It Is Well: Expositions on Substitutionary Atonement
Overview
The idea of Christ’s substitutionary atonement for sinners is central in both the Old and New Testaments—from the Passover to the prophets to the words of Jesus and the apostles. In It Is Well, pastors Mark Dever and Michael Lawrence demonstrate how the atonement is clearly taught throughout Scripture.
Starting with Exodus 12 and moving through other key Old Testament passages into the Gospels and the epistles of Paul and Peter, the authors offer careful expositions on 14 crucial texts. As they speak to important issues, such as what happens when there is no substitute for sin, why God forsook Christ, Jesus’ perspective on his substitutionary work, and the necessity and benefits of the atonement, they show how much the doctrine applies to the Christian life. It Is Well not only encourages pastors to preach this essential doctrine for the strengthening of the church, but it helps individual believers understand and exult in the richness of God’s love in Christ.
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- Demonstrates how the atonement is clearly taught throughout Scripture
- Offers careful expositions on 14 crucial texts
- Examines how much the doctrine of atonement applies to the Christian life
- The Passover: Exodus 12
- The Day of Atonement: Leviticus 16
- Crushed for Our Iniquities: Isaiah 52:13–53:12
- Ransom for Many: Mark 10:45
- Forsaken: Mark 15:33–34
- To Save the World: John 3:14–18
- Better That One Man Die: John 11:47–52
- Propitiation: Romans 3:21–26
- Delivered Over to Death for Our Sins: Romans 4:25
- Justified by His Blood: Romans 5:8–10
- Condemned Sin: Romans 8:1–4
- Becoming a Curse for Us: Galatians 3:10–13
- Bore Our Sins in His Body on the Tree: 1 Peter 2:21–25
- Christ Died for Sins: 1 Peter 3:18
Top Highlights
“There is also a growing hostility to the whole notion that Christ suffered as a substitute, that God would desire such a thing, or that God is at all wrathful. Theologians and biblical scholars have reread parts of the Bible—or set it aside—in order to fashion a seemingly more humane religion, a religion of improvement rather than rescue. In such a domesticated version of Christianity, there is no place for a bloody cross.” (Page 12)
“If they would be saved, it would not be because God’s justice had no claim against them; it would be because when God saw the blood on the doorframes, the blood of the sacrificial substitute, he would in grace pass over that house as he judged.” (Pages 19–20)
“For centuries now, there has been a move to understand Christianity more by the religious experience it provides than by its doctrines. We want to feel God, or at least feel better. We want to feel joy or commitment or sobriety or intimacy with God. We want to see our lives here and now improve. The crucifixion of Christ seems like an important, even necessary, event historically, but not anything that needs to be highlighted today. It may be a moving story, but how will it help my work on Tuesday or my marriage tonight?” (Page 12)
Theological and devotional, expositional and inspirational: these are four words that well-capture this excellent work on the doctrine of penal substitution. Thank you, Mark and Michael, for this gift to the church of the Lord Jesus. Read it and be instructed. Read it and be blessed.
—Daniel L. Akin, president, Southeastern Baptist Theological Seminary
Dever and Lawrence remind us that at the heart of Christianity is Christ, and the heart of Christ’s ministry is the cross, and the heart of the cross is penal substitution. Nor is penal substitution limited to part of the canon. Both in the OT and the NT, forgiveness of sins comes only through substitution. The OT anticipates the substitutionary sacrifice of Christ, the Gospels relate the story of his sacrifice, and the Epistles explicate what Christ has accomplished for his people. What a joy to have the truth of Christ’s work for us set forth in sermons, for we see clearly that Christ’s atoning work is no abstraction. Dever and Lawrence in these well-crafted sermons both instruct us in God’s Word and apply it powerfully to the lives of both believers and unbelievers.
—Thomas R. Schreiner, James Buchanan Harrison Professor of New Testament Interpretation, The Southern Baptist Theological Seminary
This book is brimming with insights into the text as well as with clear and direct application. A refreshing contrast to the great number of low-calorie atonement books on the market.
—Simon Gathercole, senior lecturer in New Testament, University of Cambridge
- Title: It Is Well: Expositions on Substitutionary Atonement
- Authors: Mark Dever, Michael Lawrence
- Series: 9Marks
- Publisher: Crossway
- Print Publication Date: 2010
- Logos Release Date: 2013
- Pages: 224
- Language: English
- Resources: 1
- Format: Digital › Logos Research Edition
- Subject: Atonement › Biblical teaching
- Resource ID: LLS:ITISWELL
- Resource Type: Monograph
- Metadata Last Updated: 2022-02-12T04:02:26Z
Mark Dever is senior pastor of Capitol Hill Baptist Church in Washington, DC, and president of 9Marks Ministries. Dever has authored over a dozen books, is a contributor to Preaching the Great Themes of the Bible, and speaks at conferences nationwide.
Michael Lawrence is the senior pastor of Hinson Baptist Church in Portland, OR. He earned a PhD in church history from Cambridge University and an MDiv from Gordon-Conwell Theological Seminary.