They think they have all the
religion they need. By Charles Simeon. If anyone
is in Christ, he is a new creation. Old things have passed away.
Behold, all things have become new. 2 Corinthians 5.17 Most people view Christianity
as a superficial thing, consisting in a bare ascent to certain notions,
and a formal observance of certain religious rites. If they have
some general views of Christianity, if they occasionally attend a
church service, and finally, if they are not guilty of any
scandalous sins, they think they have all the religion they need.
but they merely substitute the shadow for the substance and
the external for the internal. True and saving religion is widely
different from this. It is a radical conversion of
the soul, turning from sin and turning to God. True religion
as it exists in the soul is a heaven-born principle that pervades and operates
in all our faculties. It restrains our passions, corrects
our desires, and purifies our affections. It enters into all
our motives and subjects everything to itself. Saving religion will
endure no rival, nor will it make a truce with any sin, however
dear and habitual. It will reign over the whole
man. It brings its votary to the foot of the cross. It constrains
him to walk in the steps of his divine master. It progressively
transforms him into the image of Christ. I will give you a
new heart and put a new spirit in you. I will remove from you
your heart of stone and give you a heart of flesh. And I will
put My Spirit in you and cause you to follow My decrees and
be careful to keep My laws. Ezekiel 36.26-27