Thus says the Lord: "Stand by the roads, and look, and ask for the ancient paths, where the good way is; and walk in it, and find rest for your souls.
But they said, 'We will not walk in it.'" --Jeremiah 6:16

 

15 November, 2007 - by Chad   comments: (0) Resource Spotlight   J.c. Ryle, on Church Attendance and the Means of Grace Part 1. J.C. Ryle wrote a tract, a 62 page tract titled; Thoughts for Young Men. Within it's pages there is much good advice for the youth but often what is good for the young is good for the fully grown. I find that when I read this tract it speaks to people of every age and often has good advice for those who are both new in the Lord and those who have walked with the Lord for many years. Ryle may have intended his message for young men but it is indeed good for all. We shall take a look at an excerpt from the tract. Here J.C. Ryle gives us some very good reason why church attendance and observance of the ordinances of the church are so important. Because this section is so long and because I think the information in the whole thing is so important I am going to break it up into 3 parts. That way we can keep the discussion on each string more focused. Be regular in going to the house of God, whenever it is open for prayer and preaching, and it is in your power to attend. Be regular in keeping the Lord's Day holy, and determine that God's day out of the seven shall henceforth always be given to it's rightful owner. I would not leave any false impressions in your minds. Do not go away and say that I told you that keeping your church made up the whole of religion. I tell you no such thing. I have no wish to see you grow up formalists and Pharisees. If you think mere carrying your body to a certain house, at certain times, on a certain day of the week, will make you a Christian, and prepare you to meet God, I tell you flatly you are miserably deceived. All services without heart service are unprofitable and vain. They anly are true worshippers who "worship God in spirit and in truth: the Father seeketh such to worship Him."(John 4:23). But means of grace are not to be despised because they are not saviors. Gold is not food-you cannot eat it-but you would not therefore say it is useless, and throw it away. Your soul's eternal well-doing most certainly does not depend of means of grace, but it no less certain that without them, as a general rule, your soul will not do well. God might take all who are saved to heaven in a chariot of fire, as He did Elijah, but he does not do so. He might teach them all by visions, and dreams and miraculous interpositions, without requiring them to read or think for themselves, but he does not do so. And why not? Because He is a God that works by means; and it is His law and will that in all man's dealings with Him means shall be used. None but a fool or enthusiast would think of building without ladders and scaffolding, and just so no wise man will despise means. I dwell more on this point because Satan will try hard to fill your minds with arguments against means. He will draw your attention to the number of persons who use them and are no better for the using. "See there," he will whisper, "do you not observe those who go to church are no better than those who stay away?" But do not let this move you. It is never fair to argue against a thing because it is improperly used. It does not follow that means of grace are no good because many attend on them and get no good from them. Medicine is not to be despised because many take it and do not recover their health. No man would think of giving up eating and drinking because others choose to eat and drink improperly, and so make themselves ill. The value of means of grace like other things, depends, in a great measure, on the manner and spirit in which we use them. Posted by: Jim B.   Link: http://www.oldtruth.com/blog.cfm/id.2.pid.1015          Home  |   About  |  Videos   |  Calvinism