‘But I Say to You...’: Christ the Controversialist
Overview
Jesus Christ has a way of cutting right across our logic and opinions, just as he did while on earth. Who God is, the authority of Scripture, the way of salvation, morality, and worship are just some of the areas where he turns things on their heads. Are you willing to follow this controversialist Christ?
For more by John Stott, see John Stott Collection (7 vols.).
- Exposes how controversial Christ truly is
- Turns discussions about God, morality, Christ, and the authority of scripture on their heads
- Asks if we are willing to follow the controversial Christ of the Bible
Top Highlights
“In reply to this, we need to say that the Christian Faith is essentially dogmatic, because it claims to be a revealed Faith.” (Page 16)
“We need to make a distinction between the tolerant mind and the tolerant spirit. A Christian should always be tolerant in spirit—loving, understanding, forgiving and being patient with others, making allowances for them, and giving them the benefit of the doubt, for true love ‘always protects, always trusts, always hopes, always perseveres’.11 But how can we be tolerant in mind of what God has clearly revealed to be wrong?” (Page 19)
“The limits of our knowledge are set, not by what we decide we want to know, but by what God has decided to reveal to us.” (Page 16)
“First, we must distinguish more clearly between tradition and Scripture.” (Page 77)
“The adjective ‘evangelistic’ describes an activity, that of spreading the gospel. ‘Evangelical’, on the other hand, describes a theology, what the apostle Paul called ‘the truth of the gospel’.” (Page 26)
Every thoughtful Christian ought to read this classic exposition of evangelical essentials. Though written more than forty years ago, its central message stands and is needed today more than ever. John Stott expounds persuasively, generously, lucidly, and with penetrating insight, what it means to be faithful to Jesus Christ. This is a brilliant book.
—Christopher Ash, director, Cornhill Training Course
I vividly recall reading this book in its earliest version forty years ago, and it contained the stand-out set of arguments that persuaded me to commit my life to Christ later that year. Thank you, John, for all that has meant to me since.
—Andrew Fergusson, author and former Head of Communications, Christian Medical Fellowship
This is vintage Stott—clear, biblical, passionate, thoughtful and Christ-centred. A magisterial defence of biblical historic evangelical Christianity. By brilliant analysis of the debates of Jesus with the Pharisees and Sadducees of his day, he highlights modern versions of the same distortions. Profound, lucid and compelling, this book is as relevant to current debates as when it was first published.
—John Wyatt, professor of neonatal paediatrics, University College London
- Title: ‘But I Say to You …’: Christ the Controversialist
- Author: John Stott
- Publisher: Inter-Varsity
- Print Publication Date: 2013
- Logos Release Date: 2014
- Pages: 224
- Language: English
- Resources: 1
- Format: Digital › Logos Research Edition
- Subjects: Evangelicalism; Apologetics; Christ in controversy
- ISBNs: 9781844749027, 9781783590278, 9781783590285, 1844749029, 1783590270, 1783590289
- Resource ID: LLS:SYYCHCNTRVRSLST
- Resource Type: Monograph
- Metadata Last Updated: 2022-09-30T03:16:32Z
John Stott is known around the world as a preacher, evangelist, and writer. He was one of the main contributors to the Lausanne Covenant (1974) and the founder of Langham Partnership, which seeks to equip a new generation of Bible teachers around the world.
