"Death by Love" by Mark Driscoll

"Death by Love" is the second book I've read by Mark Driscoll.  You may remember my mentioning it when I reviewed "Vintage Jesus" last year.  I was eagerly anticipating his latest offering and was not disappointed. 

Death by Love takes the format of letters written to people in Driscoll's congregation, or those who have come to him for pastoral counsel.  Driscoll takes them with a pastoral hand and leads them to the cross.  Big theological concepts meet people who are lost in sin and hurt and the result often left me in tears.  In the introduction, Driscoll quotes one of the early puritans who compared the gospel of the cross to a diamond.  There are so many facets to it that must be looked at for the gem to be known and understood.  We get in trouble when we only look at one facet, or build up one facet to the detriment of the others.  I left this book in amazement at everything Christ accomplished on the cross!   As I did with Driscoll's last book, I think that a look at the table of contents will really help you see what the book is all about:

Introduction 
We Killed God: Jesus Is Our Substitutionary Atonement 

"Demons Are Tormenting Me" 
Jesus Is Katie's Christus Victor 

"Lust Is My God" 
Jesus Is Thomas's Redemption 

"My Wife Slept with My Friend" 
Jesus Is Luke's New Covenant Sacrifice 

"I Am a 'Good' Christian" 
Jesus Is David's Gift Righteousness 

"I Molested a Child" 
Jesus Is John's Justification 

"My Dad Used to Beat Me" 
Jesus Is Bill's Propitiation 

"He Raped Me" 
Jesus Is Mary's Expiation 

"My Daddy Is a Pastor" 
Jesus Is Gideon's Unlimited Limited Atonement 

"I Am Going to Hell" 
Jesus Is Hank's Ransom 

"My Wife Has a Brain Tumor" 
Jesus Is Caleb's Christus Exemplar 

"I Hate My Brother" 
Jesus Is Kurt's Reconciliation 

"I Want to Know God" 
Jesus Is Susan's Revelation 

Appendix: 
Recommended Reading on the Cross 

It is clear through the pages that Driscoll really loves the people he is addressing, and that he really loves the cross.  So often I think that ministers see themselves only as teachers, and leave this type of pastoring to others.  We see here how important it is that even when you're counseling someone in your office, give them the cross and love them like there's no tomorrow.

I'll also add that the beautiful and haunting artwork is done by Christopher Koelle, who also did the artwork for Job by John Piper. In case you missed it on the last Driscoll book I reviewed, here is a video preview of this book.  You can also read a chapter online at http://relit.org/deathbylove