Heart-religion is too holy to be popular. It will not leave natural man alone. It interferes with his worldliness and his sins.
It requires of him things that he hates and despises–conversion, faith, repentance, spiritual-mindedness, Bible-reading, and prayer. It commands him to give up what he loves and clings to, and refuses to lay aside. It would be strange indeed if he liked it. It crosses his path as a kill-joy and a troublemaker, and it is absurd to expect that he will be pleased with it.
It requires of him things that he hates and despises–conversion, faith, repentance, spiritual-mindedness, Bible-reading, and prayer. It commands him to give up what he loves and clings to, and refuses to lay aside. It would be strange indeed if he liked it. It crosses his path as a kill-joy and a troublemaker, and it is absurd to expect that he will be pleased with it.
~ J.C. Ryle
Practical Religion, “Formality”, [Carlisle, PA: Banner of Truth, 1998], 277.
