The Cross of Christ
About the Book "I could never myself believe in God, if it were not for the cross. . . . In the real world of pain, how could one worship a God who was immune to it?" With compelling honesty John
User Ratings and Reviews
5 Stars Definitive
A masterpiece – possibly the definitive work on substitutionary atonement, which makes it all the more important for the present decade, when there are many who claim to be evangelicals but deny this historic doctrine.
Stott looks at the Cross from all angles, including its symbolic significance to the church, the reasons which necessitated it, and the consequences of it (theologically, personally, socially, etc.). One of the brilliant points that this book establishes is that though there are many pictures for the atonement (courtroom, marketplace, conquest, etc.), the concept of substitution is behind them all.
D.A. Carson's endorsement was accurate: this is one of those rare must-own, must-read books.
5 Stars Book Review: The Cross of Christ
Since there are already 33 reviews on Amazon, I want to try something different. I will include some gems to get you interested, first, and then I'll post a short recommendation (for you guys that like a short, quick review).
Here is one: " . . . the meaning of atonement is not to be found in our penitence evoked by the sight of Calvary, but rather in what God did when in Christ on the cross He took our place and bore our sin" (9).
Another: "The essence of sin is man substituting himself for God, while the essence of salvation is God substituting himself for man" (160).
One more: "I could never myself believe in God, if it were not for the cross . . . In the real world of pain, how could one worship a God who was immune to it? I have entered many Buddhist temples in different Asian countries and stood respectfully before the statue of Buddha, his legs crossed, arms folded, eyes closed, the ghost of a smile playing round his mouth, a remote look on his face, detached from the agonies of the world. But each time after a while I have to turn away. And in imagination I have turned instead to that lonely, twisted, tortured figure on the cross, nails through hands and feet, back lacerated, limbs wrenched, brow bleeding from thorn-pricks, mouth dry and intolerably thirsty, plunged in Godforsaken darkness. That is the God for me! He laid aside his immunity to pain. He entered our world of flesh and blood, tears and death. He suffered for us. Our sufferings become more manageable in light of his" (335-36).
I could definitely list a lot more, but I'll conclude this review with a recommendation: Get this book and read it! The Cross of Christ is a 'top ten' book! Along with Packer's Knowing God, Ryle's Holiness, Baxter's Reformed Pastor, I think The Cross of Christ should be on every Christian's bookshelf. Stott gets to the heart of the cross by dealing with sin and the atonement, and his treatment of penal substitution, especially in relation to biblical propitiation, are worth the price of the book! The Cross of Christ is a very readable and inspiring book on the cross for every Christian! Of course, no book is a substitute for Scripture, but I think I can confidently say that Stott has given the Church a tremendous gift that should be read and passed on to others.
5 Stars Clear-headed, running over with humility
This is my first venture into a work of John Stott. Absolutely fabulous. It is not often that detailed study into complex theological issues leave you with a tremendous feeling of humility. This one does. Concepts are presented clearly and, better yet, encourage further study. Especially helpful for those of us not in the ministry. The first chapter on the cross in historical context is worth the price of the book alone. And it just gets better from there. I now understand why this book is a classic.
5 Stars Must read book
this is a book i had wanted to read and put off getting it for a few years after i decided i wanted to read it, it is must read and not to be put off a day…
4 Stars Oh, So Close!
I began reading this book, much because of a friend of mine who loved and refered to Stott's "Basic Christianity" so often. In recent times, I've focused on the Gospel at an intensity unknown to me for the prior 34 years of my faith. And in beginning to read "The Cross of Christ," I was amazingly moved upon and cause to experience great spiritual and mental excitement, all for the good.
Stott's handling of the Gospel issues is detailed without being too deeply theological, that is, not sounding like a dry seminary text book. This book is dynamic; it faces certain controveries in thinking without fear, and presents a biblical response that makes the reader much more confident in his/her faith. Reading it for yourself is the only way for you to understand what I mean.
There were a couple times when Stott made some comments that raised my eyebrows, earlier in the book; and initially the intrigue was grabbing, in a positive way. But then came one of the reasons for having to give this book 4 stars. In his chapter called "Suffering and Glory," it becomes evident that Stott bought into a recent theology/philosophy which says that God suffers. Reading the chapter certainly did give an intellectual and, moreso, an emotional challenge. The danger here is that that his writing is so very challenging by tugging at the heart strings while the "God suffering" concept is necessarily impossible to be true. In short, it makes God mutable and, if thought through logically, not omniscient. In other words, for Stott and others to believe the "God suffers" view, they must miss the logical conclusion that Open Theology must be true to accept that God suffers. And Open Theology is an heretical teaching that makes God greater than human but less than God. God becomes essentially the equivalent of Q in Star Trek (omnipotent but not omniscient). Further, the "God suffers" philosophy must reject the teaching in Hebrews that it was necessary for Jesus as man to suffer as man's representative, and rather for God to suffer. Stott speaks of the self-substitution of God. He makes good points, but in the end has God putting Himself in the place of the man Jesus to suffer for our sins, which, again, Hebrews teaches can't be. In other words, Stott takes hold of the truth that "God was in Christ, reconciling the world to Himself," and unwittingly makes Jesus' substitution as a man with the necessary nature of Abraham pointless. If it was God that needed to suffer, then the incarnation would be pointless, wouldn't it?
I recommend the reading of Thomas G. Weinandy's "Does God Suffer?" at [...] to keep one out of the miry error of this modern-day, emotion-based philosophy which clearly distorts biblical theodicy and replaced biblical teaching with a human "god," or at least with an alien named Q.
The second reason I give this book 4 stars (and if I had not had the major problem as mentioned above, I still would have given 5 stars) is the chapter called "The Conquest of Evil." In short, my demonology and eschatology are much different from Stott's (and I can't blame him for that). If you are generally in agreement with Stott on these two doctrinal views, then you'll love this chapter. But if, like me, you disagree with Stott's views in these two doctrinal areas, you will be quite frustrated. But I will say this, that some of the best writing regarding the Gospel that Stott gives in the book occurs in this chapter, stating what he does somewhat separately from the demon and end-time themes.
Take out two chapers (and a few necessary adjustments in the others) and this book is amazing. And for studying the Gospel, it is a necessary book; but Stott, as great a student of God's Word as he is, shows that even the best can be duped by emotion over hermeneutics.
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