The Cross of Christ (20th Anniversary Edition)

by John Stott

Publisher:

IVP

, 2006

Overview

“I could never myself believe in God, if it were not for the cross . . . In the real world of pain, how could one worship a God who was immune to it?” With compelling honesty John Stott examines the centerpiece of the Christian faith in this classic study. He explores a crucial question: why should an object of Roman distaste and Jewish disgust be the emblem of our worship and the axiom of our faith? And what does it mean for us today?

A contemporary restatement of the meaning of the cross, this is theology at its readable best. At the cross Stott finds the majesty and love of God disclosed, as well as the sin and bondage of the world exposed. Written with great warmth and insight, Stott’s work is the product of a uniquely gifted pastor, scholar, and Christian statesman. More than a study of the atonement, this book brings Scripture into living dialogue with Christian theology and the twentieth century. And what emerges is a powerful pattern for Christian life in worship, hope, and mission. The richness of this masterwork is sure to feed both heart and mind

And in the Logos Bible Software edition, this book will link with your library’s wealth of modern and historical encyclopedias, dictionaries, and other resources. This fully indexed text enables near-instant search results for words, people, places, and ideas, while Scripture references appear on mouseover in your preferred translation. And with Logos tablet and mobile apps, you can take the conversation with you.

Key Features

• Offers theologically rich insights in a conversational tone
• Remains biblically precise, thoughtful, thorough, and filled with practical passion
• Explores the perspective of Jesus on the centrality of the cross

Contents

• Foreword by Alister McGrath
• Preface to the 1986 edition
• Part One: Approaching the Cross
• Part Two: The Heart of the Cross
• Part Three: The Achievement of the Cross
• Part Four: Living Under the Cross
• Conclusion: The Pervasive Influence of the Cross
• Study Guide

Top Highlights

“Second, Christ died for us that he might bring us to God (1 Pet 3:18).” (Page 67)

“Fourth, Christ died our death, when he died for our sins.” (Page 67)

“In that case the cup from which he shrank was something different. It symbolized neither the physical pain of being flogged and crucified, nor the mental distress of being despised and rejected even by his own people, but rather the spiritual agony of bearing the sins of the world—in other words, of enduring the divine judgment that those sins deserved.” (Page 78)

“Second, God’s love must be wonderful beyond comprehension. God could quite justly have abandoned us to our fate” (Page 85)

“The first lesson concerned the centrality of his death” (Page 70)

Endorsements

There are not many ‘must read’ books—books that belong on every minister’s shelf, and on the shelves of thoughtful laypersons who want a better grasp of what is central in Scripture—but this is one of them.

—D.A. Carson, research professor of New Testament, Trinity Evangelical Divinity School

John Stott rises grandly to the challenge of the greatest of all themes. All the qualities that we expect of him—biblical precision, thoughtfulness and thoroughness, order and method, moral alertness and the measured tread, balanced judgment and practical passion are here in fullest evidence. This, more than any book he has written, is his masterpiece.

—J.I. Packer, board of governors’ professor of theology, Regent College

I have no hesitation in saying that this is the most enriching theological book I have ever read . . . I found that it edified and challenged me, thrilled me with the glory of the cross, and equipped me to answer some of the questions non-Christians and skeptics ask about the cross.

—Ajith Fernando, teaching director, Youth for Christ, Sri Lanka

In our world of war and terror, there is nothing more important to contemplate than the cross of Christ. May Stott’s reflections give us the courage to fight, with all the love within us, the war of the slaughtered Lamb. The cross teaches us there is something worth dying for but nothing worth killing for, that we can conquer evil without mirroring it. So grab this book and get ready to live real good and get beat up real bad. It is the story of our faith.

—Shane Claiborne, author of The Irresistible Revolution: Living as an Ordinary Radical

John Stott is loved and revered in our home. We have all of his writings. . . and in the honored center place in our bookshelf sits The Cross of Christ. Chapter six alone—“Self-Substitution of God”—is worth the whole of this rich, God-honoring, Christ-exhausting, devotional, biblical, ever-so-balanced, theologically sane and clear book.

—Luis Palau, founder, The Next Generation Alliance

Product Details

• Title: The Cross of Christ (20th Anniversary Edition)
• Author: John Stott
• Publisher: IVP
• Print Publication Date: 2006
• Logos Release Date: 2013
• Pages: 380
• Language: English
• Resources: 1
• Format: Digital › Logos Research Edition
• Subjects: Jesus Christ › Crucifixion; Christian life › Anglican authors
• Resource ID: LLS:CROSSOFCHRIST
• Resource Type: Monograph
• Metadata Last Updated: 2023-04-20T19:47:39Z

About John Stott

John Stott CBE (1921 – 2011) was a Christian leader and Anglican clergyman who is noted as a leader of the worldwide evangelical movement. He is famous as one of the principal authors of the Lausanne Covenant in 1974. John Stott was ordained into the ministry of the Church of England in 1945 and has served the same church ever since. He was assistant pastor of All Souls for 5 years, the senior pastor (Rector) for 25, and Rector Emeritus since 1975. During the last quarter century he had been set free (under the auspices of the Langham Partnership) to travel the world, especially for ministry to pastors and students. He has been a Chaplain to the Queen since 1959. He was President of the London Institute for Contemporary Christianity.