Sunday, August 7, 2022

The Books that Could Revive the Church I*f Only People Would See their Value

What gratitude I should have for God's provision of so many great Christian sources on the internet, at You Tube yet, in audible form, what a blessing to someone like me who is going blind and can no longer read.  Ryle's "Christian Leaders of the Eighteenth Century" has been such a valuable gift I'm aware of  how much it deserves my thankfulness and how little I have of that thankfulness.  I can only ask God to give me the gratitutde He deserves for this amazing provision.    At eighty I have no idea how much time I have to learn from these things but it's an enormous mercy that I've been given this boost to my determination to try to get my Christian life onto a more serious path.   Even a little effot is worth something though I wish I could dive into it as if I were much younger.


Now I'm reading Ryle's book "Holiness," which I read at least in part some years ago, and it's going to be another great boost to my Christian life.   It's interesting to be reminded of the historical context of the Holiness movement which was in full swing in his day, from whith the concept of the Higher Life was born.   It makes me aware that there were many errors in that movement and that I've3 tended to reduce it to the simple apprenension that most Christians live at a very low level of what scripture holds up to us as the true life in Christ.   No it was a much more complicated and scripturally questionable movement.   Ryle is certainly the one to show the right way to pursue the deepedr life which is laid out in scripture.

Holiness (Part 1) | J C Ryle | Free Christian Audiobook - YouTube


I just discovered that there are also works byu Samuel Rutherford at You Tube including his Letters which Ryle has mentioned in passing are regarded by many as the closest thing to inspired writing to be found among Christian teachers, so after listening to his book on holiness I want to go there next.


If more Christians gave up today's shallow silly and heretical teachers for these old teachers what a huge boost to the power of the Christian Church we could see in our day.  

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