Annotated Bibliography

Ligon Duncan

Bavinck, Herman. Reformed Dogmatics, 4 vols. Edited by John Bolt. Translated by John Vriend. Grand Rapids, MI: Baker Academic, 2003-2008.

Bavinck (1854-1921) was a giant of the late nineteenth- and early twentieth-century Protestant theological world. His complete massive systematic theology is finally now available in an English translation. The third volume contains his treatment of the work of Christ. Bavinck groups his presentation of this material under the headings of "Christ's Humiliation" and "Christ's Exaltation"-a classic way of approaching this subject in dogmatics.

Berkhof, Louis. Systematic Theology. New Combined Edition. Grand Rapids, MI: Eerdmans, 2006.

This volume by Berkhof (1873-1954) has probably been the most widely used modern Reformed systematic theology text in English since the middle of the twentieth century. It is an important reference work for the shelf of every Protestant pastor. I highly recommend the most recent edition by Eerdmans (they are calling it the "New Combined Edition") with a new preface by Richard Muller, which includes Berkhof's "Introduction to the Study of Systematic Theology." Berkhof is brilliant at giving good, clear, quick summaries of the history of a doctrine and various schools of thought, and he is superb at outlining the main points of discussion in relation to any given doctrine. His treatment of the doctrine of the atonement is solid and helpful.

Boyce, James P. Abstract of Systematic Theology. Hanford, CA: den Dulk Foundation.

Boyce (1827-1888) was the founder of the Southern Baptist Theological Seminary (SBTS), and really "the leading founder of the vision for organized theological education within the Southern Baptist Convention," and a man of powerful intellect, great learning, and cultural breadth. He was the son of one of the wealthiest men in South Carolina, and grew up in one of the most cultured cities in America of his day, Charleston, South Carolina. He was educated in some of the best institutions of that time (Charleston College, Brown University, and Princeton Seminary), sat under the preaching of outstanding ministers in his youth (Basil Manly Sr., Richard Fuller, and James Henley Thornwell) and studied with the principal conservative American theologians of his era (including Archibald Alexander and Charles Hodge). This volume contains his class notes from SBTS. It gives insight into the mainstream Baptist theology of the atonement in the nineteenth century and provides a useful outline for study.

Bridges, Jerry, and Bob Bevington. The Great Exchange. Wheaton, IL: Crossway Books, 2007.

Jerry Bridges (1929-) is one of the very best and most reliable popularizers of sound Bible teaching today. This book is subtitled, "My Sin for His Righteousness-An Exposition of the Atonement of Jesus Christ, Patterned after the Apostles' Doctrine of the Atonement by George Smeaton." Smeaton's book is one of Jerry Bridges's all-time favorites, and, so, in this more easily readable rendition of Smeaton, Bridges and Bevington give the reader a feast for the soul. If you want to put a book into the hands of layfolk that covers the ground that Smeaton covers (see the entries on Smeaton in this annotated bibliography), but is more accessible, this is it. In terms of applying the cross and the gospel to daily life, no one does a better job than Bridges. Another helpful book by Jerry Bridges is The Gospel for Real Life (Colorado Springs: NavPress, 2002).

Calvin, John. Institutes of the Christian Religion. 2 vols. Translated by F. L. Battles. Philadelphia: Westminster, 1960.

Calvin (1509-1564) is generally regarded as one of the best exegetes and theologians in the whole history of Christian theology. Usually ranked with Augustine and Aquinas in stature and influence, Calvin is one of the principle fountainheads of the now half-millennium-old Reformed tradition. The Institutes is his magnum opus. I commend to you the Battles edition rather than the older Beveridge translation. Calvin's treatment of the atonement comes in Book 2 of the Institutes under the heading "The Knowledge of God the Redeemer in Christ, Disclosed to the Fathers under the Law, and then to us in the Gospel." Beginning with chapter 12 and running through chapter 17 especially, Calvin's treatment of the person and work of Christ will well repay your study. To be noted is Calvin's deliberate and emphatic retention of the category of "merit" in relation to the work of Christ. He says: "There are certain perversely subtle men who-even though they confess that we receive salvation through Christ-cannot bear to hear the word 'merit,' for they think that it obscures God's grace." In contrast, Calvin asserts that the Bible teaches that "by his obedience, Christ truly acquired and merited grace for us with his Father."

Carson, D. A. The Cross and Christian Ministry. Grand Rapids, MI: Baker Books, 2004.

D. A. Carson (1946-) is yet another important evangelical figure. Long considered in the very first rank of international evangelical scholarship, Carson was born in Canada (thus his fluent French), studied chemistry and mathematics at McGill University in Montreal, and then graduated from Central Baptist Seminary in Toronto; thereafter he pastored Richmond Baptist Church in British Columbia. He did his PhD at Cambridge under the renowned scholar Barnabas Lindars and then taught at Northwest Baptist Theological College in Vancouver, serving as founding dean of its seminary. Ken Kantzer, the dean of Trinity Evangelical Divinity School in Deerfield, Illinois, coaxed him there to teach in 1978, where he remains to this day, now as research professor of New Testament. Carson has held editorial posts with the Trinity Journal (editor, 1980-1986) and the Journal of the Evangelical Theological Society (book review editor, 1979-1986). He is editor of the New Studies in Biblical Theology series (Intervarsity/Apollos), as well as editor of the Pillar Commentary series (InterVarsity/Apollos/Eerdmans), just to name a few. The Cross and Christian Ministry focuses on 1 Corinthians, and by careful exegesis Carson draws applications from the work of Christ on the cross for the church's manner of ministry. Carson, along with Tim Keller, gives leadership to the Gospel Coalition (see www.thegospelcoalition.org).

Denney, James. The Death of Christ. London: Hodder and Stoughton, 1902.

Denney's work is a classic and reflects its author's intense evangelistic passion. Denney (1856-1917) was a Scottish Presbyterian minister and professor in the Free Church and then in the United Free Church of Scotland. He was brilliant-earning a rare "double first" in classics and philosophy from Glasgow University-and pious-reading Spurgeon's sermons helped him retain evangelical and Reformed convictions while many of his most admired contemporaries and teachers were falling under the influence of liberal theology. He is famous for his statement: "I haven't the faintest interest in any theology which doesn't help me to evangelize." Though Denney held views that made evangelicals on both sides of the Atlantic somewhat uneasy, his book is in the main a robust defense of classic penal substitutionary atonement, though he did not use legal, judicial, or forensic terms in relation to the atonement. Denney also rejects the category of "merit" in relation to the work of Christ, as well as any doctrine of mystical union with Christ. He allowed for only a consequent moral union.

Forsyth, Peter T. The Cruciality of the Cross. Eugene, OR: Wipf and Stock, 1997.

Forsyth (1842-1921) was a Scottish Congregational pastor and theologian who studied at Göttingen under Albrecht Ritschl. Though Forsyth was early influenced by higher critical approaches to Christianity, he increasingly rejected and polemicized against liberal theology. A central issue of conflict and resolution in his own theological journey was the doctrine of the atoning work of Christ. This book (first published by Hodder and Stoughton, London, 1910) is one of his best-known and helpful expositions of this theme. Forsyth, under the lingering influence of Adolf von Harnack, unfortunately held on to a kenotic doctrine of the incarnation, although he had a twist on his view, different from the well-known version of Bishop Charles Gore. His rebuke of liberal Christianity is set out in what may be his most famous work, The Person and Place of Christ (1909). Forsyth is considered-accurately or not-a sort of proto-neo-orthodox theologian.

Grudem, Wayne. Systematic Theology. Grand Rapids, MI: Zondervan, 1994.

Wayne Grudem (1948-) is a well-known evangelical scholar who, along with John Piper, has done as much as anyone to foster a wider understanding and embrace of the Bible's teaching on male-female role relationships in the home and church-a view known as "complementarianism"-in the context of our dominant egalitarian culture. Grudem is also an accomplished teacher of biblical doctrine. His Systematic Theology has a very helpful section on the atonement-he argues for "definite atonement" or "particular redemption" but proposes some cautions-with a good bibliography of works by Anglican, Arminian, Baptist, Dispensational, Lutheran, Reformed, Charismatic, and Roman Catholic systematic treatments of the doctrine of the atonement. Grudem's work may be the most concise and accessible, comprehensive, one-volume systematic theology on the market today. Though it is not a factor in this discussion, the reader may want to note that Grudem is a non-cessationist, or continuationist, on the issue of New Testament spiritual gifts.

Helm, Paul. Calvin and the Calvinists. Edinburgh: Banner of Truth, 1982.

Since at least the time of Perry Miller and Karl Barth, a myth has been popular in some circles of historical theological studies that there is a major divide between Calvin and the so-called Protestant Scholastic theologians of the seventeenth century. Consequently, if you are reading this material, you'll find Calvin contrasted with Owen, or pitted against the Westminster Confession or the Puritans. The shorthand description of this historiography is "Calvin versus the Calvinists," and no one has done more to explode this myth than Richard Muller (read Christ and the Decree). Paul Helm (1940-, brilliant, English, Baptist professor of philosophy) responds in this little book to a "Calvin versus the Calvinists" dissertation by R. T. Kendall called "Calvin and English Calvinism to 1649." Helm focuses on the question of the atonement. The book gives you a good, short, historical, and theological introduction to the subject matter. Helm is right. By the way, Banner of Truth publishes many excellent works (www.banneroftruth.org).

Hengel, Martin. Crucifixion in the Ancient World and the Folly of the Message of the Cross. Philadelphia: Fortress Press, 1977.

This volume contains tremendous background information on the act of crucifixion. One reviewer says of it: "In a comprehensive and detailed survey on its remarkably widespread employment in the Roman empire, Dr. Hengel (1926-) examines the way in which 'the most vile death of the cross' was regarded in the Greek-speaking world and particularly in Roman-occupied Palestine. His conclusions bring out more starkly than ever the offensiveness of the Christian message: Jesus not only died an unspeakably cruel death, he underwent the most contemptible abasement that could be imagined. So repugnant was the gruesome reality that a natural tendency prevails to blunt, remove, or domesticate its scandalous impact. Yet any discussion of a 'theology of the cross' must be preceded by adequate comprehension of both the nature and extent of this scandal." Hengel taught New Testament and Early Judaism at Tübingen.

Heppe, Heinrich. Reformed Dogmatics. Translated by G. T. Thomson. Grand Rapids, MI: Baker Books, 1978.

This book, first published in German in 1861 (translated and published in English in 1950, and then reprinted by Baker Books in the U.S. in 1978), is an important source book of quotations in the main topical headings of systematic theology drawn from the writings of some of the most important Protestant Scholastic-better, "Protestant Orthodox"-theologians of the seventeenth century. It will give you a quick feel for the language and categories they employed and will supply you with great quotes to use for teaching. Karl Barth himself was deeply respectful of this volume, even though his own theology departed from it. Indeed, Barth paid these theologians a great compliment when he said of them, in contrast to the theologians of his day and many of our own, "You always know what they are saying." Heppe (1820-1879) himself was, to borrow the words of Lowell Zuck, "a Melanchthonian Liberal in the nineteenth-century German Reformed Church," but the theologians and quotations he assembled in this important collection are thoroughly evangelical and orthodox. This book may be hard to find, but it is well worth finding, obtaining, having, and reading. It has been recently reprinted by the Wakeman Trust in England. I keep hearing that Richard Muller is working on producing a more accurate, expanded, and retranslated edition.

Hill, Charles H., and Frank A. James, eds. The Glory of the Atonement. Downers Grove, IL: InterVarsity, 2004.

This is a solid collection of exegetical, historical, and practical essays on the atonement by well-known evangelical scholars, among them D. A. Carson, Richard Gaffin, Henri Blocher, Sinclair Ferguson, J. I. Packer, Kevin Vanhoozer, Joel Beeke, and more, produced as a festschrift for the important, modern, French, evangelical and Reformed, Baptist theologian, Roger Nicole-himself one of the leading historians and theologians of our era regarding the doctrine of the atonement. The volume offers a scholarly overview of the Old and New Testaments' teaching on the atonement and provides a scholarly historical treatment of the doctrine of atonement in the theology of select key figures in Christian history. It concludes with two excellent pieces focused on applying the doctrine of the atonement, one by J. I. Packer on atonement and the Christian life and the other by Sinclair Ferguson on preaching the atonement. Nicole himself provides a little gem at the end of the book in his "Postscript on Penal Substitution." Charles Hill (1956-) is a world-class New Testament and patristic scholar, and Frank James (1953-) is a recognized Peter Martyr Vermigli expert.

Hodge, A. A. The Atonement. Memphis, TN: Footstool, 1987.

The son of famous Princeton theologian Charles Hodge, A. A. Hodge (1823-1886) succeeded his father as professor of systematic theology at Princeton. Known for his powerful, reverent, and acute mind, A. A. Hodge along with B. B. Warfield played an important role in defending the historic, Christian, high view of Scripture (inerrancy). He wrote this little treatise on the atonement in 1867. If you can find it, in any edition or printing, get it. It offers an excellent presentation of the nature and application of the atonement of Christ.

Jeffery, Steve, Michael Ovey, and Andrew Sach. Pierced for Our Transgressions. Nottingham, UK: Inter-Varsity; Wheaton, IL: Crossway Books, 2007.

Aptly subtitled Recovering the Glory of Penal Substitution, this important book is a team effort at expounding, commending, and defending the historic, evangelical, biblical doctrine of the atonement-a view very much under assault from a variety of directions in modern day evangelicalism. If you have been shaken by these recent attacks on penal substitution, you need to read this book. The utterly impressive list of endorsers of the volume tells you (1) how important this doctrine is; (2) how neglected, misunderstood, unknown, underappreciated, and unpreached it is; (3) how endangered it is; and (4) how good a job this book does of defending it. Anglican Bishop N. T. Wright thought this volume important enough to issue a scathing review of it. In their completely courteous but devastating rejoinder to Bishop Wright, Jeffery (1975-), Ovey (1958-), and Sach (1975-) showed themselves every bit a match to his prodigious scholarship, and superior in their grasp and presentation of this vital doctrine. Go to http://piercedforourtransgressions.com and read the exchange and find more resources on this vital doctrine. Jeffery and Sach are Anglican clergymen, and Ovey is principal and lecturer in doctrine and apologetics at Oak Hill Theological College in England.

Leahy, Frederick S. The Cross He Bore. Edinburgh: Banner of Truth, 1996.

---. Is It Nothing to You? Edinburgh: Banner of Truth, 2004.

---. The Victory of the Lamb. Edinburgh: Banner of Truth, 2001.

Leahy (1922-2006) was a revered minister in the Reformed Presbyterian Church (Northern Ireland). He served in the chair of systematic theology, apologetics, and Christian ethics in the Reformed Theological College, Belfast, and also as college principal from 1993-2002. A much-appreciated writer, his trilogy on Christ's atoning work is not to be missed.

Letham, Robert. The Work of Christ. Downers Grove, IL: InterVarsity, 1993.

Robert Letham (1947-) teaches at Wales Evangelical School of Theology and is a visiting professor of theology at Reformed Theological Seminary, Washington, DC, and adjunct professor of systematic theology at Westminster Theological Seminary, Philadelphia. Before going to Wales he was senior minister of Emmanuel Presbyterian Church (OPC), Wilmington, Delaware, and before that senior lecturer in Christian doctrine at London Bible College. He is author of a number of significant works including The Holy Trinity (P&R, 2004) and Through Western Eyes (Mentor, 2007). This solid treatment of the work of Christ is organized around what theologians call munus triplex, the threefold office of Christ as prophet, priest, and king. The volume shows insights from significant interactions with the Scottish Barthian school of theology and contains an appendix that recasts the traditional debates on the extent of the atonement by refocusing on the question of the intent of the atonement.

Lloyd-Jones, D. Martyn. Romans: Atonement and Justification. Edinburgh: Banner of Truth, 1970.

Lloyd-Jones (1899-1981), a, perhaps the, major British evangelical leader of the twentieth century, was one of the great preachers of his day, and a key contributor to the present resurgence of Reformed theology in the English-speaking world. J. I. Packer calls him "the greatest man I have ever known." His influence on men who themselves would become major evangelical figures was immense. "The Doctor" was a past master of doctrinal, applicatory, experiential, expository preaching. Read more about him at Dr. Martyn Lloyd-Jones Online (www.misterrichardson.com) or listen to his sermons at MLJ Recordings Trust (www.mlj.org.uk). Read Iain Murray's two-volume biography of Lloyd-Jones: David Martyn Lloyd-Jones: The First Forty Years 1899-1939 (Banner of Truth, 1982) and David Martyn Lloyd-Jones: The Fight of Faith 1939-1981 (Banner of Truth, 1990). The sermons in Romans: Atonement and Justification are from a series he preached in March 1968. This volume covers Romans 3:20-4:25 and contains riveting messages such as "Propitiation," "The Blood of Jesus Christ," and "The Vindication of God."

Macleod, Donald. The Humiliated and Exalted Lord. Greenville, SC: Reformed Academic Press, 1994.

Donald Macleod (1940-), principal and professor of theology at the Free Church of Scotland College, Edinburgh, is, perhaps, Scotland's best-kept secret in the late twentieth/early twenty-first century. No one preaches the cross better than Macleod. This little book is based on lectures originally given at a Theological Studies Fellowship conference in Swanwick, Derbyshire, England, in the mid-1970s. They were transcribed and published with minor editing (under the title, Philippians 2 and Christology) by the UNIVersities and Colleges Christian Fellowship's (UCCF, formerly Inter-Varsity Fellowship or IVF) Theological Studies Fellowship (TSF). Macleod's chapter entitled "Love Divine, All Loves Excelling" in his book Behold Your God (Christian Focus Publications, 1995) contains a compelling exposition and defense of the historic Reformed doctrine of the unique love of God for the elect. Very significant in setting forth the doctrine of the nature, effect, and extent of the atonement. Visit christianfocus.com and reformedacademicpress.com.

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

C. J. Mahaney (1953-) C. J. summarizes the gospel like this: "God sent his Son to the cross to bear his wrath for sinners like you and me." That all-important message is the core of Living the Cross Centered Life, subtitled Keeping the Gospel the Main Thing. This book weaves together content from C. J.'s two previous books, The Cross Centered Life and Christ Our Mediator. The revision retains all the wisdom of both previous books while adding even more material, showing how to center every day on the life-giving reality of the gospel. C. J. Mahaney leads Sovereign Grace Ministries (www.sovereigngraceministries.org), having pastored Covenant Life Church (www.covlife.org) in Gaithersburg, Maryland for twenty-seven years. C. J. also serves as the vice-chairman of the Council on Biblical Manhood and Womanhood (cbmw.org) and on the Council of the Alliance of Confessing Evangelicals (alliancenet.org and reformation21.org).

Martin, Hugh. The Atonement. Greenville, SC: Reformed Academic Press, 1997.

This work is yet another classic. Hugh Martin (1822-1885) was a minister in the Free Church of Scotland, pastoring in Panbride and Edinburgh. He was editor of the famed The British and Foreign Evangelical Review and The Watchword. Martin was not alone amongst Scottish defenders of the atonement (Robert Candlish, George Smeaton, and Thomas Crawford come readily to mind), but, according to one source, his work was "unsurpassed as a synthesis of orthodoxy and originality." This important work relates the biblical doctrine of the atonement to the covenant of grace, federal theology, and Christ's priestly office, including Christ's work of intercession, and implicitly responds to various contemporary (nineteenth-century) errors on the subject. Find it at reformedacademicpress.com.

---. Christ for Us. Edinburgh: Banner of Truth, 1998.

This collection of sermons displays Martin at his best, preaching the cross. Principal John Macleod of the Free College says this of him: "Dr. Martin was, in respect of sheer intellectual and spiritual power, in the very first rank of the Scottish Reformed Church during all the course of its history." Another book that displays his preaching of the cross is still in print as well, The Shadow of Calvary (Banner of Truth). It would be a good habit for every evangelical preacher always to be reading something on the atonement, and especially the best sermons on the atonement. Such a practice gets our hearts ready to run to the cross in our own preaching.

McDonald, H. D. The Atonement of the Death of Christ. Grand Rapids, MI: Baker Books, 1985.

This is an excellent reference work. It gives a helpful doctrinal, biblical, and especially historical overview of the doctrine of the atonement. McDonald (c.1910-2001) lectured for many years at London Bible College and served as vice principal. The evaluations of various historic views of the atonement are even-handed and sympathetic, but discerning.

Morris, Leon. The Apostolic Preaching of the Cross. Leicester: Inter-Varsity, 1965.

Leon Morris (1914-2006) was one of the leading evangelical New Testament scholars of the twentieth century, and served as principal of Ridley College in Melbourne, Australia. This work, rightly deemed a modern-day evangelical classic, delves into the biblical doctrine of atonement by looking at the terms and ideas of redemption, covenant, blood, Lamb of God, propitiation, reconciliation, and justification. The content is evangelical and scholarly. Written against the backdrop of, for instance, C. H. Dodd's denial of the concept of propitiation in favor of the idea of expiation (because of his rejection of the idea of the personal wrath of God, which Dodd called "a thoroughly archaic idea"), and informed by a massive, decade-long investigation not only of the biblical data, but also of its contemporary context, Morris's work established the scriptural basis of the historic, confessional, orthodox approach to the preaching of the cross. He called it not a "full-scale study of the atonement, but a necessary preliminary." Get the third revised edition. If you just can't get enough of Morris, read his massive The Cross in the New Testament (Grand Rapids, MI: Eerdmans, 1965).

---. The Atonement: Its Meaning and Significance. Leicester: Inter-Varsity, 1983.

Think of this book as a popularized version of The Apostolic Preaching of the Cross. From the very beginning of his academic career, Morris made the doctrine of the atonement a special point of study. It shows.

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

John Murray (1898-1975) was professor of systematic theology at Westminster Theological Seminary in Philadelphia. An outstanding theologian and exegete (if you don't have his commentary on Romans [Eerdmans], you should), Murray penned this short but heavy classic based on a series of Sunday school lessons. Fred Zaspel says: "Every pastor should read and re-read John Murray's Redemption Accomplished and Applied until the entire book is completely digested and has thoroughly affected his entire frame of reference. It is one of the most helpful little volumes on the work of Christ you can ever get your hands on." I agree. As I first read this book, thunder and lightning exploded all around, as my heart encountered blazing evangelical truth expressed with precision, erudition, and passion. I never fail to be moved when I return to it.

Nicole, Roger. Standing Forth: Collected Writings of Roger Nicole. Fearn: Mentor, 2002.

Roger Nicole (1915-) is one of the founding fathers of modern evangelicalism. He was a charter member of the Evangelical Theological Society and one of its first presidents, cofounder of the Gordon Review (now the Christian Scholar's Review), and professor at Gordon-Conwell and Reformed Seminaries for a half-century; he helped organize the International Council on Biblical Inerrancy, has been a contributing editor to Christianity Today for more than fifty years, and assisted in the production of the NIV and the New Geneva Study Bible. He is also an expert on the theology and history of the atonement. The center section of these collected scholarly writings of Nicole's is devoted to the atonement. In six chapters he tackles: (1) a definition of the atonement; (2) the nature of redemption; (3) Calvin's view of the extent of the atonement; (4) the controversy over universal grace in the mid-seventeenth century; (5) covenant, universal call, and definite atonement; and (6) C. H. Dodd on propitiation. Masterly.

Owen, John. The Death of Death in the Death of Christ. Edinburgh: Banner of Truth, 1959.

John Owen (1616-1683) was the vice chancellor of Oxford. Learn more about him at johnowen.org. Sinclair Ferguson says this about him: "To read John Owen is to enter a rare world. Whenever I return to one of his works I find myself asking 'Why do I spend time reading lesser literature?' . . . There is constantly in Owen, even when we are in the thick of him (and some of his writing is dense indeed) a doxological motive and motif. If we can persevere with his style (which becomes easier the longer we persevere), he will not fail to bring us to the feet of Jesus." J. I. Packer says, "I owe more to John Owen than to any other theologian, ancient or modern." It is not surprising then to hear theologians speak of "the three Johns" as the greatest of all Reformed thinkers: John Calvin, John Owen, and Jonathan Edwards. Owen's first published work dealt with the subject of the atonement (A Display of Arminianism, 1642) and the whole of volume 10 of his collected works is devoted to this topic (The Works of John Owen, vol. 10: The Death of Christ, Banner of Truth). The Death of Death in the Death of Christ (online at ccel.org/ccel/owen/deathofdeath.html, but buy the book anyway) is John Owen's definitive work on the extent of the atonement. It is a polemical work, engaging the ideas of universal redemption in Arminianism and Amyraldianism.

Peterson, David, ed. Where Wrath and Mercy Meet. Carlisle: Paternoster, 2001.

This is a scholarly collection of essays defending the doctrine of penal substitutionary atonement in the face of current challenges. Peterson (1944-), well known for his book Engaging with God, was until recently the principal of Oak Hill College (an evangelical theology faculty in England that prepares students for Anglican ministry, though it also trains students from other denominations). One of the contributors to this volume, Michael Ovey, is also one of the authors of Pierced for Our Transgressions and is now principal at Oak Hill College. Where Wrath and Mercy Meet concludes with a good piece on justification by faith by the well-regarded former vice principal of Oak Hill, the prolific Alan Stibbs.

Peterson, Robert A. Calvin and the Atonement. Fearn: Mentor, 1999.

Robert A. Peterson (1948-) is professor of systematic theology at Covenant Theological Seminary in St. Louis, Missouri. This excellent little book first appeared with the title Calvin's Doctrine of the Atonement (P&R, 1983). The book is the first and only introduction to Calvin's teaching on the atonement that follows Calvin's own outline of the subject: the threefold office of Christ, and the six biblical themes of (1) Christ, the obedient second Adam; (2) Christ the Victor; (3) Christ our legal substitute; (4) Christ our sacrifice; (5) Christ our merit; and (6) Christ our example. It is commended by both J. I. Packer and Sinclair Ferguson (themselves recognized Calvin scholars), and is now in a revised edition from Christian Focus Publications under their Mentor imprint, published in 1999. I used this book to help outline my original lectures on the atonement for my systematic theology classes at Reformed Theological Seminary. Very helpful. Shows the importance of the category of merit in Calvin's theology of the atonement and beautifully sets it in the context of Calvin's devastating rejoinder to the Socinian rejection of the same.

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

John Piper (1946-), along with R. C. Sproul and John Mac Arthur, may be the most well-known current advocate, both nationally and internationally, for the doctrines of grace. If you want to know more about his ministry visit his church web site (www.hopeingod.org) or the Desiring God web site listed below. This book was originally published in 2004 under the title The Passion of Jesus Christ, to take advantage of the evangelistic opportunity presented by the release of Mel Gibson's movie The Passion of the Christ (2004). It was rereleased with the new title in 2006. Piper grabs your attention in the book's opening lines: "The most important question of the twenty-first century is: Why did Jesus Christ come and die? To see this importance we must look beyond human causes. The ultimate answer to the question, who killed Jesus? is: God did. It is a staggering thought. Jesus was his Son! But the whole message of the Bible leads to this conclusion." To get the book, or learn more about it, visit Desiring God (www.desiringgod.org) or Crossway Books (www.crossway.org). You can browse the full text online at Crossway. Piper then proceeds to present an answer to the question, what did God achieve for sinners like us in sending his Son to die? by giving fifty short, clear, devotional expositions of key Bible texts. Gold mine.

Reymond, Robert L. A New Systematic Theology of the Christian Faith. Nashville: Thomas Nelson, 1998.

Robert Reymond (1932-) taught for many years at Covenant Theological Seminary in St. Louis, and since that time at Knox Seminary in Ft. Lauderdale. I had the privilege of sitting through the whole course of his systematics lectures in St. Louis, including the outstanding material recommended here on what Reymond calls the "cross work" of Christ. Reymond is at his best defending classical Christian Christology despite his nonstandard views on the filioque clause and monogenes as can be seen in his outstanding book Jesus, Divine Messiah (P&R, 1990). His treatment of the work of Christ is perhaps the most extensive in any recent one-volume systematic theology and is a real treasure.

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

Philip Ryken (1966-) and James Boice (1938-2000) provide us with a superb devotional book about the cross. Good, easy, sound, helpful, rich reading. Boice, a major figure of twentieth-century evangelicalism, was a key leader in the International Council on Biblical Inerrancy and the founder of the Alliance of Confessing Evangelicals (www.alliancenet.org), and Ryken is his successor as senior minister of Tenth Presbyterian Church in Philadelphia. Visit www.tenth.org and be sure to read Ryken's "Windows on the World," or read his blog posts at www.reformation21.org. Ryken is a prolific and respected author in his own right. Don't miss Ryken and Boice's other related collaboration, The Doctrines of Grace, also published by Crossway, and especially its fifth chapter on particular redemption (pp. 113-34).

Shaw, Ian J., and Brian H. Edwards. The Divine Substitute: The Atonement in the Bible and History. Leominster, UK: DayOne, 2006.

Shaw (1961-) and Edwards (--) give a good, quick overview of the biblical teaching in approximately forty pages and then a brief, helpful survey of the doctrine of the atonement in church history (approx. 90 pages). The latter is reflective of the work of H. D. McDonald (see the notes earlier in this bibliography under H. D. McDonald's The Atonement of the Death of Christ). To find this book or to get more information about DayOne, another reliable publisher to frequent, go to www.dayone.co.uk or dayonebookstore.com.

Smeaton, George. Christ's Doctrine of the Atonement. Edinburgh: Banner of Truth, 1991.

George Smeaton (1814-1889) was a Church of Scotland minister, then a Free Church of Scotland minister, later becoming a professor at the Free Church College in Aberdeen and then at New College, Edinburgh. The noted Reformed pastor, author, and leader W. J. Grier of Belfast rightly said of Smeaton that he "was one of the brilliant galaxy of men" in the Free Church of his time. His contemporaries concurred in this assessment, James MacGregor saying of him that he possessed "the best constituted theological intellect in Christendom." Principal John Macleod describes Smeaton as "the most eminent scholar of the set of young men who with McCheyne and the Bonars sat at the feet of Chalmers." This is the first of a twin set he wrote on the doctrine of the atonement in the New Testament. It was written in the context of widespread academic defection from the historic Christian doctrine of the atonement, and is rightly judged as a classic, evangelical, orthodox exposition of this truth.

---. The Doctrine of the Atonement according to the Apostles. Peabody, MA: Hendrickson, 1988.

Smeaton undertook the writing of this volume upon the completion of the one just above and considered the two works as parts of a whole, intending the reader to be familiar with the principles expounded in the first volume as he or she reads the application of them in the second. Smeaton was acquainted with all the main liberal, academic treatments of the atonement of his day, in Britain and on the Continent, including Ritschl, and said of them "With all their acknowledged learning and ability, they have too much forgotten the simple function of the interpreter, and deposited their own unsatisfactory opinions or the spirit of the age in the texts which they professed to expound." A salutary and serious warning to us all.

Sproul, R. C. The Truth of the Cross. Orlando, FL: Reformation Trust, 2007.

R. C. Sproul (1939-) has been one of the most consistent, eloquent, popular spokesmen for resurgent Reformed theology in the last half-century in the English-speaking world. So, needless to say, we greet his book on this vital topic with anticipation. Bruce Waltke says of this new gem: "The Truth of the Cross is the best book on the cross I have read. It is a 'must' for every church library and a book that I will give away many times to friends. This is so because it is sober (i.e., it contains historically informed reflections on salient biblical texts), sensible (i.e., it is well-argued), simple (i.e., it holds the reader's attention through grabbing illustrations and even a seventh-grader can grasp its substance), and spiritual (i.e., it comes from a heart set ablaze by the Spirit)."

Spurgeon, Charles H. Spurgeon's Sermons on the Cross of Christ. Grand Rapids, MI: Kregel, 1993.

Where do you begin when it comes to the prince of preachers? Well, here's a little collection, but you need to read anything and everything you can get by Spurgeon (1834-1892). He is always and everywhere preaching the cross, but here are a few leads. Read "Particular Redemption," preached on February 28, 1858, in Spurgeon's Sermons: Volume 4, no. 181, and also "The Death of Christ" (January 24, 1858) in Spurgeon's Sermons: Volume 4, no. 173. Phil Johnson, master of all things Spurgeon, gave me a bunch of good ideas, all available via the internet (Johnson's www.spurgeon.org and http://teampyro.blogspot.com). Johnson reminded me about Tom Nettles's excellent article on Spurgeon and the atonement in the Founder's Journal: http://www.founders.org/FJ14/article1.html and then went on to say, "Here is a handful of Spurgeon's best sermons on the atonement, in chronological order of their publication. These are all from the New Park Street and Met Tab Pulpit series, so even though my web pages don't give full academic citations with page numbers, etc., these should be very easy to find documentation for: http://www.spurgeon.org/sermons/0007.htm, and also (same url plus) /0054.htm, /0118.htm, /0139.htm, /0141.htm, /0153.htm, /0173.htm, /0181.htm, /0228.htm, /0255.htm, /0310.htm, /0493.htm, /1004.htm, /1910.htm, /2133.htm and /2656.htm." Get The New Park Street Pulpit and the Metropolitan Tabernacle Pulpit which continue to be available in various editions (Baker, Pilgrim, etc.).

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

One word: classic. What can one say about dear John Stott? Alongside Carl Henry, Francis Schaeffer, Martyn Lloyd-Jones, and J. I. Packer, Stott (1921-) has been at the very center of the best of modern evangelicalism for over a half century. He was curate, then rector, and then rector emeritus of All Souls Church, Langham Place, London. He founded the Langham Partnership International and the London Institute for Contemporary Christianity. He drafted the Lausanne Covenant; he is a prolific author and one of the most recognized and respected leaders of world evangelicalism. Alistair McGrath calls this book, The Cross of Christ, Stott's "greatest and best work," and J. I. Packer says, "No other treatment of this supreme subject says so much so truly and so well." Though Stott does not address the question of the design of the extent of the atonement, and perhaps indicates that he follows in the train of J. C. Ryle as a "four-point Calvinist" Anglican who has no interest in polemicizing against five-point Calvinists, this is a kind and intelligent, but robust and rousing, defense of a real, penal, substitutionary atonement.

Tidball, Derek. The Message of the Cross. Downers Grove, IL: Inter Varsity, 2001.

It required some restraint on my part not to add this to the "Short, Popular Introductions" list at the front of this bibliography. Derek Tidball (1948-) is principal of the London School of Theology, where he lectures in pastoral theology. He also served for many years as a Baptist pastor. Tidball, with Alec Motyer and John Stott, is one of the editors for InterVarsity's Bible Speaks Today (BST) series-really good Old and New Testament expositional commentaries, along with some select topical studies. He is responsible for the BST Bible Themes series, which has some nice entries. I love, for instance, Philip Ryken's The Message of Salvation in the BST series. The Message of the Cross is yet another good option to put in the hands of someone wanting to start out reading solid, accessible material on the atoning work of Christ.

Turretin, Francis. Institutes of Elenctic Theology. 3 vols. Edited by James T. Dennison. Translated by George M. Giger. Phillipsburg, NJ: P&R, 1994.

Turretin (1623-1687) was a towering giant of Protestant orthodoxy. It is well known that Turretin's Institutes (in Latin) served as the basic systematic theology textbook at Princeton Seminary during the time of Charles Hodge. The Giger translation (8,000 handwritten pages) stayed in a drawer in the seminary library for those struggling with their Latin. I myself used a typewritten version of this translation in my seminary days in the 1980s. So there was much fanfare when the whole translation finally appeared in print. Jonathan Edwards, Charles Hodge, and R. L. Dabney, to name only a few, were all dependent upon Turretin, who has been called "prince of scholastic Calvinism." Everyone from Wayne Grudem to Carl Henry to Sinclair Ferguson to Leon Morris to J. I. Packer to Roger Nicole to Richard Muller to John Frame to John Gerstner hailed the new publication of Turretin. The late James Montgomery Boice said, "If ever a great theological work has been unjustly neglected, it has been Francis Turretin's masterful volumes on the whole of Christian doctrine." Take it and read.

Warfield, Benjamin B. The Person and Work of Christ. Phillipsburg, NJ: Presbyterian and Reformed, 1950.

B. B. Warfield (1851-1921) "out-read, out-thought, and out-wrote every man of his generation"-so says Donald Macleod, and he's right. Time spent reading Warfield is never wasted. This volume contains some of his best work relating to the atoning work of Christ. Wayne Grudem's Systematic Theology (p. 605), lists some further recommended writings by Warfield on the atonement. Warfield's exegetical prowess is legendary, and it shows in his treatments here. This volume also contains the justly famous and important essay "The Emotional Life of Our Lord." Warfield is incisive and dominant in his rebuttal of error in "Modern Theories of the Atonement." Simply grasping the insights of his "New Testament Terminology of Redemption" will deliver you from all-too-common current errors. Buy the ten-volume set of The Works of B. B. Warfield (Baker Books) if you can get it.

---. The Saviour of the World. Edinburgh: Banner of Truth, 1991.

These are sermons originally preached by Warfield in the Princeton Seminary Chapel-and you'll be able to tell that by their contents-pertaining to the work of Christ. His exposition of the "all" passages and explanation of the Johannine concept of "world" are both crucial in understanding the New Testament teaching on the effect of the work of Christ. The sermon on the prodigal son needs to be read and digested by every Protestant minister in our time. It is colossally important from a gospel standpoint, because this parable is often preached in a way that truncates or warps the gospel.

Wells, Paul. Cross Words: The Biblical Doctrine of the Atonement. Fearn: Christian Focus Publications, 2006.

Paul Wells (1946- ), originally from Liverpool, has taught theology for over thirty years at the Facult Libre de Thologie Rforme, Aix-en-Provence, France. Iain D. Campbell, himself a superb scholar and author (read more about him at www.backfreechurch.co.uk) recently heard Paul deliver a brilliant paper at the Affinity Theology Conference (www.affinity.org.uk) on the fourth word of Jesus from the cross: "My God, My God, why have you forsaken me?" Campbell describes Paul's book this way:

Cross Words is not about the sayings of Jesus on the cross; rather it is a study on the significance of the cross-work of Jesus which uses single words as the chapter titles, words like Scandal, Lordship, Violence, Sacrifice, Penalty, and so on. The work of Jesus on the cross for our sins is central to the Christian faith. That work is what atonement is all about; and atonement, as Wells says in the opening sentence, is about right relationships. I think Paul Wells' book will become a classic too. He is writing against a background of suspicion that the older, classic works got it wrong-that we shouldn't speak of the cross as an act of Son-giving, or even of penal substitution. Some writers suggest that we need to use our imagination to find new metaphors for the cross-work of Jesus. But Wells answers these charges adequately, showing that the Bible's own 'cross-words' supply us with the only way in which we can rightly understand what Jesus did for us at Calvary. The result is a powerful book, deep yet essentially easy to read, which is extremely helpful.

Paul Wells wrote an excellent rejoinder to James Barr's really bad book Fundamentalism.

Wells, Tom. A Price for a People: The Meaning of Christ's Death. Edinburgh: Banner of Truth, 1992.

In this short, popular treatment, Wells (--) expounds the terms redemption, reconciliation, and propitiation, and then tackles the question, for whom did Christ die? A Price for a People is a good place to start reading for something basic on these subjects. Wells is pastor of The King's Chapel in West Chester, Ohio (Cincinnati area), and is associated, along with Fred Zaspel, with the movement called "new covenant theology," which has no bearing on the subject matter of this book.