John Charles Ryle was born in 1816 in Macclesfield, England. His father, John Ryle, was a private banker and he was raised among the wealthy of his time. He went to prep school at the age of seven. He said that he learned more evil in the next two years at that school that during the rest of his life.
After prep school, he went to Eton. Another school where he learned that arguments were settled with fist fights. The only good that came was when he had to study the Articles of Religion in order to enter Oxford University. John wasn't raised with any type of religious doctrine, and this study is where he attained his doctrinal views.
While at Oxford, he played cricket, hockey, and rowed. These sports allowed him to gain an understanding of discipline, and he encouraged his own sons to play. It wasn't until his last year of schooling that he buckled down and studied in order to graduate.
It was during his time at Oxford that John Ryle asked Christ to save him. He arrived late to an evening prayer service in 1837. The Oxford Parish Church was having a lesson on Ephesians 2. When the reader read verse 8- For by grace are ye saved through faith; and that not of yourselves: it is the gift of God:- John knew what he had to do. He said this was when he accepted Christ's salvation for his soul.
After he graduated Oxford, Ryle went back home. He was a rich, single gentleman who seemed to have everything. At the age of 21, he suffered a lung infection. Then the banks collapsed and he found himself without anything in the course of one day. John was rather bitter about this loss. It was only time that taught him God could work His will through loss. It was because of these that John began to faithfully read his Bible.
John wanted to earn some money and this was his primary reason for entering the ministry. He was ordained a Bishop in 1841. He started his ministry in the poor area of Exbury, a place full of swamps and snakes. The people didn't see their need for anything spiritual. John dutifully worked this area for two years as preacher and doctor for the poor there. God was able to change John's heart so that his desire for money waned and his desire for the salvation of souls grew.
It was in 1844 in Suffolk that John took the time to read the Puritan and Reformer writings that gave him the basis for his ministry. He preached to rich and poor alike the salvation of the Lord Jesus Christ, pointing all to the "old paths" which lead to the Savior.
John learned that loss was part of life. He married his first wife in 1845, and lost her in 1847. He married again in 1850, only to have her become sick 6 months later. He nursed her for 10 years, often taking an open carriage ride for 30 miles just so he could be home with her at night. But, she passed away in 1860 leaving him with 5 children; one from his first wife.
His third wife, Henriette, married him in 1861. She had good health and was a musician. They were married until 1889.
He pastored throughout rural England for 38 years. He was not only a pastor, but a writer and an evangelist. He preached at conventions and gave lectures under the Church Association in Picadilly. It was here that he preached "Why were our reformers burned?" I believe that it was partly his experience with loss that enabled him to understand why God would allow such things to happen.
His writings started with tracts, then went on to include books, hymns, and commentaries. His first pamphlet was prompted by the death of 100 people caused by a bridge collapse. Again, God used loss to encourage John along in His will. He wrote around 300 messages in pamphlet form. He said, "My chief desire in all my writings, is to exalt the Lord Jesus Christ and make Him beautiful and glorious in the eyes of men; and to promote the increase of repentance, faith, and holiness upon earth."
He became the Anglican Bishop of Liverpool in 1880. John was now 64 years old. At the age where most men were retiring, John started a new ministry that would span another 20 years! He died just a few months after retiring in 1900 at the age of 84 in Lowestoft, England.
He was known as a one-book man who was said to have bled the Bible. About the blessed, old Book, John Ryle said, "It is still the first book which fits the child's mind when he begins to learn religion, and the last to which the old man clings as he leaves the world."
