first of the
nations," our "latter end shall be that we perish forever." It is a time
which will soon prove whether we intend to allow our candlestick to be
quietly removed—or repent, and do our first works, lest any man should take
our crown.
If we love the open Bible—if we love the preaching of the
Gospel—if we love the freedom of reading that Bible, and the opportunity of
hearing that Gospel, with no man forbidding us—if we love civil liberty—if
we love religious liberty—if these are precious to our souls, we must all
make up our minds to hold fast, lest by and by we lose all.
Reader, if we mean to hold fast, every parish, every
congregation, every Christian man, and every Christian woman, must do their
part in contending for the truth. Each should work, and each should pray,
and each should labor as if the preservation of the pure Gospel depended
upon himself or herself, and upon no one else at all. The rich must not
leave the matter to the poor, nor the poor to the rich. We must all work.
Every living soul has a sphere of influence. Let him see to it that he fills
it. Every living soul can throw some weight into the scale of the Gospel.
Let him see to it that he casts it in. Let everyone know his own individual
responsibility in this matter; and all, by God's help, will be well.
If we would hold fast that which is good, we must never
tolerate any doctrine which is not the pure doctrine of Christ's Gospel.
There is a hatred which is downright charity—that is the hatred of
erroneous doctrine. There is an intolerance which is downright
praiseworthy—that is the intolerance of false teaching. Who would
ever think of tolerating a little poison given to him day by day? If
men come among you who do not preach "all the counsel of God," who do not
preach of Christ, and sin, and holiness, of ruin, and redemption, and
regeneration; and do not preach of these things in a Scriptural way, you
ought to cease to hear them. You ought to act upon the injunction given by
the Holy Spirit in the Old Testament: "Cease, my son, to hear the
instruction which causes to err from the words of knowledge." (Proverbs
19:27.) You ought to carry out the spirit shown by the Apostle Paul, in Gal.
1:8: "Though we, or an angel from heaven preach any other doctrine unto you
than that which we have preached, let him be accursed!"
If we can bear to hear Christ's truth mangled or
adulterated—and can see no harm in listening to that which is "another
Gospel"—and can sit at ease while "sham Christianity" is poured into our
ears—and can go home comfortably afterwards, and not burn with holy
indignation—if this is the case, there is little chance of our ever doing
much to resist Rome! If we are content to hear Jesus Christ not put in His
rightful place—we are not men and women who are likely to do Christ much
service, or fight a good fight on His side. He who is not zealous against
error—is not likely to he zealous for truth. If we would hold fast the
truth—we must be ready to unite with all who hold the truth, and love the
Lord Jesus Christ in sincerity. We must he ready to lay aside all minor
questions as things of subordinate importance. All minor points of
difference, however important they may be in their place and in their
proportion—all ought to be regarded as subordinate questions. I ask no man
to give up his private opinions about them. I wish no man to do violence to
his conscience. All I say is, that these questions are wood, hay, and
stubble, when the very foundations of the faith are in danger! The
Philistines are upon us! Can we make common cause against them, or can we
not? This is the one point for our consideration.
Surely it is not right to say that we expect to spend
eternity with men in heaven, and yet cannot work for a few years with them
in this world. The presence of a common foe ought to sink minor
differences. We must hold together. Depend upon it, all Christians must hold
together, if they mean to "hold fast that which is good." Some men may say,
"This is very troublesome." Some may say, "Why not sit still and be quiet?"
Some may say, "Oh, that horrid controversy! What need is there for
all this trouble? Why should we care so much about these points of
difference?" I ask, what good thing was ever gotten or ever kept,
without trouble? Gold does not lie open in the fields, but deep in the
earth. Pearls do not grow on trees, but deep down in Indian seas.
Difficulties are never overcome without struggles. Mountains are
seldom climbed without fatigue. Oceans are not crossed without
tossings on the waves. Peace is seldom obtained without war. And
Christ's truth is seldom maintained, without pains, without struggles, and
without trouble.
Let the man who talks of "trouble" tell me where we would
be at this day—if our forefathers had not taken some trouble? Where would be
the Gospel of England—if martyrs had not given their bodies to be burned?
Who shall estimate our debt to Cranmer, Latimer, Hooper, Ridley and Taylor,
and their brethren? They held fast that which is good. They would not give
up one jot of truth. They counted not their lives dear, for the Gospel's
sake. They labored, and they travailed—and we have entered into their
labors. Shame upon us if we will not take a little trouble to keep with
us—what they so nobly won!
Trouble or no trouble—pains or no pains—controversy, or
no controversy—one thing is very sure: that nothing but Christ's Gospel will
ever do good to our own souls. Nothing else will maintain our Churches.
Nothing else will ever bring down God's blessing upon our land. If,
therefore, we love our own souls, or if we love our country's prosperity, or
if we love to keep our Churches standing, we must remember the Apostles
words, and "hold fast," hold firmly the Gospel, and refuse to let it go!
And now, reader, I have set before you two things. One is
the right, the duty, and necessity of private judgment. The other is the
duty and necessity of keeping firm hold upon truth. It only remains for me
to APPLY these things to your own
individual conscience by a few concluding words.
For one thing, if it is your duty to "prove all things,"
let me beseech and exhort you to arm yourself with a thorough knowledge of
the Word of God. Read your Bible regularly. Become familiar with your Bible.
Prove all religious truth when it is brought before you—by the Bible. A
little knowledge of the Bible will not suffice. Depend upon it, a man must
know his Bible well if he is to prove religious teachings by it; and he must
read it regularly if he would know it well. There is no royal road to a
knowledge of the Bible. There must be reading daily, regular reading of the
Book—or the Book will not be known. As one said quaintly, but most truly,
"Justification may be by faith, but a knowledge of the Bible comes only by
works." The devil can quote Scripture. He could go to our Lord and quote
Scripture when he wished to tempt Him. A man must be able to perceive error,
from his knowledge of Scripture, when he hears error taught—lest he be
deceived. Neglect your Bible, and nothing that I know of can prevent your
becoming a Roman Catholic, an Arminian, a Socinian, a Jew, or a Turk—if a
plausible advocate of any of these false systems shall happen to meet you.
For another thing, if it be right to "prove all things,"
take care to test every Roman Catholic doctrine, by whoever put forward, by
the written Word of God. Believe nothing, however speciously
advanced—believe nothing, with whatever weight of authority brought
forward—believe nothing, though supported by all the Fathers— believe
nothing, except it can be proved to you out of Scripture! That alone is
infallible. That alone is light. That alone is God's measure of truth and
falsehood. "Let God be true—and every man a liar."
The New Zealanders' answer to the Romish priests who went
among them, is an answer never to be forgotten. They heard these priests
urge upon them the worship of the Virgin Mary. They heard them
recommend them to pray to saints. They heard them advocate the use of
images. They heard them speak of the authority of the Church of
Rome, the supremacy of the Pope, the antiquity of the Romish
church. They knew the Bible, and they heard all this calmly, and gave one
simple but memorable answer: "It cannot be true—because it is not in the
Book!" All the learning in the world could never have supplied a better
answer than that! Latimer, or Knox, or Owen, could never have made a more
crushing reply. Let this be our rule when we are attacked by Romanists; let
us hold fast the sword of the Spirit, and say in reply to all their
arguments, "It cannot be true—because it is not in the Book!"
Last of all, if it be right to "hold fast that which is
good," let us make sure that we have each laid hold personally, upon
Christ's truth for ourselves. Reader, it will not save you to know all
controversies, and to be able to detect everything which is false. Head
knowledge will never bring you to heaven! It will not save us to be able
to argue and reason with Roman Catholics, or to detect the errors of Popes'
Bulls, or Pastoral Letters. Let us see that we each lay hold upon Jesus
Christ for ourselves, by our own personal faith. Let us see to it that we
each flee for refuge, and lay hold upon the hope set before us in His
glorious Gospel. Let us do this, and all shall be well with us, whatever
else may go ill. Let us do this, and then all things are ours. The Church
may fall. The State may go to ruin. The foundations of all establishments
may be shaken. The enemies of truth may for a season prevail. But as for
us—all shall be well. We shall have in this world, peace—and in the world
which is to come, life everlasting; for we shall have Christ, and having
Him, we have all. This is real good, lasting good—good in sickness, good in
health, good in life, good in death, good in time, and good in eternity! All
other things are but uncertain. They all wear out. They fade. They droop.
They wither. They decay. The longer we have them the more worthless we find
them, and the more we realize, that everything here below is "vanity and
vexation of spirit."
But as for hope in Christ, that is always good. The
longer we use it—the better it seems. The more we wear it in our hearts—the
brighter it will look. It is good when we first have it. It is better far
when we grow older. It is better still in the day of trial, and the hour of
death. And best of all, depend upon it—it will prove good in the day of
judgment. Reader, if you have not yet laid hold on this hope in Christ, seek
it at once. Call on the Lord Jesus to give it to you. Give Him no rest until
you know and feel that you are His. If you have laid hold on this hope, hold
it fast. Prize it highly, for it will stand by you when everything else
fails!