Introduction
In The Cross: A Call to the Fundamentals of Religion, J. C. Ryle addresses a foundational question: what place should the cross of Christ occupy in the life of a Christian? He insists that many churchgoers, though baptized, attend services, and call themselves believers, still fail to understand or live by the cross. To Ryle, how one “thinks and feels” about Christ crucified is not a peripheral issue—it is the central truth that determines whether one’s faith is genuine or not.
He opens by appealing to the Apostle Paul, quoting Galatians 6:14, “God forbid that I should glory, save in the cross of our Lord Jesus Christ,” and asks his readers: what do you truly think and feel about the cross of Christ? Ryle divides his argument into three main sections:
- What Paul did not glory in
- What Paul did glory in
- Why all Christians ought to glory in the cross
Through these, Ryle seeks to show that if the cross is not central, the faith is faulty.
I. What Did the Apostle Paul Not Glory In?
Ryle begins by pointing out things that Paul, despite his achievements, explicitly refused to glory in. This is designed to turn the mirror on any believer who may trust in those same things.
- National privilege — Paul, though a Jew by birth (an “Hebrew of Hebrews”), never boasted in his Jewish status. He did not rest in having Abraham as an ancestor, or in his heritage under the Mosaic covenant.
- Personal works and labors — Paul was immensely industrious. He preached, traveled, endured hardship, planted churches, discipled converts. Yet he never regarded those labors as meritorious or ground for confidence before God.
- His knowledge and gifts — Paul had great intellectual and spiritual gifts: knowledge, prophecy, revelation (even “third heaven” experiences), wisdom, strong argumentation. But he never trusted in or gloried in those gifts as saving or adequate before God.
- His graces and virtues — Paul’s character was marked by love, humility, self-denial, prayerfulness, perseverance, boldness. He had spiritual qualities many Christians admire. Yet he did not glory in them.
- His churchmanship and ecclesiastical role — Paul founded churches, ordained elders, administered baptisms, taught sacraments, organized worship. But he never exalted his office, work, or church status above the cross.
Ryle’s point: If Paul refused to glory in any of those things—even though he could have—then neither should Christians today. All of those are meaningless in regard to the soul’s salvation if the cross is not supreme.
II. What Did Paul Glory In?
Having eliminated what Paul did not rest in, Ryle then turns to the positive: what is it that Paul gloried in?
- Christ crucified: When Paul says he would glory in nothing but “the cross of Christ,” Ryle argues that he means the doctrine and reality of Christ’s atonement—Jesus suffering, dying, shedding blood as the substitutionary sacrifice for sinners. It is not merely a symbol, nor mere suffering, but the cross as the place of redemption.
Ryle clarifies that “the cross” is used in multiple senses:
- Sometimes it refers to the literal wooden cross where Christ was crucified.
- Sometimes it refers to Christian suffering (bearing one’s cross).
- But Paul’s glorying refers to the atoning cross — the sacrificial death of Christ for sinners.
Ryle emphasizes that for Paul, Christ crucified was the joy and delight of his soul. It was:
- His comfort, peace, hope, and confidence
- The foundation and refuge of his spiritual life
- The subject he preached continually
- The essential key to understanding Scripture: without the cross, the Bible is dark and disjointed
In Paul’s frame of mind, nothing else—reason, morality, ministry, gifts, or church structures—could substitute for the cross.
III. Why Should All Christians Glory in the Cross?
Finally, Ryle addresses reasons every believer should adopt Paul’s posture toward the cross:
- It reveals God’s love
Looking at the cross, one sees the magnitude of divine love: God giving His only Son, not withholding Him, that sinners might live. The cross reveals the heart of God for humanity. - It uncovers the severity of sin
The cross displays how great sin truly is—that it required the Son of God to suffer and die. Sin is not trivial, nor excuseable; the cross shows its horror and separation from God. - It declares the completeness of salvation
The cross demonstrates that Christ’s sacrifice was sufficient, finished, and final. The law’s demands are satisfied, righteousness of Christ is applied, and no further payment is required. - It was a voluntary act
Jesus died by His own will—it was not forced. That underscores His willingness, and His intentionality, in redemption.
Because of these, Ryle suggests that dwelling on the cross is not morbid but deeply spiritual. Christians are admonished to meditate on the cross daily, to let it sanctify desires, to feed their souls by faith, to find contentment in suffering by seeing how the Cross expresses God’s commitment, and to base assurance not on self but on Christ.
Application & Warnings
Ryle does not leave readers without application. He calls for urgent self-examination: Has your Christianity any of the cross? Are you trusting in yourself—morality, works, church membership, knowledge—rather than Christ crucified?
He warns against:
- Self-righteousness in any form
- Religion without the cross (beautiful services, doctrine, ritual but little of Christ crucified in heart)
- Preachers who shy away from the cross or diminish it
- Churches that emphasize everything except the cross
He insists that the cross is the grand center of Christian preaching, the secret of missionary power, and the wellspring of authentic spirituality. A church without the cross is spiritually empty.
Ryle closes by applying the cross:
- To the careless sinner: behold the cross, repent, believe
- To the anxious seeker: lean on Christ crucified
- To true believers: let the cross deepen holiness, assurance, and comfort
- To dying saints: fix the mind on Christ crucified, and His arms around the cross will sustain
He prays that readers will, like Paul, say: “God forbid that I should glory, save in the cross of Christ.”