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The Explicit Gospel (Paperback Edition) (Re:Lit) (2014)

by Matt Chandler(Favorite Author)

4.21 of 5 Votes: 5

ISBN

1433542110 (ISBN13: 9781433542114)

languge

English

genre

Nonfiction

publisher

Crossway

review 1: Matt Chandler, Pastor of the Village Church in Flower Mount Texas, has written a simple but profound book on the Gospel. Chandler explains that the context of the Gospel is the supremacy of Christ and the glory of God. "If you add to or subtract from the cross, even if it is to factor in biblically mandated religious practices like prayer and evangelism, you rob God of his glory and Christ of his sufficiency." The book is separated into two sections: The Gospel on the ground and the Gospel in the air. The Gospel on the ground is from the point of view of man through which we see God extending his grace in Christ to his people. The Gospel in the air is the overarching picture and story line of the Bible from creation to consummation by which God restores all things through ... moreChrist. The Explicit Gospel is enriching and will benefit Christians from all walks of life.
review 2: Nobody can argue against the gift of preaching that Matt Chandler has. His good exposition of the Bible and his Gospel-centered ministry at The Village has a great impact. So, I have to admit that I was very excited about his first book and especially the subject: The Explicit Gospel. Just seeing this title was enough to convince me to take it, read it and what after just few pages, enjoy it until the end. I know his battle for a pure, crystal clear, unaltered presentation of the Gospel, in the context where he lives and minister. The subject is crucial, because especially in a Christian context, the Gospel is misunderstood, wrongly applied and just assumed. His plea is not for an assumed Gospel, but for an explicit Gospel, affecting every domain of our life. From the beginning he makes clear that this message of the Gospel is too precious to be merely assumed. It deserves to be proclaimed, in all its fullness and with an unashamed and glorious explicitness. This is the reason for which I think that this book it’s so important for those who want to clarify what Gospel is and how it works in his life. He basically approaches this in two conceptual parts. In the first part, he discusses “the gospel on the ground,” and then “the gospel in the air.” Chandler ends his book drawing attention on the dangers of staying only in one camp and attacking the other. Right from the beginning, the author emphasizes the reality that this message it’s not merely about human beings, but it’s a story that has a grater, grander, cosmic implication. His method of exploring the Good News of Jesus is by looking it up close at the individual salvation and then “zooming out” and presenting the meta-narrative. I really appreciate his time on clarifying what Gospel mean, bringing all the readers on the same ground. The first part, The Gospel on the Ground, Chandler divided into four chapters: God, man, Christ, response. I think the strongest point and the one who had a big impact on me is the fact that Chandler presents so well the primary goal of the Gospel: “This is the story of the Bible, not you or me. It is God and God alone, God’s name and namesake alone. The point of everything is God’s glory alone so that to God alone will be the glory.” He emphasize again and again through all this chapters that God exists for His own renown. Putting this as a foundation, now you can understand what is the problem with men, namely they sin, and sin is a central theme in this section. Because of everything is about God, sin is an offense to God, the solution it is from God and the one who change to heart it is God. If the first part presents the message about personal salvation, explaining how to be reconciled with God, the second part, The Gospel in the Air, he discus the cosmic implications of the Gospel. He does that presenting the creation, fall, reconciliation and the final consummation of the history. I think this part has the best parts and the weakest parts in the same time, for me. I enjoyed the way he was relating the reconciliation and the final consummation with the Gospel. Some particular aspects of eschatology made me, actually worship God, in the same time I was reading. But in the same time, the Creation chapter, it is all over the place, and the argument is not helping to much the purpose of the book. Chandler’s final three chapters, namely the part three of the book, discuss the dangers of an over-emphasis of either the gospel on the ground or the gospel in the air, with a final warning about the dangers of moralism instead of a true gospel message.This book was a blessing for me. Even in this new position as an author, Chandler has the same charisma, making the book easy to read. The Explicit Gospel it’s not boring, even if most of the books that discuss this subject are well known for boredom. It is just listening one of his sermons: engaging, winsome and funny. The most important thing though it is that through this book, Chandler points us to the matter of first importance, that “Christ died for our sins in accordance with the Scriptures, that he was buried, that he was raised on the third day in accordance with the Scriptures” (1 Cor. 15:3-4). His passion for an Explicit Gospel lived out in our life for the glory of God is expressed through his challenge: “May we never assume that people understand this gospel but, instead, let's faithfully live out and faithfully proclaim the explicit gospel with all the energy and compassion our great God and King has graciously given.”Note: The book was a review copy from Crossway, through Beyond the Page. less

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