George Smeaton was one of the great luminaries in the theological galaxy which graced New College, Edinburgh, in the second half of the nineteenth century. His colleague James MacGregor said that he possessed the best constituted theological intellect in Christendom. His invaluable study of our Lord's teaching on the significance of his death gives substance to that claim. In it we find Smeaton's sensitive theological acumen, his skill in judicious exposition, and his evident devotion to the person of Jesus Christ - all combined in a masterly survey of the Gospel texts which illumine the doctrine of the atonement. Christ's Doctrine of the Atonement, like its companion volume, The Apostles'Doctrine of the Atonement, is a work to be read and re-read. Those who possess it will often find themselves instinctively turning to consult Smeaton for insight on passages where other works have failed them.
Born in Berwickshire, George Smeaton (1814-89) studied at Edinburgh University and was ordained to the ministry of the Church of Scotland at Falkland in Fife in 1839. He was among those hundreds of ministers who came out at the Disruption in 1843 to form the Free Church of Scotland, and later that year was inducted to Auchterarder Free Church. He was appointed to the Chair of Divinity at the Free Church College in Aberdeen in 1853, and in 1857 became Professor of New Testament Exegesis at New College, Edinburgh, holding this post until his death in 1889.
From the Desk of Sinclair B. Ferguson:
George Smeaton's magnificent studies of the New Testament's teaching on the work of Christ - Christ's Doctrine of the Atonement and The Apostle's Doctrine of the Atonement - [are] two books which I am convinced ought to be in the possession of every minister of the gospel, preacher, teacher and student for the ministry.
Professor Smeaton deals with each passage in the New Testament relevant to the work of Christ. One volume is devoted to the teaching of our Lord in the Gospels; the second to the rest of the New Testament. The two volumes present an unparalleled exposition to which preachers can turn when expounding any New Testament book.
These books are reliable; but they are also wonderfully readable. Ministers at every age and stage will benefit from them, and be led by them through careful, biblical, spiritual exposition of the cross. They combine biblical exegesis, doctrinal exposition, spiritual meditation, depth without dense style, clarity without technical clutter.
From the Desk of C.H. Spurgeon:
The production of such a work as this by Mr. Smeaton is an era in theology; adhering as he does to the old orthodoxy, and proving his positions from our Lord's words, he deserves the gratitude of all lovers of an efficient atonement by a real substitution. The author is thoroughly acquainted with those who have preceded him in his field of research, and he judiciously follows or differs from them, but his work is full of deep original thought, and pervaded ever with lowliest reverence of the august sacrifice. If, instead of giving their people a dead philosophy, certain preachers would search their Bibles by the aid of this volume, and extol a living Christ, they would have a far fairer prospect when their last account will be required of them.
SEE ALSO Smeaton's companion work:
The Apostles' Doctrine of the Atonement
