Christ’s Doctrine of the Atonement

The greatest weight must of necessity be laid on those statements which are offered by the Lord Himself in reference to His work.’

The Lord Jesus Christ, who offered himself on the cross as an atonement for sin, is also the preeminent interpreter of his atoning work. He witnessed powerfully to the necessity and nature of his substitionary death both before and after it occured.

George Smeaton was one of the great luminaries in the theological galaxy which graced New College, Edinburgh, in the second half of the nineteenth century. His colleague James MacGregor said that he possessed ‘the best constituted theological intellect in Christendom’. His invaluable study of our Lord’s teaching on the significance of his death gives substance to that claim. In it we find Smeaton’s sensitive theological acumen, his skill in judicious exposition, and his evident devotion to the person of Jesus Christ – all combined in a masterly survey of the Gospel texts which illumine the doctrine of the atonement. Christ’s Doctrine of the Atonement, like its companion volume on the Apostles’ doctrine, is a work to be read and re-read. Those who possess it will often find themselves instinctively turning to consult Smeaton for insight on passages where other works have failed them.

ENDORSEMENTS

‘George Smeaton’s magnificent studies of the New Testament’s teaching on the work of Christ, Christ’s Doctrine of the Atonement and The Apostles’ Doctrine of the Atonement [are] two books which I am convinced ought to be in the possession of every minister of the gospel, preacher, teacher and student for the ministry.

These books are reliable, but they are also wonderfully readable. Ministers at every age and stage will benefit from them, and be led by them through careful, biblical, spiritual exposition of the cross. They combine biblical exegesis, doctrinal exposition, spiritual meditation, depth without dense style, clarity without technical clutter.’ – SINCLAIR B. FERGUSON