The true Christian was intended by Christ to prove all things by the Word of God, all churches, all ministers, all teaching, all preaching, all doctrines, all sermons, all writings, all opinions, all practices. These are his marching orders. Prove all by the Word of God; measure all by the measure of the Bible; compare all with the standard of the Bible; weigh all in the balances of the Bible; examine all by the light of the Bible; test all in the crucible of the Bible. That which cannot abide the fire of the Bible, reject, refuse, repudiate, and cast away. This is the flag which he nailed to the mast. May it never be lowered!
A church which does not honor the Bible is as useless as a body without life, or a steam engine without fire. A minister who does not honor the Bible is as useless as a soldier without arms, a builder without tools, a pilot without compass, or a messenger without tidings.
J. C. Ryle, Light from Old Times
I agree with his sentiments here. But I've always wondered how a saved man can agree with Anglicanism. I guess in Anglicanism there is wide breadth of understanding about the role of baptism, if any, in regeneration. But the Anglican sacerdotal system seems quite unevangelical (non-biblical) to my eyes, the eyes of a distant outsider. Ryle wrote lots of good sentences, indeed, and I think he was regenerate, but why, oh why, stay/be an Anglican if you believe the Bible?
ReplyDeleteE. T. Chapman
Yes. Thanks, Brother. I find it difficult to understand someone who can write such a strong piece on making the Bible the sole rule of one’s faith and practice could remain within the Anglican Church, even back in his day. I really cannot comprehend much about Anglicanism. It does seem that there is (or at least was) a wide variation from evangelical Anglicans to the near-Catholic ones!
ReplyDeleteIt is a shame that Ryle’s words are very quotable, but his practice is not very followable.