Salvation Accomplished by the Son: The Work of Christ

by Robert A. Peterson

In this distinctive volume on the life of Jesus, Robert Peterson presents the biblical doctrine of Christ’s saving work in a fresh and comprehensive way. Peterson’s ability to explain the relationship between text and doctrine, to uncover connections that have eluded many others, and to organize the material in a way that makes it clear to seminarians and pastors and accessible to the layman, makes this volume a work to be noted. Peterson is as sound as they come, and his extensive preaching and teaching ministry enables him to make complex theological matters comprehensible to nonspecialists.

Salvation Accomplished by the Son aims to glorify Christ by presenting the saving work of Jesus in greater scope than has previously been done, and to encourage Christians to worship and serve him. This book explains in detail what Christ has done to rescue us, both his deeds and the biblical pictures illustrating them. Offered here is a substantive, significant, and enduring treatise on a key Christian doctrine—the work of Christ.

Genres: Theology, Christian

855 pages, Kindle Edition

First published November 3, 2011

Reviews

[Greg Baughman · Rating 4 out of 5]

This book is a prism. In it, Roger Peterson takes the single work of Christ and discusses aspects of it through six biblical pictures (reconciler, legal substitute, Christus Victor, etc.) and nine saving events (incarnation, sinless life, death, resurrection, etc.). Through this he has done the church a great service. We rarely take time to appreciate all that Christ has done for us, and often tend to focus on one or two aspects of his work and miss many important things. Through detailed exegetical work in each picture and saving event, Peterson demonstrates in detail the parts which make up the whole.

I'll be honest, I didn't always enjoy reading every section. At times, it was repetitive (for example, in several chapters the same text is exegeted to draw out unique features, and once a significant quote from another author was printed in full in two separate places). The book quotes a lot of scripture, and many contemporary theologians. Peterson goes out of his way to ensure that his conclusions are well supported, and this detail can become, well, a bit tedious. It is clearly well researched, and at the end of the day, what we have in this book is systematic theology of the work of Christ by means of biblical theology.

I hope the above paragraph does not sound too harsh. I really enjoyed this book. It comes together beautifully at the end as all of the pictures and events are reunited. Through this book I have a deeper, clearer, and fuller appreciation of all that Christ's work entails. His work is grander and further reaching than we often think, and Peterson's excellent book goes a long way towards correcting this shortcoming in our theology.

[Kevin Gray · Rating 5 out of 5]

This theological treatment of Christ’s work is great. He said a lot of glorious and true things, and it was a joy to meditate on all Christ has done (and continues to do) for us. Peter son’s format is really helpful in a lot of way. He breaks the book up into explaining the nine-fold work of Christ in the first part and the six-fold set of pictures Scripture gives of salvation. This format is great for systematizing Scripture, although it also lends itself to some repetitiveness. The most helpful parts for me were his treatment of OT sacrifices and the Day of Atonement as well as the appendix on the extent of the atonement. It is a very helpful volume, although people who haven’t been through seminary will find it more helpful.

[Joonas Laajanen · Rating 3 out of 5]

Read 12/15 chapters. The first part was really good. Doctrine is solid throughout but at half way the dryness of the writing makes this a painful reading, hence I'm moving to something else (Puritans). Too much repetition and no breakings into doxology. Application is almost totally missing, as is too often the case with modern scholars. Anyway, this is great if you want to have a thorough understanding of the work of Christ (except for how it should be applied in our lives).

[Sarah · Rating 4 out of 5]

Actually, I only read the chapters on Christ's death and resurrection. (I downloaded a free PDF excerpt from Crossway when it was being offered around Easter.) But now I would definitely be interested in reading the rest. Peterson explores the many dimensions of Christ's saving work: his incarnation, sinless life, ascension, session, Pentecost, intercession, and second coming as well as his death and resurrection. He lays out the biblical basis for each of these and explains how they effect our salvation. I was especially fascinated by the chapter on how Christ's resurrection is saving, as this is so critical to our salvation and our understanding of the fullness of our Savior's work, but isn't discussed under the heading of soteriology as often as his death.

Peterson's book definitely moved me to contemplate the wondrous inheritance we have by virtue of our union with Christ. I think it would be useful to many Christians whose grasp of the theology, like mine, may be wanting. It cites learned biblical commentaries but is also pretty accessible. This is a book I would want to have on my shelf in the future.

[Amy · Rating 5 out of 5]

It was a wonderful experience to read this selection while taking a soteriology course with Dr. Peterson at Covenant Theological Seminary this semester. His endearing personality and passion for Christ come through in this voluminous work. I appreciated the original language adaptations for those of us who are not fluent in Greek and Hebrew. This will be a work I return to repeatedly in the years ahead.

[Zach · Rating 5 out of 5]

Breadth and depth

the book has great breadth and depth and the author clearly has met his goals in the writing of it to expound the acts and pictures of Christ in His saving work through the OT and the NT. giving clear and insightful thought to each as well as fairly extensive bibliography

[Mike Jorgensen · Rating 2 out of 5]

Doctrine is solid although the book is insanely dry and the approach to systematics is antiquated. I would only recommend this to someone who is very new to Christian doctrine, if you have any background in reformed theology then this book will either be a great refresher or like watching paint dry.

[Logan Almy · Rating 5 out of 5]

I am biased as I drafted the chapter on Christ's intercession!

[Noah · Rating 2 out of 5]

Read the first half. Decent overview of Scriptural data for the various doctrines related to Christology.