By R.C. Sproul.
Begun 10 May 2009; finished 13 May.
I learnt of The Truth of the Cross when Christian blogger Bill Muehlenberg reviewed it favourably on his blog. This small book by theologian R.C. Sproul discusses the supreme significance of Jesus’ death on the Cross. As a Christian who is well-versed in the Bible but has little training in theology, I understand Jesus’ crucifixion and resurrection on a personal level, but wanted a greater understanding of its theological implications. Indeed, the subject of the Cross is so important, that I decided to buy this book for keeps and lending to friends.
The Truth of the Cross may be small and more of an introductory text, but I can tell it has a deep theological foundation. Sproul covers all areas regarding the significance of Jesus’ death: the significance of sin and why a sacrifice is required; the legal and judicial meaning of man’s sinfulness in relation to God; the “wrath of God” being his righteous judgement over sin; the meaning of expiation and propitiation; how Christ’s death — and crucifixion in particular — was itself a legal and judicial act that was sufficient atonement of judgement; and also touches on how Christ’s death is interpreted in the Calvinist vs. Arminist question of of predestination.
All heavy-duty theology, but Sproul distills it into a readable and accessible form, using many examples and analogies to illustrate the meanings. His explanation of expiation and propitiation was particularly timely: I’d heard of both theological terms but didn’t understand them until now. I definitely learnt a lot from this little book — whilst I’m familiar with the significance of the crucifixion to me as an individual, this book showed me how Jesus’ death has a larger “global” sigificance. Indeed, Jesus’ death is exceedingly important on so many levels both theological and practical.
My only complaint about this book is that it was very short, and didn’t have footnotes/references, even though Sproul often quoted Scripture and other theologians. I definitely want to read more comprehensively about the significance of Christ’s death and resurrection, and would’ve appreciated a guide to weightier works. However, I must thank Sproul for writing an accessible book that educated me in the first place. This book is an excellent starting point for Christians who have no theological background, to gain understanding of the most significant event in history, and learn about why the Cross is so fundamentally important to the faith. I urge all Christians to read The Truth of the Cross, and recommend it to any interested reader as a good starting point. We need to fully understand the foundations of what we believe! and this book is a good stepping stone to greater understanding.