21
Jun
2008
J. C. Ryle on Holiness
This week I am preaching a sermon on Ephesians 1:4: “just as He chose is in Him before the foundation of the world that we should be holy and without blame before Him.” Many Reformed believers, while emphasizing the doctrine of election, fail to connect it to the purpose of our election. We are elect unto holiness. It is not because of our holiness that we are chosen. It is because of God’s choosing and predestination that we are made holy and adopted in Christ into His family. As I prepared I re-read J. C. Ryle’s chapter on holiness in his masterpiece, Holiness. Here are some great quotes from Ryle on what it means to be holy:
Holiness is the habit of being of one mind with God, according as we find His mind described in Scripture. It is the habit of agreeing in God’s judgment, hating what He hates, loving what He loves, and measuring everything in this world by the standard of His Word. He who most entirely agrees with God, he is the most holy man .A holy man will strive to be like our Lord Jesus Christ. He will not only live the life of faith in Him and draw from Him all his daily peace and strength, but he will also labor to have the mind that was in Him and to be conformed to His image (Rom. 8:29). It will be his aim to bear with and forgive others, even as Christ forgave us; to be unselfish, even as Christ pleased not Himself; to walk in love, even as Christ loved us; to be lowly–minded and humble, even as Christ made Himself of no reputation and humbled Himself. He will remember that Christ was a faithful witness for the truth; that He came not to do His own will; that it was His meat and drink to do His Father’s will; that He would continually deny Himself in order to minister to others; that He was meek and patient under undeserved insults; that He thought more of godly poor men than of kings; that He was full of love and compassion to sinners; that He was bold and uncompromising in denouncing sin; that He sought not the praise of men, when He might have had it; that He went about doing good; that He was separate from worldly people; that He continued instant in prayer; that He would not let even His nearest relations stand in His way when God’s work was to be done. These things a holy man will try to remember. By them he will endeavor to shape his course in life.
Oh that we took more seriously the call to holiness and that we would remember that it is because “Christ also has loved us and given Himself for us, an offering and a sacrifice to God for a sweet-smelling aroma” that we can now walk in love. Our holiness was won by the death of Christ at Calvary. “Christ also loved the church and gave Himself for her,  that He might sanctify and cleanse her with the washing of water by the word, that He might present her to Himself a glorious church, not having spot or wrinkle or any such thing, but that she should be holy and without blemish (Eph. 5:26-27).
About Post Author
