Ryle on Mark 11:22-26

Imported boundary: J. C. Ryle's Expository Thoughts on Mark from the Internet Archive DjVu OCR for the 1858 Robert Carter St. Mark volume. Title pages, preface, contents, running heads, page numbers, OCR boilerplate, and indexes are not mirrored. The source includes Ryle's printed Scripture text and exposition; this scan-derived text remains needs-verification.

Primary passage: Mark 11:22-26.

Source Text

22 And Jesus answering saitli unto them, Have faith in God. 23 For verily I say unto you, That ■whosoever shall say unto this moun- tain, Be thou removed, and be thou cast into the sea ; and s!<all not doubt in his heart, but shall believe that those things which he saith shall come to pass ; lie shall have whatso- ever he saith. 24 Therefore I say unto you, What things soever ye desire, when ye pray, believe that ye receive them,, and ye shall have them. 25 And when ye tstand praying, forgive, if ye have ought against any ; that your 'Father also which is in heaven may forgive you your tres- passes. 26 But if ye do not forgive, neither will your Father which is in heaven forgive your trespasses.

Let us learn from these words of our Lord Jesus Christ, the immense importance of faith. This is a lesson which our Lord teaches first by a proverbial saying. Faith shall enable a man to accom- plish works, and overcome difficulties, as great and formidable as the "removing of a mountain, and casting it into the sea."* Afterwards the lesson is impressed upon us still further, by a general exhortation to exercise faith when we pray. " What things soever ye desire, when ye pray, believe that ye receive them, and ye shall have them." This promise must of course be taken with a reasonable qualification. It assumes that a believer will ask things which are not sinful, and which are in accordance with the will of G-od. When He asks such things, he may confidently believe that his prayer will be answered. To use the words of St. James, " Let him ask in faith, nothing wavering." (James i. 6.) The faith here commended must be distinguished from

* It is clear that a promise like this of " removing mountains" must be taken in a figurative sense. It appears to be a proverbial expression, and to be used as such by St. Paul, 2 Cor. xiii. 11. More- over it is a promise that must be interpreted with sober and reasona- ble limitations. We have no right to expect that whatever we take it into our heads to ask of God shall at once be done for us, whether it be for His glory and our sanctification or not. We have no war- rant for presuming that in every difficulty and trouble, God will at once work a miracle and deliver us from our anxiety as soon as we make it a subject of prayer. The things about which we pray, must be things having special reference to our own vocation and providen- tial position. Moses at the head of the twelve tribes of Israel - Eli- jah on Mount Carmel - Paul in the Philippian prison, might confi- dently expect miraculous interpositions in answer to prayer, in a way that private individuals may not expect in our days. Above all, we must not think to prescribe to God the time and way in which He shall " remove mountains" for us. that faith which is essential to justification. In principle undoubtedly all true faith is one and the same. It is always trust or belief. But in the object aud operations of faith, there are diversities, which it is useful to under- stand. Justifying faith is that act of the soul by which a man lays hold on Christ, and has peace with God. Its special object is the atonement for sin which Jesus made on the cross. The faith spoken of in the passage now before us is a grace of more general signification, the fruit and companion of justifying faith, but still not to be con- founded with it. It is rather a general confidence in God's power, wisdom, and goodwill towards believers. And its special objects are the promises, the word, and the character of God in Christ. Confidence in God's power and will to help every be- liever in Christ, and in the truth of every word that God has spoken, is the grand secret of success and prosperity in our religion. In fact, it is the very root of saving Christianity. " By it the elders obtained a good report." " He that cometh unto God must believe that He is, and that He is a rewarder of them that diligently seek Him." To know the full worth of it in the sight of God, we should often study the eleventh chapter of the Epis- tle to the Hebrews. Do we desire to grow in grace, and in the knowledge of our Lord Jesus Christ ? Do we wish to make progress in our religion, and become strong Christians, and not mere babes in spiritual things ? Then let us pray daily for more faith, and watch our faith with most jealous watchfulness. Here is the corner-stone of our religion. A flaw or weakness here will affect the whole condition 239 of our inner man. According to our faith will be the degree of our peace, our hope, our joy, our decision in Christ's service, our boldness in confession, our strength in work, our patience in trial, our resignation in trouble, our sensible comfort in prayer. All, all will hinge on the proportion of our faith. Happy are they who know how to rest their whole weight continually on a covenant God, and to walk by faith, not by sight. " He that believe th shall not make haste." (Isai. xxviii. 16.)

Let us learn, for another thing, from these verses, the absolute necessity of a forgiving spirit towards others. This lesson is here taught us in a striking way. There is no immediate connection between the importance of faith, of which our Lord had just been speaking, and the subject of forgiving injuries. But the connecting link is prayer. First we are told that faith is essential to the success of oar prayers. But then it is added, no prayers can be heard which do not come from a forgiving heart. " When ye stand praying, forgive, if ye have ought against any, that your Father also which is in heaven. may forgive you your trespasses." The value of our prayers, we can all understand, de- ponds exceedingly on the state of mind in which we i ffer them. But ihe point before us is one which re- ceives far less attention than it deserves. Our prayers must not only be earnest, fervent, and sincere, and in the name of Christ. They must contain one more ingredient besides. They must come from a forgiving heart. We have no right to look for mercy, if we are not ready to extend mercy to our brethren. We cannot really feel the sinfulness of the sins we ask to have pardoned if we cherish malice towards our fellow men.

We must have the heart of a brother toward our neighbor on earth, if we wish God to be our Father in heaven.

We must not flatter ourselves that we have the Spirit of adoption if we cannot bear and forbear. This is a heart-searching subject. The quantity of malice, bitterness, and party spirit among Christians is fearfully great. No wonder that so many prayers seem to be thrown away and unheard. It is a subject which ought to come home to all classes of Christians. All have not equal gifts of knowledge and utterance in their approaches to God. But all can forgive their fellow-men. It is a subject which our Lord Jesus Christ has taken special pains to impress on our minds. He has given it a prominent place in that pattern of prayers, the Lord's prayer. We are all familiar from our infancy with the words, " forgive us our trespasses as we forgive them that trespass against us." Well would it be for many, if they would consider what those words mean !

Let us leave the passage with serious self-inquiry. Do we know what it is to be of a forgiving spirit ? Can we look over the injuries that we receive from time to time in this evil world ? Can we pass over a transgres- sion and pardon an offence ? If not, where is our Christianity ? If not, why should we wonder that our souls do not prosper ?

Let us resolve to amend our ways in this matter. Let us determine by God's grace to forgive, even as we hope to be forgiven. This is the nearest approach we can make to the mind of Christ Jesus. This is the character which is most suitable to a poor sinful child of Adam. God's free forgiveness of sins is our highest privilege in this world. God's free for- giveness will be our only title to eternal life in the world to come. Then let us be forgiving during the few years that we are here upon earth.'1'