The Cross and Salvation: The Doctrine of Salvation

Foundations of Evangelical Theology

by Bruce A. Demarest

With America's confidence in the Bible at an all-time low and the strength of her spiritual convictions waning, it is essential for Christians--especially Christian leaders--to be well-grounded in biblical theology. To have a clear and comprehensive understanding of the key doctrines of evangelicalism.

In response, professor and award-winning author Bruce Demarest has made plain God's glorious plan of salvation, his provision for the human dilemma through Christ's work on the cross, and the application of saving grace to unbelievers. Demarest's unique approach defines each topic, identifies its most pressing issues, examines the ways in which the doctrine has been understood historically, and interprets the Bible's revelation. The result is a clear and carefully constructed doctrinal statement that you can defend, live out, and communicate to others.

This singular, comprehensive treatment of one of Christianity's essential doctrines gives definitive, Bible-based answers about salvation and the cross--and about related theological issues such as grace and regeneration. It's perfect for clarifying your theology and gaining deep understanding of this foundational theme.

Genres: Theology, Christian, Christianity, School, Faith, Nonfiction

544 pages, Hardcover

First published January 1, 1997

Reviews

[Josh]

A solid, middle of the road, Reformed evangelical treatment of the doctrine of salvation. I think John Murray’s “Redemption Accomplished and Applied“ is still the go-to book here, but this is a helpful supplement.

[Ray]

This is by far one of the best books I read in seminary! I came to it more of an Arminian but came out of it a Calvinist. I used to be very turned off by the Calvinists who had more zeal than intellectual depth, compassion, and respect. This book had it all. It presented different views on issues of salvation in a manner I feel was very fair but nonetheless the author offered why he prefer the Calvinist positions in clear, logical, believable, fair, and respectful manner that just really made sense to me. It is actually a book I plan to go back to regularly to review and to reflect.

[David Rathel]

Here is a comprehensive treatment of the doctrine of salvation. Demarest does an excellent job in presenting various soteriological positions. His scope is exhaustive; he covers everything from liberation theology to Lutheranism to Arminianism. In the end, he argues quite persuasively for a slightly modified reformed understanding. However, his personal views never unfairly color his treatment of the other schools of thought.

[Danny Bennett]

A very dense read that gives you the basics on what different camps believe. Takes a while to get through, but worth it is you can perservere.

[Micah Lugg]

We read this a supplement to Grudem's Systematic Theology in a theology class at The Master's Seminary.

The strengths of this book are two-fold.
1. He devotes a great amount of material to the historical interpretations of the doctrines, not many theology books do that.
2. The book if flooded with Scripture. He clearly endeavors to show what Scripture teaches, not just what he thinks Scripture says.

Demarest generally teaches the Reformed/Calvinist position on these doctrines:
* grace
* election
* the atonement
* calling
* conversion
* regeneration
* union with Christ
* justification
* sanctification
* preservation & perseverance
* glorification

[Daniel Scheiderer]

Decent book, but he seems to misunderstand what hyper-Calvinism is and what it's not. As others have said, he also takes a 4-point view. This book is a great overview of the soteriological landscape, even if I disagree with some of his positions.

[Eric Durso]

Good resource. Don't agree with everything in it, but pretty close.

[Jared Beebe]

This is a really long book in duration, but I thoroughly enjoyed it throughout. Demarest covers the major movements of salvation found in the Lord Jesus Christ. The history of interpretation of different sects of Christianity, along with the exegesis of passages of Scripture are covered concerning the different doctrines of soteriology. I disagreed with Demarest on some of his finer points in the ordo salutis. He often sifts the details far to fine, and logically, he gets weighted down with some of his conclusions. However, all in all, this is a major book concerning the doctrine of salvation. Every serious scholar, pastor, and layman should read this book. It will benefit them greatly.

[Michael Beck]

Good book covering the doctrines related to salvation and the Scripture to back them up, along with the different views Christians have had throughout church history. Good view on union with Christ and how it relates to the ordo salutis. Does not handle limited atonement well, but overall a good volume to have if you want to go deeper into soteriology than the combined systematic theology tomes out there.

[Troy Solava]

This is a helpful, easily organized, and practical work on soteriology. It informs the reader of the various views held of each position. Then it explains the biblical passages related to the doctrine. A very helpful resource to have on the shelf. I particularly enjoyed the historical theology features of this work.

[John Ben Colvin]

This book is a good summery of Evangelical/reformed baptist beliefs. I don’t necessarily agree with a lot of the theology and interpretations that Demarest presents but he presents them very faithfully to evangelical tradition. If you are looking for a source about reformed evangelicalism and their beliefs on soteriology this is great.

[Logan Augustine]

Great organization, and of course, the best content anyone could ever read!

I really appreciate that Demarest presented a wide range of historic views for all of the key doctrines of soteriology! It really forced me to look at issues of salvation logically, but most importantly, biblically.

Definitely worth the read and will certainly be one I come back to often!

[Nick]

Very helpful, encyclopedic approach to soteriology. Presents various views on each subtopic (Roman Catholic, Liberal, Lutheran, Reformed, Neo-orthodox, and Evangelical), along with abundant scripture references and analysis.

A very useful reference volume.

[Joshua Pankey]

A great read for careful examination of the different aspects of salvation. It’s organized in a helpful way. I plan on coming back to it again for my own understanding and teaching of the salvation process.

[jenna tucker]

Found to be incredibly helpful and relatively easy to understand! Would definitely recommend because the author provides multiple views for each issue. Uses so much Scripture which I also appreciated.

[Jerrill Wyler]

Really helpful theological book. Can be read or used as a reference.

[Caleb Batchelor]

A good survey of historical theology on the cross and salvation.

[Cole Ragsdale]

Dense + Precise. Will keep on the shelf for reference to any aspect of soteriology. The depth of historical and modern perspectives was appreciated.

[Vincent Lesner]

This book was nicely written where the Theology was explained clealry. The book was readable. I enjoyed the practical implication section after every chapter.

[Steve Stanley]

3.5 stars

[Jeremiah McClure]

Excellent read

[Austin Kuhn]

Comprehensive and extremely helpful in both study and application. Will definitely refer back to this often.

[Joshua Loftin]

I absolutely love books that provide surveys of various interpretations on specific topics! This is exactly what Demarest does. Highly recommend this book that surveys a theology of salvation.

[Wendyle Andrews]

A good resource for a conservative biblical view on Soteriology

[Matthew Richey]

Read in seminary. Re-read for a refresher. Solid, not earth-shattering.

[Anna Webb]

Let’s just say this book is thorough ..

[Colby Jackson]

Very thorough. Great overview for main positions of all soteriological topics as well as biblical surveys. I am undecided on limited atonement as DeMarest is four-point Calvinist. Great resource.

[Kylie Suggs]

Very dense, but so detailed! It went into like different traditions and what they think on each topic but also what the author sees as biblically true on each.

[Rick Carman]

This is one of the best books I have read on the doctrine of Soteriology - salvation. Demarest has taken a great approach to the book. He begins each chapter with pertinent questions to lay down the reason for the study. He follows this up with a walk through all the major positions historically taken as an answer to the issue. He then takes the reader through an exegetical study from Scripture on the issue, and culminates each chapter with some applications one should take away from the study. In one volume, this is a great start for study in the area of Soteriology.

[Jeffrey Niles]

A great and new text on Soteriology. Demarest deals with the issues clearly and highlights the historical positions taken by many different sides, sharing the strengths and weaknesses of each view, but then also deals with the doctrine from a biblical perspective, surveying the passages which deal with each area.