"Whenever a church keeps back Christ crucified,
or puts anything whatsoever in that foremost place which Christ crucified
should always have,
From that moment a church ceases to be useful.
Without Christ crucified in her pulpits,
a Church is little better than dead carcass,
a well without water,
a barren fig tree,
a sleeping watchman,
a silent trumpet,
a dumb witness,
an ambassador without terms of peace,
a messenger without tidings,
a lighthouse without fire,
a stumbling - block to weak believers,
a comfort to unbelievers,
a hot-bed for formalism,
a joy to the devil,
an offense to God"
-J.C. Ryle
-J.C. Ryle
