Round the Sphere Again

On the meaning of the cross

It Demonstrates Love and Justice (Update, March 11: and Wisdom)
Quoting Sinclair Ferguson at Pure Church.

• God’s love
  

  When we think of Christ dying on the cross we are shown the lengths to which God’s love goes in order to win us back to himself.

• God’s justice

  Sometimes when we explain the message of the gospel to others we say something like this: ‘God has laid aside his justice.  He no longer deals with us as sinners; he forgets our sin, and accepts us.’  But when we say this we distort the biblical teaching.

• Update, March 11: God’s Wisdom

It Doesn’t Just Make Salvation Possible
But actually saves, effectually, particularly, and perfectly. (Kevin DeYoung)

It Was to Secure Forgiveness for Others
Lorraine Boettner on the significance of Christ’s death.

And There’s More
There’s no better time to read a book on the meaning of the cross than in the days leading up to the commemoration of Christ’s death and resurrection. Here are two that I’ve reviewed and recommended previously.

• The Atonement: Its Meaning and Significance by Leon Morris.
  

  I have a very short list of books that I’d put in the must-read category for every Christian, and this book is on it. Of course, there are many excellent books and many important books, but what sets The Atonement apart from many other worthwhile books is that I can recommend it to you and know that no matter who you are, you’ll learn something valuable from it, and at the same time, you won’t find it too difficult. 

  Read the whole review.


• Fifty Reasons Why Jesus Came to Die by John Piper.
  

  What John Piper has done in this book is take fifty of the results of Christ’s death given in scripture and listed them for us as fifty reasons why Jesus came to die. … I’d call Fifty Reasons Why Jesus Came to Die an introductory level book—there’s nothing difficult in it—and yet I’d say almost everyone will learn a thing of two from it. And who among us doesn’t need a reminder of the infinite wisdom of God in the cross of Christ? Read the whole review.
  

Scandalous: The Cross and Resurrection of Jesus (RE: Lit)There’s also a new book on the cross of Christ by D. A. Carson. I haven’t read yet, but I’m betting Scandalous would make good pre-Easter reading, too. Update: John Bird recommends it.

From Crossway.blog. 

Christians around the world are preparing to celebrate one of the year’s biggest holidays—and as author D. A. Carson writes, one of history’s biggest scandals. Nearly two thousand years ago, a Galilean hung on a cross, died, and rose from the dead three days later. In the midst of an event that may seem familiar, Scandalous: The Cross and Resurrection of Jesus introduces the ironies and scandal involved, and its implications for those who follow Jesus.

They are letting us preview all of chapter 1 (pdf).