Books on the Cross of Christ

These lists and the following select, annotated bibliography are intended for Christians who, having been edified by the wonderful pieces by J. I. Packer and Mark Dever in this little book, are thirsting for more good material that will aid them in deepening their understanding of the meaning and significance and consequences of the death of our Savior, Jesus Christ. I hope that these reading suggestions will be helpful to many, not only in providing them with a "must read" list on the atonement, but also in providing them recommendations for other church leaders and members.

If you have no idea where to start, look at the following lists of suggestions. If you don't know anything about the books in the various lists provided, take a look at the annotations to the full alphabetical bibliography following. In those annotations I hope to provide enticing and summarizing comments that will help draw you to books that will be helpful to your soul and ministry.

Ten on the Atonement

Am I loopy enough to attempt to suggest a top-ten list of "must reads" on the atonement? Apparently so. The motivation is simple though: the annotated bibliography that follows may seem overwhelming to some, so this shorter "best-of" list may help. This list of ten books leans to the popular and devotional side, but all the entries are sound and substantial. I've tried here to put them in a good order for reading.

1) Piper, John. Fifty Reasons Why Jesus Came to Die. Wheaton, IL: Crossway Books, 2006.

2) Mahaney, C. J. Living the Cross Centered Life. Sisters, OR: Multnomah, 2006.

3) Leahy, Frederick S. The Cross He Bore, The Victory of the Lamb, and Is It Nothing to You? Edinburgh: Banner of Truth, 1996, 2001, and 2004.

4) Ryken, Philip Graham, and James Montgomery Boice. The Heart of the Cross. Wheaton, IL: Crossway Books, 2005.

5) Warfield, Benjamin B. The Saviour of the World. Edinburgh: Banner of Truth, 1991.

6) Morris, Leon. The Atonement: Its Meaning and Significance. Leicester: Inter-Varsity, 1983.

7) Murray, John. Redemption Accomplished and Applied. Grand Rapids, MI: Eerdmans, 1955.

8) Stott, John R. W. The Cross of Christ. Leicester: Inter-Varsity, 1986.

9) Jeffery, Steve, Michael Ovey, and Andrew Sach. Pierced for our Transgressions. Wheaton, IL: Crossway Books, 2007.

10) Calvin, John. Institutes of the Christian Religion, 2 vols. Translated by F. L. Battles. Philadelphia: Westminster, 1960 (see esp. 1:464-534).

Short, Popular Introductions

If you are looking for a good launching point into the vast ocean of sound teaching available on the doctrine of the atonement, and you'd like to read something accessible that will give you a feel for the subject and be edifying at the same time, try the following. To find out more about them, read the annotated bibliography at the end of this section. I'm tempted to suggest that you read them in this order: Piper, then Shaw/Edwards, then Wells, then Bridges/Bevington, and finally, Morris.

- Bridges, Jerry, and Bob Bevington. The Great Exchange. Wheaton, IL: Crossway Books, 2007. Jerry Bridges loves George Smeaton on the atonement, important work that this book popularizes.

- Morris, Leon. The Atonement: Its Meaning and Significance. Leicester: Inter-Varsity, 1983. Though more challenging than the other four books on this list, this is a worthy shorter volume.

- Piper, John. Fifty Reasons Why Jesus Came to Die. Wheaton, IL: Crossway Books, 2006. Designed for evangelistic use, this book can be read in little chunks. Chock full of devotional worth.

- Shaw, Ian J., and Brian H. Edwards. The Divine Substitute: The Atonement in the Bible and History. Leominster, UK: DayOne, 2006. In less than 150 pages Shaw and Edwards provide a sound biblical and historical introduction to the doctrine of the atonement.

- Wells, Tom. A Price for a People: The Meaning of Christ's Death. Edinburgh: Banner of Truth, 1992. Wells's book focuses on the biblical material. He is a Baptist pastor in Ohio.

Sermons

Make a habit of reading and listening to sermons on the atoning work of Christ. There is no better way to prepare to teach and preach and live the cross yourself. So read and listen to the masters preach the cross.

- Lloyd-Jones, D. Martyn. Romans: Atonement and Justification. Edinburgh: Banner of Truth, 1970. What can one say about Lloyd-Jones? John Piper listens to him! These sermons contain powerful models for preaching atonement and justification.

- Martin, Hugh. Christ for Us. Edinburgh: Banner of Truth, 1998. If you think Martin's The Atonement is truth on fire (and it is!), then buckle your seatbelts for his preaching.

- Spurgeon, Charles H. Spurgeon's Sermons on the Cross of Christ. Grand Rapids, MI: Kregel, 1993. The prince of preachers. Read anything and everything you can get by him, and make a beeline for the cross.

- Warfield, Benjamin B. The Saviour of the World. Edinburgh: Banner of Truth, 1991. You'll never be able to think about John 3:16 in the same way again after reading Warfield's sermon.

Pastoral Application of the Doctrine of the Atonement

Do you need help in seeing how the cross applies to life and ministry? Here are two good examples:

- Carson, D. A. The Cross and Christian Ministry. Grand Rapids, MI: Baker Books, 2004. Carson shows us how the cross works out (or should work out) in the church's gospel ministry.

- Mahaney, C. J. Living the Cross Centered Life. Sisters, OR: Multnomah, 2006. Do you want the atonement worked into your bones? Read this.

Systematic Theologies

If you want to dip into some representative systematic theologies, but you don't know where to start, here are five good entries with strengths all their own.

- Berkhof, Louis. Systematic Theology. New Combined Edition. Grand Rapids, MI: Eerdmans, 2006. Berkhof is hard to beat for historical overview, clear orthodox presentation, and discerning evaluation (see esp. 367-99).

- Boyce, James P. Abstract of Systematic Theology. Hanford, CA: den Dulk Foundation. A classic, solid, Baptist presentation on the atonement (see esp. 295-340).

- Calvin, John. Institutes of the Christian Religion. 2 vols. Translated by F. L. Battles. Philadelphia: Westminster, 1960. The fountainhead of the Reformed tradition. Do not miss Calvin on this topic!

- Grudem,Wayne. Systematic Theology. Grand Rapids, MI: Zondervan, 1994. Probably the easiest to read of these five books. Great for use as a teaching outline on the subject (see esp. 568-607).

- Reymond, Robert L. A New Systematic Theology of the Christian Faith. Nashville: Thomas Nelson, 1998. An extensive exegetical-theological treatment by a solid, conservative, contemporary theologian (see esp. 623-795).

Chronological Listing of Works of Historic Significance on the Atonement

Two criteria have ruled above others in the making of this brief list: significance and edification. One could have made a very long list that stretches back in time (I can hear some asking, "Where are Irenaeus, Origen, Augustine, Anselm, and Luther?"), or that ranges a bit more broadly in more recent literature (one could ask, "Where are Albrecht Ritschl, McLeod Campbell, F. D. Maurice, P. T. Forsyth, Gustaf Auln, James Denney, Emil Brunner, and Karl Barth?"). But this list is deliberately restrictive. The works included are significant in themselves and in their contexts and are of the highest value for the positive edification of the reader. Again, see the annotated bibliography at the end for descriptions of these authors and books.

1559: Calvin, John. Institutes of the Christian Religion. 2 vols. Translated by F. L. Battles. Philadelphia: Westminster, 1960. Most important theological work of the last half millennium.

1647: Owen, John. The Death of Death in the Death of Christ. Edinburgh: Banner of Truth, 1959. The classic work by the greatest of the British Calvinists.

1679: Turretin, Francis. Institutes of Elenctic Theology. 3 vols. Edited by James T. Dennison. Translated by George M. Griger. Phillipsburg, NJ: P&R, 1994. The "queen of the sciences," according to the "king" of seventeenth-century Protestant Orthodoxy (see esp. 2:375-499).

1861: Heppe, Heinrich. Reformed Dogmatics. Translated by G. T. Thomson. Grand Rapids, MI: Baker Books, 1978. Quotations from the main continental Reformed scholars during the age of Protestant Orthodoxy (see esp. 448-509).

1867: Hodge, A. A. The Atonement. Memphis, TN: Footstool, 1987. The classic nineteenth-century Princeton treatment of this subject.

1868: Smeaton, George. Christ's Doctrine of the Atonement. Edinburgh: Banner of Truth, 1991. One of the Free Church of Scotland's brightest lights expounds and defends the doctrine.

1870: ---. The Doctrine of the Atonement according to the Apostles. Peabody, MA: Hendrickson, 1988. The sequel to Christ's Doctrine of the Atonement by one of the leading Scottish pastor-theologians of his day.

1870: Martin, Hugh. The Atonement. Greenville, SC: Reformed Academic Press, 1997. Heat and light. Truth on fire. A combination of orthodoxy, originality, and passion.

1887: Boyce, James P. Abstract of Systematic Theology. Hanford, CA: den Dulk Foundation. Classic nineteenth-century treatment. Clear and sound; really helpful for outlining the subject.

1895-1901: Bavinck, Herman. Reformed Dogmatics, 4 vols. Edited by John Bolt. Translated by John Vriend. Grand Rapids, MI: Baker Academic, 2003-2008. Major early-twentieth-century orthodox Dutch work, now fully available in English (see esp. 3:323-482).

1902-1917: Warfield, Benjamin B. The Person and Work of Christ. Phillipsburg, NJ: Presbyterian and Reformed, 1950. Greatest of the Prince ton theologians. Reading this makes you mad that Warfield didn't write a systematic theology.

1939: Berkhof, Louis. Systematic Theology. New Combined Edition. Grand Rapids, MI: Eerdmans, 2006. The standard English-language Reformed systematic theology. The starting point for all reading in systematics for English readers.

1955: Murray, John. Redemption Accomplished and Applied. Grand Rapids, MI: Eerdmans, 1955. This is, simply put, a "must read." If you haven't read it, you are not ready to talk theology.

1965: Morris, Leon. The Apostolic Preaching of the Cross. Leicester: Inter-Varsity, 1965. The classic, modern, evangelical exposition and defense of the historic Christian doctrine.

1986: Stott, John R. W. The Cross of Christ. Leicester: Inter-Varsity, 1986. Stott's magnum opus. Essential reading.

2007: Jeffery, Steve, Michael Ovey, and Andrew Sach. Pierced for Our Transgressions. Nottingham, UK: Inter-Varsity; Wheaton, IL: Crossway Books, 2007. The latest major evangelical entry into the fray with those denying penal substitution. Excellent.

Important Confessional Statements on the Atonement

Don't cheat yourself by failing to read what the evangelical churches have confessed about the meaning and accomplishment of the death of Christ over the last five hundred years. As important as are the theological works I've just listed, Protestants have always given even more weight to what the churches have corporately confessed as their public theology, that is, what the churches have professed to be the teaching of Scripture and their public embrace of it. You can read these short confessional statements in a matter of minutes, but spend the rest of your life understanding them more deeply and appreciating their beautiful and faithful testimony to biblical truth.

1530: Augsburg Confession (Lutheran), 3.http://www.ctsfw.edu/etext/boc/ac/augustana03.asc.

1536: Smalcald Articles (Lutheran), pt. 1; pt. 2, 1-5: "Office and Work of Christ, or Our Redemption." http://www.lcms.org/graphics/assets/media/LCMS/smalcald.pdf.

1560: Scots Confession (Presbyterian), 9.http://www.creeds.net/reformed/Scots/ scots.htm#Passion.

1561: Belgic Confession (Reformed), 21 .http://www.carm.org/creeds/ belgic.htm#Article%2021.

1563: Thirty-Nine Articles (Anglican), 2 and 11. http://www.acl.asn.au/the-thirty-ninearticles.

1562-1564: Second Helvetic Confession (Reformed), 11. http://www.sacred-texts.com/chr/ 2helvcnf.htm.

1618-1619: Canons of Dordt (Reformed) Head 2. http://www.mb-soft.com/believe/txh/ dort1.htm.

1647: Westminster Confession (Presbyterian, Anglican, Congregationalist), 8.3-8.http://www.reformed.org/ documents/ wcf_with_ proofs.

1658: Savoy Declaration (Congregationalist), 8.3-8.http://www.creeds.net/congregational/savoy/index.htm.

1689: London Confession (Baptist), 8.3-10.http://www.vor.org/truth/1689/1689bc08.html.

1833: New Hampshire Confession (Baptist), 4.http://www.spurgeon.org/~phil/creeds/nh_conf.htm#4

1858: Abstract of Principles (Southern Baptist), 7. http://www.founders.org/abstract.html.