“When Satan tempts us to doubt” by J.C. Ryle
“Would I gather arguments for hoping that I shall never be cast away?
Where shall I go to find them?
Shall I look at my own graces and gifts?
Shall I take comfort in my own faith, and love, and penitence, and zeal, and prayer?
Shall I turn to my own heart, and say, “this same heart will never be false and cold”?
Oh, no! God forbid!
I will look at the cross of Christ.
This is my grand argument.
This is my main stay.
I cannot think that He who went through such sufferings to redeem my soul, will let that soul perish after all, when it has once cast itself on Him.
Oh, no! what Jesus paid for, Jesus will surely keep.
He paid dearly for it.
He will not let it easily be lost.
He called me to Himself when I was a dark sinner: He will never forsake me after I have believed.
When Satan tempts us to doubt whether Christ’s people will be kept from falling, we should tell Satan to look at the cross.”
–J.C. Ryle, Old Paths: Being Plain Statements of Some of the Weightier Matters of Christianity (Carlisle, PA: Banner of Truth, 1898/1999), 239-240.
