, which I was pleased to have the opportunity to read this week.Gilbert recognizes that we live in an age of much gospel confusion. Both inside the Church and out there are varying views as to what exactly we mean when we speak of the "gospel." It is this problem which he strives to address. As D.A. Carson states in the book's forward, "This book does not so much claim to break new ground as survey afresh some old ground that should never have been ignored, much less abandoned."
What Is the Gospel?
has much to commend it. It deals with the deepest and most meaningful of truths, yet does so in a way that is eminently readable. Gilbert clearly loves the gospel and it comes through in his writing. A number of times I was forced to simply stop reading, ponder the great truths that he had expounded, and worship the God of whom they spoke. And just as he maintains that the life, death and resurrection of Christ is the heart of the gospel, he makes sure that the Bible is at the heart of his argument. As a quick perusal of the Scripture index will show, in just over 100 short pages of writing, Gilbert makes almost 175 distinct Scripture references.I often speak with others about the necessity to keep the gospel at the center of all we do. In fact, it must inform not only our actions, but our very identity. And if this is to be true of us, then we must be sure that the gospel that is doing this is the true gospel. Therefore we must hold fast to the gospel by which we have been saved, the gospel Paul considered to be 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 Corinthians 15:3-4).
Greg Gilbert has done this, and What Is the Gospel?
will help others to do the same.
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