The True Church - by J.C. Ryle

Warning #1 to the Church’s

The True Church’s

by J. C. Ryle  (1816-1900)

The following Sermon was preached in England, in August, 1858.

On this rock I will build my church  and the gates of hell will not      overcome it (Matthew 16:18) .

We live in a world in which all things are passing away.  Kingdoms,  empires, cities, institutions, families, all are liable to change and corruption.  One universal law seems to prevail everywhere.  In all created things there is a tendency to decay.

There is something sad and depressing in this.  What profit has a man in the labor of his hands?  Is there nothing that shall stand?  Is there  nothing that shall last?  Is there nothing that shall endure?  Is there  nothing of which we can say--This shall continue forever?  You have the answer to these questions in the words of our text.  Our Lord Jesus Christ speaks of something which shall continue, and not pass away. 

There is one created thing which is an exception to the universal rule to which I have referred.  There is one thing which shall never perish and pass away.  That thing is the building founded upon the rock--the Church of our Lord Jesus Christ.  He declares, in the words you have heard tonight: On this rock I will build my church’s, and the gates of hell will not overcome it.  There are five things in these words which demand your attention:

1. A Building: My Church’s

2. A Builder: Christ says, I will build My Church’s

3. A Foundation: On this rock I will build My Church’s

4. Perils Implied: The gates of hell

5. Security Asserted: The gates of hell will not overcome it

May God bless the words that shall be spoken.  May we all search our own hearts tonight, and know whether or not we belong to this one Church’s. 

May we all go home to reflect and to pray!

1. First, you have a Building mentioned in the text.  The Lord Jesus Christ speaks of My Church’s.

Now what is this Church?  Few inquiries can be made of more Importance than this.  For want of due attention to this subject, the errors that have crept into the Church’s, and into the world, are neither few nor  small.

The Church of our text is no material building.  It is no temple made with hands, of wood, or brick, or stone, or marble.  It is a company of men and women.  It is no particular visible Church’s on earth.  It is not the Eastern Church’s or the Western Church’s.  It is not the Church of England, or the Church of Scotland--much less is it the Church of Rome. 

The Church of our text is one that makes far less show in the eyes of man, but is of far more Importance in the eyes of God.

The Church of our text is made up of all true believers in the Lord Jesus Christ.  It comprehends all who have repented of sin, and fled to Christ by faith, and been made new creatures in Him.  It comprises all Gods elect, all who have received God’s grace, all who have been washed in Christ's blood, all who have been clothed in Christs righteousness, all Who have been born again and sanctified by Christs Spirit.  All such, of Every nation, and people, and tongue, compose the Church of our text. this is the body of Christ.  This is the flock of Christ.  This is the

bride.  This is the Lamb's wife.  This is the Church on the rock.

The members of this Church’s do not all worship God in the same way, or use the same form of government.  Our own 34th Article declares, It is not necessary that ceremonies should be in all places one and alike.  But they all worship with one heart.  They are all led by one Spirit.  They are all really and truly holy.  They can all say Alleluia, and they can all reply Amen.

This is that Church’s, to which all visible Churches on earth are servants. Whether they are Episcopalian, Independent, or Presbyterian, they all serve the interests of the one true Church’s.  They are the scaffolding, behind which the great building is carried on.  They are the husk, under which the living kernel grows.  They have their various degrees of usefulness.  The best and worthiest of them is that which trains up most members for Christs true Church’s.  But no visible Church’s has any right to say, We are the only true Church’s.  We are the men, and wisdom shall die

with us.  No visible Church’s should ever dare to say, We shall stand for ever.  The gates of hell will not overcome us. 

This is that Church’s to which belong the Lords precious promises of preservation, continuance, protection, and final glory.  Whatsoever, says Hooker, we read in Scripture, concerning the endless love and saving mercy which God shows towards His Churches, the only proper subject is this Church’s, which we properly term the mystical body of Christ.  Small and despised as the true Church’s may be in this world, it is precious and honorable in the sight of God.  The temple of Solomon in all its glory was nothing, in comparison with that Church’s which is built upon a rock.

Men and brethren, see that you hold sound doctrine on the subject of the Church’s.  A mistake here may lead to dangerous and soul-ruining errors.  The Church’s which is made up of true believers, is the Church’s for which we, who are ministers, are specially ordained to preach.  The Church’s which comprises all who repent and believe the Gospel, is the Church’s to which we desire you to belong.  Our work is not done, and our hearts are Not satisfied, until you are made new creatures, and are members of the

one true Church.  Outside of this Church there can be no salvation.

2. I pass on to the second point, to which I proposed to call your

attention.  Our text contains not merely a building, but a Builder.  The Lord Jesus Christ declares, I will build My Church. The true Church of Christ is tenderly cared for by all the three persons

of the blessed Trinity.  In the economy of redemption, beyond all doubt, God the Father chooses, and God the Holy Spirit sanctifies, every member of Christ's mystical body.  God the Father, God the Son, and God the Holy Spirit, three Persons and one God, cooperate for the salvation of every Saved soul.  This is truth, which ought never to be forgotten. 

Nevertheless, there is a peculiar sense in which the help of the Church’s is laid on the Lord Jesus Christ.  He is peculiarly and preeminently the Redeemer and the Savior.  Therefore, it is, that we find Him saying in our text, I will build: the work of building is my special work.

It is Christ who calls the members of the Church’s in due time.  They are the called of Jesus Christ (Romans 1:6).  It is Christ who gives them life.  The Son gives life to whom he is pleased to give it (John 5:21). 

It is Christ who washes away their sins.  He who loves us and has freed us from our sins by his blood (Revelation 1:5). It is Christ who gives them peace.  Peace I leave with you; my peace I

give you (John 14:27). 

It is Christ who gives them eternal life.  I give them eternal life, and

they shall never perish (John 10:28). 

It is Christ who grants them repentance.  God exalted him to his own right hand as Prince and Savior that he might give repentance

(Acts 5:31).

It is Christ who enables them to become Gods children.  To all who

received him, to those who believed in his name, he gave the right to become children of God (John 1:12). 

It is Christ who carries on the work within them when it is begun. 

Because I live, you also will live (John 14:19).

In short, God was pleased to have all his fullness dwell in him

[Christ] (Colossians 1:19).  He is the author and finisher of faith. 

From Him every joint and member of the mystical body of Christians is supplied.  Through Him they are strengthened for duty.  By Him they are K ept from falling.  He shall preserve them to the end, and present them faultless before the Father’s throne with exceeding great joy.  He is all things, and all in all to believers.

The mighty agent by whom the Lord Jesus Christ carries out this work in the number of His Churches, is, without doubt, the Holy Spirit.  He it is who applies Christ and His benefits to the soul.  He it is who is ever renewing, awakening, convincing, leading to the cross, transforming, taking out of the world, stone after stone, and adding it to the mystical building.

But the great Chief Builder, who has undertaken to execute the work of redemption and bring it to completion, is the Son of God: the Word who was made flesh.  It is Jesus Christ who builds.

In building the true Church’s, the Lord Jesus condescends to use many subordinate instruments.  The ministry of the Gospel, the circulation of the Scriptures, the friendly rebuke, the word spoken in season, the drawing influence of afflictions--all, all are means and methods by which His work is carried on.  But Christ is the great superintending Architect, ordering, guiding, directing all that is done.  What the sun is to the whole solar system, that Christ is to all the members of thetrue Church’s.  Paul may plant, and Apollos water, but God gives the increase.  Ministers may preach, and writers may write, but the Lord Jesus Christ alone can build.  And except He builds, the work stands still.

Great is the wisdom with which the Lord Jesus Christ builds His Church’s. 

All is done at the right time, and in the right way.  Each stone in its

turn is put in the right place.  Sometimes He chooses great stones, and sometimes He chooses small stones.  Sometimes the work moves fast, and sometimes it moves slowly.  Man is frequently Impatient, and thinks that nothing is happening.  But man’s time is not Gods time.  A thousand years in His sight are but as a single day.  The great Builder makes no mistakes.  He knows what He is doing.  He sees the end from the beginning.  He works by a perfect, unalterable and certain plan.  The mightiest conceptions of architects, like Michael Angelo are mere insignificant child’s play, in comparison with Christ's wise counsels respecting His Church’s.

Great is the condescension and mercy, which Christ exhibits in building His Church’s.  He often chooses the most unlikely and roughest stones, and fits them into a most excellent work.  He despises no one, and rejects none, on account of former sins and past transgressions.  He delights to show mercy.  He often takes the most thoughtless and ungodly, and transforms them into polished corners of His spiritual temple.

Great is the power which Christ displays in building His Church’s.  He carries on his work in spite of opposition from the world, the flesh, and the devil.  In storm, in chaos, through troublesome times, silently, quietly, without noise, without stir, without excitement, the building progresses, like Solomons temple.  I will work, He declares, and none shall stop it.

Brethren, the children of this world take little or no interest in the

building of this Church’s, They care little for the conversion of souls. 

What are broken spirits and penitent hearts to them?  It is all

foolishness in their eyes.  But while the children of this world care

nothing, there is joy in the presence of the angels of God.  For the

preserving of that Church’s, the laws of nature have oftentimes been suspended.  For the good of that Church’s, all the providential dealings of God in this world are ordered and arranged. 

For the elects sake, wars are brought to an end, and peace is given to a nation.  Statesmen, rulers, emperors, kings, presidents, heads of governments, have their schemes and plans, and think them of vast Importance.  But there is another work going on of infinitely greater significance, for which they  are all but as the axes and saws in Gods hands.  That work is the  gathering in of living stones into the one true Church’s.  How little are we told in Gods Word about unconverted men compared with what we are told about believers!  The history of Nimrod, the mighty hunter, is

dismissed in a few words.  The history of Abraham, the father of the faithful, occupies several chapters.  Nothing in Scripture is so

Important as the concerns of the true Church’s.  The world makes up little of God’s Word.  The Church’s and its story make up much.

For ever let us thank God, my beloved brethren, that the building of the one true Church’s is laid on the shoulders of One that is mighty.  Let us bless God that it does not rest upon man.  Let us bless God that it does not depend on missionaries, ministers, or committees.  Christ is the almighty Builder.  He will carry on His work, though nations and visible Churches do not know their duty.  Christ will never fail.  That which He has undertaken He will certainly accomplish.

3. I pass on to the third point, which I proposed to consider--The

Foundation upon which this Church is built.  The Lord Jesus Christ tells us, On this rock I will build my church. What did the Lord Jesus Christ mean, when He spoke of this foundation?  Did He mean the Apostle Peter, to whom He was speaking?  I think assuredly not.  I can see no reason, if he meant Peter, why did He not say, On you will I build My church.  If He had meant Peter, He would  have said, I will build My Church’s on you, as plainly as He said, I will  give you the keys.  No! it was not the person of the Apostle Peter, but the good confession which the Apostle had just made. 

It was not Peter, the erring, unstable man; but the mighty truth which the Father had  revealed to Peter.  It was the truth concerning Jesus Christ himself which was the Rock.  It was Christs Mediatorship, and Christs Messiahship.  It was the blessed truth, that Jesus was the promised Savior, the true Guarantee, the real Intercessor between God and man. 

This was the rock, and this was the foundation on which the Church of

Christ was to be built.

My brethren, this foundation was laid at a mighty cost.  It was necessary

that the Son of God should take our nature upon Him, and in that nature

live, suffer, and die, not for His own sins, but for ours.  It was

necessary that in that nature Christ should go to the grave, and rise

again.  It was necessary that in that nature Christ should go up to

heaven, to sit at the right hand of God, having obtained eternal

redemption for all His people.  No other foundation but this could have

borne the weight of that Church of which our text speaks.  No other

foundation could have met the necessities of a world of sinners.

That foundation once obtained, is very strong.  It can bear the weight of

the sin of all the world.  It has borne the weight of all the sins of all

the believers who have built on it.  Sins of thought, sins of the

Imagination, sins of the heart, sins of the head, sins which every one

has seen, and sins which no man knows, sins against God, and sins against

man, sins of all kinds and descriptions--that mighty rock can bear the

weight of all these sins and not give way.  The mediatorial office of

Christ is a sufficient remedy for all the sins of all the world.

To this one foundation every member of Christs true Church’s is joined. 

In many things believers are disunited and disagreed.  In the matter of

their souls foundation they are all of one mind.  They are all built on the rock.  Ask where they get their peace, and hope, and joyful

expectation of good things to come.  You would find that it all flows

from that one mighty truth--Christ the Mediator between God and man, and the office that Christ holds, as the High priest and Promise of sinners.

Here is the point which demands our personal attention.  Are we on the rock?  Are we really joined to the one foundation?  What does that good old godly man, Leighton say?  God has laid this precious stone for this very purpose, that weary sinners may rest upon it.  The multitude of Imaginary believers lie all around it, but they are not any better for that, any more than stones that lie loose in heaps, near a foundatioN, but not joined to it.  There is no benefit to us by Christ, without union with Him.

Look to your foundation, my beloved brethren, if you would know whether or not you are members of the one true Church’s.  It is a point that may be known to yourselves.  Your public worship we can see, but we cannot see whether you are personally built upon the rock.  Your attendance at the Lords table we can see, but we cannot see whether you are joined to Christ, and one with Christ, and Christ in you.  But all shall come to light one day.  The secrets of all hearts shall be exposed.  Perhaps you go to church’s regularly and you pray faithfully.  All this is right and

good, so far as it goes.  But see that you make no mistake about your own personal salvation.  See that your own soul is on the rock.  Without this, all else is nothing.  Without this, you will never stand in the day of judgment.  Better a thousand times in that day to be found in a cottage on the rock, than in a palace on the sand!

4. I proceed, in the fourth place, to speak of the Implied Trials of the Church’s, to which our text refers.  There is mention made of the gates of hell.  By that expression we are to understand the power of the devil!

The history of Christ's true Church has always been one of conflict and war.  It has been constantly assailed by a deadly enemy, Satan, the prince of this world.  The devil hates the true Church’s of Christ with an undying hatred.  He is ever stirring up opposition against all its embers.  He is ever urging the children of this world to do his will, and injure and harass the people of God.  If he cannot bruise the head, he will bruise the heel.  If he cannot rob believers of heaven, he will aggravate them as they travel the road to heaven.

For six thousand years this hostility has gone on.  Millions of the

ungodly have been the devils agents, and done the devils work, though they did not know it.  The Pharaohs, the Herod’s, the Nero’s, the Julians, the Diocletians, the bloody Mary’s--were Satan’s tools, when they

persecuted the disciples of Jesus Christ.

Warfare with the powers of hell has been the experience of the whole body of Christ.  It has always been a bush burning, though not consumed--a woman fleeing into the wilderness, but not swallowed up.  The visible Churches have their times of prosperity and seasons of peace, but never has there been a time of peace for the true Church’s.  Its conflict is perpetual.  Its battle never ends.

Warfare with the powers of hell is the experience of every individual member of the true Church’s.  Each has to fight.  What are the lives of all the saints, but records of battles?  What were such men as Paul, and James, and Peter, and John, and Polycarp, and Ignatius, and Augustine, and Luther, and Calvin, and Latimer, and Baxter, but soldiers engaged in a constant warfare?  Sometimes their persons have been assailed, and sometimes their property.  Sometimes they have been harassed by slander,

and sometimes by open persecution.  But in one way or another the devil has been continually warring against the Church’s.  The gates of hell have been continually assaulting the people of Christ.

Men and brethren, we who preach the Gospel can hold out to all who come to Christ, exceeding great and precious promises.  We can offer boldly to you in our Masters name, the peace of God which passes all understanding.  Mercy, free grace, and full salvation, are offered to every one who will come to Christ, and believe on Him.  But we promise you no peace with the world, or with the devil.  We warn you, on the

contrary, that there must be warfare, so long as you are in the body.  We

would not keep you back, or deter you from Christs service.  But we

would have you count the cost, and fully understand what Christs service

entails.  Hell is behind you.  Heaven is before you.  Home lies on the

other side of a troubled sea.  Thousands, tens of thousands have crossed

these stormy waters, and in spite of all opposition, have reached the

haven where they would be.  Hell has assailed them, but has not

prevailed.  Go forward, beloved brethren, and fear not the adversary. 

Only abide in Christ, and the victory is sure.

Marvel not at the hatred of the gates of hell.  If you were of the

world, the world would love as its own.  So long as the world is the

world, and the devil the devil, there must be warfare, and believers in

Christ must be soldiers.  The world hated Christ, and the world will hate

true Christians, as long as the earth stands.  As the great reformer,

Luther, said, Cain will go on murdering Abel so long as the Church’s is on

earth.

Be prepared for the hostility of the gates of hell.  Put on the whole

armor of God.  The tower of David contains a thousand shields, all ready

for the use of Gods people.  The weapons of our warfare have been tried

by millions of poor sinners like ourselves, and have never been found

to fail.

Be patient under the bitterness of the gates of hell.  It is all working

together for your good.  It tends to sanctify.  It keeps you awake.  It

makes you humble.  It drives you nearer to the Lord Jesus Christ.  It weans you from the world.  It helps to make you pray more.  Above all, it makes you long for heaven, and say with heart as well as lips, Come, Lord Jesus.

Do not be cast down by the hatred of hell.  The warfare of the true child of God is as much a mark of grace as the inward peace which he enjoys. No cross, no crown!  No conflict, no saving Christianity!  Blessed are you, said our Lord Jesus Christ, when people insult you, persecute you and falsely say all kinds of evil against you because of me. 

5. There remains one thing more to be considered: the Security of the true Church of Christ.  There is a glorious promise given by the mighty Builder, The gates of Hades will not overcome it.  He who cannot lie has pledged His royal word, that all the powers of hell shall never overthrow His Church’s.  It shall continue, and stand, in spite of every assault.  It shall never be overcome.  All other created things perish and pass away, but not the Church of Christ.  The hand of outward violence, or the moth of inward decay, prevail over everything else, but not over the church that Christ builds.

Empires have risen and fallen in rapid succession.  Egypt, Assyria,

Babylon, Persia, Tyre, Carthage, Rome, Greece, Venice--where are all these now?  They were all the creations of man’s hand, and have passed away.  But the Church of Christ lives on.

The mightiest cities have become heaps of ruins.  The broad walls of Babylon are sunk to the ground.  The palaces of Nineveh are mounds of dust.  The hundred gates of Thebes are only matters of history.  Tyre is a place where fishermen hang their nets.  Carthage is a desolation.  Yet all this time the true Church’s stands.  The gates of hell do not prevail against it.

The earliest visible Churches have in many cases decayed and perished. 

Where is the Church of Ephesus and the Church of Antioch?  Where is the Church’s of Alexandria and the Church’s of Constantinople?  Where are the Corinthian, and Philippian, and Thessalonian Churches?  Where, indeed, are they all?  They departed from the Word of God.  They were proud of their bishops, and synods, and ceremonies, and learning, and antiquity. 

They did not glory in the true cross of Christ.  They did not hold fast the Gospel.  They did not give Jesus His rightful office, or faith its rightful place.  They are now among the things that have been.  Their candlestick has been taken away.  But all this time the true Church’s has lived on.

Has the true Church’s been oppressed in one country?  It has fled to

another.  Has it been tried on and oppressed in one soil?  It has

taken root and flourished in some other climate.  Fire, sword, prisons,

fines, penalties, have never been able to destroy its vitality.  Its

persecutors have died and gone to their own place, but the Word of God

has lived, and grown and multiplied.  Weak as this true Church’s may appear

to the eye of man, it is an anvil which has broken many a hammer in times

past, and perhaps will break many more before the end.  He that lays

hands on it, is touching the apple of Gods eye.

The promise of our text is true of the whole body of the true Church’s. 

Christ will never be without a witness in the world.  He has had a people

in the worst of times.  He had seven thousand in Israel even in the days

of Ahab.  There are some now, I believe, in the dark places of the Roman

Catholic and Greek Churches, who, in spite of much weakness, are serving

Christ.  The devil may rage horribly.  The Church’s may in some countries

be brought exceedingly low.  But the gates of hell shall never entirely

prevail.

The promise of our text is true of every individual member of the Church’s. 

Some of Gods people have been brought very low, so that they despaired

of their safety.  Some have fallen sadly, as David and Peter did.  Some

have departed from the faith for a time.  Many have been tried by cruel

doubts and fears.  But all have gotten safely home at last, the youngest

as well as the oldest, the weakest as well as the strongest.  And so it

will be to the end.  Can you prevent tomorrows sun from rising?  Can you

prevent the tide in the channel from ebbing and flowing?  Can you prevent

the planets moving in their respective orbits?  Then, and then alone, can

you prevent the salvation of any believer, however feeble--of any living

stone in that Church’s which is built on the rock, however small or

insignificant that stone may appear.

The true Church’s is Christs body.  Not one bone in that mystical body

shall ever be broken. 

The true Church’s is Christs bride.  They whom God has joined in

everlasting covenant, shall never be put asunder. 

The true Church’s is Christs flock.  When the lion came and took a lamb

out of Davids flock, David arose and delivered the lamb from his mouth. 

Christ will do the same.  He is Davids greater son.  Not a single sick

lamb in Christs flock shall perish.  He will say to His Father in the

last day, I have not lost one of those you gave me. 

The true Church’s is the wheat of the earth.  It may be sifted, winnowed,

buffeted, tossed to and fro.  But not one gain shall be lost.  The tares

and chaff shall be burned.  The wheat shall be gathered into the barn. 

The true Church’s is Christs army.  The Captain of our salvation loses

none of his soldiers.  His plans are never defeated.  His supplies never

fail.  His roll call is the same at the end as it was at the beginning. 

Of the men that marched gallantly out of England a few years ago in the

Crimean war, how many never came back!  Regiments that went forth, strong

and cheerful, with bands playing and banners flying, laid their bones in

a foreign land, and never returned to their native country.  But it is

not so with Christs army.  Not one of His soldiers shall be missing at

last.  He Himself declares They shall never perish.

The devil may cast some of the members of the true Church’s into prison. 

He may kill, and burn, and torture, and hang.  But after he has killed

the body, there is nothing more that he can do.  He cannot hurt the soul. 

When the French troops took Rome a few years ago, they found on the walls

of a prison cell, under the Inquisition, the words of a prisoner.  Who he

was, we do not know.  But his words are worthy of remembrance.  Though

dead, he still speaks.  He had written on the walls, very likely after an

unjust trial, and a still more unjust excommunication, the following

striking words, Blessed Jesus, they cannot cast me out of Your true

Church’s.  That record is true.  Not all the power of Satan can cast out

of Christs true Church’s one single believer.

The children of this world may wage fierce warfare against the Church’s,

but they cannot stop the work of conversion.  What did the sneering

Emperor Julian say, in the early ages of the Church’s, What is the

carpenters son doing now?  An aged Christian made answer, He is making

a coffin for Julian himself.  But a few months passed away, when Julian,

with all his pomp and power, died in battle.  Where was Christ when the

fires of Smithfield were lighted, and when Latimer and Ridley were burnt

at the stake?  What was Christ doing then?  He was still carrying on His

work of building.  That work will ever go on, even in troublesome times.

Fear not, beloved brethren, to begin serving Christ.  He to whom you

commit your souls has all power in heaven and earth, and He will keep

you.  He will never let you be cast away.  Relatives may oppose. 

Neighbors may mock.  The world may slander and sneer.  Fear not!  Fear

not!  The powers of hell shall never prevail against your soul.  Greater

is He that is for you, than all they that are against you.

Fear not for the Churches of Christ, my brethren, when ministers die, and

saints are taken away.  Christ can ever maintain His own cause, He will

raise up better and brighter stars.  The stars are all in His right hand. 

Leave off all anxious thought about the future.  Cease to be cast down by

the measures of statesmen, or the plots of wolves in sheep’s clothing. 

Christ will ever provide for His Own Church’s.  Christ will take care that

the gates of hell shall not prevail against it.  All is going on well,

though our eyes may not see it.  The kingdoms of this world shall yet

become the kingdoms of our God and of His Christ.                  

Allow me now to say a few words of practical application of this sermon. 

I speak to many, whom I speak to for the first time.  I speak, perhaps,

to many whom I speak to for the last time.  Let not this service conclude

without an effort to press home the sermon on each heart.

1. My first word of application shall be a question.  What shall that

question be?  How shall I approach you?  What shall I ask?  I ask you,

whether you are a member of the one true Church’s of Christ?  Are you in

the highest, the best sense, a Church man in the sight of God?  You know

what I mean.  I look far beyond the Church of England.  I speak of the

Churches built upon the rock.  I ask you, with all solemnity--Are you a

member of that one Church’s of Christ?  Are you joined to the great

Foundation?  Have you received the Holy Spirit?  Does the Spirit witness

with your spirit, that you are one with Christ, and Christ with you?  I

beseech you, in the name of God, to lay to heart this question, and to

ponder it well.

Take heed to yourselves, dear brethren, if you cannot give a satisfactory

answer to my inquiry.  Take heed, take heed, that you do not make

shipwreck of faith.  Take heed, lest at last the gates of hell prevail

against you, the devil claim you as his own, and you be cast away for

ever.  Take heed, lest you go down to the pit from the land of Bibles,

and in the full light of Christs Gospel.

2. My second word of application shall be an invitation.  I address it to

all who are not yet true believers.  I say to you, Come and join the one

true Church’s without delay.  Come and join yourselves to the Lord Jesus

Christ in an everlasting covenant not to be forgotten.  Come to Christ

and be saved.  The day of decision must come some time.  Why not this

very evening?  Why not today, while it is called today?  Why not this

very night, before the sun rises tomorrow morning?  Come to Him, whose I

am, and whom I serve.  Come to my Master, Jesus Christ.  Come, I say, for

all things are now ready.  Mercy is ready for you, heaven is ready for

you, angels are ready to rejoice over you, Christ is ready to receive

you.  Christ will receive you gladly, and welcome you among His children. 

Come into the ark, the flood of Gods wrath will soon break upon the

earth, come into the ark and be safe.

Come into the life-boat.  The old world will soon break into pieces!  Do you not hear the trembling’s of it?  The world is but a wreck stuck on the sandbar.  The night is far spent--the waves are beginning to rise--the winds are rising--the storm will soon shatter the old wreck.  But the life-boat is launched, and we, the ministers of the Gospel, beseech you to come into the life-boat and be saved.

Do you ask, How can I come, my sins are so many?  Do you ask how you shall come?  Hear the words of that beautiful hymn:

 Just as I am: without one plea,

 But that Thy blood was shed for me,

 And that Thou bids me come to Thee,

 O Lamb of God I come.

That is the way to come to Christ.  You should come, waiting for nothing, and tarrying for nothing.  You should come, as a hungry sinner, to be filled, as a poor sinner to be enriched, as a bad, undeserving sinner to be clothed with righteousness.  So coming, Christ would receive you.  Him that comes to Christ, He will not cast out.  Oh! come, come to Jesus Christ.

3. Last of all, let me given a word of exhortation to my believing hearers.

Live a holy life, my brethren.  Walk worthy of the Church’s to which you belong.  Live like citizens of heaven.  Let your light shine before men, so that the world may profit by your conduct.  Let them know whose you are, and whom you serve.  Be epistles of Christ, known and read of all men; written in such clear letters, that none can say, we do not know whether he be a member of Christ or not.

Live a courageous life, my brethren.  Confess Christ before men. 

Whatever station you occupy, in that station confess Christ.  Why should

you be ashamed of Him?  He was not ashamed of you on the cross.  He is

ready to confess you now before His Father in heaven.  Why should you be ashamed of Him?  Be bold.  Be very bold.  The good soldier is not ashamed of his uniform.  The true believer ought never to be ashamed of Christ.

Live a joyful life, my brethren.  Live like men who look for that blessed hope--the second coming of Jesus Christ.  This is the prospect to which we should all look forward.  It is not so much the thought of going to heaven, as of heaven coming to us, that should fill our minds.  There is a good time coming for all the people of God--a good time for all the Churches of Christ--a good time for all believers--a bad time for the Impenitent and unbelieving--a bad time for them that will serve their own lusts, and turn their backs on the Lord, but a good time for true Christians.  For that good time, let us wait, and watch, and pray.

The scaffolding will soon be taken down--the last stone will soon be brought out--the top-stone will be placed upon the edifice.  Yet a little time, and the full beauty of the building shall be clearly seen.

The great master Builder will soon come himself.  A building shall be shown to assembled worlds, in which there shall be no Imperfection.  The Savior and the saved shall rejoice together.  The whole universe shall acknowledge, that in the building of Christs Church’s all was well done.

Transcribed by

Tony Capoccia

Bible Bulletin Board

Box 314

Columbus, New Jersey, USA, 08022

Website: www.biblebb.com

Email: tony@biblebb.com

Online since 1986

Preface

For more than a century, J. C. Ryle was the leader of the evangelical party in the Church of England.  His policy was to encourage the conservative men to remain in the church’s rather than to abandon ship and leave the liberals to pursue their program unhindered.

J. C. Ryle is best known for his plain and lively writings on practical and spiritual themes.  His great aim in all his ministry, was to encourage strong and serious Christian living.  But Ryle was not naive in his understanding of how this should be done.  He recognized that, as a pastor of the flock of God, he had a responsibility to guard Christs sheep and to warn them whenever he saw approaching dangers.  His penetrating comments are as wise and relevant today as they were when he first wrote them.  His sermons and other writings have been consistently recognized, and their usefulness and Impact have continued to the present day, even in the outdated English of the authors own day. 

Why then should expositions already so successful and of such stature and

proven usefulness require adaptation, revision, rewrite or even editing?

The answer is obvious.  To increase its usefulness to todays reader, the

language in which it was originally written needs updating.

Though his sermons have served other generations well, just as they came

from the pen of the author in the nineteenth century, they still could be

lost to present and future generations, simply because, to them, the

language is neither readily nor fully understandable.

My goal, however, has not been to reduce the original writing to the vernacular of our day.  It is designed primarily for you who desire toread and study comfortably and at ease in the language of our time.  Only

obviously archaic terminology and passages obscured by expressions not

totally familiar in our day have been revised.  However, neither Ryles

meaning nor intent have been tired with.

Tony Capoccia

All Scripture references are taken from the HOLY BIBLE: NEW INTERNATIONAL VERSION (C) 1978 by the New York Bible Society, used by permission of  Zondervan Bible Publishers. 

This updated and revised manuscript is copyrighted (C)1998 by Tony Capoccia.

All rights reserved.