The Cross of Christ
John Stott (1986) InterVarsity Press
Reviewed by Rod Thomas
I would not be an Anglican evangelical if it were not for the books of John Stott. They have helped me on countless occasions to think through issues Christianly and the commentaries have helped me to understand the Bible more clearly. When I read ‘Christ the Controversialist’, I couldn’t help thinking that John Stott was producing the Twentieth century’s version of Ryle’s great volume ‘Knots Untied.’ But of all John Stott’s books, none has had greater impact than ‘The Cross of Christ.’
‘The Cross of Christ’ was first published by IVP in 1986, but I didn’t read it until I was at theological college five years later. I have returned to it time and again since. It is written in Stott’s customary scholarly way – although it is not an academic book - and when I was at theological college reading some of the sources quoted by Stott, I really appreciated the range of his research. However what I have most appreciated about it, as debates have taken place over the years about what Christ achieved on the cross – and in particular when controversies have spilled out within evangelical circles over propitiatory atonement – is the clarity of Stott’s thinking and his step by step approach to demonstrating the magnificence of what was revealed on and through the cross.
How then does ‘The Cross of Christ’ help us to understand better the Bible’s revelation about Christ’s death? For me, one of the significant early chapters was that dealing with ‘The Problem of Forgiveness.’ Until I had read it, I had never fully realized what a problem the forgiveness of sin posed. ‘The crucial question …’ says Stott, ‘…is not why God finds it difficult to forgive, but how he finds it possible to do so at all.’ We know that God is love, but his love is a holy love, which can never condone sin or just sweep it under the carpet. As the chapter then describes the gravity of sin and the Divine reaction to it, so we are led in subsequent chapters into an understanding of the wrath of God and from that into the great truth that God in Christ was our substitute on the cross, expressing both his unfathomable love and his perfect holiness.
The significance of this starting point becomes clear in the middle section of the book which deals with the achievement of the cross. There are many ways in which the New Testament describes what Christ achieved such as redemption, justification, and reconciliation. Each conveys important truths to us about what it means to be saved. But all of these need to be seen through the lens of propitiatory atonement – which is where Stott starts the middle section. It provides the fundamental underpinning for all our subsequent understanding of the cross.
It may seem from what I have said that ‘The Cross of Christ’ is a rather analytical book with little room for the emotions. Nothing could be further from the truth. It is not just that appreciating afresh the work of Christ on the cross is tremendously uplifting; every time I have read a part of it I’m moved to praise and thank our loving Father. It’s also that by the time we reach the end of the book and read what Stott has to say about living under the cross, his discussion of suffering, as we seek to follow our Saviour, is deeply moving.
To me this book gives definition to what it means to be an evangelical as it deals with the central moment of God’s plan for the world. But whether we regard ourselves as evangelical or not, I cannot think of a better book by a recent writer for deepening our faith and encouraging our discipleship.
‘The Cross of Christ’ was first published by IVP in 1986, but I didn’t read it until I was at theological college five years later. I have returned to it time and again since. It is written in Stott’s customary scholarly way – although it is not an academic book - and when I was at theological college reading some of the sources quoted by Stott, I really appreciated the range of his research. However what I have most appreciated about it, as debates have taken place over the years about what Christ achieved on the cross – and in particular when controversies have spilled out within evangelical circles over propitiatory atonement – is the clarity of Stott’s thinking and his step by step approach to demonstrating the magnificence of what was revealed on and through the cross.
How then does ‘The Cross of Christ’ help us to understand better the Bible’s revelation about Christ’s death? For me, one of the significant early chapters was that dealing with ‘The Problem of Forgiveness.’ Until I had read it, I had never fully realized what a problem the forgiveness of sin posed. ‘The crucial question …’ says Stott, ‘…is not why God finds it difficult to forgive, but how he finds it possible to do so at all.’ We know that God is love, but his love is a holy love, which can never condone sin or just sweep it under the carpet. As the chapter then describes the gravity of sin and the Divine reaction to it, so we are led in subsequent chapters into an understanding of the wrath of God and from that into the great truth that God in Christ was our substitute on the cross, expressing both his unfathomable love and his perfect holiness.
The significance of this starting point becomes clear in the middle section of the book which deals with the achievement of the cross. There are many ways in which the New Testament describes what Christ achieved such as redemption, justification, and reconciliation. Each conveys important truths to us about what it means to be saved. But all of these need to be seen through the lens of propitiatory atonement – which is where Stott starts the middle section. It provides the fundamental underpinning for all our subsequent understanding of the cross.
It may seem from what I have said that ‘The Cross of Christ’ is a rather analytical book with little room for the emotions. Nothing could be further from the truth. It is not just that appreciating afresh the work of Christ on the cross is tremendously uplifting; every time I have read a part of it I’m moved to praise and thank our loving Father. It’s also that by the time we reach the end of the book and read what Stott has to say about living under the cross, his discussion of suffering, as we seek to follow our Saviour, is deeply moving.
To me this book gives definition to what it means to be an evangelical as it deals with the central moment of God’s plan for the world. But whether we regard ourselves as evangelical or not, I cannot think of a better book by a recent writer for deepening our faith and encouraging our discipleship.
Rod Thomas, Sept 15
