The Christian Race

When the aged J. C. Ryle announced he was to resign from the office of bishop of Liverpool, his friends encouraged him to publish a selection of sermons as a memorial to his sixty years of ministry, from country parson to diocesan bishop.

The resulting selection, chosen by one of Ryle’s colleagues in the Liverpool diocese, T. J. Madden, exemplifies the beating heart of biblical religion which epitomized Ryle’s approach to ministry. The title of the selection is taken from one of the sermons, and the themes covered in this volume will be found to equip readers, as they did their first hearers, to run the Christian race with endurance.

Themes such as regeneration, saving faith, righteousness, the character and privileges of the true Christian, the character of Jesus Christ, and heaven, among others, all serve to draw out the doctrinal teachings of the Scriptures, whilst applying those teachings to the practical realities of the Christian life.