Mark Driscoll and Gerry Breshears have produced an immensely helpful and deeply theological book in Death by Love: Letters from the Cross. The book is formatted as a series of counseling scenarios in which Pastor Mark is hearing someone’s story and situation. Then, Mark writes them a letter, pointing them from their situation to Jesus, emphasizing a different aspect of the benefits of the death and resurrection of Jesus. Finally, at the end of each chapter there is a question and answer section, similar to other books Driscoll and Breshears have teamed up on like Vintage Jesus. While working through numerous life situations such as abuse, addiction, legalism, bitterness, and betrayal, Mark pastorally helps the people he is counseling see Jesus as their substitute, their victory, their redemption, their sacrifice, their propitiation, their expiation, their atonement, their ransom, their example, their reconciliation, and the perfect revelation of God.
The first and main strength of this book is that it connects life situations to Jesus, and specifically to the theological implications of Jesus’s death and resurrection. This book powerfully demonstrates that deep theology need not be impractical. Simultaneously, the book makes a strong case for a robust understanding and appreciation of Jesus being the best remedy for many of life’s most trying situations. Driscoll excels at making complex theological issues accessible and relevant without watering them down. For instance, in explaining the Day of Atonement, Driscoll uses the two goats to explain the difference between propitiation and expiation. The first goat was slaughtered “as a substitute for the sinners who rightly deserved a violently bloody death for their many sins.” Its blood was sprinkled over the tabernacle, God’s dwelling place. This goat, then with its shed blood “represented life given as payment for sin.” This was so that “God’s just and holy wrath was satisfied.” Driscoll connects then this concept to propitiation, “whereby God’s wrath is propitiated, or taken from us, because of Jesus,” (21). Next, Driscoll used the second goat, the scapegoat, to teach on expiation. This goat had the sins of Israel pronounced on it before it was released into the wilderness to die. As such, the goat represents our sin being “taken away, so that we are made clean,” (21). Using the two goats to teach on propitiation (God’s wrath satisfied by a substitute’s shed blood) and expiation (our sin taken away by the substitute) was a good example Driscoll’s ability to put the cookies on the lowest shelf, without making cheap cookies!
The only weakness I saw in this book was not with its content, but with what could not be crammed in the nearly 300 pages. As a counseling book, each chapter helped connect the person’s issues to Jesus and his death and resurrection. However, there was little to no further counseling. One could imply that to pastorally help those who are hurting or stuck in sin, all they need is to understand the theological benefits of the cross. While I wholeheartedly agree that this is the starting point for any faithful, biblical counseling, surely as pastors we must also help them to put sin to death and to put on the righteousness of Christ. I suppose it would be very helpful to have a companion or follow-up volume by Driscoll explaining how to help those under your pastoral care begin to change in a biblical sense.
Quotes:
• “Jesus’ death is not a tragedy perpetuated by oppressive Roman soldiers but a self-initiated sacrifice, an offering he came to make,” (34).
• “Even evil that is intended to destroy us is used by our sovereign God for good and the saving of many lives. No enemy can stop God’s ultimate intent to do good,” (41).
• “Jesus stepped forward and declared that he already paid the penalty for your sins on the cross, canceled any right Satan had to hold you captive, and defeated your Enemy along with his servants and their works and effects in your life,” (45).
• “Taking your chin in his hand, Jesus lifted your face, looked you in the eye, and told you that your sins were forgiven, your Enemy conquered, and your life liberated from captivity, and that God is now your Father, new life your gift, and heaven is your home,” (46).
• “God convicts you of specific sins so that, with his compassionate help, you can repent and move on to freedom and joy. Satan, however, will seek to defeat and discourage you through guilt that is so general that you never know exactly what to repent of and are thereby left in paralyzing bondage and despair,” (50).
• “During all of your foolish sin, you have been deceived into thinking that you are free to do as you please. However, the truth is that you have lived as a slave to Satan and demons, your sinful flesh, and the world,” (63).
• “You are more evil than you have ever feared, and more loved that you have ever hoped,” (68).
• “I would encourage you not only to look at the sin of your wife but also to look at your own sin in other parts of your life to see where you too have betrayed God as your wife has betrayed you. In this you will not minimize her sin, but you will add to your sense of justice and heart of mercy as God teaches you to deal with her sin in a way that is patterned after the way in which he has dealt with your sin against him,” (75).
• “While an organized home and occasional Sabbath and silence are good things, you have elevated them to a level of god-like status.” (93)
• “Religion is about getting from God…the goal of the gospel is to get God himself,” (95).
• “Because you are a Christian, you can look to the cross to see that the demands of justice have been met for both you and your dad,” (133).
• “It is good for us to retain the language of Scripture and simply take the time to explain what the words mean,” (137).
• “When it comes to sin, people are tricky. We are prone to confess our sin but not repent of it.” (185)
• “Had Jesus died only as your example, he would be of no help to you at all. You would see from his life how to live, but you’d get nothing from him to make that possible,” (201).
• “The theology of glory seeks to use God to avoid suffering, hardship, pain, shame loss, and failure. The theology of the cross seeks to use suffering, hardship, pain, shame, loss, and failure as opportunities to grow in an understanding, appreciation, and emulation of the crucified Jesus.” (202)
• “The truth is that you are the most wicked man you know,” (228).
• “As you experience the power of Jesus’ redemption, as there is increasing Christlikeness in many aspects of your life, and as your love for Jesus grows, the battle will go deeper and become more agonizing,” (230).
• “God alone is wise enough to know that our problem is sin and is powerful enough to take it away.” (243)
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