Basic Christianity

1.Stott opens by examining the character of Jesus as attested in the Gospels — his moral perfection, his freedom from guilt or self-reproach, and the striking fact that he never asked for forgiveness or expressed any sense of personal sin. Why does Stott consider this significant? What would we expect of a truly good person who was merely human?

1.Stott draws attention to the extraordinary way Jesus taught — not 'the scribes say' or 'thus says the Lord,' but 'I say to you.' How is this different from every other prophet or teacher in Israel's history? What is Jesus implicitly claiming by teaching with this kind of authority?

1.Stott argues that the resurrection is not a peripheral miracle added to Christianity, but the very cornerstone on which everything else rests. Why is the resurrection so central — not just evidentially, but theologically? What would Christianity be without it?

1.Stott opens Part Two with a pivotal shift: having established who Jesus is, he now asks why Jesus came. What does it reveal about the structure of the gospel that Stott treats human sinfulness only after establishing Christ's identity? Why does the sequence matter?

1.Stott describes the consequences of sin in terms of three broken relationships: with God (guilt and estrangement), with others (conflict and exploitation), and within ourselves (shame and disintegration). Which of these three fractures do you see most clearly in the world around you? Which do you feel most acutely in your own experience?

1.Stott argues that the death of Christ was not a martyrdom, not merely a moral example, and not an accident of history — but a substitutionary sacrifice planned from eternity. How does each of these alternative views fall short of explaining what the New Testament actually claims?

1.Stott explains that the resurrection is not merely evidence for Christ's identity (as in Part One) but also a crucial component of our salvation — Romans 4:25 says he 'was raised for our justification.' Why is the resurrection necessary for salvation, not just for proof? What would be missing if Christ had died but not risen?

1.Stott is emphatic that people must count the cost before committing to Christ — he does not want superficial or sentimental decisions. What, specifically, does he identify as the cost of following Jesus? Why do you think he takes such care to be honest about difficulty rather than making the appeal as attractive as possible?

1.Stott's book is built on a deliberate four-part structure: who Christ is, what humanity's problem is, what Christ did about it, and how we should respond. Now that you have seen the whole, how does each part depend on the others? What happens to the argument if any one part is removed or weakened?