In my last blog I quoted from JC Ryle’s A Call to Prayer. Let me quote from him again today…Ryle speaks of the great need to prayer and in the sixth session he says, “I ask whether you pray, because neglect of prayer is one great cause of backsliding.” In the midst of his discussion [...]
Read the rest of this entry »Do You Pray?
For years I’ve read quotes from JC Ryle’s book Holiness, but I had never read the book. Recently I read it and it immediately moved into My Top Ten books that every Christian should read. I love Ryle’s writing style—both in his book, but also in his commentaries. Today I began to read an article [...]
Read the rest of this entry »“Christ is All!”
In the 20th Chapter of JC Ryle’s book Holiness, Ryle concludes his book by speaking about Colossians 3:11, “Here there is not Greek and Jew, circumcised and uncircumcised, barbarian, Scythian, slave, free; but Christ is all, and in all.” He actually spends the entire chapter talking about a phrase from that verse, “Christ is all.” [...]
Read the rest of this entry »Preaching With Distinct Doctrinal Theology
If you follow my blog you know that I’ve quoted from JC Ryle’s book Holiness quite a bit. I’m reading through the book with a group of men on Tuesday mornings and this morning I found the following quote helpful. “Mark what I say. If you want to do good in these times, you must [...]
Read the rest of this entry »Seven Priceless Promises!
Jesus said, I am the bread of life; whoever comes to me shall not hunger, and whoever believes in me shall never thirst. John 6:35 All that the Father gives me will come to me, and whoever comes to me I will never cast out. John 6:37 If anyone thirsts, let him come to me [...]
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Over and over again the Bible says that those who are born again are in Christ. What does this mean? Listen to JC Ryle’s explanation. “What the ark was to Noah, what the Passover Lamb was to Israel in Egypt, what the manna, the smitten rock, the brazen serpent, the pillar of cloud and the [...]
Read the rest of this entry »It Is All JESUS!
“It is Christ who calls the members of the church in due time. They are ‘the called of Jesus Christ’ (Romans 1:6). It is Christ who quickens them. ‘The Son quickeneth whom He will.’ (John 5:21). It is Christ who washes away their sins. He ‘has loved us, and washed us from our sins in [...]
Read the rest of this entry »Death Bed Conversion?
This morning I was reading over a chapter of JC Ryle’s book Holiness in preparation for a reading group that will take place in just a few minutes. As I read Ryle’s discussion of the conversion of the thief on the cross I was reminded of some very sobering words from Thomas Guthrie, “It cannot [...]
Read the rest of this entry »“They believe in heaven and yet seem faintly to long for it!”
On Tuesday morning our reading group came to JC Ryle’s chapter on Lot in his classic book, Holiness. The chapter was excellent, but I really loved the section where he compared men and women who claim the title of Christian, but like Lot they are more prone to linger than obey. In his chapter Ryle said, [...]
Read the rest of this entry »Boldness in our Assurance
Over the years the number one subject of my pastoral counseling has been on the issue of one’s assurance of their salvation. Can we know that we are saved? Can we be absolutely certain? I always ask three questions: 1) Has there been a change in your life? The Bible teaches us that if we [...]
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