The Christian Race and Other Sermons
Overview
After sixty years of ministry, J. C. Ryle’s selected sermons were published in his honor. Varying from doctrinal issues—sin, redemption, regeneration, sanctification—to the practical duties of living the Christian life, Ryle’s sermons are timeless and inspirational.
Top Highlights
“Why am I telling you these things? I tell you them to show you that good education and good example cannot alone make the children of the saints good, without the grace of God, to show you how deeply rooted is the corruption of our natural dispositions.” (Pages 6–7)
“True Christians, then, are compared to sheep, and we shall find a great depth of meaning in the comparison if we look into it. Sheep are the most harmless, quiet, inoffensive creatures that God has made.” (Pages 111–112)
“What is the reason that men pay such respect to those above them upon earth?—their landlord, their master, the rich and the noble, are always treated with a proper reverence and deference; and yet the Lord God Almighty, the Maker and the Judge of all things, is honoured when it is convenient, as if it was rather a favour to attend His house and hear His ministers.” (Page 9)
“I know of two which are always at our elbows, two sins which try the most advanced Christians even to the end, and these are pride and unbelief—pride in our own difference from others, pride in our reputation as Christians, pride in our spiritual attainments: unbelief about our own sinfulness, unbelief about God’s wisdom, unbelief about God’s mercy.” (Page 160)
“What is the reason that so many use the outward forms of religion but never pray in secret” (Page 10)
- Title: The Christian Race and Other Sermons
- Author: J. C. Ryle
- Publisher: Hodder and Stoughton
- Publication Date: 1900
- Pages: 378
J. C. Ryle (1816–1900) was educated at Christ Church, Oxford, where he was a Craven scholar. He was ordained in 1841 and became a leader of the evangelical party in the Church of England. In 1880, Ryle became the first bishop of Liverpool and also served as the dean of Salisbury. Ryle remained the bishop of Liverpool for 20 years.
Ryle was noted for his doctrinal essays and polemical writings. His bestselling titles include Expository Thoughts on Mark and Holiness: Its Nature, Hindrances, Difficulties and Roots which can both be found in the J. C. Ryle Collection (18 vols.). He also contributed three volumes in the Crossway Classic Commentary Collection (13 vols.).