Doubt that creed which you cannot reduce to practice.
Knowledge alone makes Christians haughty. Application makes us holy.
True religion is the life we lead, not the creed we profess.
Unless we do his teachings, we do not demonstrate faith in him.
Faith is about doing. You are how you act, not just how you believe.
There is one sure criterion of judgment as to religious faith in doctrinal matters; can you reduce it to practice? If not, have none of it.
Christianity is a religion which concerns us as we are here and now, creatures of body and soul. We do not "follow the footsteps of his most holy life" by the exercise of a trained religious imagination, but by treading the firm, rough earth, up hill and down dale.
It is not enough to belong to a religion. You also have to put it into practice. Religion is like medicine. You have to ingest it to combat the illness.
Faith that doesn't affect your life isn't really faith.
Your religion is what you do when the sermon is over.
Too many Christians live their Christian lives inside their heads; it never gets out through hands and feet and lips.
We read many books, but that does not bring us knowledge. We may read all the Bibles in the world, but that will not give us religion. Theoretical religion is easy enough to get, any one may get that. What we want is practical religion.
There is...a tendency to think of the spiritual life as primarily introspective, divorced from the concerns of everyday life....Faith that does not translate into actions is no faith at all.
It is not talking but walking that will bring us to heaven.
Repentance is a realization that what God wants from you and what you want from God are not going to be achieved by doing the same old things, thinking the same old thoughts. Repentance is a decision to follow Jesus Christ and become his pilgrim in the path of peace. Repentance is the most practical of all words and the most practical of all acts. It is a feet-on-the-ground-kind-of-word. It puts a person in touch with the reality that God creates.
The Sufis have a saying: "Praise Allah, and tie your camel to a post." This brings together both parts of practice: pray, yes, but also make sure that you do what is necessary in the world.
I'm the type to say a prayer and then go get what I just prayed for.
Religion is a thing to be lived. It is not merely sophistry.
It is convenient that there be gods, and, as it is convenient, let us believe there are.
The Gospel was not meant merely to reside in our intellect, memories, and tongues, but to be seen in our lives.
We recognize a tree by its fruit, and we ought to be able to recognize a Christian by his action. The fruit of faith should be evident in our lives, for being a Christian is more than making sound professions of faith. It should reveal itself in practical and visible ways. Indeed it is better to keep quiet about our beliefs, and live them out, than to talk eloquently about what we believe, but fail to live by it.
That Bible is read best, which is practised most.
Receiving, reading, researching, remembering, and reflecting on the Word of God are all useless if we fail to put what we learn into practice.
The kingdom of God does not consist in talk, but in power, that is, in works and practice. God loves the 'doers of the word' in faith and love, and not the 'mere hearers,' who, like parrots, have learned to utter certain expressions with readiness.
To have faith in Divine protection is good, but even beter if backed by the pratical assistance heaven has a right to expect from sensible mortals.
