Last time I shared a J.C. Ryle quote it spoke of the fight of a true Christian against sin. I talked about how after salvation every believer still struggles with sin and what a comfort that was to me. This quote follows on the heels of that thought.
If you have not read before, I am sharing the different quotes I have gathered from a book called Holiness by J.C. Ryle. It’s a book about the Christian life and is so encouraging and biblical.
This statement is very different from what is usually said and admittedly rather contrary to how I tend to think. The usual idea of growth is that you get better by believing in yourself, feeling good about yourself and understanding just how wonderful you are. Inward strength is being able to push away all the accusing voices and firmly trust that at heart you are a good person.
Even if I don’t believe the above, I tend to look at life and think that as I grow in my walk with Christ I’ll be able to grow in thinking of myself as a good person who deserves praise and I’ll often pat myself on the back for being ”righteous and holy”.
But scripture shatters those thoughts in a convicting way and this quote brings to bear a glorious, unpopular truth. We do grow in obedience and holiness, we do become more like Christ, but we also grow in humility. A closer walk with God means that we understand Him more deeply; we see more of his holiness and righteousness; his splendor and his majesty. And in light of His perfection we see more and more of our own sinfulness.
In the dark something may seem clean, but shine a light on it and you might find that it is quite filthy. So it is with us as we grow in our relationship with God and see more and more of his light.
In reality, all those accusing thoughts we tend to have don’t cover the half of our sins and fail to properly portray just how wretched and sinful we are by God’s standards.
(Isaiah 6:5)
And I said: “Woe is me! For I am lost; for I am a man of unclean lips, and I dwell in the midst of a people of unclean lips; for my eyes have seen the King, the LORD of hosts!”
(Job 42:5-6)
I had heard of you by the hearing of the ear, but now my eye sees you;
therefore I despise myself, and repent in dust and ashes.”
These were righteous men in the Bible, yet when God revealed himself more fully to them they were overwhelmed by his Infinite holiness and their own terrible sinfulness.
But this doesn’t mean we are hopeless, Christ came to save sinners.
(1 Timothy 1:1516)
The saying is trustworthy and deserving of full acceptance, that Christ Jesus came into the world to save sinners, of whom I am the foremost.
But I received mercy for this reason, that in me, as the foremost, Jesus Christ might display his perfect patience as an example to those who were to believe in him for eternal life.
Growing in the knowledge of our sinfulness also means growing in reliance and trust in Christ and his work on the cross.
“Once we see that sin is far viler and far nearer to us, and sticks more closely to us than we supposed we will be led, I trust and believe, to get nearer to Christ. Once nearer to Christ, we will drink more deeply out of his fullness and learn more thoroughly to live the life of faith in Him as Paul did. Once taught to live the life of faith in Jesus, and abiding in Him, we will bear more fruit, will find ourselves stronger for duty, more patient in trial, more watchful over our poor weak hearts, and more like our Master in all our little daily ways.”
-J.C. Ryle
In summation, growing in a true knowledge of God leads to a knowledge of our sinfulness which in turn makes us flee to Christ and rest fully on his wonderful grace and salvation. Which in turn strengthens us to walk in joyful obedience. This is the greatest comfort and joy, because our worth, our hope and our righteousness do not originate from us; we do not have to muster them up in ourselves, but rather fully lean on Christ knowing that He loves us not because of who we are, but because of who He is.
So in the end, God gets all the glory.
P.S. A Song : ) https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pQfCXHYVXBA