The Most Pernicious and Debasing Evil

As quoted in How Sermons Work

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The most pernicious and debasing evil of all is a converting our sacred office into a medium for setting forth our own excellence — prostituting the glories of the cross for the indulgence of our own pride, drawing a veil over the glories of our adorable Master and committing a robbery against him, even in the professed business to exalt him. This is to lose sight of the great end of the Ministry — commending ourselves, instead of our Master, to the regard of our people … Our business is to make men think, not of our eloquence, but of their own souls, to attend, not to our fine language, but to their own everlasting interest.   Our duty is … not to stroke the ear, but to strike the heart. (Charles Bridges, The Christian Ministry

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