0230. A PINAFORE RELIGION.

A PINAFORE RELIGION.

Eph_3:17.

The late Captain Dawson, in relating his experience and impressions during a visit to Italy, referred to a Pinafore Religion, with special application to Romanism.

There is much Pinafore Religion to-day even in Protestant countries, as well as in Roman Catholic countries. Many Protestants have only a Pinafore Religion. That is:

I. Outward, not Inward. A religion that is merely outward, and not inward. True religion is of the heart, and is not Christ and me, but Christ in me. "It is God that worketh in you."

II. Intermittent. A religion that can be put on and off at a moment’s notice. Merely formal and mechanical. Real religion becomes part and parcel of us, part of our very being.

III. External. A religion that makes no difference inwardly. Pinafores do not fill hungry bellies.

IV. Childish. A Pinafore Religion is a religion for the child, and not for the grown up. The hankering after elaborate form and ceremony is a bad sign. The Epistle to the Hebrews points out that it is a going back to Judaism, which was the religion of childhood, whereas in the New Testament we have the religion for the mature.

V. Occasional. A Pinafore Religion is a religion for special occasions, like best pinafores. Whereas the real religion is for all times.

Autor: James Smith