Formality

The previous post on the religiosity of the Amish was not on my mind when I read the booklet on Formality by J.C. Ryle...until I re-watched the segments. The Amish (as well as many other religious institutions) have a form of godliness, but deny the power thereof.

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By J.C. Ryle

“Having a form of godliness, but denying the power thereof“—2 Timothy 3:5.

“He is not a Jew, which is one outwardly; neither is that circumcision, which is outward in the flesh: but he is a Jew, which is one inwardly; and circumcision is that of the heart, in the spirit, and not in the letter; whose praise is not of men, but of God”—Romans 2:28-29.

The texts which head this page deserve serious attention at any time. But they deserve especial notice in this age of the church and world. Never since the Lord Jesus Christ left the earth was there so much formality and false profession as there is in the present day. Now, if ever, we ought to examine ourselves, and search our religion, that we may know of what sort it is. Let us try to find out whether our Christianity is a thing of form or a thing of heart.

I know no better way of unfolding the subject than by turning to a plain passage of the Word of God. Let us hear what St. Paul says about it. He lays down the following great principles in his epistle to the Romans: “He is not a Jew, which is one outwardly; neither is that circumcision, which is outward in the flesh: but he is a Jew, which is one inwardly; and circumcision is that of the heart, in the spirit, not in the letter; whose praise is not of men, but of God” (Rom. 2:28-29). Three most instructive lessons appear to me to stand out on the face of that passage. Let us see what they are.

1. We learn first, that formal religion is not religion, and a formal Christian is not a Christian in God’s sight.

2. We learn secondly, that the heart is the seat of true religion and that the true Christian is the Christian in heart.

3. We learn thirdly, that true religion must never expect to be popular. It will not have the “praise of man, but of God.” Let us thoroughly consider these great principles. Two hundred years have passed away since a mighty Puritan divine said, “Formality, formality, formality is the great sin of England at this day, under which the land groans. There is more light than there was, but less life; more shadow, but less substance; more profession, but less sanctification” (Thomas Hall, on 2 Tim. 3:5, 1658.) What would this good man have said if he had lived in our times?

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