Ralph Venning wrote in The Sinfulness of Sin, “let me again, then, entreat, beseech and beg you for God’s sake and for your souls’ sake not to sin.”
Ralph Venning (1621-1674) was born in Devon, England, and spent his childhood and young adult life in Tavistock. It was there that Venning met a Puritan preacher, George Hughes, who faithfully ministered to him and two other men who also went on to minister. Historians note that Venning owed a lot of his ministerial understanding to Hughes and held him in high regard. They had a bond like Paul and Timothy as Venning called Hughes his spiritual “father.”
Venning was not a wealthy man, so while he studied at Emmanuel College, Cambridge he had to work menial jobs at the college to pay for his education. While at Emmanuel College he received his B.A. in 1646 and M.A. in 1650. During his studies and work, he still managed to find time to be a chaplain in the Tower of London and write two books.
Venning lived in London for most of his life and connected with many Puritan preachers such as Joseph Caryl, John Owen, Richard Baxter, and George Griffith. The 1660s was a “rollercoaster” of a season for Venning. In 1661 he married a widow, became a lecturer at St. Olave’s, then in 1662 was ejected by Arch Bishop Laud’s Act of Uniformity, and he became friends with Robert Bragge (an Independent non-conformist minister) and together they served together at Pewterers’ Guild Hall until Venning’s death.
Venning’s personality was strong, but his demeanor was one that tried who avoid being involved in any partisanship. However, he was committed to the cause of the “Puritan Revolution” and served in a variety of capacities while Thomas Cromwell led the Commonwealth. He was tasked with assessing candidates for chaplaincy in the Navy, promoting evangelism amongst the natives in New England, and his favorite and one of great importance was “the promotion of godliness in every aspect of daily life.” He was so committed to the Gospel that he preached in the open air adjacent to the Roman Catholic Cathedral St Paul’s in London. Preaching in such a spot would have attracted a variety of people from the Mayor of London, to commoners, and visitors to London.
His final sermon was in 1674, at the age of 54, and on that day the Lord inflicted him with an illness and called him home. Although Ralph Venning’s name is not well known among Puritans, he is one that is worth reading. Jonathan Edwards said in “The Preacher” (1705, i. 203): “[Venning] turns sentences up and down, and delights in little cadences and chiming of words.”
Ralph Venning knew that the Gospel of Jesus Christ could not be understood without knowledge of sin. Today many people do not know what sin is, so it is impossible for them to comprehend the reality and weight of sin. Society tells us to refuse objective standards by ignoring God and his Law. Today’s hypermodern context places us as “master and commander” of our own destiny with short-sighted goals, and worldly wisdom. Even though Venning lived over three hundred years ago, his work The Sinfulness of Sin provides insights on how to battle sin. He provides a clear explanation of what sin is, why it is serious, and what needs to be done about it. Venning’s words are powerful as he is able to articulate that only when we look at our sinful state we are able to discover the beauties of God’s forgiveness. As one author said, “[Venning’s The Sinfulness of Sin] is a reliable medicine for a fatal epidemic.”
To learn more about Ralph Venning, read The Sinfulness of Sin, or The Way to True Happiness which is a recorded sermon.