Arthur W. Pink - The Seven Sayings of the Saviour on the Cross

TheSeven
Sayings
of the
Saviour
on theCross

TheSeven
Sayings
of the
Saviour
on theCross

Arthur W. Pink

Foreword by Warren W. Wiersbe 2005 by Warren W. Wiersbe
Foreword by John MacArthur 2005 by John MacArthur

Published by Baker Books
a division of Baker Publishing Group
P.O. Box 6287, Grand Rapids, MI 49516-6287
www.bakerbooks.com

New paperback edition published 2005

Previously published in 1984

Printed in the United States of America

All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system, or transmitted in any form or by any meansfor example, electronic, photocopy, recordingwithout the prior written permission of the publisher. The only exception is brief quotations in printed reviews.

Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data
Pink, Arthur Walkington, 18861952.
The seven sayings of the Saviour on the cross / Arthur W. Pink. New
pbk. ed.
p. cm.
Originally published: 1984.
ISBN 0-8010-6573-9 (pbk.)
1. Jesus ChristCrucifixion. 2. Jesus ChristSeven last words. I. Title.
BT457.P5 2005
232.96'35dc22 2005013246

Unless otherwise indicated, Scripture is taken from the King James Version of the Bible.

Scripture marked RSV is taken from the Revised Standard Version of the Bible, copyright 1952 [2nd edition, 1971] by the Division of Christian Education of the National Council of the Churches of Christ in the United States of America. Used by permission. All rights reserved.

Contents

by Warren W. Wiersbe

by John MacArthur

by Warren W. Wiersbe

When I began my ministry over fifty years ago, like many other ministers of my generation I found great help in the books of Arthur W. Pink. His reverence for Gods Word, his desire to exalt Jesus Christ, and his emphasis on practical obedience all helped to keep me balanced in the study, in the pulpit, and in my personal life.

Unless our Bible study is conforming us, both inwardly and outwardly, to the image of Christ, Pink wrote, it profits us not. He told his close friends that his articles in his publication Studies in Scripture were hammered out on the anvil of [his] own heart. He carried on that publication for many years, always trusting the Lord to provide the needed finances, and he claimed that he had read over a million pages of theological literature as he prepared his messages and articles. It was clear that he had a special love for the old Puritan divines. Mr. Pink is a Puritan in reality, said his wife, and often says to me that he is 200 or 300 years out of his time. Yet he was consistently very contemporary as he applied the Word.

Pink taught us to have faith in the Scriptures. Do your duty where God has stationed you, he counseled his readers. Plough up the fallow ground and sow the seed; and though there be no fruit in your day, who knows but what an Elisha may follow you and do the reaping.

During my years of pastoral and radio ministry, I often preached messages based on the seven sayings of Jesus from the cross. I have found this volume very helpful, and I know it has been instructing and encouraging Christians for decades. Pink has a way of keeping the text in context, relating it to parallel texts, explaining it, and then applying it to everyday life.

He died in 1952, and his last words were, The Scriptures explain themselves. I am grateful that he left behind many books that have helped us grasp the truth of that testimony.

by John MacArthur

Arthur Pink was a master of biblical exposition, carefully mining the biblical text for every ounce of true meaning, every nuance of doctrine, and every point of personal application he could discover. He always wrote with heartfelt conviction and persuasive insight. He was warm and positive yet bold and unequivocal.

This volume has long been one of my favorite works from Pinks pen. He was at his best whenever he wrote about Christ, and he was never more focused, more thorough, or more compelling than when he proclaimed Christ crucified. In this book, he expounds the meaning of the cross through the last words of the Savior Himself. These are deeply moving glimpses of Christ in His extremity. Every chapter is a treasure.

Pinks approach is a masterful blend of literary and sermonic styles. He expounds each of the seven last sayings of Christ in seven points, all drawn straight from the biblical text. The gospel is plainly expounded throughout, so this book is a good way to introduce unbelievers to the true meaning of Christs sufferings. But theres also enough substance here to satisfy anyones spiritual appetite.

The Seven Sayings of the Saviour on the Cross is now nearly fifty years oldand timelier than ever. Public interest in the story of the crucifixion is approaching an all-time high, thanks to a spate of recent films, books, and television programs on the subject.

At the same time, however, many Christians today seem terribly confused about the meaning of the crucifixion. We occasionally hear evangelical leaders wondering out loud if the doctrine of substitutionary atonement is simply too medieval for this postmodern era. Some have even complained that it seems overly harsh to teach that Christ suffered to pay the penalty of sinand that He did so in obedience to His Fathers will. At least one popular Christian book has likened the idea to cosmic child abuse.

Arthur Pink would have been appalled. He had no such artificial scruples. He certainly had no wish to tone down the offense of the cross just to accommodate the tastes of contemporary culture. His chapter on The Word of Anguish (explaining why Jesus cried out to His Father, Why hast thou forsaken me?) is a masterpiece of clarity and candor. It is the kind of straightforward teaching that is desperately needed in an era when difficult biblical truths are sometimes purposely softened, made foggy, or revised to suit the gentle preferences of sophisticated postmodernity. Arthur Pink would have none of that. Nor should we (see 1 Cor. 2:15; Gal. 1:10).

You cannot read The Seven Sayings of the Saviour on theCross and come away confused about the meaning of the cross or untouched by the pathos and power of Christs death in the place of sinners. Here is an ideal antidote to some of the superficiality and silliness of todays prevailing spiritual climate.

Im very grateful to see this book in a new edition and hopeful that it will be used by God to awaken a generation of readers to the real significance of what Christ said and what He accomplishedespecially the eternal victory He won for sinners during those dark hours while He hung on the cross.

The death of the Lord Jesus Christ is a subject of never-failing interest to all who study prayerfully the Scripture of Truth. This is so not only because the believers all, both for time and eternity, depends upon it, but also because of its transcendent uniqueness. Four words appear to sum up the salient features of this Mystery of mysteries: The Death of Christ was natural, unnatural, preternatural, and supernatural. A few comments seem called for by way of definition and amplification.

First, the Death of Christ was natural. By this we mean that it was a real death. It is because we are so familiar with the fact of it that the above statement appears simple and commonplace, yet what we here touch upon is to the spiritual mind one of the main elements of wonderment. The One who was taken, and by wicked hands crucified and slain was none less than Immanuel. The One who died on Calvarys Cross was none other than Jehovahs Fellow. The blood that was shed on the accursed Tree was DivineThe church of God, which