Atonement

by Gabriel N.E. Fluhrer (Editor), J.I. Packer (Contributor), John R. de Witt (Contributor)

This is a book about blood.

Specifically, it is about the blood of Jesus Christ’s atonement. Atonement, a word coined by the sixteenth-century reformer and Bible translator William Tyndale, describes the solution to the offense toward God caused by human sin. It signifies the reconciliation and restoration between God and man provided by Christ’s death. The entire message of salvation comes close to being encapsulated in this one word.

And yet the doctrine of atonement is under attack.

Some "evangelical" books have recently sought to challenge our view of this central Christian doctrine. Some scholars have even shifted the emphasis away from Christ as sin-bearer to Christ as exemplar of God’s love—doctrines that, far from being mutually exclusive, are inseparable and dependent on each other. Few components of the Christian faith are currently as hotly debated as this one.

This book gathers some of the church’s best-known pastor-theologians to illuminate this important topic, from presentations given at the Philadelphia Conference on Reformed Theology.
—J. I. Packer - The Necessity of the Atonement
—John R. De Witt - The Nature of Reconciliation
—James M. Boice - The Nature of Propitiation
—John R. Gerstner - The Atonement and the Purpose of God
—R. C. Sproul - Sacrifice and Satisfaction
—James M. Boice - The Language of the Marketplace
—Sinclair Ferguson - Christ the Sin-Bearer
—Alistair Begg - Preaching the Cross

Together these speakers present a strong defense for the atonement, prove its relevance to the health of the church, and highlight its importance in the midst of the controversy that surrounds it.

Genres: Theology

160 pages, Paperback

First published January 1, 2010

Reviews

[Hannah Adams · Rating 5 out of 5]

This is an awesome book with SO many notable authors. Each chapter focuses on a different aspect of the atonement that Jesus Christ brought us on the cross. I left this book challenged and wiser about what the cross means in my everyday life. I would highly recommend this book for someone who is wanting to get into theology because it is short, yet really beautiful.

[E · Rating 3 out of 5]

The atonement seems perennially under attack (Satan is no dummy), and so believers must always be reinforcing what Scripture teaches. This book serves to do so. It comprises chapters from J I Packer (addressing the necessity of the atonement), John De Witt on reconcillation, Jim Boice on propitiation, John Gerstner on the atonement as it relates to God's eternal purposes, Sproul on sacrifice and satisfaction, Jim Boice on redemption, Sinclair Ferguson on sin-bearing, and Alistair Begg on preaching the cross.

All of these chapters are necessary. Many want to object to God being wrathful, or to imputation being possible, or to the efficacy of substitutionary sacrifice, or a dozen other things. But these writers push back. You can see clearly why Packer and Sproul have the reputations they do--their chapters stand head and shoulders above the rest in terms of clarity, forcefulness, and persuasion. Other writers say what needs to be said, but with far less passion. But all in all they provide a good resource for reminding ourselves of what we should believe concerning Christ's work on the cross.

[Connor Yonkers · Rating 4 out of 5]

This book was an excellent tool to understand words like “justification”, “redemption”, and “propitiation”! Understanding atonement is essential to all Christians. I used this book to understand another book I was reading. I give 4 instead of 5 stars because it is a novice level read for a topic with infinite depth. I’d say to give it a read if you are a beginner on the topic of biblical atonement and the cross.

[Greg Kerr · Rating 5 out of 5]

We need this repeated reminder of the significance of the cross and the eternal impact of Christ Jesus’s atoning death.

[Mark A Powell · Rating 3 out of 5]

What is the atonement? Why was the blood of Christ necessary to offer us forgiveness from God? These are the questions at the heart of this book, a collection of sermons that each investigates the atoning work of Christ. As with most compilations, some parts are more helpful than others, but the sum total of this book provides a decent depth of material on a matter that both remains under attack and deserves our full attention.