What I learned from The Explicit Gospel


I just finished reading a book called The Explicit Gospel by Matt Chandler. The title's a little confusing at first, right? Like maybe he wants to say that the gospel contains too much nudity or something... but no, that's not what the book is about. Phew!

The title refers to "explicit" in the sense that it is complete and clear- so he's talking about the gospel in it's most whole sense. Basically, the premise for the book is the idea that many Christians think they know the whole gospel, but when it comes down to it, they only know the basic outline. We all know that outline, right... Jesus died on the cross for our sins so we could be forgiven and live forever in heaven with Him, amen. Which is awesome! But there is so much more to the story of Good News than the outline.

Ok just let me tell you some of it!

The book is laid out in 3 sections: the gospel from the ground level, the gospel in the air and implications/applications for us because of the gospel. The ground and air levels are really just referring to how we understand the gospel- either from a very personal perspective [ground] or from a big picture perspective [air]. And the main thing he's driving home is that we need to know both perspectives well.

So, this is where it gets good.  We know that back in the day God created the world, our sin caused problems and separation between God and man, and God sent His Son for us to take on the punishment for that sin and restore us to Him- and when we understand this, our hearts respond in a very personal way [ground]. But we also know that God is powerful beyond our understanding. He created the world for His glory by speaking it into existence, and He is simply so Holy and Just that a punishment is required for those who have not responded to His son's sacrifice. He also had His plan of reconciliation for us as His people since the world began- and we have proof of this in the prophesies found all throughout the Bible. Not to mention He has a plan to end this whole thing with a bang of more Glory for Himself and a newly restored earth and perfect eternity for His people [air!].

And ALLLLLL of this together is what makes up the gospel! It makes my heart beat a little faster just reiterating this to myself because I can see more of the power that is intended to accompany the good news. This is where the last section of the book comes in and explains what our response should be to knowing the complete and clear gospel like we should. I wont spoil the book for you, but one of my favorite points he made was that this explicit gospel is not just something we learn once then set aside until we need to explain it to someone else- it's something that we live our life by and refer to daily. We need to remember what it is we're living for and proclaiming when we claim the title "Christian," and we need to keep reminding ourselves of the power that is in the gospel and whole plan that God has for His people and His world. Because when we do, it will seep into every ounce of our hearts and our lives, and that, my friends, is something I want to see more of in my own life.

Good stuff, huh?!
I probably don't need to say this, but I think you should read the book too!




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