Besides, good men are ashamed of him;
they can neither call him brother, nor friend; the very naming of
him among them makes them blush, if they know him.
{195} FAITH. Well, I see that saying and doing are two things, and
hereafter I shall better observe this distinction.
CHR. They are two things, indeed, and are as diverse as are the
soul and the body; for as the body without the soul is but a dead
carcass, so saying, if it be alone, is but a dead carcass also.
The soul of religion is the practical part: "Pure religion
and undefiled, before God and the Father, is this, To visit the
fatherless and widows in their affliction, and to keep himself
unspotted from the world." [James 1:27; see vv. 22-26] This
Talkative is not aware of; he thinks that hearing and saying will
make a good Christian, and thus he deceiveth his own soul. Hearing
is but as the sowing of the seed; talking is not sufficient to
prove that fruit is indeed in the heart and life; and let us assure
ourselves, that at the day of doom men shall be judged according
to their fruits. [Matt. 13, 25] It will not be said then, Did you
believe? but, Were you doers, or talkers only? and accordingly
shall they be judged.
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