Death By Love: Letters From The Cross (2008) - Plot & Excerpts
If you want to better understand the mystery of Christ's suffering and death on the cross. About what that has to do with you. This is the book. I read it twice and plan to read it again. Each reading brought me greater depth of understanding. This is one of the best Christian books I have read. Driscoll does a good job of explaining theological concepts to someone like me, with little background in Theology. I have not read all of Mark Driscoll's writings, but this is the best books of his I have read yet (one of the best books of any author at that!). In a style untypical of Driscoll's other writings, this book is a collection of 12 letters that he personally wrote to 12 individuals he has pastored; each covering a different aspect of how the Crucifixion of Jesus on the cross adequately satisfies the struggles each individual is dealing with. The topics covered include: Jesus as Christus Victor, redemption, justification, propitiation, gift righteousness, Jesus as the New Covenant Sacrifice, expiation, atonement, ransom, Jesus as Christus Exemplar, reconciliation and revelation (i.e. Jesus is the revelation of God the Father, not the book of revelation in the Bible).The book is theologically packed. However, reading each topic through the lens of a personal experience in letter format make this book engaging and insightful. Therefore, I think this book is helpful for a wide range of understanding and experience individuals have with the Cross of Jesus. From the non-Christian who's seeking answers to the pastor seeking to love and shepherd his flock well.After each chapter, there are a list of common questions and answers (Breshears writes these) on each topic presented. These are explained well, benefiting those who are using them to obtain answers as well as those who want insight into how to explain the answers to others. Additionally, there is an Introduction chapter that beautifully covers the history of crucifixion and the substitutionary death of Jesus on the cross. This history helped me understand more clearly the lengths Jesus went to pay for my sin, as we live in a culture without the brutality of crucifixion.Concerning the chapter on atonement, Driscoll presents his view of "unlimited limited atonement." While you may not agree with this view (or with Driscoll in general, like many–he has a lot of critics) I would encourage you to not let this stop you from reading this chapter or the book. For more information on the atoning work of Jesus' death, I would recommend Wayne Grudem's Systematic Theology, chapter 32.One last thing from a book nerd...I would recommend getting the hardcover copy. You'll likely want to reread the book or use if for reference and this will help it be more durable. It also has one of the coolest book covers I've ever seen and that, to me, makes it worth paying a little more to get the hardcover.--It's all about Jesus.
What do You think about Death By Love: Letters From The Cross (2008)?
I thought this book was terrible, and actually couldn't finish it because I was so disgusted.
—bigjw1962
A totally new perspective on the cross of Jesus.
—chuck
