Book Review: Embraced by The Cross by L.E. Maxwell

My wife Gwen and I met in 1981 at Prairie Bible Institute in Alberta, Canada. We would often meet in the library to chat quietly somewhere between the volumes of Spurgeon's commentaries and Calvin's Institutes. The school was founded in 1922 by L.E. Maxwell and at one time after World War Two, it became the largest Bible school in Canada with 900 students. One of the main reasons the school became so popular was Mr. Maxwell's book and teachings on the centrality of the cross in the Christian's life. The name of the book (originally published by Moody Press) was first titled Born Crucified. It has been reprinted with the inspiration of Operation Mobilization (OM) under the title of Embraced by the Cross.  

Maxwell's primary revelation in this book is that most Christians readily accept the understanding of justification by faith in the cross (Romans 5) without moving on to the possibilities of the joy of victory over sin that was won for us on the cross (Romans 6). In Romans 5 it is CHRIST'S DEATH FOR US. In chapter 6 it is OUR DEATH WITH CHRIST!   

He introduces the book by conveying a true historical event: "During the U.S. Civil War a man named George Wyatt was drafted to go the front. However he had a wife and six children. A young man named Richard Pratt therefore offered to go in his stead. Pratt was accepted and joined the ranks, bearing the name and number of George Wyatt. Before long Pratt was killed in action.  

The authorities later sought again to draft George Wyatt into service. He protested, entering the plea that he had ALREADY DIED in the person of Pratt. He insisted that the authorities consult their own records as to the fact of his having died in identification with Pratt, his substitute. Wyatt was thereby exempted as beyond the claims of the law and further service. HE HAD DIED IN THE PERSON OF HIS REPRESENTATIVE."

Maxwell unfolds this understanding that we died with and in Christ, were buried with and in Christ, and raised to resurrection life with and in Christ. The book is subtitled, Discovering the Key to Abundant Living, Victory and Fruitfulness. Maxwell is insisting it is possible to have victory over sin.  

I love how he quotes S.D. Gordon: "Divine truth as revealed in Scripture seems often to lie between two extremes. If we regard the doctrine of sinless perfection as a heresy, we regard contentment with sinful imperfection as a greater heresy. It were almost better for one to overstate the possibilities of sanctification in our eager grasp after holiness than to understate them in our complacent satisfaction with a traditional worldliness and unholiness".   

Maxwell served as a soldier in World War One. As one who had personally experienced the horrors and strains of war, he had a passion to connect the realities of the cross with the Christian's war with the flesh, the world, and Satan. Ultimately, his life goal was to raise up fruitful ministers, missionaries, and leaders for world evangelism. He had a deep conviction that the long-term fruit would come out of the leader's ongoing understanding of the cross and how it has embraced and affected us when we said “yes” to following Jesus.  

If you want to get a deeper revelation of Romans 6-8, and Galatians 2:20, I highly recommend this book.  

Dan Slade