J. C. Ryle
70 quotes
Biography
"Remember that you are to venture the whole salvation of your soul on Christ, and on Christ only. You are to cast loose completely and entirely from all other hopes and trusts. You are not to rest partly on Christ,—partly on doing all you can,—partly on keeping your Church,—partly on receiving the sacrament. In the matter of your justification Christ is to be all."
"I cannot find in Scripture that anyone ever got to heaven merely by sincerity, or was accepted with God if he was only earnst in maintaining his own views.[…] Sincerity cannot put away sin."
"Salvation in Christ to the very uttermost, but out of Christ no salvation at all.[…] Grant for a moment that the Bible, the whole Bible, and nothing but the Bible is God's truth, and I know not in what way we can escape the doctrine of the text. From the liberality which says every body is right,—from the charity which forbids you to say any body is wrong,—from the peace which is bought at the expense of truth, may the good Lord deliver you!"
"A hopeful growing believer is a walking sermon. He preaches far more than I do, for he preaches all the week round, shaming the unconverted, sharpening the converted, showing to all what grace can do."
"All the sciences in the world never smoothed down a dying pillow. No earthly philosophy ever supplied hope in death."
"Take away the cross of Christ, and the Bible is a dark book."
"[T]here is more to be learned at the foot of the cross than anywhere else in the world."
"Assurance is more than life. It is health, strength, power, vigor, activity, energy, manliness, beauty."
"The believer who follows the Lord most fully, will ordinarily enjoy the most assured hope, and have the clearest persuasion of his own salvation."
"It was the whole Trinity, which at the beginning of creation said, "let us make man." It was the whole Trinity again, which at the beginning of the Gospel seemed to say, "let us save man.""
"Knowledge of the Bible never comes by intuition. It can only be got by hard, regular, daily, attentive, wakeful reading."
"It is neglect of the Bible which makes so many a prey to the first false teacher whom they hear."
"Jesus hears us, and in His own good time will give an answer."
"Without a divine call no one can be saved. We are all so sunk in sin, and so wedded to the world, that we would never turn to God, unless He first called us by His grace."
"The heart is the part of man which God chiefly notices in religion."
"It must not content us to take our bodies to church if we leave our hearts at home."
"The world's idea of greatness is to rule, but Christian greatness consists in serving."
"Let it never surprise true Christians if they are slandered and misrepresented in this world. They must not expect to fare better than their Lord."
"However corrupt our hearts, and however wicked our past lives, there is hope for us in the Gospel."
"A converted man will not wish to go to heaven alone."
"We must give up the idea of trying to please everybody. That is impossible, and the attempt is a mere waste of time. We must be content to walk in Christ's steps, and let the world say what it likes."
"The highest form of selfishness is that of the man who is content to go to heaven alone."
"Nothing is so offensive to Christ as lukewarmness in religion."
"Wealth is no mark of God's favour. Poverty is no mark of God's displeasure."
"We are all naturally self-righteous. It is the family-disease of all the children of Adam."