J.C. Ryle on Our View of Ourselves

"What do you think of yourself? What Paul thought of himself you have seen and heard. Now, what are your thoughts about yourself? Have you found out that grand foundational truth that you are a sinner, a guilty sinner in the sight of God?

"The cry for more education in this day is loud and incessant. Ignorance is universally deplored. But, you may depend, there is not ignorance so common and so mischievous as ignorance or ourselves. Yes, men may know all arts and sciences and languages, and political economy and statecraft, and yet be miserably ignorant of their own hearts and their own state before God.

"Be very sure that self-knowledge is the first step towards heaven. To know God's unspeakable perfection, and our own immense imperfection, to see our own unspeakable defectiveness and corruption, is the ABC in saving religion. The more real inward light we have, the more humble and lowly-minded we shall be, and the more we shall understand the value of that despised thing, the gospel of Christ. He that think worst of himself and his own doings is perhaps the best Christian before God. Well would it be of many if they would pray, night and day, this simple prayer: 'Lord, show me myself'" (J.C. Ryle, Holiness).

J.C. Ryle: Salvation, Humility, and a Deep Sense of Sin

Ephesians 3:8(ESV)

"To me, though I am the very least of all the saints, this grace was given, to preach to the Gentiles the unsearchable riches of Christ."

"When Paul wrote with his pen, he really felt in his heart.  The language of our text does not stand alone.  It is even exceeded in other places.  To the Philippians he says, 'I have not attained, nor am I already perfect: I follow after.'  To the Corinthians he says, 'I am the least of the apostles, which am not meet to be called an apostle.'  To Timothy he says, 'I am chief of sinners.'  To the Romans he cries, 'Wretched man that I am!  Who shall deliver me from the body of this death?' (Phil. 3:12; 1 Cor. 15:9; 1 Tim. 1:15; Rom. 7:24).  The plain truth is that Paul saw in his own heart of hearts far more defects and infirmities than he saw in anyone else.  The eyes of his understanding were so fully opened by the Holy Spirit of God, that he detected a hundred things wrong in himself, which the dull eyes of other men never observed at all.  In short, possessing great spiritual light, he had great insight into his own natural corruption, and was clothed from head to foot with humility (1 Peter 5:5).

"Now let us clearly understand that humility like Paul's was not a peculiar characteristic of the great apostle of the Gentiles. On the contrary, it is one leading mark of all the most eminent saints of God in every age.  The more real grace men have in their hearts, the deeper is their sense of sin.  The more light the Holy spirit pours into their souls, the more do they discern their own infirmities, defilements and darkness.  The dead soul feels and sees nothing; with life comes clear vision, a tender conscience and spiritual sensibility.  Observe what lowly expressions Abraham and Jacob and Job and David and John the Baptist used about themselves.  Study the biographies of modern saints like Bradford and Hooker and George Herbert and Beverage and Baxter and McCheyne.  Mark how one common feature of character belongs to them all - a very deep sense of sin.

"Superficial and shallow professors in the warmth of their first love may talk, if they will, of 'perfection.'  The great saints, in every era of church history, from Paul down to this day, have always been 'clothed with humility.'

"He that desires to be saved, among the readers of this message, let him know this day that the first steps towards heaven are a deep sense of sin and a lowly estimate of ourselves.  Let him cast away that weak and silly tradition that the beginning of religion is to feel ourselves 'good'  Let him rather grasp that grand scriptural principle, that we must begin by feeling 'bad' and that, until we really feel 'bad' we know nothing of true goodness or saving Christianity.  Happy is he who has learned to draw near to God with the prayer of the tax-collector, 'God be merciful to me a sinner' (Luke 18:13)."  (J.C. Ryle, Holiness)

Grace for the Humble

“When Billy Graham was driving through a small southern town, he was stopped by a policeman and charged with speeding.  Graham admitted his guilt, but was told by the office that he would have to appear in court.

“The judge asked, ‘Guilty, or not guilty?’  When Graham pleaded guilty, the judge replied, ‘That’ll be ten dollars – a dollar for every mile you went over the limit.’

“Suddenly the judge recognized the famous minister.  ‘You have violated the law,’ he said.  ‘The fine must be paid – but I am going to pay it for you.’  He took a ten dollar bill from his own wallet, attached it to the ticket, and then took Graham out and bought him a steak dinner! ‘That,’ said Billy Graham, ‘is how God treats repentant sinners!’”  (Progress Magazine, December 14, 1992)

In the first three chapters of James we are told about our sinfulness.  It is not that we have great potential to be sinful, but that we are completely sinful by nature.  In fact, the words that James uses for our sinfulness is adultery.  We cheat on God when we disobey him, no matter how small or large we may think of our disobedience.  Adultery is adultery.  A sickness of sin permeates every pore of our body, mind, and soul.

But James does not leave us hanging in our own realization of our dark hearts.  There is hope and joy.  All this sinfulness and darkness within us has a cure: grace.  More specifically, God’s grace.  What a beautiful picture of God’s love for us.  But to whom is this grace given?  Where does repentance and humility come into play?

Join us this week at First Baptist Church in Emery, SD

as we explore God’s grace for us and His call for us as his children to humble ourselves and repent.