We are in the season of Lent, a season that is for the Christian a time of contemplation on Christ’s death and resurrection.  As we draw closer to Black Friday, it is apt that we should give away a copy of John Stott’s classic, The Cross of Christ.  The book is neatly divided into four major sections:

1. Approaching the Cross
2. The Heart of the Cross
3. The Achievement of the Cross
4. Living Under the Cross

The Cross of Christ gives us a breathtaking view of the horror of crucifixion and the glory of the Lamb slain.  As I have been reading it this past week, I have been floored by the goodness of God toward sinners and the magnitude of Christ’s agony on the cross.  I encourage everyone to read this book.  One of my favorite sections is Section IV, “Living Under the Cross.”  Here Stott addresses at length the outflowing of Christ’s work for the church and how his death and resurrection allow His people to live out the gospel.

In an interview with Dr. Art Lindsley,* John Stott was asked questions about the church and the books that had most influenced him.  But when Dr. Lindsley asked Stott what he believed to be the most important book he has ever written, Stott answers:

I think the answer must be The Cross of Christ. The first reason is that the cross lies at the center of both the Christian faith and the Christian life. If pressed about my favorite verse in Scripture, I would have to say Galatians 6:14: ‘God forbid that I should boast in anything except in the cross of our Lord Jesus Christ, by which the world has been crucified unto me, and I have been crucified unto the world.’ The reason why the cross was central to the mind of Paul is that it was central to the mind of Christ before him.

Secondly, I have been concerned to write a book which is not just about the Atonement but about all aspects of the death of Christ as unfolded in the New Testament. For instance, Christ calls us to take up our cross and follow him. ‘When Christ calls a man,’ wrote Dietrich Bonhoeffer, ‘he bids him come and die.’ We are always in danger of trivializing the meaning of conversion as if it involved only the adoption of a veneer of piety in an otherwise secular life. Then scratch the surface and there is the same old pagan underneath. But no, conversion is much more radical than this. No imagery can do it justice but death and resurrection—death to the old life of self-centeredness and sin, and resurrection to a new life of self-sacrifice and love.

Thirdly, more of my heart and mind went into the writing of The Cross of Christ than into any other book. It is my ‘apology,’ my personal statement of faith.

This week you can win a copy of The Cross of Christ simply by entering your name and email address below.  You will be able to enter the drawing pool from now until Saturday, March 13, at noon.  We will randomly select a winner and notify that winner by email.

*If you click on the link to find the interview with John Stott, it can be found under Summer 2001 at the bottom of the page the link takes you to.