J.C. Ryle: The Remedy for Thirsty Men

"If anyone is thirsty, let him come to me and drink.  Whoever believes in me, as the Scripture has said, streams of living water will flow from within him."

(John 7:37-38)

"'If any man thirst,' says our blessed Lord Jesus Christ, 'let him come to me, and drink.'

"For what is the sum and substance of these simple words?  It is this.  Christ is that Fountain of living water which God has graciously provided for thirsting souls.  From Him, as out of the rock smitten by Moses, there flows an abundant stream for all who travel through the wilderness of this world.  In Him, as our Redeemer and Substitute, crucified for our sins and raised again for our justification, there is an endless supply of all that men can need: pardon, absolution, mercy, grace, peace, rest, relief, comfort, and hope.

"This rich provision Christ has bought for us at the price of His own precious blood.  To open this wondrous fountain He suffered for sin, the just of the unjust, and bore our sins in His own body on the tree.  He was made sin for us, who knew no sin, that we might be made the righteousness of God in Him (1 Peter 2:24; 3:18; 2 Cor. 5:21).  And now He is sealed and appointed to be the Reliever of all who are laboring and heavy laden, and the Giver of living water to all who thirst.  It is His office to receive sinners.  It is His pleasure to given them pardon, life, and peace.  And the words of the text are a proclamation He makes to all mankind, 'If any man thirst, let him come unto me and drink.'"  (Holiness, J.C. Ryle)

J.C. Ryle: Spiritual Thirst (Part 2 of 2)

See Part 1 here.

How does the true believer and disciple of Jesus Christ come to salvation?  Some say that love is the central figure in salvation.  That the true Christian's love for others alone (and this may be code for the acceptance of all things in one's life) opens the avenue of salvation.  Still others may say, "We must teach others to love themselves before they can truly understand how much God loves them."  What a worldly point of view!  Loving others is important for the believer.  After all, this is how the world knows who is and is not a true disciple of Christ.  But the reality of spiritual depravity is that we cannot know that we are in need of God until we see that we are in need of God.  In the words of J.C. Ryle below, "It is not when we begin to feel good, but when we feel bad, that we take the first step towards heaven." All of humanity is sinful and in need of salvation.  But one cannot "accept" salvation if there is no sense of a need for salvation.  May these words of J.C. Ryle be an encouragement for us today.

"But who is there among the readers of this message that feels the burden of sin, and longs for peace with God?  Who is there that really feels the words of our Prayer Book confession, 'I have erred and strayed like a lost sheep, there is no health in me, I am a miserable offender'?  Who is there that enters into the fullness of our communion service, and can say with truth, 'The remembrance of my sins is grievous, and the burden of them in intolerable'?  You are the man that ought to thank God.  A sense of sin, guilt and poverty of soul is the first stone laid by the Holy Spirit, when He builds a spiritual temple.  He convinces of sin.  Light was the first thing called into being in the material creation (Gen. 1:3).  Light about our own state is the first work in the new creation.  Thirsting soul, I say again, you are the person that ought to thank God.  The kingdom of God is near you.  It is not when we begin to feel good, but when we feel bad, that we take the first step towards heaven.  Who taught you that you were naked?  Whence came this inward light?  Who opened your eyes and made you see and feel?  Know this day that flesh and blood has not revealed these things unto you, but our Father which is in heaven. Universities may confer degrees, and schools may impart knowledge of all mysteries, but they cannot make men feel sin.  To realize our spiritual need, and feel true spiritual thirst, is the ABC in saving Christianity.

"It is a great saying of Elihu, in the book of Job, 'God looks upon men, and if any say, "I have sinned, and perverted that which was right, and it profited me not," he will deliver his soul from death, and his life shall see the light' (Job 33:28).  Let him that knows anything of spiritual 'thirst' not be ashamed.  Rather let him lift up his head and begin to hope.  Let him pray that God would carry on the work He has begun, and make him feel more" (Holiness, J.C. Ryle).

J.C. Ryle: Spiritual Thirst (Part 1 of 2)

"If anyone is thirsty, let him come to me and drink.  Whoever believes in me, as the Scripture has said, streams of living water will flow from within him." (John 7:37-38)

"Bodily thirst is notoriously the most painful sensation to which the frame of mortal man is liable.  Read the story of the miserable sufferer in the black hole at Calcutta.  Ask anyone who has traveled over desert plains under a tropical sun.  Hear what any old soldier will tell you is the chief want of the wounded on a battlefield.  Remember what the crews of ships lost in mid-ocean, tossed for days in boats without water, go through.  Mark the dreadful words of the rich man in the parable, 'Send Lazarus that he may dip the tip of his finger in water to cool my tongue for I am tormented in this flame' (Luke 16:24).  The testimony is unvarying.  There is nothing so terrible and hard to bear as thirst.

"But if bodily thirst is so painful, how much more painful is thirst of soul?  Physical suffering is not the worst part of eternal punishment.  It is a light thing, even in this world, compared to the suffering of the  mind and inward man.  To see the value of our souls and find out they are in danger of eternal ruin; to feel the burden of unforgiven sin and not to know where to turn for relief; to have a conscience sick and ill at ease and to be ignorant of the remedy; to discover that we are dying, dying daily, and yet unprepared to meet God; to have some clear view of our own guilt and wickedness, and yet to be in utter darkness about absolution; this is the highest degree of pain - the pain which drinks up soul and spirit and pierces joints and marrow!  And this no doubt is the thirst of which our Lord is speaking.  It is a thirst after pardon, forgiveness, absolution and peace with God.  It is the craving of a really awakened conscience, wanting satisfaction and not knowing where to find it, walking through dry places, and unable to get rest.

"And surely it is not too much to say that all of us ought to know something of this thirst, if not as much as Augustin, Luther, Bunyan or Whitefield.  Living as we do in a dying world; knowing, as must do, if we will confess it, that there is a world beyond the grace, and that after death comes the judgment; feeling, as we must do in our better moments, what poor, weak, unstable, defective creatures we all are, and how unfit to meet God; conscious as we must be in our inmost heart of hearts, that on our use of time depends our place in eternity, we ought to feel and to realize something like 'thirst,' for a sense of peace with the living God.  But alas, nothing proves so conclusively the fallen nature of man as the general, common want of spiritual appetite!  For money, for power, for pleasure, for rank, for honor, for distinction - for all these the vast majority are now intensely thirsting.  To lead forlorn hopes, to dig for gold, to storm a breach, to try to hew a way through thick-ribbed ice to the North Pole, for all these objects there is no lack of adventurers and volunteers.  Fierce and unceasing is the competition for these corruptible crowns!  But few indeed, by comparison, are those who thirst after eternal life.  No wonder that the natural man is called in Scripture 'dead,' and 'sleeping,' and 'blind,' and 'deaf.'  No wonder that he is said to need a second birth and a new creation.  There is no surer symptom of mortification in the body than the loss of all feeling.  There is no more painful sign of an unhealthy state of soul that an utter absence of spiritual thirst.  Woe to that man of whom the Savior can say, 'You know not that you are wretched, and miserable, and poor, and blind, and naked' (Rev. 3:17)."  (Holiness, J.C. Ryle)

The Word Cannot Be Bound

Recently, the Islamic State executed dozens of Christians on the shores of Libya.  But as horrific an event as it is, many people are unable to see beyond the futility of such an act.  ISIS is attempting to eradicate the Christian faith by killing and inducing fear.  It is the same action that the Jewish leaders took to silence Jesus by hanging him upon the cross.  It is the same action that Rome took in sending thousands of Christians to the arena to be torn to shreds by wild animals.  It is the same action that Communist China, both in the past and today, has taken when Christians are jailed, tortured, and killed for their faith.

Such action is futile because, though the people of God be jailed, tortured, and killed, the gospel message that makes them the people of God does not stop moving.  It is active and saving souls even in the midst of war and death.  The body may die and the mouth may no longer be able to speak the truth of the gospel message, but the Word of God cannot be stopped.

In 2 Timothy 2:8-9, Paul reminds Timothy that though Paul is bound by chains the Word of God cannot and will not be bound.  How is this encouraging to us as His people?  How does this affect my life as a disciple of Christ?  Should I fear the persecution of God’s people? 

Join us this week as we study God’s Word, encouraging one another, and growing in our faith and relationship with Jesus Christ.

Striving to know Christ and make him known.

J.C. Ryle: Are You Already With Christ?

Do you find yourself content?  Not the contentment of peace with God, but the contentment of "I've made it."  This kind of contentment puts every believer in the place of laziness, selfishness, and closed eyes to the world around us.  It is a contentment which looks forward to the coming of the Son while forgetting those in the present who have yet to experience forgiveness, mercy, and grace which comes only from the Father.

The words of J.C. Ryle below are a tack-on-the-chair of every believer, every disciple of Jesus Christ. Care for those in need, but please don't forget their eternal state.  For what good is it to feed a poor man to delay his physical death if his eternal destination is everlasting death?  Those of us "with Christ" are called to look beyond the physical and see the spiritual.  Are we, in the words of J.C. Ryle, "Awake to a deeper sense of the sorrowful state of those who are 'without Christ'?"  May his words speak directly to us as God's people.

"If you have become one of Christ's friends already, I exhort you to be a thankful man.  Awake to a deeper sense of the infinite mercy of having an almighty Savior, a title to heaven, a home that is eternal, a Friend that never dies!  A few more years and all our family gatherings will be over.  What a comfort to think that we have in Christ something that we can never lose!

"Awake to a deeper sense of the sorrowful state of those who are 'without Christ.'  We are often reminded of the many who are without food or clothing or school or church.  Let us pity them, and help them, as far as we can.  But let us never forget that there are people whose state is far more pitiable.  Who are they?  The people 'without Christ!'

"Have we relatives without Christ?  Let us feel for them, pray for them speak, to the King about them, strive to recommend the gospel to them.  Let us leave no stone unturned in our efforts to bring them to Christ.

"Have we neighbors without Christ?  Let us labor in every way for their soul's salvation.  The night comes when none can work.  Happy is he who lives under the abiding conviction that to be in Christ is peace, safety, and happiness; and that to be 'without Christ' is to be on the brink of destruction."

J.C. Ryle: Seek Christ Without Delay

"If you have lived without Christ hitherto, I invite you in all affection to change your course without delay.  Seek the Lord Jesus while He can be found.  Call upon Him while He is near.  He is sitting at God's right hand, able to save to the uttermost everyone who comes to Him, however sinful and careless he may have been.  He is sitting at God's right hand, willing to hear the prayer of everyone who feels that his past life has been all wrong, and wants to be set right.  Seek Christ, seek Christ without delay.  Acquaint yourself with Him.  Do not be ashamed to apply to Him.  Only become one of Christ's friends this year, and you will say one day, it was the happiest year that you ever had" (J.C. Ryle, Holiness).

J.C. Ryle: Are You Without Christ?

If you find that you are not a believer in Jesus Christ and your passions are not for the King of Kings, please heed the words of J.C. Ryle below.  For what good are the fleeting things of this world if our soul is lost for eternity.

"Are you without Christ?  Do not allow life to pass away without some serious thoughts and self-inquiry.  You cannot always go on as you do now.  A day must come when eating and drinking and sleeping and dressing and making merry and spending money will have an end.  There will be a day when your place will be empty, and you will be only spoken of as one dead and gone.  And where will you be then, if you have lived and died without thought about your soul, without God, and without Christ?  Oh, remember, it is better a thousand times to be without money and health and friends and company and good cheer than to be without Christ!" (J.C. Ryle, Holiness)

J.C. Ryle: To be Without Christ is to be Without Heaven

In recent years there has been a fascination with heaven.  More specifically, books (and soon after movies of those books) have captured the imagination of believers and unbelievers alike.  In discussions of these books and movies the question usually arises, "Is this a true story?"  How can we know if this story on heaven is trustworthy?  One basic test is to ask the question, "What is the center of heaven in the story?"  In looking at Scripture, Christ is the central and ever present figure of heaven.  If Christ is not at heaven's center then it is more than likely a false story, no matter how sincere the storyteller.  The words of J.C. Ryle below speak a divine truth: a heaven without Christ is not the heaven of the Bible.

"To be 'without Christ' is to be without heaven.  In saying thing I do not merely mean that there is no entrance into heaven, but that 'without Christ' there could be no happiness in being there.  A man without a Savior and Redeemer could never feel at home in heaven.  He would feel that he had no lawful right or title to be there; boldness and confidence and ease of heart would be impossible.  Amid pure and holy angels, under the eyes of a pure and holy God, he could not hold up his head; he would feel confounded and ashamed.  It is the very essence of all true views of heaven that Christ is there.

"Who are you that dreams of a heaven in which Christ has no place?  Awake to know your folly.  Know that in every description of heaven which the Bible contains, the presence of Christ is one essential feature.  'In the midst of the throne,' says St. John, 'stood a Lamb as it had been slain.'  The very throne of heaven is called the 'throne of God and of the Lamb.'  'The Lamb is the light of heaven, and the temple of it.'  The saints who dwell in heaven are to be 'fed by the Lamb,' and 'led to living fountains of waters.'  The meeting of the saints in heaven is called 'the marriage supper of the Lamb' (Rev. 5:6; 22:3; 21:22, 23; 7:17; 19:9).  A heaven 'without Christ' would not be the heaven of the Bible.  To be 'without Christ' is to be without heaven" (J.C. Ryle, Holiness).

Four Encouragements for Disciples

As a father of three beautiful children, I am constantly reminded of its blessings and difficulties.  The blessings of parenting include seeing your child’s face brighten as you walk through the door from a day at work, cuddles, wrestling, and hugs (only to name a few).  But one of the difficulties of parenting is the seemingly constant need for reminding children of the difference between good and poor decisions. 

One difficult instance occurred when one child was “pushing the buttons” of their sibling.  I could see the anger and frustration rising in the one being “pushed” and the need suddenly arose for the father to step in to remind them to find self-control.  Self-control does not come easily or naturally to any of us.  It takes time, effort, and constant encouragement.  In this case, I encouraged them to calm down by going to their room to let out their frustrations.  After this “calming session” they were able to rejoin life with the family without the danger of retaliation.

In 2 Timothy 2:3-7 Paul encourages Timothy to remember four things that are needed for him to fulfill his holy calling from God.  As the children of God we too need a reminder of how to live out our holy calling.  Join us this week as we look into these four reminders and may we find encouragement together as we look into His Truth, the Word of God.

Striving to know Christ and make him known.

J.C. Ryle: To be Without Christ is to be Without Hope

In what do we put our hope?  In what does the world put their hope?  In what does the church of God put their hope in?  Hope is seemingly something that cannot be fully grasped.  We put our hope in people and they let us down.  We put our hope in money or material possessions and the well of satisfaction eventually runs dry.  We put our hope in ourselves and we find that we cannot always handle what life throws at us.  Everyone claims to have hope in something or someone, but the question remains: Is what we hope in worthy to be trusted?  Will it sustain the eventual difficult circumstances of living?  J.C. Ryle points us to the One and Only Hope, Jesus Christ.  May his words be an encouragement for us as disciples of Jesus Christ.

"To be 'without Christ' is to be without hope.  Hope of some sort or other almost everyone thinks he possesses.  Rarely indeed will you find a man who will boldly tell you that he has no hope at all about his soul.  But how few there are that can give 'a reason of the hope that is in them' (1 Pet. 3:15).  How few can explain it, describe it and show its foundations!  How many a hope is nothing better than a vague empty feeling, which the day of sickness and the hour of death will prove to be utterly useless, impotent alike to comfort or to save.

"There is but one hope that has roots, life, strength, and solidity, and that is the hope which is built on the great rock of Christ's work and office as man's Redeemer.  'Other foundation can no man lay than that is laid, which is Jesus Christ' (1 Cor. 3:11).  He that builds on this corner-stone 'shall not be unfounded.'  About this hope there is reality.  It will bear looking at and handling.  It will meet every inquiry.  Search it through and through, and you will find no flaw whatever in it.  All other hopes beside this are worthless.  Like summer-dried fountains, they fail man just when his need is the sorest.  They are like unsound ships, which look well so long as they lie quiet in harbor, but when the winds and the waves of ocean begin to try them, their rotten condition is discovered and they sink beneath the waters.  There is no such thing as a good hope without Christ, and 'without Christ' is to have 'no hope' (Eph. 2:12)."  (J.C. Ryle, Holiness)

The Strength and Value of the Gospel

“A story is told of a man who loved old books. He met an acquaintance who had just thrown away a Bible that had been stored in the attic of his ancestral home for generations. ‘I couldn't read it,’ the friend explained. ‘Somebody named Guten-something had printed it.’ ‘Not Gutenberg!’ the book lover exclaimed in horror. ‘That Bible was one of the first books ever printed. Why, a copy just sold for over two million dollars!’ His friend was unimpressed. ‘Mine wouldn't have brought a dollar. Some fellow named Martin Luther had scribbled all over it in German’

(Our Daily Bread, June 7, 1994).

Many times the values of something is in the eye of the beholder.  One man’s trash is another man’s treasure, as the old saying goes.  But when it comes to the gospel message, those who have a relationship with the Creator understand it’s true value.  It’s strength to affect a life is beyond measure and it’s value is beyond comprehension.  Those who do not know God intimately do not understand that in hearing the gospel message they are being introduced to a life-altering message.

What is the gospel?  How has the gospel affected us?  What strength lies in the gospel?  What are we do with the gospel once we hear it and believe?

Join us this week at ElmCreek Community as we look into what 2 Timothy 2:1-2 has to say about the gospel and our responsibility once we hear the Truth.

Striving to know Christ and make him known!

J.C. Ryle: Without Christ We Are Without Peace

We are all broken, one way or another.  Every human on earth is attempting to find a way to heal the wound created by the Fall.  Some search in material things, others in relationships, and still others in doing church.  But a few do find true healing and peace.  In the words of J.C. Ryle, "There is only one things that can give peace to the conscience, and that is the blood of Jesus Christ sprinkled on it."  Praise God for His Son, Jesus Christ, and the peace He brings.

"To be 'without Christ' is to be without peace.  Every man has a conscience within him, which must be satisfied before he can be truly happy.  So long as this conscience is asleep or half dead, so long, no doubt, he gets along pretty well.  But as soon as a man's conscience wakes up. and he begins to think of past sins and present failings and future judgment, at once he finds out that he needs something to give him inward rest.  But what can do it?  Repenting and praying and Bible reading, and church going, and sacrament receiving, and self-mortification may be tried, and tried in vain.  They never yet took off the burden from anyone's conscience.  And yet peace must be had!

"There is only one thing that can give peace to the conscience, and that is the blood of Jesus Christ sprinkled on it.  A clear understanding that Christ's death was an actual payment of our debt to God, and that the merit of that death is made over to man when he believes, is the grand secret of inward peace.  It meets every craving of conscience.  It answers every accusation.  It calms every fear.  It is written, 'These things I have spoken unto you, that in Me you might have peace.'  'He is our peace.'  'Being justified by faith, we have peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ' (John 16:33; Eph. 2:14; Rom. 5:1).  We have peace through the blood of His cross: peace like a deep mine - peace like an ever-flowing stream.  But 'without Christ' we are without peace."

The Power of Christ's Resurrection

“By His sovereign grace, God can bring good out of our failures, and even out of our sins. J. Stuart Holden tells of an old Scottish mansion close to where he had his little summer home. The walls of one room were filled with sketches made by distinguished artists. The practice began after a pitcher of soda water was accidentally spilled on a freshly decorated wall and left an unsightly stain. At the time, a noted artist, Lord Landseer, was a guest in the house. One day when the family went out to the moors, he stayed behind. With a few masterful strokes of a piece of charcoal, that ugly spot became the outline of a beautiful waterfall, bordered by trees and wildlife. He turned that disfigured wall into one of his most successful depictions of Highland life.”  (Swindoll, The Quest For Character, Multnomah, p. 49.)

What power does the resurrection of Christ have for those who believe?  It has the power to transform, to make new, to restore the broken and hurt to rightness with God, beautiful works of art of the Father above.

Join us this Easter week as we celebrate the power of Christ through his resurrection. 

Striving to know Christ and make him known,

Mark

J.C. Ryle: To be Without Christ is to be Without God

We are witnessing a disturbing trend from many who call themselves the true church of God.  They talk about God's mercy and love, but fail to mention the importance of total submission to Jesus Christ as Savior and Lord to receive eternal life and avoid the full wrath of God at the end of the age.  Unfortunately, many of these sources look to their own hearts and desires instead of to the true source of Truth: God's Word.  And what does Scripture have to say about this issue?  In the words of J.C. Ryle, "To be 'without Christ' is to be without God."

"To be 'without Christ' is to be without God.  The Apostle St. Paul told the Ephesians as much as this in plain words.  He ends the famous sentence which begins, 'You were without Christ,' by saying, ' You were without God in the world.'  And who that thinks can wonder?  That man can have very low ideas of God who does not conceive Him a most pure and holy and glorious and spiritual Being.  That man must be very blind who does not see that human nature is corrupt and sinful and defiled.  How then can such a worm as man draw near to God with comfort?  How can he look up to Him with confidence and not feel afraid?  How can he speak to Him, have dealings with Him, look forward to dwelling with Him, without dread and alarm?  There must be a mediator between God and man, and there is but one that can fill the office.  That One is Christ.

"Who are you to talk of God's mercy and God's love separate from and independent of Christ?  There is no such love and mercy recorded in Scripture.  Know this day that God out of Christ is 'a consuming fire' (Heb. 12:29).  Merciful He is, beyond all question rich in mercy, and plenteous in mercy.  But His mercy is inseparably connected with the mediation of His beloved Son Jesus Christ.  It must flow through Him as the appointed channel, or it cannot flow at all.  It is written 'He that honors not the Son, honors not the Father which has Him.'  'I am the way, the truth and the life.  No man comes unto the Father, but by Me' (John 5:23; 14:6).  'Without Christ' we are without God" (Holiness, J.C. Ryle).