Quotable

“It is hard enough to fight the devil, the world and the flesh, without private differences in our own camp. But there is one thing that is even worse than controversy, and that is false doctrine tolerated...and permitted.... There are times when controversy is not only a duty but also a benefit, and it is a plain scriptural duty to ‘contend earnestly for the faith once delivered to the saints.’

“The apostle Paul...was beaten with rods, stoned and left for dead, chained and left in a dungeon, dragged before magistrates, barely escaped assassination, and so pronounced in him were [his convictions] that it came to a point when the unbelieving Jews of Thessalonica declared: ‘These that have turned the world upside down are come hither also.’

“God pity those pastors and Christian leaders whose main objective is the growth of their organizations and whose main concern is lest their ‘boats be rocked.’ THEY MAY ESCAPE CONTROVERSY, BUT THEY WILL NOT ESCAPE THE JUDGMENT SEAT OF CHRIST [emphasis his].”

—J. C. Ryle (1817-1900, Anglican bishop who withstood Rome)