I hope you will put up with me in a little foolishness. Yes, please put up with me! 2 I am jealous for you with a godly jealousy. I promised you to one husband, to Christ, so that I might present you as a pure virgin to him. 3 But I am afraid that just as Eve was deceived by the serpent’s cunning, your minds may somehow be led astray from your sincere and pure devotion to Christ. 4 For if someone comes to you and preaches a Jesus other than the Jesus we preached, or if you receive a different spirit from the Spirit you received, or a different gospel from the one you accepted, you put up with it easily enough.
(2 Corinthians 11:1-4, NIV)
I am astonished that you are so quickly deserting the one who called you to live in the grace of Christ and are turning to a different gospel— 7 which is really no gospel at all. Evidently some people are throwing you into confusion and are trying to pervert the gospel of Christ. 8 But even if we or an angel from heaven should preach a gospel other than the one we preached to you, let them be under God’s curse! 9 As we have already said, so now I say again: If anybody is preaching to you a gospel other than what you accepted, let them be under God’s curse! 10 Am I now trying to win the approval of human beings, or of God? Or am I trying to please people? If I were still trying to please people, I would not be a servant of Christ.
(Galatians 1:6-10, NIV)
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*INTRODUCTORY VIDEO: "What is the Gospel?" by John Piper (4 minutes)*MESSAGES FROM SOME OF THE BEST MODERN PREACHERS OF THE GOSPEL:
*SERMON: "What is the Gospel?" by RC Sproul (44 minutes)
*SERMON: "What is the Gospel?" by Paul Washer (63 minutes)
*SERMON: "Hell's Best Kept Secret" by Ray Comfort (60 minutes)
*CLASSIC GOSPEL SERMONS FROM THE GREAT AWAKENING (1730-1760):
*"Sinners in the Hands of an Angry God" by Jonathan Edwards. Also FREE in audio or in this excellent video reenactment.
*"Free Grace" by John Wesley. Also FREE in audio.
*"Awake, Thou That Sleepeth" by John Wesley. Also FREE in audio.
*"The Scripture Way of Salvation" by John Wesley. Also FREE in audio.
*"The Image of God" by John Wesley. Only available in FREE audio.
*BOOK: Commentary on the Epistle to the Galatians by Martin Luther. Also FREE in audio. Luther's commentary on Galatians is one of the most important books in the history of the Church. It preserves the central Gospel message of the man who precipitated the Protestant Reformation. As the translator of this work says in his preface: "The importance of this Commentary on Galatians for the history of Protestantism is very great. It presents like no other of Luther's writings the central thought of Christianity, the justification of the sinner for the sake of Christ's merits alone." Brief biography of Martin Luther
And Luther's Commentary on the Romans is equally important. In fact, it was at Aldersgate while the preface to Luther's Commentary on Romans was being read that John Wesley experienced the Gospel in a way that changed his life and led him to be the foremost preacher in the Great Awakening--or has he recalls it, caused his "heart to be strangely warmed."
ONLINE COURSE
*"What is the Gospel?" The Gospel Coalition Course
OTHER BOOK RECOMMENDATIONS
*Stott, John. The Cross of Christ.
*Rutledge, Fleming. The Crucifixion: Understanding the Death of Jesus Christ
*Hengel, Martin. Crucifixion: In The Ancient World And The Folly Of The Message Of The Cross
*Owen, John. The Death of Death in the Death of Christ: A Treatise in Which the Whole Controversy about Universal Redemption is Fully Discussed. FREE at Internet Archive or at Monergism.org (easier to read). FREE audiobook at SermonAudio. Brief biography of John Owen and links to this and his other works at The Digital Puritan.
*Wells, Paul. Cross Words: The Biblical Doctrine of the Atonement
Here are some excellent recommendations from my friend Rob Bowman, Jr. at Faiththinkers.org:
Hill, Charles E., and Frank A. James III, eds. The Glory of the Atonement: Biblical, Theological & Practical Perspectives. Downers Grove, IL: IVP Academic, 2004. Studies by such notable scholars as D. A. Carson, J. I. Packer, Bruce K. Waltke, etc.
Jeffery, Steve, Michael Ovey, and Andrew Sach. Pierced for Our Transgressions: Rediscovering the Glory of Penal Substitution. Wheaton: Crossway, 2007. Defense of the doctrine biblically, historically, theologically, and ethically. "Penal" means having to do with punishment; on this view, Christ suffered and died to take away the punishment we deserve because of our sins.
Johnson, Adam J. Atonement: A Guide for the Perplexed. London and New York: Bloombury T&T Clark, 2015. Helpful study emphasizing “the riches” of the atonement as understood through complementary themes or models including substitution, victory, and so on, and rooting the doctrine of the atonement in the nature of the triune God and the person and life of Jesus Christ.
Morris, Leon. The Apostolic Preaching of the Cross. 3rd ed. Grand Rapids: Eerdmans, 1965. Word studies on key terms (redemption, covenant, blood, lamb of God, propitiation, reconciliation, justification) arguing for an objective view of the atonement as a substitutionary sacrifice for sins. My favorite of Morris's several books on the subject (but they're all very good!).
Packer, J. I., and Mark Dever. In My Place Condemned He Stood: Celebrating the Glory of the Atonement. Wheaton: Crossway, 2007. Collection of helpful essays, several of which can also be found on the Monergism website (along with many other good resources): https://www.monergism.com/.../penal-substitutionary....
*If you want to see theologians defending different views on the atonement, this book is also worth a look:
Beilby, James, and Paul R. Eddy, eds. The Nature of the Atonement: Four Views. Downers Grove, IL: InterVarsity Press, 2006. Essays defending the Christus Victor (Gregory A. Boyd), penal substitution (Thomas Schreiner), Healing (Bruce R. Reichenbach), and Kaleidoscopic (Joel B. Green) views of the atonement
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