Charles Gardner reviews the newly published autobiography of legendary preacher JC Ryle.
Those wishing to be inspired and encouraged to stand up for Christ in these difficult times would do well to pick up a copy of a new book on legendary 19th Century preacher JC Ryle.
Bishop J.C. Ryle’s Autobiography: The Early Years (edited by Andrew Atherstone and published by the Banner of Truth Trust) includes some wonderful old photographs, along with a selection of the tracts for which he became famous. It was originally written for his children in 1873 and never intended for publication.
The first Bishop of Liverpool, John Charles Ryle was one of the most influential evangelical clergymen of his time. His tracts were especially pithy, powerful and pungent – so unlike the often ponderous and long-winded literature of his contemporaries.
His voice continues to ring out down the generations, and is a timely wake-up call to a sleeping church.
Heaven to be Gained, Hell to be Shunned
Today, with evidence of apostasy all around as Christians come under tremendous pressure to conform to the world’s pattern of thinking, Ryle will stir your passions to renewed vigour and determination.
The book takes us to the end of his long ministry at Helmingham in Suffolk, where he wrote so many of his tracts. Some are included in the appendix and also speak to our time, like the one he wrote on the 1845 disaster at Great Yarmouth where 75 perished when a bridge collapsed during a circus event.
Today, with apostasy all around, Ryle will stir your passions to renewed vigour.
He reminded his readers in no uncertain terms that there was a Heaven to be gained and a Hell to be shunned, bluntly warning parishioners that they too could have been swept into eternity in a moment. And were they prepared to meet God?
Not Included: Israel’s Re-Gathering
Unfortunately not included in this otherwise fine record of a great ministry are messages on a subject close to his heart – the Bible’s teaching on the much-prophesied return of the Jewish people: first to their ancient land, and then to their Lord and Messiah.
I have visited the church at Helmingham myself and I quote from one of the many tracts I picked up there, written in the mid-19th Century: “I believe that the Jews shall ultimately be gathered again as a separate nation, restored to their own land and turned to the faith of Christ (Messiah).”
And so it was, less than 50 years after he died in 1900, that the modern state of Israel was born! And a growing number of its people have since acknowledged Jesus as their Messiah.
Read the book, and stir your faith!
‘Bishop J.C. Ryle’s Autobiography’ (359pp, cloth-bound, 2017) is available from the publisher for £12.40 + P&P.
