When something lives up to its hype it is special. It doesn’t happen often, but when it does I get excited. This was the case when I was reading Pierced for our Transgressions. I just kept saying, “this is great stuff!”
For starters the task at hand is one that ignites passion in my own soul, as the subtitle says, “Rediscovering the Glory of Penal Substitution.” This is a book that overtly sets out to refresh believers with the ever sparkling diamond of person and work of Christ.
The first thing you notice after the striking cover page of thorns is the army of endorsements. There are just pages and pages of contemporary pastors, theologians and songwriters who are excited about this book. John Piper writes the forward and fires you up to be impressed and amazed at the glory of the atonement.
The authors, all of whom are British and associated with Oak Hill Theological College in London, are able and ardent defenders of the doctrine of penal substitution. They write with in a clear, comprehensive and compelling style. For those who may not be familiar with the authors they reminded me of a combination of D.A. Carson and Wayne Grudem, through their scholarly but at the same time succinct and devotional style.
As far as the structure, the book is divided up in 2 major sections, Part 1: Making the Case, and Part 2: Answering the Critics.
I really enjoyed the biblical examination of penal substitution. The authors stroll through the Scriptures and examine the glorious landscape of the atonement.
The authors define penal substitution in the following way, “The doctrine of penal substitution states that God gave himself in the person of his Son to suffer instead of us the death, punishment and curse due to fallen humanity as the penalty for sin.”
Throughout the intensely theological biblical examination of penal substitution the authors unpack several author important corollary themes that help us understand the necessity of penal substitution. They point to the fall of humanity as a “decreation” and show how all sin is ultimately idolatrous, calling it “false faith.” This false faith is “delusional, undermining our ability to think rightly particularly about God….it is a willed commitment….beyond a merely rational impairment, so that we actually desire what is evil.”
A high point in the book for me was the section on the relationship within the Trinity with respect to the atonement. We see the “Generosity within the Trinity” through the Father giving the Son that he may give the ransomed to the Son (cf. John 6).
Since the authors are presenting the doctrine as a biblical doctrine in the face of no small amount of contemporary attacks it is helpful for them to show that this doctrine of penal substitution is nothing new. They cite church history as an auxiliary in proving their case, but they are careful not to elevate history to a unbiblical level of authority: “We are interested in whether penal substitution is biblical, not whether it is traditional, and the accumulated testimony of the all the theologians in the world means nothing against the authority of the Bible….Although we do not look to previous generations as a source of authority, they are a valuable source of wisdom.”
The authors then trace “The Historical Pedigree of Penal Substitution” from Justin Martyr to Athanasius to John Calvin to Charles Spurgeon to John Stott to John Murray to other contemporary teachers such as John Piper and Wayne Grudem. This an informative and encouraging section.
In the second section the authors set out to interact with the opposing arguments against penal substitution. In each case they quote directly from the dissenting sources and seem to engage carefully and fairly with the respective arguments. I found this section to be a clinic on how to think and interact with arguments biblically. It was outstanding.
Each of the answers average only a few pages. Some of the arguments included are:
‘Penal Substitution is not important enough to be a source of division’
‘Penal Substitution rests on unbiblical ideas of sacrifice’
‘The violence involved in Penal Substitution amounts to cosmic child abuse’
‘The retributive violence involved in penal substitution contradicts Jesus’ message of peace and love’
‘It is unjust to punish an innocent person, even if he is willing to be punished’
‘Penal Substitution does not work, for the penalty Christ suffered was not equivalent to that due to us’
‘Penal Substitution relies on an unbiblical view of an angry God that is incompatible with this love’
‘Penal Substitution legitimates violence and encourages the passive acceptance of unjust suffering’
Over and over again I marked up my book with “This is good.” Or “YES!” I will return to these pages regularly.
Finally, I commend the authors for their efforts in making this book pastoral. The overall tone of the book is pastoral, however, they go out of their way to address sections to pastors. Within the context of unpacking the biblical teaching of penal substitution they insert a valuable chapter entitled, “Exploring the implications: the pastoral importance of penal substation” and then in conclusion to the work they provide an appendix entitled “A personal note to preachers.” Again, I really appreciate the effort of the writers to connect the dots of the importance of penal substitution and then lovingly bounce the ball to the pastor to shepherd like the doctrine matters and like it is under attack.
I tend to not be one to oversell something for the obvious reason that people will inevitably be disappointed. However, in the case of Pierced for our Transgressions I do not have this fear. If you are a pastor you need to read this book. If you are not a pastor but are a believer who wants to understand the cross better, you should read this book. It may well be the one of the best books I have ever read. I cannot recommend it highly enough.
After this shameless plug feel free to swing over to Westminster Books to pick up your discounted copy for yourself or your pastor. You may also read Piper’s forward and the first chapter for free on their website.