This is a chapter from J.C. Ryle's classic book Practical Religion.
REALITY
"Rejected silver." Jeremiah 6:20
"Nothing but leaves." Mark 11:13
"Let us not love in word or talk but in deed and truth." 1 John 3:18
"You have the reputation of being alive, but you are dead." Revelation 3:1
If we profess to have any religion at all, let us take care that it is real: that it is genuine, sincere, honest, and thorough, not hollow, false, counterfeit, and nominal. It may sometimes be weak and mingled with many infirmities, but real Christianity is something inward, solid, substantial, living, and lasting. I will endeavor to do two things: to show the importance of reality in religion and supply tests by which we may prove whether our own religion is real.
1. The importance of reality in religion. Can it be said that reality is rightly esteemed among professing Christians? I deny it entirely. Most people who profess to admire reality in religion seem to think everyone possesses it. They claim that most people have got good hearts at bottom, being sincere and true in the main, although they may make mistakes. They accuse Christians who doubt anyone's goodness of heart as uncharitable, harsh, and censorious. That widespread delusion is one of the reasons I take up this subject. What do the Scriptures say? Let us turn to our Bibles and examine them fairly.
A. Let us look at the parables of our Lord Jesus Christ. Observe how many of them put in strong contrast the true believer and the mere nominal disciple. The parables of the sower, the wheat and tares, the dragnet, the two sons, the wedding garment, the ten virgins, the talents, the great banquet, the 10 minas, and the two builders all have one great point in common: bringing out in striking colors the difference between reality and unreality in religion. They all show the uselessness and danger of any Christianity that is not real, thorough, and true.
B. Let us look at how the Lord described the scribes and Pharisees. Eight times over in one chapter (Matthew 23) we find Him denouncing them as hypocrites. In words of almost fearful severity He states, "You serpents, you generation of vipers, how can you escape the damnation of hell?" What may we learn from these tremendously strong expressions? How is it that our gracious Lord and merciful Savior used such strong words about people who were more outwardly moral than the tax collectors and prostitutes He ministered to? It is meant to teach us the exceeding abominableness of false profession and mere outward religion in God's sight. Open immorality and willful obedience to fleshly lusts are no doubt ruinous sins if not given up, but there seems nothing more displeasing to Christ than hypocrisy and unreality.
C. Let us look at the startling fact that there is hardly a virtue in the character of a true Christian of which you will not find a counterfeit described in the Word of God.
* Is there not an unreal repentance? Consider the examples of Judas Iscariot and Kings Saul, Ahab, and Herod. They had many feelings of sorrow about sin, but never repented unto salvation.
* Is there not an unreal faith? We are told that Simon the sorcerer in Samaria "believed," yet his heart was not right in the sight of God (Acts 8:9-24). It is written, "Even the devils believe—and shudder" (James 2:19).
* Is there not an unreal holiness? Joash, king of Judah, was to all appearance very holy and good while Jehoiada the priest lived, but as soon as Jehoiada died, the religion of Joash died at the same time (2 Chronicles 24). Judas Iscariot's outward life was as correct as any of the apostles' up to the time he betrayed His Master. There was nothing suspicious about him at the time. Yet in reality he was "a thief" (John 12:6) and a traitor.
* Is there not an unreal love and charity? Picture a great show of affection while the heart does not love at all. It is not for nothing that John writes, "Let us not love in word or talk but in deed and truth" (1 John 3:18), or that Paul says, "Let love be genuine" (Romans 12:9).
* Is there not an unreal humility? Paul warns against the mere "appearance of wisdom in promoting self-made religion and asceticism and severity to the body, but they are of no value" (Colossians 2:18-23).
* Is there not unreal praying? Our Lord said of the Pharisees, "You devour widows' houses, and for a pretense make long prayers" (Matthew 23:14). He did not charge them with not praying or making short prayers. Their sin was that their prayers were not real.
*Is there not unreal worship? Our Lord, quoting the prophet Isaiah, said of co-religionists at the time, "This people draws near to Me with their mouths and honors Me with their lips, but their heart is far from Me" (Matthew 15:8; Isaiah 29:13). They had plenty of formal services in their synagogues and temple, but the fatal defect about so many of them was lack of reality and heart.
*Is there not unreal talking about religion? God warns the prophet Ezekiel about people who talk and speak like His people, "but their hearts pursue their own gain" (Ezekiel 33:31). Paul tells us we may speak with the tongues of men and angels, but be no better than sounding brass or a clanging symbol (1 Corinthians 13:1).
What shall we say about these things? Beware of base metal in religion. Be genuine. Be thorough. Be real. Be true.
2. Tests by which we may try the reality of our religion. I ask every reader to deal fairly, honestly, and reasonably with his or her soul. Believe me, it is no light matter. It is your life.
A. If you would know whether your religion is real, try it by the place it occupies in your inner self. It is not enough that it is in your head. You may know the truth, assent to it, and believe in it to some degree, yet be wrong in God's sight. It is not enough that it is on your lips. You may say amen to public prayer in church, yet have nothing more than an outward religion. It is not enough that it is in your feelings. You may weep when hearing something inspirational, yet be dead to God. Your religion, if it is real and given by the Holy Spirit, must be in your heart. It must lead your will, sway your real affections, direct your tastes, and influence your choices and decisions. Is this your religion? As Paul says, "With the heart one believes unto righteousness, and with the mouth confession is made unto salvation" (Romans 10:10).
B. If you would know whether your religion is real, try it by the feelings toward sin it produces. The Christianity from the Spirit of God will not merely regard sin as a blemish and misfortune. It will see in sin the abominable thing God hates, the thing that makes man guilty and lost in his Maker's sight, the thing that rightly deserves God's wrath and condemnation. It will look on sin as the cause of all sorrow and unhappiness, of strife and wars, of quarrels and contentions, of sickness and death—the blight of God's fair creation and the cursed thing that makes the whole earth groan. Above all, it will see in sin the thing that will ruin us eternally apart from the ransom provided only by the Lord Jesus Christ. Are these your feelings about sin? If not, you may well doubt whether your religion is real.
C. If you would know whether your religion is real, try it by the feelings toward Christ it produces. Nominal religion may believe that such a Person as Christ existed and that He was a great benefactor to mankind. It may show Him some external respect, but will go no further. Real religion will make a person glory in Christ as the Redeemer, Deliverer, Priest, and Friend without whom he or she would have no hope at all. It will produce confidence in Him, love toward Him, and delight and comfort Him as the food, light, life, and peace of the soul. Is this your religion? Do you know anything of feelings like these toward the Lord Jesus Christ?
D. If you would know whether your religion is real, try it by the fruit it bears in your heart and life. The Christianity from above will always produce repentance, faith, hope, love, humility, spirituality, kindness, self-denial, unselfishness, forgiveness, self-control, truthfulness, and patience. The degree to which these various virtues appear will vary in different believers. The germ and seeds of them will be found in all who are the children of God. By their fruits they may be known. Is this your religion? If not, you may well doubt whether it is real.
E. In the last place, if you would know whether your religion is real, try it by your feelings and habits regarding the means of grace. Prove it by the Sunday. Is it for you a day of weariness and constraint or a delight and refreshment, a foretaste of the rest to come in heaven? What are your feelings about public prayer and praise, the preaching of God's Word, and participating in the Lord's Supper? Do you find it essential to your comfort to read the Bible regularly in private and speak to God in prayer, or do you find these practices irksome and either rush them along or neglect them altogether? These questions deserve your attention so you can determine whether your religion is real. If your heart is right in the sight of God, you have no cause to flinch from examination. If it is wrong, the sooner you find it out the better.
The years of our life are fast passing away. Who knows whether this may be you last year of earthly life? Be a real and true Christian. Do not be base metal. The day is fast coming when nothing but reality will stand the fire. Real repentance towards God, real faith towards our Lord Jesus Christ, real holiness of heart and life are what will matter then, and are what matter now.
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