Mark what I say. You may know a good deal about Christ, by a kind of head knowledge. You may know who He was, where He was born, and what He did. You may know His miracles, His sayings, His prophecies, and His ordinances. You may know how He lived, how He suffered, and how He died. But unless you know the power of Christ’s cross by experience–unless you know and feel within that the blood shed on that cross has washed away your own particular sins–unless you are willing to confess that your salvation depends entirely on the work Christ did on the cross–unless this be the case, Christ will profit you nothing. The mere knowing Christ’s name will never save you. You must know His cross and His blood…or you will die in your sins. Beware, I say again, of a religion without a cross.

J.C. Ryle (from his sermon entitled ‘The cross of Christ)

1816 – 1900