Book Review: "What is the Gospel?"

Title: What is the Gospel?
Sub-title: (gŏs'pel)
Author: Greg Gilbert
Publisher: Crossway
Book Type: Christian Theology/Soteriology
Page Length: 121
Chapters: Foreword (D.A. Carson), Introduction, 8 Chapters
SRP: $12.99
Suggested Audience: All Christians


Strengths: It's short. It's sweet. It's hard hitting. It's not too deep. It's not too shallow. And it is absolutely "smathered" with Scripture.

Weaknesses: I could on and on about things here but I think they are really just preferences and at that, they would all be preferences of hypothetical readers. For example, this book isn't very meaty for the heavy academic types. But then again, D.A. Carson is smarter than you (I don't care who you are, and I'm included) and he loved this book so much he wrote the Foreword.

My thoughts: I think every Christian should be issued two things when they become Christians: an ESV Study Bible and this book. It's that good. There is nothing more important for a new Christian to know than the Gospel. After all, God uses the Gospel to save us (Romans 10). This book is contains very basic soteriology (the study of salvation) and I think every baby Christian needs to be discipled through this little gem. It's one of my favorite books and God willing, I'll be teaching Sunday School classes on it for years to come.

Notable quotes: "This is the Bible's sobering verdict on us. There is not one of us righteous, not even one."

"Faith is...reliance."

"Jesus if you don't catch me, I'm done. I've no other hope, no other savior. Save me, Jesus or I die."

"Repentance is not just an optional plug into the Christian life."

"...what was really astonishing about the gospel of Jesus was that his King died to save his people..."