Reading Through the Gospels

I want to share a set of books that I have received great encouragement, understanding and counsel from. I attempt to study through the Bible every two years. But there are certain books of the Bible that I will always gravitate to. For most Christians, the Gospels- Matthew, Mark, Luke and John are read more than others.

I stumbled across a group of commentaries on those four books by JC Ryle that I highly recommend. The set is called Expository Thoughts on the Gospels. You can usually find the set for around $55. Ryle lived and breathed the Word of God. One of his biographers claimed that he read the Bible through over sixty times in his life. This kind of saturation in truth can only help but give you some important things to say.

JC Ryle wrote this commentary set with the purpose of leaving his family a personal guide to studying through the first 4 books of the New Testament. I will be forever grateful that he did this and that somebody decided to publish it for widespread use. I prize many books in my library for the wisdom that I have learned from them. But none as much as these four books that I picked up in a Half-Price bookstore. I paid $40 for the set. If I knew the treasure that they contained, I would have paid 100 times that amount.

If you are struggling in your study of the Bible or even if you have never read Matthew, Mark, Luke and John, I encourage you to use JC Ryle's commentaries as a guide through those books. Ryle is practical, concise and wise. I am convinced that you will find many pearls that will help you understand Christ in a fuller way. I also urge you to read Holiness by JC Ryle. No other book has had a greater impact on me than Holiness. Mark Twain often said, "The man who doesn't read good books has no advantage over the man who can't read them."

For Christ's Glory,

Ashley Hodge