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Sickness | J. C. Ryle · Reformed Thinking

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Imagine for a second that you are building this, this
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impenetrable fortress to protect your life.
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Like a literal castle. Yeah, well, like a modern 1, you
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have the resources, so you construct this massive, strong
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city around your physical well-being.
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Oh, I see. You mean like total health
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optimization? Right.
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You buy the highest rated security system.
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You move into a gated community. You hire private chefs to
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prepare only the most optimized organic meals.
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The. Whole 9 yards.
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Yeah, the whole thing. You employ top to your personal
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trainers, you subscribe to every cutting edge biohacking protocol
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available. You know you build this massive
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fortified wall around your health.
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It is a very common modern obsession.
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It really is. But despite all those resources,
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that fortress is entirely permeable.
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I mean, no steel doors or iron bars can keep out a microscopic
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virus. That's a harsh reality.
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It is all the wealth in the world cannot negotiate with a
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genetic mutation or or a failing organ.
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Welcome to reformed thinking. Today we are taking you on a
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deep dive into an essay simply titled Sickness by the 19th
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Century writer JC Ryle. And this is taken from his
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larger work, Practical Religion. Right.
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And our mission today is to completely upend the modern
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assumption of what physical affliction actually is.
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Because usually when we talk about human health today, there
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is this underlying expectation of optimal functioning.
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Yeah, we tend to view our bodies like a highly complex computer
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system. When everything is running
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smoothly, you do not even think about the underlying code, you
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just live your life. But when you get sick when a
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disease strikes, the immediate modern reflex is to view that
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illness as a glitch in the system.
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We treat it like a software bug. We do.
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The assumption is that something has gone wrong, an error has
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occurred, and the singular goal is to patch the code and get
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back to the default state of perfect uninterrupted operation.
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And I mean, that view brings a lot of temporary comfort, right?
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Because it frames health as the permanent guaranteed baseline.
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Right, and it frames sickness as an accidental, meaningless
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interruption. But reading Ryle's text
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introduces this massive paradigm shift.
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He paints a landscape where physical ailments are not random
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accidents. No, they are not just glitches
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or bugs in the software. Ryle presents illness as a
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deliberate feature of a fallen world.
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He argues that physical breakdown carries a highly
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specific, intentional and corrective function designed by
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a sovereign creator. To establish this whole
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framework, Ryle starts his essay by pointing to this striking
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paradox found in the Gospel of John.
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Right, Chapter 11, verse 3. Yeah, this is the historical
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account of a man named Lazarus. A very familiar text for a lot
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of people. It is, but there is this
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specific detail. The sisters of Lazarus send a
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message to Jesus and the text simply says, Lord, behold, he
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whom thou lovest is sick. I really want to unpack that
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specific verse because there is this enormous tension resting
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right there on the surface. Oh.
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Absolutely. The tension is huge.
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Right. I mean, if the creator loves
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this person, why are they suffering?
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That is the natural question. If perfect divine Love is
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actively present in this man's life at this very moment, why is
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his physical body breaking down? It creates this friction that
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forces us to ask serious questions about the nature of
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divine affection. Like why would God allow someone
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he cherishes to endure physical agony?
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And Ryle uses this precedent set in the town of Bethany to start
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answering that question. He zeroes in on the specific
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words Martha and Mary chose when they drafted that urgent
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message, the. Phrasing of their message is
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fascinating. It reveals a massive amount of
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theological accuracy alongside this very deep humility.
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Notice what the two sisters choose not to say when they were
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petitioning for a miracle. What do they leave out?
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They do not say Lord, He loves thee is sick.
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They completely avoid pointing to the devotion of Lazarus.
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Oh wow, they do not present a resume of his faith.
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No, they do not bring up his track record of good works or
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his loyalty to the ministry. They do not say your most
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dedicated, hard working follower has fallen.
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I'll. Instead, they just say, He whom
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thou lovest. Yes, they bypass the affection
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Lazarus has for Christ, and they base their entire appeal
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entirely on the affection Christ has for Lazarus.
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I have to admit that feels a bit counterintuitive to how we
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normally operate, so I want to push back on the psychology of
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that. Moment.
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Sure, go ahead. Why is looking at our own
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affection for God so unsatisfactory when we hit a
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crisis, I mean in human relationships, if we need help
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from someone, it is very natural to highlight our own loyalty we.
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Want to say look at everything I have done for you.
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Yeah, look at how much I love you.
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Please come through for me. Why is presenting our own
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spiritual resume the wrong approach when dealing with God
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in the midst of physical suffering?
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Well, when we look at the broader theology of assurance,
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the danger of looking inward becomes very clear.
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Human feelings, including our religious affections and our
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love for God, are incredibly volatile.
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They are very subjective. Exactly.
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Your feelings fluctuate based on your immediate circumstances.
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They fluctuate based on your physical health, your emotional
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bandwidth, and even something as mundane as how much sleep you
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got the night before. So if you are lying in a
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hospital bed in severe pain. Right.
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And you look inward at your own faith to find a solid reason for
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God to intervene. You will inevitably find
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anxiety. You will realize your faith is
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imperfect. You will find that your love is
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inconsistent and your devotion is fragile, but looking outward
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at divine affection brings peace, because that affection is
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fixed. It does not waver based on your
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temperature or your pain level. No, it is an objective reality
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that exists outside of yourself. Martha and Mary understood that
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the true, unshakable ground of expectation is not our frail
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love toward heaven, but Heaven's perfect love toward us.
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That distinction changes the entire posture of someone
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enduring a medical crisis. It shifts the burden.
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It takes the weight off our shoulders.
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And it brings us right back to the core tension of Lazarus
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himself. Ryle goes out of his way to
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highlight the specific spiritual condition of Lazarus before he
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got sick. Lazarus was a converted man.
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He was a believing, sanctified heir of glory.
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He checked every single box of a faithful, obedient believer.
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I mean, he was in the inner circle of Christ's friends.
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And yet, despite all of that spiritual security, he still
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contracted a severe illness. This historical reality
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dismantles an assumption that has plagued humanity for
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millennia. You see it in the ancient world
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with the friends of Job, who assumed Job must have committed
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some secret sin to deserve his physical afflictions.
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And you see it heavily today in modern prosperity leaning
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circles. The assumption is a simple
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equation, right? Good health equates to divine
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pleasure and sickness equates to divine anger.
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People instinctively think if my body is suffering, I must have
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done something wrong. God must be punishing me.
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If I had enough faith, I would be perfectly healthy.
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Ryle uses the Bethany president to completely shatter that toxic
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equation. The illness of Lazarus stands as
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permanent historical proof that physical sickness is no sign
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whatsoever that God is displeased with you.
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Which raises an incredibly practical question for the
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listener who might be dealing with chronic pain or sitting in
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a sterile room waiting for biopsy results right now.
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What is that question? Well, if physical affliction is
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not a sign of divine anger, and it is not a random meaningless
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glitch, then what is its actual function in the life of someone
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God loves? Ryle argues that sickness is
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intended for our ultimate good. He roots this in the promise
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found in the New Testament book of Romans, chapter 8, verse 28.
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Which states that all things work together for good to them
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that love God. The logic is airtight.
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If all things work for good, then all things must absolutely
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include physical ailments, diseases, and bodily breakdown.
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So illness becomes an intentional tool in the hands of
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a loving creator. It is not an expression of
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wrath. It is a difficult, painful
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blessing. The idea of a disease acting as
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a blessing is tough to swallow, honestly.
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But if we follow Ryall's logic, we have to look at the sheer
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scale of this reality. Right, if ailments are not
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punitive strikes against specific bad people, but rather
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a universal reality that touches even the most righteous
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individuals Like, we need to examine how sweeping this
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mechanism is across humanity. Rile introduces the concept of
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sickness as the great leveller. It is a reality that leaves no
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demographic untouched. Sickness possesses a universal
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prevalence that ignores all human boundaries.
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Rile points out that it exists in hot climates and cold
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climates. It ravages civilized, highly
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developed nations, and it strikes remote, isolated tribes.
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It touches all classes, all tax brackets and all ranks of
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society. Grace does not lift a believer
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above the reach of it, and endless financial resources will
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not buy an exemption from it. He makes it very clear that the
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monarch and the subject, the master and the servant, the
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brilliant scholar and the uneducated laborer, they all
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eventually bow before this great foe.
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You can have the most advanced degree from a prestigious
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university, but a migraine will still drop you to the floor.
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So true. Ryle uses this beautiful poetic
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image from an old hymn to describe human anatomy, calling
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the body a harp of thousand strings.
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When you stop and consider the intricate microscopic detail of
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our biological systems, the nervous system, the
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cardiovascular system, the respiratory system.
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It is astonishing that the harp stays in tune for as long as it
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does. We are entirely fragile.
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We are liable to ailments from the crown of the head to the
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sole of the foot. And Ryle pays special attention
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to the intimate, undeniable connection between the body and
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the mind. He points out that an ailment of
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the liver, a failure in the brain or disruption in the
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nervous system can take a man with the genius of King Solomon
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and reduce him to the helpless state of an infant.
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We think we have so much control.
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I mean, we have modern medicine, antibiotics, advanced surgical
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techniques and strict sanitary regulations that Ryle could not
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even fathom in the 19th century. Yet despite all our
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technological leaps, the outcome for the human race remains a
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100% mortality rate. The machinery always breaks down
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eventually. This universal vulnerability,
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this inescapable breakdown to the biological machine, leads
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Rile to pose a serious apologetic challenge regarding
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the origins of our world. Because if we are forced to
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acknowledge that suffering and sickness are everywhere, we have
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to ask how they got here. Did a perfectly good creator
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design needless suffering from the very beginning?
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Right. Did he create this magnificent
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intricate biological machinery with the explicit original
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intention that it would breakdown, decay and cause
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agonizing vein? Rile gives a resounding no.
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The original creation was flawless.
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There was no decay, no disease and no death.
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The entry of human rebellion, the entry sin, is the sole cause
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of the breakdown. Raul describes the introduction
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of sin into the world as a handful of gravel thrown into
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the midst of machinery. I love that analogy.
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Before the gravel, the gears turned in perfect, silent
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harmony. But once that gravel is thrown
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in, the gears grind, they warp, and they shatter.
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Sickness, pain and death are the direct, unavoidable results of
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the fall. And from this premise, Ryle
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issues a brilliant dual challenge to modern skepticism.
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He addresses both the atheist and the deist.
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And we need to spend some significant time unpacking both
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of these arguments because they are devastating to the secular
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worldview. Let's look at the challenge to
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the atheist first. The atheist denies the existence
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of a creator entirely, attributing the universe and
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human life to blind chance, random mutation, and unguided
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natural processes over time. So how does Ryle dismantle that?
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He says the best way to dismantle this worldview is to
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take the atheist to a surgical school.
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A surgical school, Yes. Have them study the human body
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in excruciating detail. Ask them to look at the
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matchless, breathtaking skill evident in every single joint,
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every vein, every microscopic valve in the heart, and every
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muscle fiber. The sheer intricacy of it.
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All right, ask them to examine the delicate, highly calibrated
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contrivances the body possesses for meeting wear and tear.
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Like the way blood clots to seal a wound.
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Exactly. Or the way bones knit themselves
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back together after a fracture. Ryle challenges the atheist to
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look at this staggering biological reality and explain
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how such a wonderful interdependent mechanism could
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possibly be the result of a cosmic accident.
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It is a vibrant presentation of the teleological argument.
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And you define that for the listener.
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Sure. The teleological argument
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asserts that when you see a design with a clear end purpose,
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a Telus, you must rationally conclude there is a designer.
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The watchmaker analogy. Yeah, exactly.
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If you are walking through the woods and you find a fully
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functioning mechanical pocket watch lying in the dirt, you do
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not assume the wind and the rain randomly assemble the gears, the
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springs, and the glass face over millions of years.
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That would be absurd. It would.
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The sheer mathematical intricacy of the watch demands a
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watchmaker. Ryle is arguing that the human
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immune system, the architecture of the human eye and the firing
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of neurons in the brain are infinitely more complex than a
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pocket watch. The idea that blind, unguided
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chance produced a highly calibrated machine capable of
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abstract thought and biological self repair is just a
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mathematical absurdity. The atheist has an incredibly
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steep hill to climb when trying to explain the origin of such
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complex machinery without a mechanic.
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Rile then turns his attention to the deist, and in many ways the
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challenge to the deist is far more difficult to answer.
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Let's define the deist worldview for the listener.
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A deist believes in a good God, a supreme creator who designed
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the universe. However, the Deist rejects the
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Bible. They reject the concept of
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divine revelation and most importantly for this discussion,
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they reject the biblical doctrines of original sin and
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the Fall. They believe God made the world,
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mounted up like a clock and just stepped back.
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So how does Ryall challenge the Deist?
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Ryall says that if you want to challenge a deist, you do not
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take them to a surgical school, you take them to a hospital
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ward. That is a very different
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environment. It is you walk them down the
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hall and show them a young innocent child suffering from an
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incurable, aggressive cancer. Or you show them a loving
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mother, screaming and excruciating physical pain.
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And you ask the deist, how do you account for this?
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That is a brutal, unavoidable question.
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It is the ultimate problem of evil for the deistic worldview.
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If you believe in a perfectly good, infinitely wise Creator
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who designed the universe, but you reject the doctrine that
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humanity rebelled and fractured that perfect creation, how do
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you explain the presence of agonizing disease?
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The deist has no coherent answer.
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Without the biblical doctrine of the fall, without the concept of
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the gravel being thrown into the machinery by human rebellion,
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the Deist is painted into a horrifying philosophical corner.
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Because if the world is precisely as the Creator
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originally intended it to be, then the Diaz must conclude that
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God intentionally, purposefully designed pediatric cancer as a
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primary feature of his perfect world.
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The deist must conclude that God invented excruciating
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neurological pain just for the sake of it.
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If there is no fall, then the creator is the author of
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needless torture, and that conclusion makes the creator an
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absolute monster. This is why the biblical
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worldview is so robust. It is the only philosophical
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framework that can look the brutal, undeniable reality of
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human suffering squarely in the face while maintaining the
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absolute goodness of God. The biblical framework says God
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is good. His original design was perfect,
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but man has sinned, therefore man suffers.
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The machinery is broken because the gravel of sin has
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compromised the gears. Sickness is a natural
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consequence of a fallen ecosystem.
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Since we all live in this fallen ecosystem where the gravel
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effects every single person, we have to ask the next logical
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question. Which is.
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Does the creator simply abandoned us to this inevitable
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breakdown? Does he sit far away and just
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watch the machinery grind to a halt in misery?
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Or does he step into the mess and utilize the suffering for a
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specific beneficial end? God does not abandon the
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machinery. Rile asserts that God utilizes
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the brokenness. He introduces the concept that
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physical affliction acts as a rough schoolmaster.
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A rough schoolmaster. Yes, it is a severe,
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uncompromising instructor, but it is a real friend to the soul.
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I want to spend some time on this idea of the rough
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schoolmaster, because the immediate skeptical doubt that
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arises in anyone's mind is a question of methodology.
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How so? Well, how can a God of mercy
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utilize intense physical pain to teach a lesson?
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It feels contradictory. If God is merciful, why wouldn't
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He just teach us through blessings, comfort, and joy?
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Why use the Rod of Suffering? Ryle addresses that very natural
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doubt by pointing to a universal principle that human beings
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accept in almost every other area of life.
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It is the principle of present loss for future gain.
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We do that all the time. We routinely, voluntarily submit
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to temporary suffering, discomfort and loss because we
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know it produces a much greater long term benefit.
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Ryle gives 3 very vivid, grounded illustrations to prove
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this point right. Yes, he does.
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First, he points to the agricultural world.
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He talks about a farmer taking perfectly good, valuable seed
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and throwing it into the cold, dark dirt to rotten decay.
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To someone who does not understand farming, it looks
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like a complete waste of resources.
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But the farmer does it with the absolute expectation of a future
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abundant harvest. The temporary decay is necessary
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for the future life. Second, he mentions a boy crying
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as he is sent away from home to attend school.
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The child is miserable in the moment.
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He is separated from the comforts of his room, the
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protection of his parents and his daily leisure.
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But the loving parent enforces this temporary sorrow because
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the parent knows that without the discipline of school, the
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boy will remain ignorant. The present distress is the
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purchase price of future wisdom. The third illustration Riley
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uses is perhaps the most visceral, especially when you
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consider the context of 19th century medicine.
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This one is tough. He describes a father willingly
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undergoing a terrifying surgical operation.
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Remember, Ryle is writing in an era where anesthesia was either
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non existent or highly primitive.
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Submitting to the surgeon's knife back then meant agonizing,
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traumatic pain. You were strapped down.
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Yet a man would willingly endure that intense physical trauma,
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allowing a surgeon to cut into his flesh in the hope of
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removing a tumor and securing future health.
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He submits to the severe pain of the scalpel to save his life.
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The logic rile applies here is undeniable.
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If human beings operate on this principle every day, allowing
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temporary pain for long term gain, why would we deny that an
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infinite Creator employs the same principle on a cosmic,
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eternal scale? God allows the scalpel of
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sickness not to needlessly vex us, but to benefit our minds,
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our consciences, and our eternal souls.
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So if sickness is a schoolmaster wielding a scalpel, what are the
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lessons? What specific lessons is this
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severe instructor trying to teach us while we are lying in a
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hospital bed? Ryle outlines 5 distinct
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corrective lessons, and we need to look closely at the
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psychological mechanics of each one.
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The first lesson is that sickness wakes men from
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daydreams. We all suffer from a chronic
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psychological delusion. We tend to live our daily lives
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as if this earth is our permanent, eternal home.
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We plan our careers, we scheme for early retirement, we
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accumulate possessions and we operate under the quiet
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assumption that we have a very long, unbreakable lease on life.
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We act like wealthy property owners who hold the deed to our
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existence. The reality, however, is that we
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are merely tenants at will. We can be evicted at a moment's
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notice. A sudden heavy illness acts as a
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violent shock to the system. It shatters the delusion of
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permanence when you. Realize your body is failing.
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You are forced to acknowledge your own mortality.
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The Daydream of invincibility evaporates.
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It is the ultimate unavoidable reality check.
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You cannot negotiate with a failing heart valve.
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And that violent waking up leads directly to the second lesson.
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Sickness forces thoughts of God. When you're healthy, when your
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career is thriving and your social calendar is full, it is
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incredibly easy to push serious thoughts about eternity aside.
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You tell yourself you will think about religion when you are
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older. But Ryle points out that a
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severe disease musters those suppressed thoughts and forces
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them right to the forefront of your mind.
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He uses 2 fascinating examples from the Old Testament to
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illustrate this. He brings up King Benedad, a
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wicked Pagan king who completely ignored God right up until the
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moment he fell dangerously. I'll.
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Suddenly, in his sickness, he desperately sought out the
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prophet Elisha for a word from heaven.
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Ryle also points to the heathen sailors in the Book of Jonah.
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These were hardened, worldly men, but when the storm
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threatened to sink their ship and death was staring them in
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the face, every single one of them cried out to their guides.
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Desperation has a way of clarifying our priorities.
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When the illusion of self-sufficiency is violently
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stripped away by physical weakness, the human mind
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instinctively turns to the divine.
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The third lesson sickness teaches is a massive shift in
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perspective. Ryle says that sickness alters
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our weights and measures of earthly things.
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I love that phrase altering our weights and measures.
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It means changing the very scale by which we value everything
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around us. That is the exact mechanism when
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a person is confined to a sick room.
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The things that the outside world praises and calls good
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suddenly reveal their absolute emptiness.
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Ryle, writing in his 19th century context, specifically
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mentions things like novel reading, acquiring expensive
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clothes, and reading reports of operas.
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If we update that to our modern context, we're talking about
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mindless doom scrolling on social media, obsessing over
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luxury brands, or tracking the daily lives of celebrities.
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In the face of a severe illness, all of those things become
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miserable comforters. They offer zero solace.
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A robust stock portfolio, a garage full of expensive cars,
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or thousands of followers online offer absolutely no consolation
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when the doctor walks into the room with a grim diagnosis.
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Sickness forces us to recalibrate our internal scales.
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It forces us to weigh what actually holds eternal value
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against what is just temporary noise.
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Which naturally leads to the 4th lesson of the curriculum.
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Sickness levels Pride. Human beings are incredibly
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prone to arrogance. It is so easy to become high
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minded when you are successful, to look down on others who have
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less and to flatter ourselves regarding our own intelligence
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or beauty. But a sick bed is a mighty camer
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of human pride. Ryle uses striking imagery drawn
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from the Book of Job, putting out that we all dwell in houses
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of clay and that we are easily crushed before the moth.
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The physical reality of illness is intensely humbling.
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When a billionaire CEO and a minimum wage worker are both
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lying in identical hospital gowns, both dealing with failing
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kidneys or a failing respiratory system, all societal pride
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evaporates. The great Democratizer of the
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hospital room strips away all the artificial titles we hide
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behind. As Ryle notes, in the sight of
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the coffin, it is not easy to maintain your arrogance.
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And finally, the fifth lesson is that sickness tries a man's
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religion, revealing exactly what sort it is.
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Sickness acts as a stress test for the soul.
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Ryle observes that many people possess a religious creed that
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looks perfectly fine when sailing on the smooth, calm
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waters of youth and health. But that same creed turns out to
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be utterly unsound when the rough waves of the sick bed
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crash against it. A superficial inherited faith
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might get you through a sunny Tuesday when everything is going
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your way, but it completely disintegrates when the storm of
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suffering hits. Illness exposes the foundation.
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It reveals whether your faith is built on the solid rock of truth
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or the shifting sand of cultural habit.
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I think we need to offer some pushback here, though.
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Go ahead. We're talking about sickness as
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a schoolmaster that teaches these five incredible lessons.
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But does the schoolmaster always get results?
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That is a very fair question. Because if you look at the
24:00
world, you can easily find people who have suffered
24:02
tremendously. Years of chronic pain, brutal
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surgeries, and instead of becoming softer, more humble or
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more spiritually minded, they become deeply bitter.
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They become hardened, angry and cynical.
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Doesn't suffering sometimes fail to produce these benefits?
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Yes, it does, and Ryle readily admits this dark reality
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Sickness does not work like a magic spell.
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It does not automatically confer these spiritual benefits on
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everyone who endures it. The human heart can be
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incredibly stubborn. Ryle explicitly states that
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myriads of people pass through severe illness, recover, and
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walk right back to their worldly, careless lives having
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learned absolutely nothing. The warning went unheeded.
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Even more tragically, myriads pass through sickness straight
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to the grave, with no more spiritual impression than the
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beasts that perish. He quotes Psalm 73 to describe
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this phenomenon. Right.
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Yes, noting that for some individuals there are no bands
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in their death. Their strength is firm, their
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consciences are seared, and they remain completely numb to the
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spiritual reality of their impending judgment.
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That is a terrifying level of spiritual deadness, to endure
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the rough schoolmaster and refuse to learn the lesson.
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It is a massive tragedy. However, for many others,
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sickness functions as God's day of visitation.
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The distress of the physical body softens the hard soil of
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the heart. The breakdown of independence
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paves the way for ministers, for friends and for words of counsel
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that would have been completely mocked or ignored during days of
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robust health. Sickness acts as a subordinate
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instrument in the saving of men. The rough schoolmaster does not
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reach every single student, but for those who are awakened by
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the rod, it is an act of severe mercy.
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If we understand that the schoolmaster is assigning these
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lessons to strip away our worldly illusions, the natural
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question becomes how do we actively cooperate with that
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painful process? What practical coursework are we
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expected to complete while we are lying in that sick bed, or
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better yet, while we are preparing for the day we
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eventually will? What are the actual duties
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required of us? Ryle lays out three paramount
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duties for the sick room. The 1st and most urgent duty is
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preparedness to meet God. Because sickness is a loud
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remembrancer of death, and death is the final door to judgement,
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our primary responsibility is to ensure we are ready to walk
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through that door. Ryle is highly specific about
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what constitutes actual preparedness.
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He warns that a nominal religion is entirely insufficient.
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Going through the motions, checking a box on a census form
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or sitting in a Pew once a week will not hold up when your pulse
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is fading. He outlines specific non
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negotiable criteria for preparedness, a renewed heart,
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justification by faith, and sanctification.
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Let us break those theological terms down into practical
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realities. Justification by faith means
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that you are not relying on your own flawed moral track record to
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stand before a holy God. You are relying entirely on the
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perfect record of Christ credited to your account.
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Sanctification means that your heart has actually been changed.
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You have a real internal distaste for sin and a genuine
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desire for holiness. Ryle notes that the blood of
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Jesus Christ must cleanse our sins and the spirit of Christ
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must actually dwell within us. He goes out of his way to state
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that these are not just abstract concepts for academics to argue
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about in a classroom. They are solid existential
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realities. To be prepared to meet God means
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possessing a simple, childlike faith that secures a real
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interest in Christ. The second duty shifts the focus
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from our ultimate standing before God to our immediate
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posture in the suffering itself. Ryle calls us to exercise
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patience and the passive graces. This point challenges our
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natural human instincts. The automatic human reaction to
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illness is peevishness, frustration and intense
27:47
impatience. When our nerves are unstrung by
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pain, when our grand plans for the future are abruptly broken
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off and we are forced to sit still in a bed, it places a
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massive strain on human nature. Ryle argues that we must lay up
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stores of grace during our times of health so we are prepared to
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endure this strain when sickness hits.
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Think about building a storm shelter in your backyard.
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You cannot build a storm filter while the tornado was already
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tearing the roof off your house. The wind is howling, the debris
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is flying, and you have no ability to pour concrete or
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drive nails. You have to build the shelter
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when the sky is clear, the sun is shining and you have the
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physical strength to swing the hammer.
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In the spiritual realm, it's the exact same dynamic.
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You have to cultivate patients, study the promises of God, and
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build your reliance on the Holy Spirit before the medical crisis
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hits. If you wait until the agony
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starts to figure out what you believe, you will be swept away
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by the storm. That analogy perfectly captures
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Rile's urgency. He also points out something
28:46
very countercultural regarding how we view Christian living.
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In our modern productivity obsessed culture, we tend to
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idolize active Christianity. We.
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Celebrate the grand heroic acts, the busy public ministry, the
29:00
loud preaching and the visible achievements.
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We define our spiritual worth by what we are actively doing, but
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Ryle elevates the passive graces, meekness, gentleness,
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long-suffering, and the quiet ability to sit still and endure
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without murmuring. The passive graces.
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It almost sounds like a contradiction to the modern
29:18
mind. We are so conditioned to measure
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success by output. We are.
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But Ryle argues that these passive graces often glorify God
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far more than our active energetic exploits.
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Introduces the beautiful concept of the silent sermon.
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A patient sufferer enduring excruciating physical pain with
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meekness, steady faith and a lack of bitterness preaches a
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louder, more penetrating message to the nurses, the doctors and
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the family members observing them than a healthy person ever
29:44
could through active ministry. It honors God immensely to trust
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Him when the lights go out and the pain sets in.
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It proves that God is valuable enough to satisfy the soul even
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when the body is breaking. That posture of endurance flows
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right into the third duty. Sympathy for our fellow man.
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The reality is sickness is always near us.
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If we are not currently sick, someone in our family, our
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neighborhood, or our local church is struggling.
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Ryle brings in the words of Christ from the description of
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the final judgement. I was sick and you visited me.
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He points out that doing good to the souls and bodies of others
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is not a suggestion, it is a direct command A.
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Kindly visit to a hospital. A friendly inquiry or a timely
30:27
act of assistance, like bringing a meal, can soften disparities
30:30
and lead a hardened heart to consider the claims of Christ.
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There is a brilliant dual benefit to this duty of
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sympathy. Actively engaging in the
30:39
suffering of others prevents us from sinking into self pity and
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murmuring in our own hearts. It pulls us out of our natural
30:45
self centeredness. It expands our vision.
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If you can live in a sick, groaning and dying world and not
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feel any sympathy for those around you, Ryall says, you have
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a great deal left to learn about the heart of God.
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We have outlined the curriculum of the rough schoolmaster.
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We know the duties required of us.
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We know we need preparedness, patience and sympathy.
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But theoretical knowledge is entirely useless if it is not
31:08
practically applied when the moment of truth arrives.
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How do we prepare for the definitive moment when the
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doctor actually walks into the room, sits down and delivers a
31:17
terminal prognosis? Ryle concludes his essay by
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turning his attention directly to you, the listener, asking a
31:24
piercing, unavoidable question. He strips away all the
31:27
theological abstraction and asks, What will you do when you
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were I'll? The time must come when you will
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go down the dark valley of the shadow of death.
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When your physical strength completely fails, where do you
31:38
mean to turn for comfort? On what foundation do you mean
31:41
to rest your soul? It is a question that demands an
31:44
immediate answer, and Ryle issues a dire, urgent warning
31:48
against the trap of presumption. Human nature loves to
31:51
procrastinate. It is so incredibly easy to tell
31:54
yourself. I will figure that out later.
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I'm young. I'll get right with God on my
31:58
deathbed when I have more time to think about it.
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Ryle dismantles that specific presumption by pointing to the
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historical narrative of the thief on the cross, the criminal
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who was crucified next to Jesus and found salvation in his final
32:12
dying breaths. Ryle uses a brilliant,
32:15
terrifying summary of that event.
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He says one dying thief was saved, that men might not
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despair, but only one that none might presume.
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Yes, a deathbed conversion is technically possible, and the
32:27
thief proves that God's grace can reach the darkest moments,
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but it is statistically rare and incredibly dangerous to count
32:35
on. Betting your eternal soul on a
32:37
last minute burst of clarity while your brain is shutting
32:39
down from disease is the height of foolishness.
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To illustrate the tragedy of neglecting this preparation,
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Ryle brings up the historical figure of Cardinal Beaufort.
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For context, Cardinal Beaufort was a man of immense wealth,
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political influence and royal blood in England during the 15th
32:54
century. He was heavily involved in the
32:56
politics of the War of the Roses.
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He spent his entire life providing for everything
33:01
temporary. He secured his physical safety,
33:04
He amassed a massive estate. He built his political
33:06
alliances. But he entirely neglected his
33:09
soul. And when the hour of his death
33:11
finally arrived, history records that he gave no sign of
33:15
salvation. Despite all his wealth and
33:17
church titles, he died in absolute naked despair.
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It is a terrifying historical example of spending a lifetime
33:24
building a temporary fortune, only to die completely bankrupt
33:28
in the only currency that matters in eternity.
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The central fatal danger Ryle identifies in the life of
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someone like Cardinal Bufort is the reliance on nominal
33:36
religion. We have to talk about nominal
33:38
religion because it is the most common trap, vague, indefinite
33:42
Christianity. It is the reliance on a formal
33:44
church membership or a general fuzzy belief that God is nice
33:47
and will probably overlook our faults.
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That kind of nominal religion works perfectly fine in the
33:53
sunshine of youth, but it breaks down completely when death is
33:56
insight. It is like an umbrella that only
33:58
opens indoors. That is a great way to put it.
34:00
It looks very nice sitting in the hallway.
34:02
It gives you the appearance of being repaired, but the second
34:05
you step outside into an actual violent thunderstorm, the
34:08
mechanism jams. It fails you entirely right when
34:12
you need it most. The theological distinction Ryle
34:15
makes to solve the problem of the broken umbrella is the vital
34:18
difference between having a union with Christ and having
34:21
communion with Christ. This is an essential reality to
34:24
grasp. A person may have a theoretical
34:27
union with Christ, perhaps through a basic intellectual
34:30
acknowledgement of Christian facts or formal participation in
34:33
sacraments. But Ryle warns that thousands
34:36
who possess that outward union know absolutely nothing of
34:39
communion. Communion is the daily
34:42
experiential, heartfelt walking with God.
34:44
It is a living relationship, not a cold contract.
34:47
Ryle issues a stark warning to believers about the danger of
34:50
1/2 and 1/2 keeping with everybody type of religion.
34:53
If your primary driving goal in life was to avoid offending
34:57
worldly society, if you constantly watered down your
34:59
convictions because you are terrified of being called
35:02
extreme or exclusive by your coworkers or friends, Ryle says
35:05
you are actively sewing thorns in your dying pillow.
35:09
A compromised faith yields 0 comfort on a deathbed, because
35:13
in that final, unavoidable hour, the raw physical reality of the
35:17
end sets in and compromise cannot sustain you.
35:21
Ryle offers a visceral, chilling description of those last
35:24
moments when medical science has exhausted all its options.
35:28
When your friends and family are standing around your bed,
35:30
completely unable to halt the process, the physical breakdown
35:33
accelerates. Your hearing begins to fail.
35:36
Your eyesight fades to black. Even the physical power to pray
35:39
verbally to form words with your mouth leaves you.
35:42
The world, your wealth, your status, and your reputation are
35:45
literally melting beneath your feet.
35:47
When you are in that terrifying state of complete physical
35:49
collapse, a vague formal religion offers 0 support.
35:54
When the biological machinery is finally shutting down for good,
35:57
only close, intimate communion with Christ can carry you.
36:00
Only the deep experiential knowledge that his right arm is
36:04
under your head, only the certainty that he is sitting by
36:06
your side, can give you victory over the suffocating terror of
36:10
that moment. And we can trust Him in that
36:12
final moment because of the unique sympathy of the Savior.
36:16
Christ is not a distant, detached deity who looked down
36:19
on physical agony without understanding it.
36:21
Raoul points out that when Jesus walked the earth, he saw all
36:25
manner of diseases. He touched lepers.
36:27
He healed the blind. But far more than just observing
36:30
it, He experienced the frailty of human flesh.
36:33
He was a man of sorrows and acquainted with grief.
36:36
He took our infirmities upon Himself at the Cross.
36:39
He intimately, personally knows the heart of a suffering person
36:42
because he suffered. The God we meet in the dark
36:45
valley of death is not a stranger to pain.
36:48
He has scars of his own. He knows the terrain of
36:51
suffering better than we do. Which is why Ryle says that none
36:54
has such a tremendous opportunity to learn the mind of
36:56
a suffering Savior as his suffering disciples.
36:59
The sick room becomes a place of unparalleled intimacy with God.
37:03
So if we pull all of these massive threads together, what
37:07
is the main thematic arc we have uncovered in Ryles text today?
37:11
Ailments, disease and physical breakdown are not random
37:14
glitches in a chaotic, unguided universe.
37:17
They are the deliberate, rough schoolmaster of a fallen world.
37:21
They are deployed by a sovereign hand to shatter our earthly
37:24
illusions of invincibility. They alter our weights and
37:27
measures, showing us the emptiness of worldly wealth.
37:30
They level our pride, and most importantly, they drive us out
37:34
of our fragile self-sufficiency into close, desperate communion
37:38
with a Savior who intimately knows our frailty and loves us
37:42
through it. The entire design of the sick
37:43
room, with all its pain and isolation, is to prepare the
37:46
human soul for eternity. Ryle leaves his readers with one
37:49
final astonishing thought to Mull over, and it shifts our
37:53
perspective from the present suffering to the ultimate
37:55
horizon. At the very end of his essay, he
37:58
notes the biblical promise that Death himself shall one day die.
38:01
The Book of Revelation guarantees the ultimate final
38:04
destruction of death, disease, and crying.
38:07
If you are listening to this right now and you are dealing
38:09
with chronic pain or facing a grim medical diagnosis, consider
38:13
this If the death of death is a guaranteed future reality, how
38:18
does anticipating that final victory change the way you wake
38:21
up tomorrow morning? The machinery is broken now, but
38:24
the great physician has promised to build a new world where the
38:27
glitch is eradicated forever. How does knowing that the pain
38:30
is temporary and the cure is eternal rewrite your story
38:33
today?