J. C. Ryle Quotes
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What will it cost [a person] to be a true Christian? It will cost him his self-righteousn ess. He must cast away all pride and high thoughts, and conceit of his own goodness. He must be content to go to heaven as a poor sinner, saved only by free grace, and owing all to the merit and righteousness of another.
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Doctrine is useless if it is not accompanied by a holy life. It is worse than useless; it does positive harm. Something of 'the image of Christ' must be seen and observed by others in our private life, and habits, and character, and doings.
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The fear of punishment, the desire of reward, the sense of duty, are all useful arguments, in their way, to persuade people to holiness. But they are all weak and powerless, until a person loves Christ.
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Do not glory in your own faith, your own feelings, your own knowledge, or your own diligence. Glory in nothing but Christ.
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Weak, feeble and foolish as it may seem to people, the simple story of the Cross is enough for all mankind in every part of the globe.
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I declare I know no state of soul more dangerous than to imagine we are born again and sanctified by the Holy Ghost, because we have picked up a few religious feelings.
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Jesus hears us, and in His own good time will give an answer... He may sometimes keep us long waiting...but He will never send us empty away.
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No salvation without regeneration - no spiritual life without a new birth - no heaven without a new heart.
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Let it be a settled principle in our minds, in reading the Bible, that Christ is the central sun of the whole book. So long as we keep Him in view, we shall never greatly err in our search for spiritual knowledge. Once losing sight of Christ, we shall find the whole Bible dark and full of difficulty.
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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.
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Death is a solemn event for everyone. It is the winding up of all earthly plans and expectations. It is a separation from all we have loved and lived with. It is often accompanied by much bodily pain and distress. It opens the door to judgement and eternity - to heaven or to hell. It is an event after which there is no change, or space for repentance.
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HATE SIN! Instead of loving it, cleaving to it, excusing it, playing with it, we ought to hate it with a deadly hatred.
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He that would be conformed to Christ's image, and become a Christ-like man, must be constantly studying Christ Himself.
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I want people to fill their minds with passages of Scripture while they are well and strong, that they may have sure help in the day of need. I want them to be diligent in studying their Bibles, and becoming familiar with its contents, in order that the grand old Book may stand by them and talk with them when all earthly friends fail.
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Let it be a settled principle in our minds that the first and chief business of the Church of Christ is to preach the Gospel.
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Troublous times, departures from the faith, evil men waxing worse and worse, love waxing cold, are things distinctly predicted.
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Knowledge of the Bible never comes by intuition. It can only be obtained by diligent, regular, daily, attentive reading.
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When a person’s tongue is extensively wrong, it is absurd, no less than unscriptural, to say that their heart is right.
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I must honestly declare my conviction that, since the days of the Reformation, there never has been so much profession of religion without practice, so much talking about God without walking with Him, so much hearing God's words without doing them.
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There are eternal consequences resulting from all our thoughts, words and actions, of which we take far too little account.
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Fear not because your prayer is stammering, your words feeble, and your language poor. Jesus can understand you.
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The true Christian does not need to be reminded that he has a crucified Master. He often thinks of Him.
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True Christianity is not merely believing a certain set of dry abstract propositions: it is to live in daily personal communication with an actual living person - Jesus Christ.
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We never know who they are that God will draw, and have nothing to do with it. Our duty is to invite all, and leave it to God to choose the vessels of mercy.