 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
THE
BIBLE
Can we trust a book written 2000 years ago?
EYEWITNESS
Did the writers of the New Testament get their picture of Jesus right?
GOD
- MAN
Is Jesus really God?
RESURRECTION
Did Jesus really rise from the dead?
RELIGIONS
With so many religions, why Christianity?
SUFFERING
If there is a God, why is there so much suffering?
TRINITY
Understanding the Trinity.
SCIENCE
The complementary nature of Science & Christianity.
FORGIVENESS
What it is and why it matters?
GUIDANCE
How does God guide?
REPENTANCE
What it is and why you can't get to heaven without it.
BORN
AGAIN
What does it mean to be converted and born again?
SAVING
FAITH
The kind of faith that will get you to heaven
ASSURANCE
Can I know for sure that I am going to heaven?
TRUTH
What is truth and does it matter?
MORALITY
Does it matter how we live? A Christian view of morality.
THE
CHURCH
God's vision for his family, the Church. A call to the churches of the
new millennium.
PURPOSE
How
can I find a great purpose for living?
IDENTITY
Who am I; Finding my true identity as a human being and as a child of
God.
SELF-ESTEEM
How
can I feel good about my self? The Christian basis for proper sel-esteem.
LIFE AFTER DEATHChristianity's Hope & Challenge.
THE CROSS
Why did Jesus Die? What the Bible says about the Cross.
Grace
The importance of grace in the New Testament.
FOREWORD
The cross is the centre and heartbeat of the biblical faith. It is the hallmark of evangelical orthodoxy which has empowered the Church throughout its history in worship and in times of persecution and is the central motif for world evangelisation. It is surprising, therefore, how few books on the cross have stood the test of time. During the twentieth century, James Denny’s Death of Christ (1903), Leon Morris’s Apostolic Preaching of the Cross (1955) and John Stott’s The Cross of Christ (1986) are among the few outstanding works.
Now in Dick Tripp’s Why did Jesus Die? What the Bible Says About the Cross, we have a work of outstanding and lasting worth—an amazingly comprehensive reference to all the biblical texts that point to Christ’s death, its meaning and significance for today’s Church.
In Part I he traces the progressive revelation of God’s saving work from Genesis to Revelation. He takes us through the images of the cross in the Old Testament from the tree of life to the Passover, to the bronze serpent in the wilderness, to the Day of Atonement, to Israel’s Suffering Servant in Isaiah and the Psalms.
Continuing in the New Testament, Dick Tripp takes us through the centrality of the cross in the Gospels, the Acts and the New Testament Letters and Revelation. Throughout, there is constant cross-reference to both Testaments, to the Church’s commentators throughout its history and to contemporary Christian writers. A mine of fact and interpretation to inspire the heart of any preacher and teacher of Scripture.
In Part II he relates the cross to the theme of the Trinity, the love and justice of God, to suffering and resurrection and to other religious Faiths.
Dick Tripp’s treatment of the cross as Christ’s atonement for sin brings together Christ’s identity with God his Father and with suffering and sinful humanity. He outlines the benefits of reconciliation and forgiveness, justification and sanctification, adoption and union with Christ in victorious living. For here the cross reveals both the character of God and the purpose of Christ’s incarnation, that ‘Christ died for our sins according to the Scriptures’. The Cross is shown to be the symbol of Christ’s saving act, universally recognised in every church and publicly displayed on the clothing of believers. Jesus promised that when he is lifted up he will draw all people to himself (John12:32). Dick shows that the cross is a magnet drawing people of every culture by his redeeming love. I unreservedly commend this book to pastors as a study guide for preaching on the cross and to all who seek to live out in daily life Jesus Christ as Saviour and Lord.
Bruce Nicholls
Rev. Dr Bruce J Nicholls was a career missionary in India working in theological education and in pastoral ministry with the Church of North India. He was also Editor of the Evangelical Review of Theology for 18 years and is now Editor of the Asia Bible Commentary Series.
 |
Foreword
Introduction
Part 1: What the Bible says about the cross
Images
of the cross from the Old Testament
The tree of life
The serpent’s fatal wound
Thorns—symbol of the curse
Our nakedness covered through the shedding
of blood
A God who is prepared to die
The Father’s sacrifice
Passover—safe beneath the Lamb’s
blood
Bitter waters made sweet
The smitten rock—God in the dock
Animal sacrifices
Day of Atonement—the rent curtain
The bronze serpent
Isaiah’s Suffering Servant
The Psalms
Death leading to resurrection
The
cross in the Gospels
The emphasis on the passion and cross in the Gospel
Hints and clear references to the cross before
its occurrence
The Last Supper
Gethsemane
The trial
The crucifixion
The burial
The resurrection
Between resurrection and ascension
The cross—the focus of prophecy
The
cross in Acts
The cross in the New Testament letters
Christ’s death “for our sins”
The blood of Christ
The cross in Paul’s letters
The cross and sin
The cross central in Paul’s preaching
Our identification with Christ in
his death
Our identification with Christ in suffering
The cross and the wisdom of God
The cross and the challenge to godly living
Christ death and our death
The death of Christ and his exultation
Benefits
of the cross
Forgiveness
Justification
Salvation
Reconciliation
Redemption
Sanctification
Propitiation
Adoption
The
cross in Hebrews
The cross in 1 Peter
The cross in 1 John
The cross in Revelation
Part 2: Related themes
The cross and the Trinity
The cross and the love of God
The cross and the justice of God
The cross and suffering
Why Easter Saturday?
God’s “Yes” of Easter Day
The cross and history’s reversal of values
Why
the cross is not popular
The cross and discipleship
The cross and other religions
The cross and our response
