The dawn of New Testament Christianity in an upper room in Jerusalem and its final triumph when ‘many shall come from East and West and sit down with Abraham, Isaac and Jacob in the kingdom of heaven’, mark the beginning and ending respectively of the general sweep of this republished volume of papers by Bishop J.C. Ryle.
Sermons in some cases, lectures in others, they all exhibit the robust evangelical doctrine and down-to earth application, characteristic of Ryle’s style. With a vibrant challenging note and an occasional flash of humour, reliable advice, grounded in Biblical principles, is offered to ministers and congregations, parents and children, young and old, converted and unconverted.
Enlivening every word and sentence, the writer’s evangelistic zeal and tender pastoral concern compel the reader’s attention. Few, surely, can fail to be stirred and instructed by these addresses which have an astonishingly contemporary ring.
‘I have reached an age when I cannot reasonably expect to write much more. There are many thoughts in this volume which I do not wish to leave behind me in the precarious form of separate single sermons, addresses, lectures, and tracts. I have therefore resolved to gather them together in the volume I now send forth, which I heartily pray God to bless, and to make it a permanent blessing to many souls.’ — J. C. RYLE