Crossway Church: Keene, NH

At Together for the Gospel, we received as a gift the book The Truth of the Cross by R.C. Sproul. At the conference, Sproul delivered a sobering presentation of the curse motif in the Gospel. Several of Sproul's illustrations and points can be found in The Truth of the Cross.

In this review, I'll provide a short summary and what I think are strengths and weaknesses of the book.

Summary
Chapter one. As he explains the necessity of Christ's atonement, Sproul says, "The prevailing notion of justification in Western culture today is justification by death. It's assumed that all one has to do to be received into the everlasting arms of God is to die." Most people don't think the atonement is necessary, but it is. Why?

Chapter two. Because God is just. "Though God pardons sinners and makes great provision for expressing His mercy, He will never negotiate His justice." Sproul explains the justice of God through the account of God's judgment on Sodom and Gomorrah.

God couldn't find ten righteous people among the inhabitants of the these cities. As a result, God's judgment fell. It fell not because God was cruel, harsh, or lacking in love. It happened because God is just and righteous...Not only were there not ten righteous in Sodom, there are not ten in all the world.

The Judge of all the earth must do right. Therefore, He must punish sinners - or provide a way to atone for their sin.

Chapter three. The atonement is necessary also because "We are cosmic traitors." We are sinners, or "debtors, enemies, and criminals," and so we need Christ to be our Surety, Mediator, and Substitute.

Chapter four. The atonement is necessary, and so Christ gave His live as a ransom for many.

When the Bible speaks of ransom, it speaks of that ransom being paid not to a criminal but to the One Who is owed the price for redemption, the One Who is the offended party in the whole complex of sin - the Father.

Chapter five. Christ ransomed us by becoming our Substitute. Christ took away our guilt through the payment of our penalty (expiation), and He appeased the wrath of God (propitiation) so that God's anger is turned away from us.

Chapter six. To be our Substitute, Christ had to be "made like His brethren." As the God-man, Jesus both died for us and lived for us. Our sins were transferred to Him, but that's not all. "If all that happened was the single transfer of our sins to Jesus, we would not be justified." Sproul explains, "We must see that the righteousness of Christ that is transferred to us is the righteousness He achieved by living under the Law for thirty-three years without sinning."

Chapter seven. In taking our sin upon Himself, Christ fulfilled all the OT prophecies of the Suffering Servant. "On the cross, God's wrath was poured out on Christ. God did strike Him, smite Him, and afflict Him - but not for any evil in Christ."

Chapter eight. On the cross, Christ became a curse for us.

...thousands of people have died on crosses, and others have had even more painful, excruciating deaths than that. But only One received the full measure of the curse of God while on the cross. Because of that, I wonder whether Jesus was even aware of the nails and the thorns.

Chapter nine. God sent Christ to die for the elect. "It was never God's intention to save everybody."

...the atonement Christ made on the cross was real and effectual. It wasn't just a hypothetical atonement. It was an actual atonement. He didn't offer a hypothetical expiation for the sins of His people; their sins were expiated. He didn't give a hypothetical propitiation for our sins; He actually placated God's wrath toward us.

Chapter ten. Sproul answers frequently asked questions like, "What is the significance of the shedding of blood in the atonement?" and "Is it accurate to say that God died on the cross?"

Strengths
This is a wonderful presentation of the gospel. It is helpful for both unbelievers and believers. Even those who have been saved for quite some time will undoubtedly have their understanding of the gospel expanded. Sproul's illustrations are interesting and effective. He makes full use of the the OT and NT. He anticipates objections and provides adequate answers.

Weaknesses
Though I agree with Sproul's chapter on Limited Atonement (or, Particular Redemption), I am not fully satisfied with the presentation of it. It seems like it needs to be tied in with the rest of the book more. Also, I wish he had provided more scriptural support. The chapter seems to indicate it is not much more than a logical deduction from the other four points of Calvinism.

I wish Sproul didn't use as much Latin. He explains all the Latin terms, but I don't see the value in bringing up the Latin in the first place.

Conclusion
I like the book. There are a lot of books on the atonement. This one makes a valuable contribution, I think. If you can get it for $9 or less, buy it and read it.

Posted by Craig Johnson

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