“The Atonement”

Introduction to the Doctrine of the Atonement and Bibliography

0:01 Now before turning to the doctrine of the atonement, realizing that there are many preachers and Sunday school teachers present and humble saints of God who love to read and search out the ways of God, I want to give you a bibliography of books that will help you to explore some of the depths of this glorious doctrine as with your Bibles you seek to know the mind of God, receiving the gifts of God, even teachers given to his church. I'll run it by quickly. If you don't get all the names of the books and the authors, you can get the tape, and I've talked with the tape man. And they will be included on this evening's tape. I would heartily recommend if you can come across a volume of Thornwell's works, volume two, his two sermons, one on the necessity of the atonement and the second one on the priestly work of Christ.

1:07 Strangely enough, those profound biblical and theological treatises were preached as sermons at the College of South Carolina. In the 1800s, masterful treatises on the atonement. And then, of course, Hugh Martin, the saintly, unusually perceptive Scottish theologian, his companion volumes, the atonement from which I've quoted this week, and the recently reprinted paperback by the Banner of Truth called The Shadow of Calvary. That's his.

Hugh Martin's 'The Shadow of Calvary' and Smeaton's Volumes

1:47 Fascinating term for Gethsemane. And he calls Gethsemane the shadow of Calvary. And it's the most penetrating exposition of the narratives of Gethsemane that I have ever found in print. And then, thankfully, Smeaton's two volumes are reprinted.

2:10 Our Lord's teaching on the atonement and the apostles' teaching on the atonement. And if any of you men are...

2:17 If any of you men are committed to preaching a series of sermons on the key text on the atonement, I know of no two volumes that will be of greater help in careful, painstaking exegesis of every explicit atonement passage in the Gospels and in the epistles than Smeaton's two-volume work on the atonement. And then, of course, the work by the late, beloved...

Further Recommended Works on the Atonement

2:47 Beloved and esteemed Professor John Murray, Redemption Accomplished and Applied. A book which, perhaps more than any other in our generation, has led people into an appreciation of the atonement that has been nothing less than revolutionary. And then, a little older classic by James Denny, The Death of Christ. And then, two books by Leon Morris.

3:16 The Apostolic... Preaching of the Cross.

3:18 And then, a more recently published book called The Atonement. And you will find his treatment of some of the matters that I will touch upon in just a few sentences in one of the points of the sermon tonight, opened up very fulsomely and accurately in this more recent book by Leon Morris called The Atonement. And then, of course, Gardiner Springs, The Attraction of the Cross. From which I have quoted.

Concluding Bibliography and a Suggestion for Encouraging Pastors

3:49 And then, there's been a reprint of the one section of the ancient or older theologian Turretin, translated out of the Latin, I believe, into English, called The Atonement of Baker Reproduction. And finally, Warfield's Person and Work of Christ. Now, as I give the bibliography, let me give a suggestion. If you want to do something...

4:17 That will encourage the heart of a true shepherd of Christ. Some of you get together at Christmas time, anniversary times, birthday times, and buy your pastor books. If he's a shepherd after Christ's heart, he is committed to feeding you with knowledge and understanding. But he also has to feed his kids and feed his car.

The Importance of a Book Allowance for Pastors

4:40 And often, that means he doesn't have a lot of money left to buy books. So, if you want to do things that will gladden...

4:47 The heart of a pastor, better yet, you deacons, come together and establish an annual book allowance. And get your pastor to vow that he will not spend one penny of that book allowance for any books, anything other than books, and for no books, but those that will truly feed his soul, that he in turn may feed you, the people of God. Now, I'm sure there are many other books on the atonement which many of you have found helpful. But these are proven commodities.

5:20 And I heartily recommend them to you.