Sharing the gospel is a must for every Christian. Evangelism is a command that Jesus gave the apostles and all of His people must engage in. But the way we evangelise is massively important. There are many books out there on the important of evangelism and some on the ‘how to’ of evangelism too. What I like about this book is that Blake Long takes a slightly different approach.
Blake takes you to the Bible to help you see the important command to share the gospel, but his book focuses more on the ‘how to’ and ‘how not to’. If you’re from the reformed tradition of the Church there is a saying that is often used, negatively, to describe someone; cage stage. This refers to someone who might have the right understanding of doctrine, but their approach to sharing those views with others, Christians and non-Christians alike, is unhelpful.
Christians should be confident in sharing the gospel and standing firm in the truths that are rooted in Christ, but the way the gospel is communicated is also massively important. This book has a good balance, it doesn’t say to go too soft or to go too hard, it simply says that the gospel should be the only thing that offends people, which it will.
The gospel is naturally offensive, you’re telling people that they are sinners before a holy God, deserving of His wrath but that there is hope through the completed work of Jesus in the cross and resurrection. That is a hard pill to swallow. There are people who don’t want to talk about sin or judgment and instead what to only focus on God’s love, but Blake helpfully shows that such an approach actually minimises God’s love and makes it into something it isn’t.
This book will be a helpful book for Christians to know how to engage in the world of today. You’ll be helped practically to know how to share the gospel with those who are antagonistic, interested or apathetic. It’s also very short, just 98 pages, so it won’t take you long to read. You’ll be encouraged and challenged in how you display Christlikeness in your evangelism.
Gospel Smugness is Blake’s first book, I enjoyed it and I hope there are more to come. An audio version of this book is also available which is read by David K Martin, if you’re more of a listener during a run or housework, this is worth getting.
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