The Cross Quotes

“I look at the cross of Christ. There I see that sin is so black and damnable, that nothing but the blood of God's own Son can wash it away. There I see that sin has so separated me from my holy Maker, that all the angels in heaven could never have made peace between us. Nothing could reconcile us, short of the death of Christ. Ah, if I listened to the wretched talk of proud men, I might sometimes fancy sin was not so very sinful! But I cannot think little of sin, when I look at the cross of Christ.”
― J.C. Ryle, The Cross

“Give up your secret pride. Cast away your vain ideas of your own goodness. Be thankful if you have grace, but never glory in it for a moment. Work for God and Christ with heart and soul and mind and strength, but never dream for a second of placing confidence in any work of your own.”
― J.C. Ryle, The Cross: Crucified with Christ, and Christ Alive in Me

“As the sun gazed upon makes everything else look dark and dim , so does the cross darken the false splendour of this world.”
― J.C. Ryle, The Cross

“I can find a stronger proof of love than anything of this sort. I look at the cross of Christ. I see in it not the cause of the Father’s love, but the effect. God increased the price of his charity toward us in that while we were yet sinners the Christ died for us (Romans 5:8). There I see that God so loved this wicked world that he gave his only begotten Son – gave Him to suffer and die – that whosoever believes in him should not perish but have eternal life (John 3:16). I know that the Father loves us because He did not withhold His Son from us, His only Son.”
― J.C. Ryle, The Cross: Crucified with Christ, and Christ Alive in Me

“This is what he lived all his life from the time of his conversion. He”
― J.C. Ryle, The Cross: Crucified with Christ, and Christ Alive in Me

“You may know several precepts of the Bible and admire them, just as a man admires Plato, Aristotle, or Seneca. But if you have not yet found out that Christ crucified is the foundation of the whole volume, you have read your Bible to very little profit. Your religion is a heaven without a sun, an arch without a keystone, a compass without a needle, a clock without spring or weights, or a lamp without oil. It will not comfort you. It will not deliver your soul from hell.”
― J.C. Ryle, The Cross: Crucified with Christ, and Christ Alive in Me

“Miserable indeed is that religious teaching which calls itself Christian but contains nothing of the cross. A man who teaches in this way might as well profess to explain the solar system but tell his hearers nothing about the sun.”
― J.C. Ryle, The Cross: Crucified with Christ, and Christ Alive in Me

“Hundreds of places of worship exist today in which there is almost everything except the cross. There are carved oaks and sculptured stones; there are stained glass and brilliant paintings; there are solemn services and a constant round of ordinances, but the real cross of Christ is not there. Jesus crucified is not proclaimed in the pulpit. The Lamb of God is not lifted up, and salvation by faith in Him is not freely proclaimed. Therefore, all is wrong. Beware of such places of worship.”
― J.C. Ryle, The Cross: Crucified with Christ, and Christ Alive in Me

“The world we live in would have fallen upon our heads, had it not been upheld by the pillar of the cross; had Christ not stepped in and promised a satisfaction for the sin of man. By this all things consist – not a blessing we enjoy but may remind us of it; they were all forfeited by sin, but merited by His blood. If we study it well, we shall be sensible how God hated sin and loved a world.” – Charnock.”
― J.C. Ryle, The Cross: Crucified with Christ, and Christ Alive in Me

“The cross is the grand center of union among true Christians. Our outward differences are many, without doubt. One man is an Episcopalian, another is a Presbyterian; one is an Independent, another a Baptist; one is a Calvinist, another an Arminian; one is a Lutheran, another a Plymouth Brother; one is a friend to establishments, another a friend to the voluntary system; one is a friend to liturgies, another a friend to extemporary prayer. But in the end, what shall we hear in heaven about these differences? Nothing, most probably, nothing at all. There is neither Jew nor Greek, there is neither slave nor free, there is neither male nor female; for ye are all one in Christ Jesus (Galatians 3:28).”
― J.C. Ryle, The Cross: Crucified with Christ, and Christ Alive in Me

“The cross is the grand peculiarity of the Christian religion. Other religions have laws and moral precepts, forms and ceremonies, rewards and punishments. But other religions cannot tell us of a dying Savior. They cannot show us the cross. This is the crown and glory of the gospel. This is that special comfort that belongs to it alone.”
― J.C. Ryle, The Cross: Crucified with Christ, and Christ Alive in Me

“I look at the cross of Christ. There I see that sin is so black and damnable that nothing but the blood of God’s own Son can wash it away. There I see that sin has so separated me from my holy Maker that all the angels in heaven could never have made peace between us. Nothing could reconcile us short of the death of Christ. If I listened to the wretched talk of proud men, I might sometimes fancy that sin was not so very sinful. But I cannot think little of sin when I look at the cross of Christ.”
― J.C. Ryle, The Cross: Crucified with Christ, and Christ Alive in Me

“People seem to forget that all Christ’s sufferings on the cross were foreordained. They did not come on Him by chance or accident; they were all planned, counseled, and determined from all eternity. The cross was foreseen in the provisions for the salvation of sinners. In the purposes of God, the cross was set up from everlasting. Not one throb of pain did Jesus feel, not one precious drop of blood did Jesus shed, which had not been appointed long ago. Infinite wisdom planned that redemption should be by the cross. Infinite wisdom brought Jesus to the cross in due time. He was crucified by the determinate counsel and foreknowledge of God.”
― J.C. Ryle, The Cross: Crucified with Christ, and Christ Alive in Me

“But in some places the cross also indicates the doctrine that Christ died for sinners on the cross – the atonement that He made for sinners by His suffering for them on the cross, the complete and perfect sacrifice for sin that He offered when He gave His own body to be crucified.”
― J.C. Ryle, The Cross: Crucified with Christ, and Christ Alive in Me

“The cross sometimes means the afflictions and trials which believers in Christ have to go through if they follow Christ faithfully for their religion’s sake.”
― J.C. Ryle, The Cross: Crucified with Christ, and Christ Alive in Me

“He meant to declare strongly that he trusted in nothing but Jesus Christ crucified for the pardon of his sins and the salvation of his soul. Let others, if they would, look elsewhere for salvation; let others, if they were so disposed, trust in other things for pardon and peace. But for his part, the apostle was determined to rest on nothing, lean on nothing, build his hope on nothing, place confidence in nothing, and glory in nothing except the cross of our Lord Jesus Christ.”
― J.C. Ryle, The Cross: Crucified with Christ, and Christ Alive in Me

“Would I learn how to be contented and cheerful under all the cares and anxieties of life ? What school shall I go to ? How shall I attain this state of mind most easily ? Shall I look at the sovereignty of God , the wisdom of God , the providence of God , the love of God ? It is well to do so . But I have a better argument still . I will look at the cross of Christ . I feel that He who spared not His only begotten Son , but delivered Him up to die for me , will surely with Him give me all things that I really need . He that endured that pain for my soul , will surely not withhold from me anything that is really good . He that has done the greater things for me , will doubtless do the lesser things also . He that gave His own blood to procure me a home , will unquestionably supply me with all that is really profitable for me by the way . Ah , reader , there is no school for learning contentment than can be compared with the foot of the cross.”
― J.C. Ryle, The Cross

“Whenever a church keeps back Christ crucified, or puts anything whatever in that foremost place which Christ crucified should always have, from that moment a church ceases to be useful.”
― J. C. Ryle, The Cross