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Starving Your Soul or Treasuring God as Supreme

December 12, 2019
12 Dec 2019

Dear Sovereign Redeemer and other friends,

In his book “Old Paths,” J.C. Ryle describes three ways a person can ruin his or her soul, this being the third:

“For another thing, you may starve your soul to death by trifling and indecision… Indecision is just as ruinous to the soul as a false religion or no religion at all. The stream of life can never stand still. Whether you are sleeping or waking, you are floating down that stream. You are coming nearer and nearer to the rapids. You will soon pass over the falls, and, if you die without a decided faith, be cast away to all eternity.” – Chapter 2, “Our Souls!” pg 39

Indecision and trifling starves the soul, and the end of that trajectory is destruction. You don’t have to be an atheist or an infidel. It is enough to fritter life away, never really deciding or committing. As Ryle says in so many places, tomorrow is the Devil’s day! Today is the day of salvation.

By marked contrast, others glimpse the infinite value of the God who is. In his missions book “Let the Nations be Glad,” John Piper speaks of this:

“We measure the worth of a hidden treasure by what we will gladly sell to buy it. If we will sell all, then we measure the worth as supreme. If we will not, what we have is treasured more. ‘The kingdom of heaven is like treasure hidden in a field, which a man found and covered up. Then in his joy he goes and sells all that he has and buys that field’ (Matt. 13:44). The extent of his sacrifice and depth of his joy display the worth he puts on the treasure of God. Loss and suffering, joyfully accepted for the kingdom of God, show the supremacy of God’s worth more clearly in the world than all worship and prayer.” – Chapter 3, “The Supremacy of God in Missions through Suffering,” pg 93

May we be part of a people who have cast off indecision and trifling because of a recognition that God is of an ultimate value that makes it impossible to stand still.

in Uncategorized /by

False Hopes

March 31, 2018
31 Mar 2018

Dear Sovereign Redeemer and other friends,

I have been reading J.C. Ryle’s “Old Paths” with some young men in the church, and this week we read Chapter 4, titled “Our Hope.” In it, Ryle gives five marks of a well-founded hope:

  1. A good hope is a hope that a man can explain.
  2. A good hope is drawn from Scripture.
  3. A good hope is a hope that rests entirely on Jesus Christ.
  4. A good hope is a hope that is felt inwardly in the heart.
  5. A good hope is a hope that is manifested outwardly in the life.

Following this fifth point, Ryle speaks of fanciful hopes which have no sure footing, and in that section he says this:

“I believe there never was a time when there was so much counterfeit religion current, and so many ‘false hopes’ passing off for true. There never was a time when there was so much high profession, and so little spiritual practice, so much loud talk about preachers, and parties, and churches, and so little close walking with God, and real work of the Spirit. There is no lack of blossoms in Christendom, but there is a melancholy scarcity of ripe fruit. There is an abundance of controversial theology, but a dearth of practical holiness. There are myriads who have a name to live, but few whose hearts are really given to Jesus Christ, – few whose affections are really set on things above. There will be some awful failures yet in many quarters: there will be still more awful disclosures at the last day. There are many hopes nowadays, which are utterly destitute of foundation. I says, for the last time. Beware of mistakes.”

I don’t know about you, but I want and need less “loud talk” in my life, and more “close walking with God and real work of the Spirit.” Let’s all pray for this.

Your brother,

 

Jason

in J.C. Ryle /by

Worship With Us

Consider joining us some Sunday for our corporate worship service at Hill Ridge Farms. We meet from 10:00 a.m. until 12:00 p.m., and we share a meal every week after the service. Our hope is that visitors will stay and get to know us, so we always bring plenty of food. You will be more than welcome. Directions.