7 Insights into Christian ministry from JC Ryle

JC RYLE (1816-1900) was the first Bishop of Liverpool and was one of the most influential evangelical clergymen of the nineteenth century.

The quotes below come from Ryle, J. C.. Expository Thoughts on the Gospel of Luke: A Commentary (Updated Edition) Aneko Press. Kindle Edition.

1. Christian ministry calls for determination in the midst of discouragement

When the days drew near for him to be taken up, he (Jesus) set his face to go to Jerusalem. (Luke 9:51)

JC Ryle wrote:

Let us strive and pray that the same mind may be in us which was in our blessed Master. Like Him, let us be willing to go anywhere, do anything, suffer anything when the path of duty is clear and the voice of God calls. Let us set our faces resolutely to our work when our work is plainly marked out, and drink our bitter cups patiently when they come from the Father’s hand.

⁵⁷ As they were going along the road, someone said to him, “I will follow you wherever you go.” ⁵⁸ And Jesus said to him, “Foxes have holes, and birds of the air have nests, but the Son of Man has nowhere to lay his head.” ⁵⁹ To another he said, “Follow me.” But he said, “Lord, let me first go and bury my father.” ⁶⁰ And Jesus said to him, “Leave the dead to bury their own dead. But as for you, go and proclaim the kingdom of God.” ⁶¹ Yet another said, “I will follow you, Lord, but let me first say farewell to those at my home.” ⁶² Jesus said to him, “No one who puts his hand to the plow and looks back is fit for the kingdom of God.” (Luke 9:57-62)

JC Ryle wrote:

Let us learn from our Lord’s words on this occasion that He would have all who profess and call themselves Christians be reminded that they must carry the cross. They must count on being despised, and afflicted, and tried like their Master. Jesus would have no man enlisted on false pretenses. He would have it distinctly understood that there is a battle to be fought, and a race to be run, and a work to be done, and many hard things to be endured if we propose to follow Him…He would not have us be ignorant that we shall have deadly enemies – the world, the flesh, and the devil – and that many will hate us, slander us, and persecute us if we become His disciples. He does not wish to discourage us, but He does wish us to know the truth.

2. Christian ministry requires gentleness in the midst of rejection

 ⁵⁴ And when his disciples James and John saw it, they said, “Lord, do you want us to tell fire to come down from heaven and consume them?” ⁵⁵ But he turned and rebuked them. ⁵⁶ And they went on to another village. (Luke 9:54-56)

JC Ryle wrote:

Let it be a settled principle in our minds that whatever men’s errors may be in religion, we must never harm or persecute them. Let us, if needful, argue with them, reason with them, and try to show them a more excellent way. But let us never take up worldly weapons to promote the spread of truth. Let us never be tempted – directly or indirectly – to persecute any man under pretense of the glory of Christ and the good of the church…. It is a quaint and simple saying, but as true in the church as it is in the army, that “one volunteer is worth ten men who have been pressed/ forced into service!”

3. Christian ministry is prayerful ministry

JC Ryle wrote:

Prayer is one of the best and most powerful means of helping forward the cause of Christ in the world. It is a means within the reach of all who have the Spirit of adoption. Not all believers have money to give to missions. Very few have great intellectual gifts or extensive influence among men. But all believers can pray for the success of the gospel, and they ought to pray for it daily…because God alone can raise up and send forth laborers who will do work among souls.

4. Christian ministry is concerned for spiritually lost people

“The harvest is plentiful, but the laborers are few.“

JC Ryle wrote:

We must beware of thinking too much about our meals, and our furniture, and our houses, and all those many things which concern the life of the body. We must strive to live like men whose first thoughts are about the immortal soul.

5. Christian ministry is weakness in the midst of danger

Go your way; behold, I am sending you out as lambs in the midst of wolves. (Luke 10:3)

JC Ryle wrote:

So long as the church stands, believers must expect to be like lambs in the midst of wolves. They must make up their minds to be hated, and persecuted, and ill-treated by those who have no real religion. They must look for no favor from unconverted people, for they will find none. It was a strong but a true saying of Martin Luther that “Cain will murder Abel, if he can, to the very end of the world!”

6. Christian ministry is urgent

Carry no moneybag, no knapsack, no sandals, and greet no one on the road. (Luke 10:4)

JC Ryle wrote:

The disciples were to behave like men who had no time to waste on the empty compliments and conventional courtesies of the world… They teach us that ministers and teachers of the gospel should beware of allowing the world to eat up their time and thoughts and to hinder them in their spiritual work. They teach us that care about money, and excessive attention to what are called “the courtesies of life,” are mighty snares in the way of Christ’s laborers, and snares into which they must take heed lest they fall… Let us consider these things…Let us strive to show the ppl of the world that we have no time for their mode of living. Let us show them that we find life too precious to be spent in perpetual feasting, leisure, and pleasure, as if there were no death, or judgment, or life to come.

7. Christian ministry is filled with joy

¹⁷ The seventy-two returned with joy, saying, “Lord, even the demons are subject to us in your name!” ¹⁸ And he said to them, “I saw Satan fall like lightning from heaven. ¹⁹ Behold, I have given you authority to tread on serpents and scorpions, and over all the power of the enemy, and nothing shall hurt you. ²⁰ Nevertheless, do not rejoice in this, that the spirits are subject to you, but rejoice that your names are written in heaven.” (Luke 10:17-20)

JC Ryle wrote:

It was doubtless an honor and a privilege to be allowed to cast out demons. The disciples were right to be thankful. But it was a far higher privilege to be converted and pardoned men and to have their names written in the register of saved souls! The distinction here drawn between grace and gifts is one of deep importance and often and sadly overlooked in the present day. Gifts such as mental vigor, vast memory, striking eloquence, ability in argument, power in reasoning are often unduly overvalued by those who possess them, and unduly admired by those who do not possess them. These things ought not to be so. Men forget that gifts without grace save no one’s soul and are the characteristics of Satan himself. Grace, on the contrary, is an everlasting inheritance! As lowly and despised as its possessor may be, grace will land him safely in glory. He who has gifts without grace is dead in sins, however splendid his gifts may be. But he who has grace without gifts is alive to God, however unlearned and ignorant he may appear to man. Let the religion which we aim to possess be a religion in which grace is the main thing. Let it not content us to be able to speak eloquently, or preach powerfully or reasonably, or argue cleverly, or profess loudly, or talk fluently. Let it not satisfy us to know the whole system of Christian doctrines and to have texts and words at our command. These things are all well in their way. They are not to be undervalued. They have their use. But these things are not the grace of God, and they will not deliver us from eternal hell.

A Christian minister’s prayer

Please make me a worthy minister of the gospel, like JC Ryle. Grant me perseverance, discipline, wisdom and grace. Make me a hard worker, that needs never be ashamed, in your harvest field. May my teaching and preaching from Your Word be accompanied by the Holy Spirit, and power, and deep conviction. Thank you for your great victory over Satan at the cross, and I do certainly rejoice that my name is in your book.