Book Review: The Cross of Christ

The Cross of Christ: God's Work for Us by George R. Knight

Jesus' death on the cross is a (or the) central tenet of Christianity. Yet I think for many of us, myself included, it is one of the more confusing and complicated teachings to grasp. I've been wrestling with various theories about how the atonement works and how it deals with the problem of sin and God's judgment upon it. I readily admit that I am one of the multitudes of Christians uncomfortable with the sacrificial, substitutionary images of the atonement. George Knight recognizes this trend in Christian thought, and this book is his attempt to show why the substitutionary aspect of Christ's atonement must be the center around which all of Christianity forms.

I don't think I'm quite ready to fully embrace all that Dr. Knight writes, but what he has put into words seems to put more sense into the concept of the substitutionary atonement than some other things I've read in the past. What also seemed to help is Dr. Knight's differentiation between sin and sinners, and his recasting of God's "wrath" as God's "judgment" on sin. Even prior to reading The Cross of Christ, I could not simply dismiss the substitutionary aspects, because they do exist and seem fairly plain in the Bible. This book helped me become a little more comfortable with it.

I found it interesting that in the last couple of chapters, as Dr. Knight wraps up the different lines of thought, his summary of the practical applications of the atonement are very similar to ones I've also formed. It comes down to essentially two questions asked by God of every person. 1) Will you be happy living forever with Me in an environment of 100% selfless service, acting love to everyone else? 2) Will you trust Me and depend on Me for 100% of your needs? The atonement through Christ demonstrates God's justice and mercy, and also gives God the right to save everyone who answers affirmatively to these two questions. Conversely, those who respond negatively remain under the judgment (or wrath) already handed down against sin because through their responses, they choose to remain under the object judged. Dr. Knight's conclusion is that God's final act of mercy is to remove the misery of sin from even those who reject Him but placing them into an eternal sleep of the final death.

This isn't the easiest book to digest. However, it is written in a readable and engaging style. I think it's the concept that is just plain difficult to fully grasp (and as Dr. Knight mentions right up front, it's probably something that no one will ever do). I expect I'll be going back to it from time to time to try to better understand the atonement.

Overall I believe this book is good in getting a global perspective on the theme of the atonement. I'm also looking forward to the upcoming companion volume, Sin and Salvation.