Knots Untied - Ryle - VI - Chapter 6

Required reading
Knots Untied by JC Ryle (Available from Amazon or free here) - Read Chapter 6 (Regeneration).

My summary
Today's subject is regeneration.

Firstly Ryle defines regeneration: 'Regeneration means, that change of heart and nature which a man goes through when he becomes a true Christian.'  Furthermore, regeneration is:
(i) not always given to believers at the same time in their lives;
(ii) not always begun in the same way;
(iii) only known and discerned by its effects;
(iv) not given by man to himself or to another.

Secondly, Ryle shows the necessity of being regenerate for salvation.

Thirdly Ryle points out six marks of regeneration.  A regenerate man:
(i) does not commit sin as a habit;
(ii) believes that Jesus Christ is the only Saviour;
(iii) is a holy man;
(iv) has a special love for all true disciples of Christ;
(v) does not make the world's opinion his rule;
(vi) is very careful of his own soul.

What grabbed me
I liked the emphasis that Ryle placed on the necessity of regeneration for salvation.  An outward change is insufficient: 'It is not a little changing and outward amendment that they require. It is not merely the putting a restraint on raging passions and the quieting of unruly affections. All this is not enough. Old age, the want of opportunity for indulgence, the fear of man, may produce all this. The tiger is still a tiger, even when he is chained, and the serpent is still a serpent, even when he lies motionless and coiled up. The alteration needed is far greater and deeper. Every one must have a new nature put within him; every one must be made a new creature; the fountain-head must be purified; the root must be set right; each one wants a new heart and a new will. The change required is not that of the snake when he casts his skin and yet remains a reptile still : it is the change of the caterpillar when he dies, and his crawling life ceases; but from his body rises the butterfly, a new animal, with a new nature.'

I thank the Lord that I am a flying butterfly and not a crawling caterpillar any longer.

Next week's reading
Read Chapter 7 (Prayer-book statements about regeneration).

Now it's your turn
Please post your own notes and thoughts in the comments section below.