332. J.C. Ryle

Sometimes God can use a single verse from His Word to draw us to Himself. Today on our journey back through the archives, Dr. Stephen Nichols looks at a verse that transformed the life of the English bishop J.C. Ryle: Ephesians 2:8.

Hi, this is Steve Nichols, host of 5 Minutes in Church History. We’ve paused releasing new episodes of the podcast, but I’ve picked out some of my favorite episodes from over the years for you to listen to. We’ll be back with new episodes in January 2023. Make sure you’re subscribed to the podcast so you don’t miss out. I hope you enjoy this episode of 5 Minutes in Church History. 

Welcome back to another episode of 5 Minutes in Church History. Last week, we were looking at one of the five English martyrs in a book entitled, Five English Reformers, written by J.C. Ryle. I thought on this week, let's take a look at the author of that book, J.C. Ryle.

Well, he was an anglican bishop, serving as the bishop of Liverpool, but he wasn't always a bishop, of course. He was born John Charles Ryle on May 10, 1816. His father was a member of Parliament and his father's family also owned a bank, and so these were very wealthy, old family of England. Consequently, J.C. Ryle as a young man was sent off to England's finest schools. He was sent first to Eaton, and there he excelled in rowing and cricket. Eaton, of course, is seen from the windows of Windsor castle, and the rugby and football fields of Eaton. From there, he went to Oxford, and he was an undergraduate student at Oxford from 1834 to 1838, and by his account the most significant thing that happened while he was at Oxford was his conversion.

He was converted in 1837, and he was converted by hearing Ephesians, chapter two, verse eight. In fact, he wrote a testimony to his children, a narrative of his testimony of coming to Christ for his family. In it he says,

Nothing I can remember to this day appeared to me so clear and distinct as my own sinfulness. Christ's preciousness, the value of the Bible, the absolute necessity of coming out of the world, the need of being born again, and the enormous folly of the whole doctrine of baptismal regeneration. All these things seemed to flash upon me like a sunbeam, in the winter of 1837, and have stuck in my mind from that time down to this.

People may account for such a change as they like, my own belief is that it is what the Bible calls conversion. Or, what the Bible calls regeneration. Before that time, I was dead in sins, and on the high road to hell. And from that time, I had become alive, and have had a hope of heaven, and nothing to my mind can account for it but the free sovereign grace of God.

Well, after he graduated from Oxford, Ryle was all set for a career that would see him following in his father's footsteps. He wanted to become a member of Parliament himself, and all of that came crashing down when his father's fortunes took a downturn. Lost the family bank, had to file bankruptcy, and Ryle now needed to go in another direction.

He says later, this was the work of God, directing and superintending his life and Ryle ends up going into the ministry. He has a number of parishes, even serves at Cambridge University in Oxford. But in 1880 he was appointed the bishop at Liverpool. A post he held for 20 years, until his death in the year 1900.

Not only was he the bishop at Liverpool, he also wrote a number of books. He wrote a seven volume Expository Thoughts on the Gospels. He wrote that wonderful history Five English Reformers, and we got the story of Roland Taylor from it last week. He also wrote a book entitled, Holiness. In the 1950s, Martin Lloyd Jones wrote a preface to a new edition of that book. He simply says of Ryle that Ryle starts with the word, and he expounds it. This is what Ryle said of his own preaching and of his own writing.

If there is no salvation excepting by Christ, we must not be surprised if ministers of the gospel preach about him. They cannot tell us too much about the name, which is above every name. We cannot hear of him too much, we may hear too much about controversy in sermons. We may hear too much of works, and duties of forms and ceremonies, of sacraments and ordinances, but there is one subject which we never hear of too much. We can never hear too much of Christ.

That is J.C. Ryle, and I'm Steve Nichols and thanks for listening to 5 Minutes in Church History.

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