Learning in Christ’s School (Ralph Venning)

Learning in Christ’s School

In Ralph Venning’s study of Christian growth in grace, ‘babes’, ‘little children’, ‘young men’ and ‘fathers’ are the stages through which the learners in Christ’s school pass on their way to the ‘academy of heaven’. While supporting and comforting beginners in the school of grace, Venning encourages all Christians to make further progress towards ‘the measure of the stature of the fullness of Christ’ (Eph. 4:13).

Table of Contents

Preface: James Barron & John Collins

1. Introduction: The Purpose and Scope of these sermons
2. Babes in Christ, Their attainments and deficiencies (1 Cor. 3:1-2 and Heb 5:11-14)
3. Little children in Christ, their attainments of knowledge, the means of gaining it, and their privileges (1 John 2:12-13)
4. Young men in Christ, their attainment of strength, the reality of conflict and conquest (1 John 2:13-14)
5. Fathers in Israel, their characteristics and abilities
6. Conclusions
7. The benefit of knowing where one belongs
8. Reaching forward

About the Author

Ralph Venning  was born in Devon around the year 1621.  Early in life, he encountered the Puritan preacher, George Hughes, under whose diligent pastoral ministry he was converted, along with two other young men who also went on to become gospel ministers. Venning described Hughes in affectionate terms as his spiritual ‘father’.

Venning attended Cambridge, then Emmanuel College in 1643.  During college years he served as chaplain in the Tower of London, and found time to write and publish two book!  Venning completed his BA and MA degrees before entering into the preaching ministry.

Upon beggining to preach, he had fellowship with men such as Joseph Caryl, John Owen, and Richard Baxter. London was a hub for godly preaching at that time. Known for his gentle moderation, Venning was nonetheless unequivocally committed to the goals of the Reformation and the Puritan revolution.

During the 1650s Venning was primarily occupied as Lecturer at St Olave’s, Southwark. The church was fully demolished by 1928, and Olaf House, part of London Bridge ­Hospital, now occupies the spot.  Venning also ministered at St Mary Magdalen from 1657. In 1661 he married Hannah Cope, a widow; they had at least two children.Refusing to conform to the 1662 Act of Uniformity, Venning was ejected from this post. In the years that followed, he served as co-pastor with Robert Bragge to a nonconformist congregation which met at the Pewterers’ Guild Hall in Lime Street. His last sermon, after which he was taken ill and died (March 1674), was preached to a similar congregation meeting at Joiners’ Hall.

A Ministry heard across England

In addition to his ministry among the Reformed churches during the heady days of the 1650s, Venning also preached on occasions at Paul’s Cross, an open air pulpit adjacent to St Paul’s Cathedral, and described by historian Patrick Collinson as the seventeenth century equivalent of national broadcasting. Those who listened would have included the Aldermen and Mayor of London, as well as a broad spectrum of both Londoners and visitors to the capital. This was a platform to present to the widest possible audience sermons on matters of national importance.

Venning’s works The Sinfulness of Sin and Learning in Christ’s School are available in the Puritan Paperbacks series.