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What Did the Cross Achieve?
A Classic Essay on Penal Substitutionary Atonement from Theologian J. I. Packer
Penal substitutionary atonement—the belief that Jesus’s death on the cross satisfied God’s wrath against sin—is central to the Christian faith, but frequently debated. Is it just to punish an innocent person in place of the guilty? How can the temporary death of one substitute for the eternal death of many? Why doesn’t the cross grant Christians unlimited permission to sin?
In this famous essay, late theologian J. I. Packer analyzes Scripture and the works of early Reformers to defend the truth of Christ’s substitutionary suffering and death, the heart of the Christian gospel. Considered one of the most significant short works on penal substitutionary atonement from the 20th century, this careful, concise essay has influenced prominent theologians and is essential reading for students, pastors, and laypeople.
From Renowned Theologian J. I. This work was originally delivered as a Tyndale Biblical Theology Lecture Part of the Crossway Short Classics Other titles include The Lord’s Work in the Lord’s Way and No Little People; The Life of God in the Soul of Man; and Fighting for Holiness Includes a Foreword by Mark Dever
Penal substitutionary atonement—the belief that Jesus’s death on the cross satisfied God’s wrath against sin—is central to the Christian faith, but frequently debated. Is it just to punish an innocent person in place of the guilty? How can the temporary death of one substitute for the eternal death of many? Why doesn’t the cross grant Christians unlimited permission to sin?
In this famous essay, late theologian J. I. Packer analyzes Scripture and the works of early Reformers to defend the truth of Christ’s substitutionary suffering and death, the heart of the Christian gospel. Considered one of the most significant short works on penal substitutionary atonement from the 20th century, this careful, concise essay has influenced prominent theologians and is essential reading for students, pastors, and laypeople.
From Renowned Theologian J. I. This work was originally delivered as a Tyndale Biblical Theology Lecture Part of the Crossway Short Classics Other titles include The Lord’s Work in the Lord’s Way and No Little People; The Life of God in the Soul of Man; and Fighting for Holiness Includes a Foreword by Mark Dever
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First published May 1, 1974
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About the author
J.I. Packer
446 books932 followersWhat do J. I. Packer, Billy Graham and Richard John Neuhaus have in common? Each was recently named by TIME magazine as among the 25 most influential evangelicals in America.
Dr. Packer, the Board of Governors’ Professor of Theology at Regent College, was hailed by TIME as “a doctrinal Solomon” among Protestants. “Mediating debates on everything from a particular Bible translation to the acceptability of free-flowing Pentecostal spirituality, Packer helps unify a community [evangelicalism] that could easily fall victim to its internal tensions.”
Knowing God, Dr. Packer’s seminal 1973 work, was lauded as a book which articulated shared beliefs for members of diverse denominations; the TIME profile quotes Michael Cromartie of the Ethics and Public Policy Center in Washington as saying, “conservative Methodists and Presbyterians and Baptists could all look to [Knowing God] and say, ‘This sums it all up for us.’”
In a similar tribute to Dr. Packer almost ten years ago, American theologian Mark Noll wrote in Christianity Today that, “Packer’s ability to address immensely important subjects in crisp, succinct sentences is one of the reasons why, both as an author and speaker, he has played such an important role among American evangelicals for four decades.”
For over 25 years Regent College students have been privileged to study under Dr. Packer’s clear and lucid teaching, and our faculty, staff and students celebrate the international recognition he rightly receives as a leading Christian thinker and teacher.
(https://www.regent-college.edu/facult...)
Dr. Packer, the Board of Governors’ Professor of Theology at Regent College, was hailed by TIME as “a doctrinal Solomon” among Protestants. “Mediating debates on everything from a particular Bible translation to the acceptability of free-flowing Pentecostal spirituality, Packer helps unify a community [evangelicalism] that could easily fall victim to its internal tensions.”
Knowing God, Dr. Packer’s seminal 1973 work, was lauded as a book which articulated shared beliefs for members of diverse denominations; the TIME profile quotes Michael Cromartie of the Ethics and Public Policy Center in Washington as saying, “conservative Methodists and Presbyterians and Baptists could all look to [Knowing God] and say, ‘This sums it all up for us.’”
In a similar tribute to Dr. Packer almost ten years ago, American theologian Mark Noll wrote in Christianity Today that, “Packer’s ability to address immensely important subjects in crisp, succinct sentences is one of the reasons why, both as an author and speaker, he has played such an important role among American evangelicals for four decades.”
For over 25 years Regent College students have been privileged to study under Dr. Packer’s clear and lucid teaching, and our faculty, staff and students celebrate the international recognition he rightly receives as a leading Christian thinker and teacher.
(https://www.regent-college.edu/facult...)
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 48 reviews
December 27, 2023
This was a really solid and illuminating defense of penal substitution. I came in expecting a rather simple, run-of-the-mill analysis, especially given the short length of this work. But while it was only an hour read, there was a lot packed in here, and Packer managed to deliver a rather fresh look at a fiercely-debated issue. I enjoyed this short book a fair bit.
Rating: 4.5 Stars (Very Good).
Rating: 4.5 Stars (Very Good).
July 17, 2023
A fantastic treatment on penal substitutionary atonement. Packer does a wonderful job showing this as the heart of the atonement. PSA is truly good news.
August 17, 2025
Packer defending penal substitutionary atonement concisely in less than a 100 pages or so. He engages several good objections in little time and even critiques the later reformed tendency to rationalize doctrine leaving no room for mystery.
Good quotes:
"One thing that Christians know by faith is that they only know in part (16).
"So our conscience is pacified by the knowledge that our sins have already been judged and punished however strange the statement may sound, in the person and death of another" (73).
"That Christ's penal substitution for us under divine judgment is the sole meritorious ground on which our relationship with God is restored, and is in this sense decisive for our salvation, is a Reformation point against Rome to which all conservative Protestants hold" (85).
"The penal substitution model has been criticized for depicting a kind Son placating a fierce Father in order to make him love man, which he did not do before. The criticism is, however, inept, for penal substitution is a Trinitarian model, for which the motivational unity of Father and Son is axiomatic. The New Testament present God's gift of his Son to die as the supreme expression of his love to men" (93).
Good quotes:
"One thing that Christians know by faith is that they only know in part (16).
"So our conscience is pacified by the knowledge that our sins have already been judged and punished however strange the statement may sound, in the person and death of another" (73).
"That Christ's penal substitution for us under divine judgment is the sole meritorious ground on which our relationship with God is restored, and is in this sense decisive for our salvation, is a Reformation point against Rome to which all conservative Protestants hold" (85).
"The penal substitution model has been criticized for depicting a kind Son placating a fierce Father in order to make him love man, which he did not do before. The criticism is, however, inept, for penal substitution is a Trinitarian model, for which the motivational unity of Father and Son is axiomatic. The New Testament present God's gift of his Son to die as the supreme expression of his love to men" (93).
April 8, 2025
“Knowing through divine enlightenment that which passes knowledge is precisely what it means to be acquainted with the mystery of God.”
“If Christ died the death in which sin had involved us - if in His death He took the responsibility of our sins on Himself - no word is equal to this which falls short of what is meant by calling Him our substitute”
“He could not have saved us at any less cost to Himself; the mysterious solidarity in the virtue of which Christ could be ‘made sin’ by the imputing to Him of our answerability and could die for our sins in our place, and we could be ‘made righteous’ before God through faith by the virtue of His obedience”
“If Christ died the death in which sin had involved us - if in His death He took the responsibility of our sins on Himself - no word is equal to this which falls short of what is meant by calling Him our substitute”
“He could not have saved us at any less cost to Himself; the mysterious solidarity in the virtue of which Christ could be ‘made sin’ by the imputing to Him of our answerability and could die for our sins in our place, and we could be ‘made righteous’ before God through faith by the virtue of His obedience”
January 14, 2024
Much more technical rather than devotional in nature. I’m sure there is a lot to glean from this short work, but I do not have the vocabulary or educational background to had benefited from much of it. I have benefited greatly from other works from Packer, as well as from other books in this Crossway series, yet this one seems a little out of place, or at least less accessible, than others in the series.
November 3, 2025
Packer packed this small thing with a nice defense and discussion of penal substitutionary atonement.
August 26, 2019
A tough read, but that’s more an indictment of my ability to process logic than Packer’s ability to employ it. I’ll summarize below with a snippet from the horses mouth:
“3 ways Christ’s death have been explained by historical church (Packer claims point 3 is the fullest and most accurate explanation):
1- The cross has its affect entirely upon man. Whether by revealing God’s love to us, or by bringing home to us how much God hates our sins. It is assumed that man’s basic need is lack of motivation Godward.
2- Christ death had it’s effect primarily on hostile spiritual forces external to us (sin and death, Satan and his hosts, demonic society and structure, God’s wrath and curse) which are held to be imprisoning us in captivity of which our inveterate moral twistedness is one sign and symptom. The assumption here is that man’s plight is created entirely by hostile cosmic forces distinct from God.
3- The third account denies nothing inserted by the first two save their assumption that they are complete. It grounds man’s plight as a victim of sin and Satan in the fact that, for all God’s daily goodness to him, as a sinner he stands on your divine judgment, and his bondage to evil is the start of his sentence, and unless God‘s rejection of him is turned into acceptance he is lost forever. On this view, Christ death had its affect first on God, who was hereby propitiated, or hereby propitiated Himself, and only because it had this affect did it become an overwhelming of the powers of darkness any revealing of God’s seeking and saving love. Christ dying offer God “satisfaction”. By undergoing the cross Jesus expiated our sins, propitiated our Maker, turns God’s “no” into a “yes” and so saved us.”
“3 ways Christ’s death have been explained by historical church (Packer claims point 3 is the fullest and most accurate explanation):
1- The cross has its affect entirely upon man. Whether by revealing God’s love to us, or by bringing home to us how much God hates our sins. It is assumed that man’s basic need is lack of motivation Godward.
2- Christ death had it’s effect primarily on hostile spiritual forces external to us (sin and death, Satan and his hosts, demonic society and structure, God’s wrath and curse) which are held to be imprisoning us in captivity of which our inveterate moral twistedness is one sign and symptom. The assumption here is that man’s plight is created entirely by hostile cosmic forces distinct from God.
3- The third account denies nothing inserted by the first two save their assumption that they are complete. It grounds man’s plight as a victim of sin and Satan in the fact that, for all God’s daily goodness to him, as a sinner he stands on your divine judgment, and his bondage to evil is the start of his sentence, and unless God‘s rejection of him is turned into acceptance he is lost forever. On this view, Christ death had its affect first on God, who was hereby propitiated, or hereby propitiated Himself, and only because it had this affect did it become an overwhelming of the powers of darkness any revealing of God’s seeking and saving love. Christ dying offer God “satisfaction”. By undergoing the cross Jesus expiated our sins, propitiated our Maker, turns God’s “no” into a “yes” and so saved us.”
September 27, 2023
Honestly I didn’t have full understanding of what the book was about before I read it, but I’m glad I did so! I have a better understanding of arguments against penal substitution now (which leaves people without the riches of Christ’s substitutionary work on the cross) and found it to be a beautiful reminder of what I have been saved from, by, and to! —— wonderful book, but couldn’t give it a 5 for whatever reason :0
“And the primary function of the concept is to correlate my knowledge of being guilty before God with my knowledge that, on the one hand, no question of my ever being judged for my sins can now arise, and, on the other hand, that the risen Christ whom lam called to accept as Lord is none other than Jesus, who secured my immunity from judgment by bearing on the cross the penalty that was my due.”
“And the primary function of the concept is to correlate my knowledge of being guilty before God with my knowledge that, on the one hand, no question of my ever being judged for my sins can now arise, and, on the other hand, that the risen Christ whom lam called to accept as Lord is none other than Jesus, who secured my immunity from judgment by bearing on the cross the penalty that was my due.”
November 4, 2023
Really dense little book. Enjoyed his commentary on how believing in penal substitution either leads us to universalism or limited atonement. This book left me with more questions (in a good way), and a deeper appreciation for the mysteries of our faith that are at times beyond our human comprehension.
December 30, 2024
Thoughts:
• This is an essay/lecture about penal substitutionary atonement, originally published in 1974. In smaller, more normal words: Jesus' death is central to Christian faith, but how does it bring about salvation? Why is it necessary and what does it do?
• This piece is written in a more academic tone than I'm used to and it's quite dense for such a little book, especially the 'methodological preliminaries' at the beginning. There's a lot going on. Despite being pocket sized, I found the language harder to digest than the brick-thick book "The Cross of Christ" by John Stott (which btw is fantastic).
• This is a topic I'm familiar with due to many(!) conversations throughout the years at church and with uni friends, yet it's also a topic I still struggle to articulate accurately sometimes. I found this to be a good refresher particularly towards the end, despite being very wordy in general. I won't pretend to remember all the historical context or the original root words in key passages referenced, but taken broadly it has jogged my memory about several things.
• A line that stood out to me: "... the highest wisdom of the theological theorist [...] is to recognise that he is, as it were, gazing into the sun, whose very brightness makes it impossible for him fully to see it; so that at the end of the day he has to admit that God is much more to him than theories can ever contain, and to humble himself in adoration before the one whom he can never fully analyse." That's something for me to keep in mind as I joyfully wrestle with big ideas.
• This is an essay/lecture about penal substitutionary atonement, originally published in 1974. In smaller, more normal words: Jesus' death is central to Christian faith, but how does it bring about salvation? Why is it necessary and what does it do?
• This piece is written in a more academic tone than I'm used to and it's quite dense for such a little book, especially the 'methodological preliminaries' at the beginning. There's a lot going on. Despite being pocket sized, I found the language harder to digest than the brick-thick book "The Cross of Christ" by John Stott (which btw is fantastic).
• This is a topic I'm familiar with due to many(!) conversations throughout the years at church and with uni friends, yet it's also a topic I still struggle to articulate accurately sometimes. I found this to be a good refresher particularly towards the end, despite being very wordy in general. I won't pretend to remember all the historical context or the original root words in key passages referenced, but taken broadly it has jogged my memory about several things.
• A line that stood out to me: "... the highest wisdom of the theological theorist [...] is to recognise that he is, as it were, gazing into the sun, whose very brightness makes it impossible for him fully to see it; so that at the end of the day he has to admit that God is much more to him than theories can ever contain, and to humble himself in adoration before the one whom he can never fully analyse." That's something for me to keep in mind as I joyfully wrestle with big ideas.
September 17, 2025
Every truth must be articulated and this book does a very good job at presenting the obvious truth of penal substitution. In this fallen world, sometimes we have to defend what has been clearly presented and prescribed in the scripture just because some random philosopher writes a book contradicting it.
January 16, 2024
I’ll have to re-read this; it uses a very academically advanced way of explaining why Christ died for us. There are lots of 25-cent words also!
September 12, 2023
★ ★ ★ ★ 1/2 (rounded up)
This originally appeared at The Irresponsible Reader.
---
SOME THOUGHTS ON THE SERIES AS A WHOLE
The point of this series is to take classic short works—sermons, tracts, articles—package them attractively, edit a bit (modernize language, eliminate footnotes, tweak grammar, etc.), and make them widely available. Each is given a short introduction to help the reader get the context and a bit of information about the author.
They published seven books in this series last year, and I discussed them here. Three have come out this year (so far), but I'm hoping for more in this series soon.
WHAT'S WHAT DID THE CROSS ACHIEVE ABOUT?
This essay was originally a lecture Packer delivered but it lives on far after that time. It's essentially a defense of the Penal Substitutionary Theory of the Atonement—and a critique of some alternate theories. Which is not to say that Packer doesn't have some words of correction for other proponents of substitutionary atonement, nor is he without appreciation for alternate theories.
Packer holds that when people like Socinius attacked the Reformation's preaching and teaching on the atonement, the Reformed (in particular) responded to his rationalistic arguments on the same grounds—and spent centuries refining things along those lines, losing the declaratory, doxological, and kerygmatic power of the doctrine. For this "preliminary survey," he states:
SO, WHAT DID I THINK ABOUT WHAT DID THE CROSS ACHIEVE?
* And other questions that I snipped due to lack of context.
This was a good reminder to me of just how good J.I. Packer was—it's been a long time since I've read a much by him, and it's easy to remember really liking his writing and learning a lot from him, but to forget most of the details. And then you read him and are reminded why I spent so much of the 90s immersed in his work.
His approach to the idea was great and easy to follow. This wasn't for a popular audience, but the language isn't that difficult to follow. I appreciated and benefited from his argumentation—and thought his analysis and argumentation were spot-on (and would still be pretty sufficient for what I've seen for people today who struggle with penal substitution).
Essentially, this was a great way to spend an hour or so, one of the best of this series, and one I'll return to again and again. I'd suggest you do the same.
This originally appeared at The Irresponsible Reader.
---
SOME THOUGHTS ON THE SERIES AS A WHOLE
The point of this series is to take classic short works—sermons, tracts, articles—package them attractively, edit a bit (modernize language, eliminate footnotes, tweak grammar, etc.), and make them widely available. Each is given a short introduction to help the reader get the context and a bit of information about the author.
They published seven books in this series last year, and I discussed them here. Three have come out this year (so far), but I'm hoping for more in this series soon.
WHAT'S WHAT DID THE CROSS ACHIEVE ABOUT?
This essay was originally a lecture Packer delivered but it lives on far after that time. It's essentially a defense of the Penal Substitutionary Theory of the Atonement—and a critique of some alternate theories. Which is not to say that Packer doesn't have some words of correction for other proponents of substitutionary atonement, nor is he without appreciation for alternate theories.
Packer holds that when people like Socinius attacked the Reformation's preaching and teaching on the atonement, the Reformed (in particular) responded to his rationalistic arguments on the same grounds—and spent centuries refining things along those lines, losing the declaratory, doxological, and kerygmatic power of the doctrine. For this "preliminary survey," he states:
My plan is this: first, to clear up some questions of method, so that there will be no doubt as to what I am doing; second, to explore what it means to call Christ’s death substitutionary; third, to see what further meaning is added when Christ’s substitutionary suffering is called penal; fourth, to note in closing that the analysis offered is not out of harmony with learned exegetical opinion. These are, I believe, needful preliminaries to any serious theological estimate of this view.
SO, WHAT DID I THINK ABOUT WHAT DID THE CROSS ACHIEVE?
Can we then justify ourselves in holding a view of the atonement into which penal substitution does not enter? Ought we not to reconsider whether penal substicution is not, after all, the heart of the matter? These* are among the questions that our preliminary survey in this lecture has raised. It is to be hoped that they will receive the attention they deserve.
* And other questions that I snipped due to lack of context.
This was a good reminder to me of just how good J.I. Packer was—it's been a long time since I've read a much by him, and it's easy to remember really liking his writing and learning a lot from him, but to forget most of the details. And then you read him and are reminded why I spent so much of the 90s immersed in his work.
His approach to the idea was great and easy to follow. This wasn't for a popular audience, but the language isn't that difficult to follow. I appreciated and benefited from his argumentation—and thought his analysis and argumentation were spot-on (and would still be pretty sufficient for what I've seen for people today who struggle with penal substitution).
Essentially, this was a great way to spend an hour or so, one of the best of this series, and one I'll return to again and again. I'd suggest you do the same.
November 2, 2024
3.5 rating due to user inadequacy not content. I especially struggled with the “methodological preliminaries” which constitutes the first third of the book. PSA is a doctrine most evangelicals take for granted; this text, though short, is a technical and heady primer.
May 13, 2025
Beautiful little book.
December 30, 2025
The cross of Christ. This is the most impactful event in world history. It has shaped generations, nations, families and the very psyche of billions of people. It is celebrated across trinitarian (historical) Christian denominations since the resurrection and ascension of Christ. As Packer notes, "Language about the cross illustrates this clearly: liturgies, hymns and literature - homiletical, catechetical, and apologetic - all show Christians have from the start lived by faith in Christ's death as a sacrifice made to God in reparation for their sins, however, uncouth and mythological such talk sounds (and must always have sounded), however varied the presentations of atonement that teachers tried out, and however little actual theologizing about the cross went on in particular periods, especially the early centuries", (pg19-20). Everyone agrees Christ died on the cross, that it has relevance to our sorry state, and that it's only understood by faith in the head and heart, and evidences itself in the hands by good works.
However, what did it achieve? What was its telos? It's definable theological and existential purpose? Packer, in this short but erudite book, presents the penal substitution model of the cross. He doesn't interact with every other theory of the atonement directly, but rather, does so indirectly by the process of defining and discussing the Protestant position, which naturally causes a distinguishing from other theories.
Packer doesn't paint the later reformed defences of penal substitution in 100% good light, as he notes that there were many "rationalistic protestants" who countered Socinus' rationalistic critique by biting into his rationalistic worldview whilst trying to counter it. Through this, they made God too like man in His moral disposition. Packer notes how there's a mystery in it that must be held as a mystery, otherwise we'll be going against the Bible in its referal to the cross of Christ as a mystery. He prefaces his claim to mystery, as what the polymath Blaise Pascal declared in his "Pensees": "Just because something is incomprehensible doesn't mean it ceases to exist".
However, Packer also notes the cross isn't pure mysticism, and neither is it pure rationalism, but it's definable, biblical, yet mysterious.
In conclusion, Packer notes: "It will by now be clear that those who affirm penal substitution offer this model not as an explanatory analysis of what lay behind Christ's atoning death (in the way that the laws of heat provide an explanatory analysis of what lies behind the boiling of a kettle), but rather as a pioneer directing attenion to various fundamental features of the mystery - that is, according to our earliest definition, the transcendent and not-wholly-comprehensible divine reality - of Christ's atoning death itself, as the NT writers declare it",(pg 80-81).
However, what did it achieve? What was its telos? It's definable theological and existential purpose? Packer, in this short but erudite book, presents the penal substitution model of the cross. He doesn't interact with every other theory of the atonement directly, but rather, does so indirectly by the process of defining and discussing the Protestant position, which naturally causes a distinguishing from other theories.
Packer doesn't paint the later reformed defences of penal substitution in 100% good light, as he notes that there were many "rationalistic protestants" who countered Socinus' rationalistic critique by biting into his rationalistic worldview whilst trying to counter it. Through this, they made God too like man in His moral disposition. Packer notes how there's a mystery in it that must be held as a mystery, otherwise we'll be going against the Bible in its referal to the cross of Christ as a mystery. He prefaces his claim to mystery, as what the polymath Blaise Pascal declared in his "Pensees": "Just because something is incomprehensible doesn't mean it ceases to exist".
However, Packer also notes the cross isn't pure mysticism, and neither is it pure rationalism, but it's definable, biblical, yet mysterious.
In conclusion, Packer notes: "It will by now be clear that those who affirm penal substitution offer this model not as an explanatory analysis of what lay behind Christ's atoning death (in the way that the laws of heat provide an explanatory analysis of what lies behind the boiling of a kettle), but rather as a pioneer directing attenion to various fundamental features of the mystery - that is, according to our earliest definition, the transcendent and not-wholly-comprehensible divine reality - of Christ's atoning death itself, as the NT writers declare it",(pg 80-81).
April 6, 2025
Wow. This little book packs in quite a bit of deep thought and reflection on the atonement for such a short read. I really liked that the approach to discussing penal substitutionary atonement (PSA) felt quite different here than most of the other books. I especially liked the emphasis on the mystery involved in this act and every other act of God, but at the same time, Packer still maintains that there is biblical clarity for this atonement theory. Above all, I appreciated the way he showed how PSA reveals God’s love as even deeper than one ever could without PSA:
“Furthermore, if the true measure of love is how low it stoops to help, and how much in its humility it is ready to do and bear, then it may fairly be claimed that the penal substitutionary model embodies a richer witness to divine love than any other model of atonement, for it sees the Son at his Father’s will going lower than any other view ventures to suggest” (94-95).
I did find that I had to take the section with the subheading “Substitution and Salvation” a little more slowly and read it twice, but I still appreciated what I got out of it. Overall, this is a wonderful book to read when looking at Christ’s atonement.
“Furthermore, if the true measure of love is how low it stoops to help, and how much in its humility it is ready to do and bear, then it may fairly be claimed that the penal substitutionary model embodies a richer witness to divine love than any other model of atonement, for it sees the Son at his Father’s will going lower than any other view ventures to suggest” (94-95).
I did find that I had to take the section with the subheading “Substitution and Salvation” a little more slowly and read it twice, but I still appreciated what I got out of it. Overall, this is a wonderful book to read when looking at Christ’s atonement.
January 1, 2025
A different read than what I’m used to… felt like a seminary assignment. While unpacking every possible detail of how and why the “cross had the character of penal substitution”, I can close this book thankful for the gracious mysteries of God — particularly, because of this book, the accomplishment & exchange at the cross!
"Mystery" in this sense (traditional in theol-ogy) means a reality distinct from us that in our very apprehending of it remains unfathomable to us: a reality that we acknowledge as actual without knowing how it is possible, and that we therefore describe as incomprehensible... Knowing through divine enlightenment that which passes knowledge is precisely what it means to be acquainted with the mystery of God. Every aspect of God's reality and work, without exception, is mystery.”
"Mystery" in this sense (traditional in theol-ogy) means a reality distinct from us that in our very apprehending of it remains unfathomable to us: a reality that we acknowledge as actual without knowing how it is possible, and that we therefore describe as incomprehensible... Knowing through divine enlightenment that which passes knowledge is precisely what it means to be acquainted with the mystery of God. Every aspect of God's reality and work, without exception, is mystery.”
December 31, 2023
J I Packer does a marvelous job in explaining the purpose of the cross, and what it has achieved. He justifies the fundamental concept of penal substitution, and its criticality in understanding the cross.
I also like that he reminds us all that notwithstanding what we know of penal substitution, there is still mystery involved. Our finite mind cannot fully grasp how this substitution takes place. But this mystery, as he reminds, is no different from how God became man (incarnation) and how God dwells in believers. So, if the Bible says is true, we should just marvel, worship and adore.
A definite 5 stars!
I also like that he reminds us all that notwithstanding what we know of penal substitution, there is still mystery involved. Our finite mind cannot fully grasp how this substitution takes place. But this mystery, as he reminds, is no different from how God became man (incarnation) and how God dwells in believers. So, if the Bible says is true, we should just marvel, worship and adore.
A definite 5 stars!
January 21, 2024
It’s part of the cross way short classics for a reason! Packer sets out to answer what the cross of Christ accomplished. He produces an onslaught of support for PSA that would make Luther proud. Super interesting if you’re interested in atonement theory. I would recommend reading this along with a more in depth book on the atonement as this short work will leave the door open for a more in depth treatment of the doctrine.
January 23, 2024
The Crossway Short Classics often take a chapter or an excerpt to show why we should as CS Lewis said, “live in old books”. This is different though. This is not from a greater work but is from a single lecture. It reads much like an intro to Packer’s greater works including knowing God and esp the intro of Death of Death by John Owen. However, you won’t find new info, but rather a renewed love for penal substitution and the Gospel.
July 1, 2025
It was a really good systematic theology on Penal Substitution. Great points made and verses used to make his point clear. The only problem I had is that his point wasn't truly made until the end of the book. The first hundred pages were just him discussing opposing views to penal substitutionary atonement. But, as penal substitution being the heart of the atonement, he made that clear and very compelling. Great lecture!
January 24, 2024
Only 3 stars because I found this book too hard to read on my commute. I think you'd need to sit down properly and take it slow. It's rather dense and not the easiest book to read - wouldn't say it's the most accessible book for someone looking to read on this topic. The content is excellent though, but definitely requires a slower pace to really digest it fully.
November 8, 2024
I looked at this book as a quick read I could go through in one sitting, but Packer has no fluff in his writing (still got it done in one sitting). Each paragraph requires thought. It’s a great book for understanding the opposing position while laying out his argument (and Scripture’s argument) for substitution.
August 12, 2025
A short yet robust defense and exploration of Penal Substitutionary atonement.
Penal Substitution finds very frequent and weighty attacks from its detractors, but as Packer writes at length, it is the model that describes the heart of the gospel with the most detail and loving expression. Penal substitution is worth defending above all atonement theories.
Penal Substitution finds very frequent and weighty attacks from its detractors, but as Packer writes at length, it is the model that describes the heart of the gospel with the most detail and loving expression. Penal substitution is worth defending above all atonement theories.
February 26, 2024
A small book but very dense. Not for the average layperson. Most of the terminology and references went way over my head, but the occasional parts I grasped certainly gave me something to think about.
Probably better for divinity students, etc.
Probably better for divinity students, etc.
May 30, 2024
This little book (originally a lecture) was quite dense. Like to the point that I was left with no greater love for or understanding of the doctrine of PSA. Love Packer and love this series of little books from Crossway, but this one feels like a miss.
July 26, 2025
Very deep and illuminating discussion of penal substitution. He discussed questions I had with the doctrine and other things I had never even considered. Very scholarly work, but most of it was clear enough for a layperson like me.
December 26, 2023
Better dust off your M.Div. before reading this one. It's pretty tough. I did get a few little nuggets out of it, but will have to read this again in a couple of years.
March 16, 2024
Penal Substitution
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