Hence the necessity for a atoning sacrifice to appease God's justified anger at sin. Jesus offers himself as the humble sacrifice in place of sinful man. This in turn brings about forgiveness, reconciliation (peace with God), justification (declared right before God), redemption (freedom), victory over evil and healing of such things as guilt and shame. Also, Stott interacts well with the issue of God's righteous anger and wonderful love harmoniously demonstrated on the cross of Christ. The author vigorously emphasizes that the above exceptional blessings are accessed only through faith. That is to believe and trust Jesus as the only saviour. Furthermore, Stott makes it very clear to the reader, that the blessings of God are an awesome gift of God and cannot be earned in any way; therefore it is truly amazing grace.
I felt disappointed that the author did not describe the theology of forgiveness in more detail, I consider forgiveness to be pertinent for our times, despite the sad fact that a recent survey in Canada has shown that some people do not consider it as relevant for today's society. This reviewer is very happy with this fine book, for I am entirely predisposed towards this subject. Given that, I am able to recommend this book to Christians and to others, but only if they are interested in learning about the key symbol of Christianity.
It starts with a history of church use of the cross. Then it moves into expository teaching on Bible verses leading up to Jesus' death on the cross. It also references non-Biblical sources like Josephus, Tertullian, Oliver Barclay, William Barclay and several contemporary theologians.
Like other John Stott books it is logically presented with copious references. There are indices by Bible verse and by words in the text. There is also a comprehensive reference list.
Overall I found this an interesting, if slightly frustrating read.
The main focus of the book is on the Christian atonement; the presumption that Christ assumed and assuaged the sins of the world with his death. Stott is concerned with showing the centrality of the atonement to christian thought, and how the theology of the cross provides a prescriptive basis for action in modern life.
From a theological viewpoint, the exposition is excellent, and Stott develops his position with lucidity and rigour. He is not afraid of theological complications, and though occaisonally guilty of establishing straw men, there is a sense of intellectual honesty on the part of the author.
Educated atheists will find nothing intellectually challenging here, and dedicated students of philosophy will derive some amusement from Stott's several 'mistakes' (in addition to the faulty premises). Indeed, because Stott's purpose here is "preaching to the converted" rather than conversion, he adopts several rehetorical positions long discredited and abandoned by mainstream thought. To be fair though, Stott disdains the anti-intellectualism of much evangelical thought, and the logic is of a far higher standard than most christian polemics.
The later sections of the book are weaker, as Stott translates his beliefs into a political agenda akin to liberation theology. Unfortunately, these sections merely reveals the author's ignorance of economics, physics, biochemistry, history, and politics. There are 1 or 2 factual errors that could have benefited from tighter editing here too.
Nonetheless the work has considerable educational value in it's evangelical theology, and I would recommend it to students of the genre.