Book Review: The Gospel According to Jesus by Chris Seay

Chapter One begins with one of my favorite quotes by Gandhi,

"I like your Christ. I do not like your Christians. Your Christians are so unlike your Christ."

I often say I'm not ashamed of Christ, but I am sometimes hesitant to label myself as "Christian" because people can have such a negative reaction to that word. The Gospel According to Jesus does a great job of pointing out why that is the case -- Why so many Christians misunderstand and misapply the Gospel.

In the book of Romans, Paul writes:

"I myself am convinced, my brothers and sisters, that you yourselves are full of goodness, filled with knowledge and competent to instruct one another. ¹⁵ Yet I have written you quite boldly on some points to remind you of them again, because of the grace God gave me ¹⁶ to be a minister of Christ Jesus to the Gentiles. He gave me the priestly duty of proclaiming the gospel of God, so that the Gentiles might become an offering acceptable to God, sanctified by the Holy Spirit." -- Romans 15:14-16 NIV

Throughout Paul's epistles, he reminds the churches over and over again of the most important points of the Gospel. I loved Chris' explanations of righteousness and sin and what it really means that we're created in the image of God so much that I'm going through the book a chapter at a time with the youth group of my house church. These are basic foundational truths of our faith that shape everything we do and say in the world.

I have to admit, I thought that reading a book that "takes a in-depth look at" a research study would be a bit boring. I was wrong. I found it a thought-provoking, deep, but easy-to-read primer on the most essential aspects of our salvation and redemption, such as righteousness, sin, and shalom.

At the end of each chapter, Chris includes a sample of dinner table discussion with his friends. Those conversations alone are worth the price of the book. And I love how that demonstrates our need for relationship. You can't live the Christian life in a solitary bubble. We were created to live in relationship with others. It's through those relationships that we get a clearer and clearer picture of who God is.

I highly recommend this book.

Disclosure of Material Connection: I received this book free from the publisher through the BookSneeze®.com <http://BookSneeze®.com> book review bloggers program. I was not required to write a positive review. The opinions I have expressed are my own. I am disclosing this in accordance with the Federal Trade Commission’s 16 CFR, Part 255 <http://www.access.gpo.gov/nara/cfr/waisidx_03/16cfr255_03.html> : “Guides Concerning the Use of Endorsements and Testimonials in Advertising.”