Christ, Our Substitute

Alistair Begg on the necessity of seeing Christ's death on the cross as a substitutionary sacrifice:

Without substitution the death of Jesus is unintelligible.  Unless what we have [in the cross] is what is being described in 2 Corinthians 5:21, that he was made sin for us - not that he was a sinner for us - but made sin for us, then how else do you explain it? What possible justification could God have for crucifying the innocent unless in substitution he became all that we are in our sin and rebellion in order that, in the mastery and mystery of his grace, in him we might become the very righteousness of God?

The Stain of Guilt, the Weight of Sin

"Terribly black must that guilt be for which nothing but the blood of the Son of God could make satisfaction. Heavy must that weight of human sin be which made Jesus groan and sweat drops of blood in agony at Gethsemane and cry at Golgotha, 'My God, my God, why hast Thou forsaken Me?'"

--J.C. Ryle

The Death of Sin, The Death of Christ

"There is no death of sin without the death of Christ."

--John Owen, Of the Mortification of Sin in Believers

The Cross: A Manifestation of Love and an Averting of Wrath

From my favorite chapter in Knowing God ("The Heart of the Gospel"):

The wrath of God is as personal, and as potent, as his Love; and, just as the blood-shedding of the Lord Jesus was the direct manifesting of his Father's love toward us, so it was the direct averting of his Father's wrath against us.

--Quoted in J.I. Packer, Knowing God

More Cross-Centered Quotes

Here are a few more cross-centered quotes to help you reflect on the cross of Christ on this Maundy Thursday:

"The traveler through the Bible landscape misses his way as soon as he loses sight of the hill called Calvary." (J.I. Packer)

"Man of Sorrows! what a name
For the Son of God, who came;
Ruined sinners to reclaim:
Hallelujah, what a Savior!" (P.P. Bliss)

"The debt was so great, that while man alone owed it, only God could pay it." (Anselm)

"The glory of the gospel is this: the One from whom we need to be saved is the One who has saved us." (R.C. Sproul)

"My sin - oh, the bliss of this glorious thought:
My sin not in part, but the whole
Is nailed to the cross and I bear it no more,
Praise the Lord, praise the Lord, O my soul!"
(Horatius Spafford)

Cross-Centered Quotes

Here are a few quotes to help you reflect upon the cross of Christ during Holy Week:

"Abide hard by the cross and search the mystery of His wounds." (Charles Spurgeon)

"The Spirit does not take his pupils beyond the cross, but ever more deeply into it." (J. Knox Chamblin)

"The Cross is the blazing fire at which the flame of our love is kindled, but we have to get near enough for its sparks to fall on us." (John Stott)

"Terribly black must that guilt be for which nothing but the blood of the Son of God could make satisfaction. Heavy must that weight of human sin be which made Jesus groan and sweat drops of blood in agony at Gethsemane, and cry at Golgotha, 'My God, my God, why has Thou forsaken Me?'" (J.C. Ryle)

A Debtor, an Enemy, a Criminal

Tim Challies posted an excellent reflection on the early part of R.C. Sproul's book, The Truth of the Cross, where Sproul describes the human condition with three biblical concepts: debtors, enemies, and criminals. It is well worth your own reflection as you ponder how Christ saves you from each of these conditions.

Read it here.

J.C. Ryle on the Need for Knowing Christ as Redeemer

I have already mentioned on this blog the site devoted to J.C. Ryles Quotes. All the quotes are excellent, but there was one last week that has really stuck with me.

“The story of Christ’s moral teaching, self-sacrifice, example, and the need of being earnest and sincere like Him, will never smooth down a dying pillow. Christ the Teacher, Christ the great Pattern, Christ the Prophet, will not suffice.”

“We want something more than this! We want the old, old story of Christ dying for our sins and rising again for our justification. We want Christ the Mediator, Christ the Substitute, Christ the Intercessor, Christ the Redeemer, in order to meet with confidence the King of Terrors and say, ‘Oh death, where is your sting? Oh grave, where is your victory?’”

Precious Blood

Crossway has just recently published Precious Blood: The Atoning Work of Christ, edited by Richard Phillips. It looks to be another great book on the cross, which should be a welcomed addition to any believer's library. Here is the publisher's description:

In this second volume of essays from the Philadelphia Conference on Reformed Theology, several noted preachers join editor Richard Phillips in exploring the doctrine of Christ’s atonement and its history in Christian thought.

At the very heart of Christian faith is the blood of Jesus. His sin-atoning death is the divine work on which the entire structure of salvation rests and the truth on which the Christian doctrine of salvation must be built. Yet recent years have seen a pastoral neglect of the cross and a doctrinal assault from the academy.

With these concerns in mind, R. C. Sproul, Philip Ryken, Joel Beeke, Derek Thomas, Carl Trueman, and Robert Godfrey have joined editor Richard Phillips in exploring the doctrine of Christ’s atonement. These noted pastors proclaim the (1) necessary, (2) redeeming, (3) cleansing, (4) atoning, (5) offensive, and (6) precious blood of our Savior in a series of essays that set the cross in its rightful place—at the forefront of salvation.

You can purchase it here.