The Great Exchange: My Sin for His Righteousness

I have been a fan of Jerry Bridges for several years. I was first introduced to Bridges when I picked up 'Transforming Grace'--a warm and refreshing treatment of the grace of God and how we can practically apply the liberating truth of God's grace to our daily lives. Then I read The 'Pursuit of Holiness,' followed by 'Discipline of Grace' and then The 'Gospel for Real Life.' Needless to say, I quickly learned that Jerry Bridges is not only doctrinally in-tune with the truths of the gospel; he is relentlessly passionate about the gospel. When I heard that Bridges was teaming up with a close friend (Bevington) to write a thorough and accessible treatment of Christ's atonement, I was excited to devour the truths I knew would be clearly and practically expounded in their work. I was not disappointed. 'The Great Exchange' is, in simple terms, a book about the gospel. More specifically, it is a book that explains what the Bible teaches about Christ's substitutionary atonement, and how this atonement makes us right with God. The theme verse of the book is II Corinthians 5:21, "For our sake [God] made him to be sin who knew no sin, so that in him we might become the righteousness of God." In chapter after chapter, Bridges and Bevington explain, from from many Old and New Testament passages, what it means that Christ became sin on our behalf so that we could become the righteousness of God. In a word it means that Christ, the sinless one, was charged with our sin, while we, in the Great Exchange, received Christ's perfect righteousness. Bridges and Bevington also focus on the representative life of Christ, explaining that the fullness of Christ's atonement not only happened at the cross; it was occurring over the course of his whole life, while Christ was walking in perfect obedience to God's law on our behalf. Christ was our substitute, not only in his death, but also during his life--he lived a perfectly righteous life in our place and died the death we deserved. As a result, God can now justify those who trust in Christ because he credits Christ's righteousness to them, while transferring all their guilt to Christ; a guilt that has been fully paid for at the cross. God remains just and we receive pardon from sin and perfect righteousness. Bridges and Bevington also emphasize the truth that the work of Christ's atonement is not a work that happens on the inside of us (although it is the grounds for God's work on our hearts), it is an external, finished, objective, historical work that has already fulfilled the law of God in our place. There is no work left to do; that is why faith is the instrument by which we receive the benefits of this great atonement. In the latter two-thirds of the book, Bridges and Bevington take the reader through every major passage in the New Testament that speaks of Christ's work of representation and atonement, mining each text for precious truth. Major passages from the book of Acts, all of Paul's epistles (excluding Ph

Go figure, a theology that you won't want to put down! - This vital topic (the atonement) is explained in a thoroughly Biblical and readable way. - I'm thankful to the authors for their fidelity and attention to the Biblical texts without getting lost in the controversial areas of the atonement. Reading this book reminded me how we so need to major in the vast riches of what can be clearly understood. I was humbled; enriched; encouraged; and sure of my faith after reading and studying this book.

In The Great Exchange, Jerry Bridges and Bob Bevington show us what the apostles taught in scripture about the atonement, patterning their work after George Smeaton's The Apostles Docrine of the Atonement, a classic study written more than 130 years ago. There are two sections in this book: a first section summing up the teaching of the apostles on Christ's atonement and placing this teaching in it's historical context; and the second--the bulk of the book--examining the apostle-authored texts dealing with Christ's atonement, moving from Acts through Revelation. The authors are firmly convinced that the message of the cross is central to true faith.You can't read more than a few pages of The Great Exchange and not clue into how much these two gentlemen cherish the doctrine of the atonement. Over and over, page after page, they show us from numerous texts that the apostles are teaching us a precious truth:"..[T]he Great Exchange that results from the death of the perfect sacrifice is a twofold substitution: the charging of the believer's sin to Christ results in God's forgiveness, and the crediting of Christ's righteousness to the believer results in his justification." There you have it--the great exchange of Christ's atonement. If you desire to better understand and appreciate this great exchange--and we all should, shouldn't we?--this book is the right place to start. It's good theology coupled with writing that anyone can understand. I plan to add it to my short list of theology books for the lay person, but it would be well-suited for any pastor or teacher, too. I have just a few very small complaints, too small to mention were this an ordinary book. But it's not ordinary; it ought to be a classic based on the depth of content. It's that depth of content that makes some of the awkward phrasing, like "equally as", for instance, worthy of mention. There are also a few factual errors that I found as I read and studied along. The text says, for example, that the phrase "in him" occurs twice in 2 Corinthians 5:21 and it's only there once. (It occurs occurs once more in verse 19, and this is probably the second occurrence intended.) In addition, there are more than a few places where statements are made that are undoubtedly correct, but that I'd like to see defended more explicitly. Let me show you what I mean. The book states, "As God, and as co-maker of the law, Christ was under no obligation on his own account to be under the law or to obey the law, and, as a result, he is capable of giving his voluntary obedience away." I don't disagree, but I couldn't give the reasons why this statement is right. I wish the authors had given the reasoning behind this statement and several others like it, perhaps not in the text, but in endnotes or appendices. I do hope The Great Exchange becomes a classic, because it is a wonderful tool for expanding the reader's understanding of Christ's work and increasing their love for Christ himself. I highly re

This book is awesome. I really enjoyed the entire book, it's right on target and in many cases presents in a context I had not thought of prior. I would recommend this highly. I'm thinking of buying copies for all the Pastors, Elders, and Deacons at my church.

I get excited anytime I see a book dedicated to helping people more clearly understand, value, and articulate Christ's atonement. So as you can imagine I was eager to get my hands on The Great Exchange by Jerry Bridges and Bob Bevington. For those who love the gospel and enjoy time basking in its glorious truth this book is a treasure. The writing style of Bridges and Bevington is clear and engaging. Furthermore, they write as men who are impressed with Christ and his atonement. This passion is catchy as you read the book. From the preface: "...our goal is to declare the whole counsel of God in the gospel and to show how every aspect can be traced back to its substance in the substitutionary atonement. Our book is not about us; it is not our story. We aim to disappear now and display Christ and him crucified as the treasure of all time. We pray that you, too, will become self-forgetful as you turn these pages, because what you see here is God in Christ doing something that is truly larger than life, namely, providing an all-sufficient substitutionary atonement for us by his perfect, obedient life in the flesh and his perfect sacrificial death in the flesh. Herein you will find the meaning of the Great Exchange, the monumental reality that in the gospel: `Four our sake [God] made [Christ] to be sin who knew no sin, so that in [Christ] we might become the righteousness of God' (2 Cor. 5.21)." The book is divided into two parts, Part One deals with the overview and context of the atonement of Christ. Of particular encouragement to me was the time the authors spent in the Old Testament unpacking and explaining the historical and theological context of the atonement. Of great value is the writers' analysis of the components of the sacrificial system in general and The Day of Atonement in particular. I highly recommend these chapters. In the second half of the book, which makes up the majority of the work, the writers walk through the Apostle Authored Scripture on a study of the atonement of Christ. These chapters become a useful tool to any pastor, teacher, Bible study leader, Christian, whoever, in their pursuit of a better understanding of the atonement in the various New Testament books. I highly recommend this book as a great tool to stir your own appreciation of the work of Christ. You cannot but be affected by such a glorious study.