J.C. Ryle

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121.) One Blood
      This is a very short and simple text, and even a child knows the meaning of its words. But simple as it is, it supplies food for much thought and it forms part of a speech delivered by a great man on a great occasion. The speaker is the Apostle of the Gentiles, St. Paul. The hearers are the cultivated men of Athens, and specially the Epicurean a ...read more

122.) Only One Way--Christ!
      'Salvation is found in no one else, for there is no other name under heaven given to men by which we must be saved.'-Acts 4:12 These words are striking in themselves. But they are much more striking if you consider when and by whom they were spoken. They were spoken by a poor and unpopular Christian, in the midst of a persecuting Jewish Coun ...read more

123.) Our Home
       "Lord, you have been our dwelling place throughout all generations." [Psalm 90:1] There are two reasons why the text which heads this paper should ring in our hearts with special power. It is the first verse of a deeply solemn Psalm-the first bar of a wondrous piece of spiritual music. I cannot tell how others feel when they read the ninetie ...read more

124.) Peace! Be Still!
      I wish professing Christians in this day studied the four Gospels more than they do. I know that all Scripture is profitable. I do not wish to exalt one part of the Bible at the expense of another. But I think it would be good for some, who are very familiar with the Epistles, if they knew a little more about Matthew, Mark, Luke, and John. Now, ...read more

125.) Practical Religion - Self-Inquiry
      "Let us go again and visit our brethren in every city where we have preached the word of the Lord, and see how they do." (Acts 15:36). The text which heads this page contains a proposal which the Apostle Paul made to Barnabas after their first missionary journey. He proposed to revisit the Churches they had been the means of founding, and to ...read more

126.) Practical Religion - Self-Inquiry (Part 2)
      (1) Let me ask, in the first place, Do we ever think about our souls at all?" Thousands of English people, I fear, cannot answer that question satisfactorily. They never give the subject of religion any place in their thoughts. From the beginning of the year to the end they are absorbed in the pursuit of business, pleasure, politics, money, or ...read more

127.) Practical Religion - Self-Inquiry (Part 3)
      (3) Let me ask, in the third place, whether we are trying to satisfy our consciences with a mere formal religion? There are myriads in England at this moment who are making shipwreck on this rock. Like the Pharisees of old, they make much ado about the outward part of Christianity, while the inward and spiritual part is totally neglected. They ...read more

128.) Practical Religion - Self-Inquiry (Part 4)
      (5) Let me ask, in the fifth place, whether we know anything by experience of conversion to God. Without conversion there is no salvation. \\"Except ye be converted, and become as little children, ye shall never enter the kingdom of heaven.\\"-- \\"Except a man be born again, he cannot see the kingdom of God.\\"--\\"If any man have not the ...read more

129.) Practical Religion - Self-Inquiry (Part 5)
      (7) Let me ask, in the seventh place, whether we know anything of enjoying the means of grace? When I speak of the means of grace, I have in my mind's eye five principal things: the Reading of the Bible, private prayer, public worship, the sacrament of the Lord's Supper, and the rest of the Lord's day. They are means which God has gracio ...read more

130.) Practical Religion - Self-Inquiry (Part 6)
      (9) Let me ask, in the ninth place, whether we know anything of living the life of habitual communion with Christ? By "communion," I mean that habit of "abiding in Christ" which our Lord speaks of, in the fifteenth chapter of St. John's Gospel, as essential to Christian fruitfulness (John 15:4-8). Let it be distinctly understood that union ...read more

131.) Practical Religion - Self-Inquiry (Part 7)
      Let me now conclude with a few words of practical application. (a) Is any reader of this paper asleep and utterly thoughtless about Christianity? Oh, awake and sleep no more! Look at the churchyards and cemeteries. One by one the people around you are dropping into them, and you must lie there one day. Look forward to a world to come, and la ...read more

132.) Prayer
       "Disciples should always pray and not give up" (Luke 18:1). "I want men everywhere to lift up holy hands in prayer" (1 Timothy 2:8). Prayer is the most important subject in practical religion. All other subjects are second to it. Reading the Bible, listening to sermons, attending public worship, goin ...read more

133.) Prove All Things
       You live in days when the text before your eyes is one of the first importance. The truths it contains are especially truths for the times. Give me your attention for a few minutes, and I will try to show you what I mean. There were three great doctrines or principles which won the battle of the Protestant Reformation. These were first, the su ...read more

134.) Reasons for Exhorting Young Men
      I. REASONS FOR EXHORTING YOUNG MEN When the Apostle Paul wrote his Epistle to Titus about his responsibility as a minister, he mentioned young men as a group requiring particular attention. After speaking of older men and older women, and young women, he adds this advice, "Encourage the young men to be self-controlled" (Titus 2:6). I am going ...read more

135.) Remember Lot!
      Who is this man that lingered?-Lot, the nephew of faithful Abraham. And when did he linger?-The very morning Sodom was to be destroyed. And where did he linger?-Within the walls of Sodom itself. And before whom did he linger?-Under the eyes of the two angels, who were sent to bring him out of the city. Reader, the words are solemn, and full of f ...read more

136.) Remember Lot's Wife
      There are few warnings in Scripture more solemn than this. The Lord Jesus Christ says to us, "Remember Lot's wife." Lot's wife was a professor of religion: her husband was a "righteous man" (II Peter 2:8). She left Sodom with him on the day when Sodom was destroyed; she looked back towards the city from behind her husband, against God's ...read more

137.) Riches and Poverty
      'There was a rich man who was dressed in purple and fine linen and lived in luxury every day. At his gate was laid a beggar named Lazarus, covered with sores and longing to eat what fell from the rich man's table. Even the dogs came and licked his sores. The time came when the beggar died and the angels carried him to Abraham's side. The rich man ...read more

138.) Sanctification
      SANCTIFICATION "Sanctify them through Your truth." (John 17:17). "This is the will of God, even your sanctification." (1 Thess. 4:3). The subject of sanctification is one which many, I fear, dislike exceedingly. Some even turn from it with scorn and disdain. The very last thing they would like is to be a "saint" or a "sanctified" m ...read more

139.) Self-Effort
       "Make every effort to enter through the narrow door, because many, I tell you, will try to enter and will not be able to" (Luke 13:24). There once was a man who asked our Lord Jesus Christ a very serious question. He said to Him, "Lord, are only a few people going to be saved?" Who this man was we d ...read more