Book review: Cross-Examined

During my days as an A-Level student, I grappled often with my faith. What was being a Christian all about, really? This was further exacerbated by a belligerent friend, a self-described “skeptical Christian” (although I think he was more skeptical than Christian!) who kept hounding me with the question: “Why did Jesus have to die on the cross?” So one Saturday, with nothing better to do, I ended up in a tiny, nondescript Christian bookshop. As I browsed aimlessly, one title caught my eye. The blurb won me over, promising a better understanding of the cross, and I parted with some cash.

Looking back, this was probably all in God's providence. Because years later, I still have that book on my bookshelf, and I still think it's the best introductory book on the cross available today. More importantly, it strengthened my faith. That book is, of course, the book presently under review: Cross-Examined.

Mark Meynell is currently the Senior Associate Minister at All Souls Church, London, having previously served in Uganda. In this book, he explores afresh the meaning and significance of the death of Jesus. For at the cross “we find both God's answer to a suffering world and our own answerability to God”.

This book is divided into four parts. The first part communicates the shock of God on the cross in vivid terms. Meynell then moves on to explaining the reality of sin: its pervasiveness, mastery and consequences under the headings “United Nations”, “Fatal Addiction” and “Divine Justice”. Part 3 reveals God's gracious salvation plan to send Jesus. Meynell draws our attention to the wealth of biblical imagery concerning salvation. Salvation is like a diamond, multi-faceted in nature. When we encounter words such as justification, redemption, reconciliation, cleansing and triumph, we understand a little more what Paul means when he refers to “the glorious riches of this mystery, which is Christ in you” (Col. 1:27)! Finally, he brings it all home, relating the cross and resurrection to our experience as Christians. Are we ready to live cross-shaped lives as we follow Christ? Will we recognise Him as the One to whom one day every knee shall bow?

What makes this book especially valuable is how readable and accessible it is. Meynell is a gifted writer, and frequently weaves in striking illustrations, thought-provoking quotes and useful analogies in making his points. It's simply a pleasure to read, something that cannot always be said of Christian books! The structure of the book is another strength. Meynell takes us through the big story of the Bible in a way that is clearly linked, and his emphasis on getting us to read specific Bible passages is helpful. The summaries at the end of each chapter are a great way to review and reflect on what's just been said. The centrality of penal substitution is strongly affirmed, but in a way that doesn't completely overwhelm other metaphors of salvation employed in the Bible.

I was sad to hear recently that this book is now out of print [update 25/5/10: it's back in print!], which indicates to me that the book isn't as well-known or highly rated as it deserves to be. If you ever do stumble across a copy, I recommend you snap it up. It helped open my eyes to the grandeur of God's amazing grace, and I trust it will do the same for you.

Note: This book is in the SMACC Library

Brian K

John Piper in Chinese!

Here is a resource you might find helpful -

Desiring God, the ministry of John Piper, is now available in Chinese.

Prayer - God and us

Restraining pray’r, we cease to fight;
Pray’r makes the Christian’s armor bright;
And Satan trembles, when he sees
The weakest saint upon his knees

So writes the hymn-writer of yesteryear, William Cowper. All of us, though we know in our heads the value of prayer, often struggle with it. We find ourselves too busy, too tired, perhaps even feeling too guilty. So let's take a moment to consider the very act of prayer.

Prayer, very basically, is talking to God. That's a simple enough definition. Yet sometimes we miss out just how shocking that is. Prayer is talking...to God! The God who made the universe, who has taken the initiative to reveal himself to us, and who has blessed his people with salvation and grace. This is who we are addressing when we pray. But we can pray as the Lord Jesus taught us: “Our Father in heaven...”

Prayer is an expression of dependence. In a world where the strong are applauded and the compulsion to save face very real indeed, to get on our knees is to be counter-cultural. It is hard to admit we are weak, though that is what we are. And so prayer actually exposes our hearts. To wrestle with prayer is to wrestle with truth claims. Do we choose to believe that we are independent, in control of our destinies? Or can we face the truth that we are weak in every way: spiritually, mentally, even physically? When we pray, we acknowledge we're not in control. We are, in one sense, giving expression to the gospel. We are helpless, we need God. So we pray.

And God delights in the prayer of his children! He isn't recording the hours we spend in prayer on a spreadsheet, ready to point the accusing finger at us. He wants us, instead, to exercise the privilege we have in Christ. “What father among you, if his son asks for a fish, will instead of a fish give him a serpent; or if he asks for an egg, will give him a scorpion? If you then, who are evil, know how to give good gifts to your children, how much more will the heavenly Father give the Holy Spirit to those who ask him!" (Luke 11:11-13). He is ready to welcome the desperate and act justly (Luke 18:1-8). He is more than willing to comfort the repentant sinner (Luke 18:9-14).

Moreover, our grasp of the gospel affects the orientation of our prayers. If God is the loving creator and ruler of the universe, if we have rebelled against him, if corruption affects every part of reality, if God in his grace sent the Lord Jesus to take the punishment we deserve, and ultimately to reconcile all of creation as its king (Col. 1:19-20), then the shape of our prayers will reflect these truths. It's no longer about us. It's about God and for his glory. We might pray, then, as Paul does for the Colossians, "asking that you may be filled with the knowledge of his will in all spiritual wisdom and understanding, so as to walk in a manner worthy of the Lord, fully pleasing to him, bearing fruit in every good work and increasing in the knowledge of God" (Col. 1:9-10)

Prayer isn't just an individual activity, it's corporate too! Paul appeals to his fellow Christians to strive together with him in prayer, “by our Lord Jesus Christ and by the love of the Spirit” (Rom. 15:30). We are bound together by the Spirit (Eph 4:3), who unites us to Christ, through whom we have access to the Father. So let's strive together, encouraging each other in the hard but joyful work of praying.

Brian K

Be Thinking.org

As you can see, there are a host of useful links in our sidebar. I thought I'll draw your attention to one in particular today.

Do you find yourself feeling a little lost whenever your friends bring up objections to the Christian faith? Or do you struggle with doubts of your own? Or are you a non-Christian starting to explore the claims of Christianity? Be Thinking.org is there to help you think through some of the tough questions on faith and reality. It aims to better prepare Christians to communicate the good news about Jesus, and how being a Christian should work itself out in our lives.

Do check it out!

Gospel intentionality and mission

"Being gospel-centered means we’re word-centered (because the gospel is a message; it is good news), and it means being mission-centered (because the gospel is a message to be proclaimed; it is good news)...

Most gospel ministry involves ordinary people doing ordinary things with gospel intentionality. It means doing the chores, having meals, watching sports, and so on with an intention to talk about Jesus, to pastor one another with the gospel, and to share that gospel with unbelievers. It's about a whole life lived in mission and community, in which we're always looking to build relationships and always looking to talk about Jesus. "
— Tim Chester

Doing ordinary things with gospel intentionality is to live, within the rhythms of everyday life, in such a way that opens up opportunities to communicate the truths of the gospel. Jonathan Dodson has 8 suggestions what doing ordinary things with gospel intentionality might look like. In light of the Great Commission (Matt 28:16-20), how might we, here in Malaysia, live with gospel intentionality? Feel free to throw in suggestions in the comments!

Resurrection: Not just an afterthought

“[After] All that stuff about science and physics, and the complications of physics and things, what it really comes down to is the resurrection of Jesus...It’s so petty, it’s so trivial, it’s so local, it’s so earth-bound, it’s so unworthy of the universe.”

So says noted atheist scientist, Richard Dawkins, in a debate. And though we no doubt deeply disagree with him, we sometimes find it harder to explain why, exactly, it's so important. If all our debt has been paid on the cross, why the resurrection? Here, very very briefly, is a non-exhaustive list why resurrection is key.

Firstly, resurrection tells us that the Davidic King is now ruling. King David prophesied that the Messiah would be enthroned when God raised him from the dead (Psalm 110:1, Acts 2:34-35). Here is a King whose reign is all-encompassing and all-conquering. The empty tomb of Jesus testifies to the fact that He is that King! No wonder the disciples were transformed! God raised him, they saw him, they lived for him.

Secondly, resurrection tells us that new life really is found in Christ. Negatively speaking, “if Christ has not been raised, your faith is futile and you are still in your sins.” (1 Cor. 15:17). We know that sin leads to death. Jesus, in dying on the cross, has taken our punishment upon himself. But in rising again, he demonstrates that the cross has done its work. Sin is completely dealt with! We know we are truly justified (Rom 4:25), and death is no longer the end. We can rest, wholly assured.

Thirdly, resurrection tells us that we presently have new power. In Colossians 3:1, Paul can say of Christians, “you have been raised with Christ” (past tense). In one sense, we have been resurrected already. The Holy Spirit who raised Jesus from the dead (Rom. 8:9-11) is the same Spirit who dwells in all believers. Resurrection gives us a glimpse of life in the future. But that future resurrection life begins to bear fruit in us today as we walk God's way.

Fourthly, resurrection tells us that a new creation is coming. Peter praises God for his great mercy in granting Christians “a living hope through the resurrection of Jesus Christ from the dead.” (1 Peter 1:3). Jesus' resurrection will not be the last. His resurrection, instead, guarantees that it will be the first of the many who trust in him (1 Cor. 15:20-21). And through the resurrection of God's children, all of creation groans in hope too, as it awaits complete renewal (Rom. 8:18-23). Far from abandoning the earth, God will one day reshape it.

Resurrection, unworthy of the universe? On the contrary, the universe is unworthy of such a momentous event. Christ is risen, hallelujah!

Brian K

Secured by Christ on the cross!

Everything that we know and appreciate and praise God for in all Christian experience both in this life and in the life to come springs from this bloody cross.

Do we have the gift of the Spirit? Secured by Christ on the cross!

Do we enjoy the fellowship of saints? Secured by Christ on the cross!

Does he give us comfort in life and death? Secured by Christ on the cross!

Does he watch over us faithfully, providentially, graciously, and covenantally? Secured by Christ on the cross!

Do we have hope of a heaven to come? Secured by Christ on the cross!

Do we anticipate resurrection bodies on the last day? Secured by Christ on the cross!

Is there a new heaven and a new earth, the home of righteousness? Secured by Christ on the cross!

Do we now enjoy new identities, so that we are no longer to see ourselves as nothing but failures, moral pariahs, disappointments to our parents—but deeply loved, blood-bought, human beings, redeemed by Christ, declared just by God himself, owing to the fact that God himself presented his Son Jesus as the propitiation for our sins? All this is secured by Christ on the cross and granted to those who have faith in him.

- D.A Carson, Scandalous