This is the latest volume in Crossway’s valuable “Theologians on the Christian Life” series, that ranges from Augustine to George Whitefield.
Andrew Atherstone has done readers a great service in providing a helpful summary and analysis of Ryle’s writings.
I have a soft spot for J.C. Ryle. His first two ministries were in my native Suffolk, and he spent his last days in my hometown, Lowestoft. Over the years I have benefitted from the stimulus of his lively, Biblically rooted writings.
Atherstone writes that: “He (Ryle) is more widely read now than at any period since his own lifetime.”
Many readers will be familiar with Ryle’s seven-volume Expository Thoughts on Gospels, but his writings are much more varied than these. The focus of this book is on the tracts that Ryle wrote on issues of his day, many of which have been published in compilations such as Knots Untied, Old Paths, Practical Religion and Holiness (the first book of Ryle’s that I read 50 years ago).
The limitation of these invaluable compilations is that each of the chapters, that were originally designed to stand alone, are gathered into a collection and presented without the context in which the tract first emerged.
Atherstone has done the spadework of carefully researching the original context of each tract to see what caused Ryle to write it and what we can learn from that.
This vital excavation work opens up what was going on in the life of Ryle, the Church of England – in which he was ordained, eventually becoming the first Anglican Bishop of Liverpool – and wider society.
The author classifies the tracts under nine key themes that were important in the ministry of Ryle.
Anyone interested in the writings of J.C. Ryle will find useful routes into some of his main themes and some of his lesser-known work. It is salutary to observe that Ryle appeared to be fighting a rearguard action more than a century ago over many issues that continue to be contested in his beloved Church of England today.
There is encouragement here to maintain gospel objectives and to keep on keeping on.
Atherstone, writing in the section on Ryle’s view of preaching, concludes: “He never flagged in his conviction that lively proclamation of the gospel – whether from the pulpit or the pen – is the God-ordained means of conversion and spiritual growth, essential to reviving the church and establishing healthy Christian disciples.”
Perhaps “lively” is the key here. Ryle’s liveliness was more than the sum of his parts, it derived from clear Biblical insight, profound theological understanding and flowing rivers of deep spiritual experience.
RYLE AND THE CHRISTIAN LIFE: Growing in Grace By Andrew Atherstone Crossway. 188 pages. £15.99 ISBN 978 1 433 567 346
