I recently finished reading The Whole Christ by Sinclair Ferguson. Here are some great quotes from the book: There are no conditions that need to be met in order for the gospel offer to be made. everything we need for salvation is in him and not in us. Is it obvious to me, and of engrossing concern, that the chief focus, the dominant note in the sermons I preach (or hear), is "Jesus Christ and him crucified"? Or is the dominant emphasis (and perhaps the greatest energies of the preacher?) focused somewhere else, perhaps on how to overcome sin, or how to live the Christian life, or on the benefits to be received from the gospel?...Is the dominant theme, the lasting impression, the most natural word association, in relation to preaching I hear "Jesus Christ and him crucified"--or something else? Christ himself is the gospel...what we receive in the gospel is not benefits but Christ and that therefore the focus on public preaching and private pasto...
