Not a Mere Sunday Affair, Timothy
Shea Arthur, Religion in Common Life, 1858 True religion is more than a
correct set of doctrines. It includes a life of good deeds
in the world. Unless such a life is led, no
matter what a man's faith may be, his religion is vain. Piety, which means devotion to
God, and charity, which consists in acting justly among men, make,
when united, the true Christian. Charity is essential, for if
a man does not love his brother whom he has seen, then how can
he love God whom he has not seen? Worship, therefore, in the absence
of charity, is vain, and the prayers of one who does not deal
justly and humanely with his fellow men can never ascend into
heaven. Religion is for the daily life,
and cannot be put aside at the close of the Sunday worship service. In every department of business,
in every office and profession, and in every household duty,
men and women must be governed by the divine precepts of the
Bible, or they cannot move a step heavenwards no matter how devoutly
they may have worshipped in the Sunday service. Religion To be
of any real use to a man must come down into all his daily
duties and regulate his actions by the divine standard, God's
Word. It must make him patient, thoughtful
of others, self-denying, watchful against evil, and above all,
just in even the smallest things towards his fellow man. So, in
everything, do unto others what you would have them do unto you. This is the divine standard. It is in the world where Christian
graces reveal themselves, if they exist at all. True religion
is not a mere Sunday affair, but the regulator of a man's
conduct among his fellow men, Unless it does this, it is a
false religion, and he who depends upon it for the enjoyment of
heavenly felicities in the next life will find himself miserably
deluded.