Ryle and the Word of God

By Nathan A. Hughes

"Let us be very careful that we never exalt any minister, or sermon, or book, or friend above the Word of God."

J. C. RYLE 

I am sure you have read one of J.C. Ryle’s books. His most well-known title is Holiness or to give its full title Holiness: Its Nature, Hinderances, Difficulties and Roots. Perhaps you have read Christian Leaders of the Eighteenth Century or his commentary series on the four Gospel, which he called Expository Thoughts. Before I go into the bulk of this article let me give you some background on Ryle. John Charles Ryle was born on 10 May 1816 in Macclesfield, England. He was the eldest son of John Ryle, a private banker, and an influential Member of Parliament for Macclesfield (1833–1837). Ryle was brought up in a middle/upper-class family and his father was financially well off.

Ryle was brought up to go to Church on special occasions and in a cultural Christian household, but his family was not serious about religion. From the little information we have about Ryle’s childhood, we can conclude that his family did not embrace the Christian faith fully. He was educated at Eton and the University of Oxford and had ambitions of a career in politics, but due to his father’s bankruptcy, he was unable to follow his plans for politics. Ryle took holy order in 1841/42 and became curate at Exbury, Hampshire. In 1843 he became the rectory of St. Thomas, Winchester, and then Helmingham, Suffolk. He was also a preacher at Cambridge, Oxford, and other locations. Ryle was appointed Bishop of the new see of Liverpool in 1880 and he faithfully served as Bishop until he retired on 1st March 1900 on the grounds of ill health. He died a short time later on 10th June 1900. He is buried at All Saints Church, Childwall, Liverpool next to his third wife, Henrietta. His first and second wives died young after a few years of marriage.

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