Quotes from JC Ryle

Without thorough conviction of sin, people may seem to come to Jesus and follow Him for a little while, but they will soon fall away and return to the world.

Fear not; I am the first and the last: I am he that liveth, and was dead; and, behold, I am alive for evermore, Amen; and have the keys of hell and of death."—Revelation 1:18

Growth in grace is the best evidence of spiritual health and prosperity. In a child or a flower or a tree, we are all aware that when there is no growth, there is something wrong. Healthy life in an animal or plant will always show itself by progress and increase. It is the same with our souls. If they are progressing and doing well, they will grow.

If there is anything which a man ought to do thoroughly, authentically, truly, honestly, and with all of his heart, it is the business of his soul. If there is any work which he ought never to slight, and do in a careless fashion, it is the great work of "working out his own salvation" (Philippians 2:12). Believer in Christ, remember this! Whatever you do in religion, do it well. Be authentic. Be thorough. Be honest. Be true.

But in some places the cross also indicates the doctrine that Christ died for sinners on the cross — the atonement that He made for sinners by His suffering for them on the cross, the complete and perfect sacrifice for sin that He offered when He gave His own body to be crucified.

The world will let a man serve the devil and quietly go to hell; no one lifts a finger to stop him or even says, "May God have mercy on your soul." But the world will never let a man serve Christ and go to heaven quietly. Everybody cries, "Stop, wait!" and does anything and everything to keep him back.

All the children of God on earth are alike in this respect. From the moment there is any life and reality about their religion, they pray. Just as the first sign of life in an infant when born into the world, is the act of breathing, so the first act of men and women when they are born again, is praying.

nothing will ever allow them to find rest except submission to the old doctrines of man's ruin and Christ's redemption — and simple childlike faith in Jesus.

A holy person will seek to be faithful in all the duties and relations in life. He will not merely try to do as well as others who take no thought for their souls, but he will try to do even better, because he has higher motives and more help than they.

Inspiration, in short, is the very keel and foundation of Christianity. If Christians have no Divine book to turn to as the warrant of their doctrine and practice, they have no solid ground for present peace or hope, and no right to claim the attention of mankind. They are building on a quicksand, and their faith is vain. We ought to be able to say boldly, "We are what we are, and we do what we do, because we have here a book which we believe to be the Word of God".

But if people really mean to tell us that here in this world a believer can attain to entire freedom from sin, live for years in unbroken and uninterrupted communion with God, and for months at a time not even have one sinful thought, I must honestly say that such an opinion appears to me very unscriptural.

Prayer is the peculiarity of all real Christians now. They pray, for they tell God their wants, their feelings, their desires, and their fears; and they mean what they say. The nominal Christian may repeat prayers, and good prayers too, but he goes no further.