The Doctrine of the Atonement, As Taught by Christ Himself deals with nearly every passage in the Gospels referring to the death of Christ. In this volume Smeaton examines parallel Bible texts in the Gospels of Matthew, Mark, Luke, and John, as well as passages in which Christ personally explains the nature, scope, and result of his death on behalf of mankind. The author presents Jesus' explanations of his death and resurrection as proof that God indeed forgives those sinners who trust in Him. His death as a substitution for the resolution of their personal sin is shown to be God's guarantee of redemption. Smeaton describes in depth these Gospel accounts in which Jesus offered insight into the divine view of the cross.
“There is a threefold division of prophecy in the Old Testament bearing on the humiliations of Messiah. The first may be described as announcing a suffering Surety; the second, as exhibiting the voluntary subjection of Messiah to the sufferings encountered by Him; and the third sets forth how the tenor of His sufferings leads others to repose their trust in Him for salvation.” (Pages 6–7)
“They must (1) be faultless sufferings, and without challenge, corresponding to the character of Him to whom the satisfaction required to be made; they were (2) to be painful and ignominious to the last degree; they must (3) have an unlimited worth or value derived from the dignity of the sufferer; and they must (4) accurately correspond to the declarations of God.” (Page 7)
“The import is that the freedom in which man was created, and which was forfeited by sin, can be restored only by the Son (ver. 36).” (Page 22)
“consequences flow from sin and may be called a penalty. To give the name of punishments, however, to the natural” (Page 34)
“Thus the qualities essentially requisite in the atoning Surety” (Page 7)