Jellyfish Christianity

(J.C. Ryle)

"The blood of Jesus Christ cleanses us from all sin!" 1 John 1:7

One plague of our age, is the widespread dislike to sound doctrine. In the place of it, the idol of the day is a kind of jellyfish Christianity — a Christianity without bone, or muscle, or sinew — without any distinct teaching about the atonement, or the work of the Spirit, or justification, or the way of peace with God — a vague, foggy, misty Christianity, of which the only watchwords seem to be, "You must be liberal and kind. You must condemn no man's doctrinal views. You must think everybody is right — and nobody is wrong."

And this spineless kind of religion, we are told, is to give us peace of conscience! And not to be satisfied with it in a sorrowful, dying world — is a proof that we are very narrow-minded! Satisfied, indeed! Such a religion might possibly do for unfallen angels! But to tell sinful, dying men and women to be satisfied with it — is an insult to common sense and a mockery of our distress. We need something far better than this. We need the sin-atoning blood of Christ!