J.C. Ryle: Santification
After having been in possession of a free copy of J.C. Ryle‘s Holiness (1877), for over five years, I am finally keeping my resolution to read it. It is indeed very good and both convicting and encouraging at the same time; which is what good devotional material should be.
I do have to admit that I am loving the language. I love seeing “wonderful” mean “astonishing” and not “excellent” and “nice” mean “fastidious.” The book is also laid out in a meticulously organized and clear fashion. It is an artfully produced book and also a good example of how style, first-person, clarity, conversationalism, and craft can not only comingle, but aid one another, when done well.
Here are some gems from the second chapter, entitled “Sanctification”, emphasis original:
He who supposes that Jesus Christ only lived and died and rose again in order to provide justification and forgiveness of sins for His people has yet much to learn. [...] The Lord Jesus has undertaken everything that His people’s souls require; not only to deliver them from the guilt of their sins by His atoning death, but from the dominion of their sins, by placing in their hearts the Holy Spirit.
[...]
Sanctification, then, is the invariable result of that vital union with Christ which true faith gives to a Christian. [...] The union with Christ which produces no effect on heart and life is a mere formal union, which is worthless before God. [...] A regeneration which a man can have, and yet live carelesly in sin or worldliness, is a regeneration [...] never mentioned in Scripture.
[...]
Sanctification, again, is a thing for which every believer is responsible. [...] A man who professes to be a true Christian, while he sits still, content with a very low degree of sanctification (if indeed he has any at all), and coolly tells you he “can do nothing,” is a very pitiable site, and a very ignorant man. Against this delusion let us watch and be on our guard.
[...]
[Sanctification comes from the diligent use of] Bible reading, private prayer, regular attendance on public worship, regular hearing of God’s Word, and regular reception of the Lord’s Supper. [...] Our God is a God who works through means, and He will never bless the soul of that man who pretends to be so high and spiritual that he can get on without them.
[...]
A deep sense of that struggle [with personal sin] and a vast amount of mental discomfort from it, are no proof that a man is not sanctified. Nay, rather, I believe, they are healthy symptoms of our condition, and prove that we are not dead, but alive. A true Christian is one who has not only peace of conscience, but also war within.
[...]
Sanctification, again, is a thing which cannot justify a man, and yet it pleases God.
What excellent reminders! If I can’t seem to find time to read my Bible and if sitting down to food is the only prompting to prayer I have, shall I be surprised that impatience grips me or astonished that I can’t break free of habitual sins? If I’m not turning to God’s means for sanctification, I’m either “carelessly in sin” or trying to rid myself of them through self-righteousness (just trying harder). How many times does it take to hear sermons against self-righteousness (one of Pastor Craig’s favorite soapboxes), before it finally sinks in past the acknowledging it to be true and seeing, “Woah! Hey! I’m wallowing in it! What is this?!”
Cultivating gratitude to God and feeding on His ordained means of grace is what will bring holiness and happiness. Walking in the Spirit will produce the fruits of the Spirit. Lord, may I so do.
