Knots Untied by J. C. Ryle Review
Some subjects are so controversial that nobody wants to touch them, and certainly nobody wants to give an opinion that might offend someone. J. C. Ryle didn't back away. In Knots Untied he takes on the disputed questions of his day directly.
What the book is
A fun fact about this book: it's the second of a six-year, one-book-per-year streak Ryle had going, and it comes chronologically before Holiness, Old Paths, Practical Religion and Coming Events and Present Duties.
Ryle wrote Knots Untied to help settle controversial doctrines in the Church of England. His method is to ask what Scripture says, and what the Church of England's Articles say, and to conclude what churchmen should believe and hold. So it's written from an Anglican standpoint, but it is still very biblical and very useful.
The chapters cover evangelical religion, only one way of salvation, private judgment, the Thirty-Nine Articles, baptism, regeneration, Prayer Book statements about regeneration, the Lord's Supper, the real presence, the Church, the priest, confession, worship, the Sabbath, Pharisees and Sadducees, "divers and strange doctrines," the fallibility of ministers, apostolic fears, and idolatry.
Many people today, even in evangelical churches, shy away from saying that Christ is the only way of salvation. Ryle says plainly: this is what the Scriptures say, and I'm going to make it very clear.
A few things I marked
Ryle quotes widely, which shows how well-read he was. One quote I love is from Bishop McIlvaine: wherever my Lord has a true believer, I have a brother. Whatever our disagreements about baptism, church government, or Calvinism and Arminianism, a true believer is a brother in Christ.
On church government, Ryle warns that once people decide church government matters more than sound doctrine, and that a church with bishops teaching falsehood is better than one without bishops teaching truth, there's no telling where they'll end up. Truth comes first.
In the chapter on confession, Ryle turns our eyes to Christ as our High Priest: almighty in power, infinitely willing to receive our confession, perfect in knowledge, matchless in tenderness, and able to sympathize with all who come to Him. When I first read it I wrote the page number on a napkin with a row of exclamation points. Ryle prays that every day would find us more humble yet more hopeful, more conscious of our unworthiness yet more ready to rejoice in Christ, until our daily confessions give way to eternal thanksgiving.
And one line from him cut me to the heart: anything is better than a dead conscience, a cold heart and a prayerless tongue.
Would I buy it?
Yes. It's very informative on Anglican doctrine and very biblical, though, as always, read with discernment. I'd study it, and all of Ryle. I'm convinced the church as a whole would be healthier if we understood the Bible better, and Ryle explains a great deal in a biblical light.
Soli Deo Gloria!
