The Passion of Jesus Christ: 50 reasons why he came to die by John Piper is one of my favourite books. It is a collection of 50 short devotions looking at why Jesus died on the cross.
To put it simply, this book is gold dust! I have loved every chapter of this book… and there are 50 of them!.
The concept of the book is that the death of Christ is so multi-layered in meaning that you could list aspects of the cross ad infinitum. The old puritans would talk about the gospel diamond – multi faceted.
In the light of that, Piper writes 50 reasons (and he claims he could go on).
These include:
-To absorb the wrath of God
-To become a ransom for many
-To give us a clear conscience
-To enable us to live for Christ and not for ourselves
-To disarm the rulers and authorities
-To show that the worst evil is meant by God for good
The book has three main strengths:
1. It has short chapters that are easy to understand. This makes the book very readable. It also means you can pick it up and put it down easily.
2. It is a doctrinally rich book. Although the chapters are short, they are deep. Indeed many beautiful doctrines are unpacked and explained.
3. It is heart warming and practical. This is no dry theology, this is true theology – a doxology.
Ultimately this book will develop your doctrine, fuel your doxology, and encourage your duty (not that Piper would like that word!).
Well worth a read… actually, well worth a meditation.
You can download the PDF for free here.
Free Christian Books Online 