The Best Book I've Read in a Long Time

Hyperbole is all too common is the blog world. I am probably guilty of it myself from time to time. However, that is not the case in this post.

The Great Exchange is the best book I've read in a long time. In this text, Jerry Bridges and Bob Bevington do a masterful job of looking at all of the biblical passages from Acts through Revelation that deal directly with the atonement of Christ.

The authors repeatedly emphasize the absolute necessity on the part of man for someone to take our place. We as sinful people have no righteousness to present to God. We stand guilty and condemned. Bridges and Bevington show time after time how Jesus Christ stepped in and exchanged His righteousness for the guilt of all the redeemed. He bore that guilt on the cross, and paid for our sins so we wouldn't have to.

They say this of II Corinthians 5:21, which happens to be my favorite bible verse, "It would not be an understatement to view this verse, properly understood, as the single key verse of the entire bible."

This book is well-written, gospel-saturated, and fully biblical. I highly recommend it. It is not a text that you will want to read quickly because of the deep truths the authors discuss. The writing style is not difficult; rather, the atonement is such a rich doctrine that it should not be sped through by the reader.

Since the book chapters correspond to the books of Acts through Revelation, the book itself breaks down into 10-15 relatively short reads. Understandably, the chapters on the books of Romans and Hebrews are longer than the rest. The Hebrews chapter is one of the best chapters in any book I have ever read.

In case you aren't convinced, this is what Alistair Begg says about The Great Exchange, "The next time I am asked for my top-ten reading list, this will be included! Clear and comprehensive, it leaves the reader in no doubt that this 'great exchange' is not only the heart of biblical theology but also the pivotal event of human history."