The Danger of an Apathetic Faith   “[W]ho can say how much of the overflowing infidelity of the present day is owing not only to the lack of spiritual instructors—not merely to the existence of grossly unfaithful and inconsistent ones—but to the coldness of many who are reputed sound and faithful.  Men cannot but feel that if religion is worth anything, it is worth everything; that if it calls for any measure of zeal and warmth, it will justify the utmost degrees of these; and that there is no consistent medium between reckless atheism and the intensest warmth of religious zeal… It is not merely unsoundness in faith, or negligence in duty, or open inconsistency of life that mars the ministerial work and ruins souls.  A man may be free from all scandal either in creed or conduct, and yet may be a most grievous obstruction in the way of all spiritual good to his people.  He may be a dry and empty cistern notwithstanding his orthodoxy.  He may be freezing or blasting life at the very time he is speaking of the way of life. He may be repelling men from the cross even when he is in words proclaiming it. He may be standing between his flock and the blessing even when he is, in outward form, lifting up his hand to bless them.  The same words that from warm lips would drop as the rain, or distill as the dew, fall from his lips as the snow or hail, chilling all spiritual warmth and blighting all spiritual life.  How many souls have been lost for want of earnestness, want of solemnity, want of love in the preacher, even when the words uttered were precious and true!”     -- Horatius Bonar (1809-1899)   Godliness   “Godliness hath many complimental servants, that will give her the cap and the knee, a few good words and outward ceremonies; but godliness hath few faithful friends, that make her the mistress of their affections, that give her the command of their hearts, and that wait upon her, and walk with her all the day long.”   -- George Swinnock (1627-1673)     The Result of Christ   “It was in Christ that God tore up the foundations of the devil’s empire, disarmed all the curses of the law, overthrew the false conceits of the world, knocked off the fetters of their captivity, demolished the power of death, snatched souls from the flames of hell, unbarred the gates of heaven, prepared everlasting mansions, ‘laid His beams in the waters’, the foundations of an happy eternity in the misery, afflictions, death, blood of His only Son.” -- Stephen Charnock (1628-1680)