Books I love

The King Jesus Gospel

by Scot McKnight

What is the gospel?

 Think of the quick answer you would give if someone asked you this on the street.

Many say the gospel is “the good news of Jesus Christ.”

OK, what is the good news? 

“That he came to save us from our sins.”

But what does that mean?

“If you confess Jesus is Lord, He will forgive you of your sins.”

Lord of what??

And on and on…..

I remember passing out gospel tracts as a kid and even reading them myself. It boiled the gospel down to the most basic facts so that people could quickly come to a decision about Christ. But is that the complete picture? Do we lose something when we take the whole story (Genesis to Revelation) of Jesus and boil it down to four main points?

For years, if you asked me, “What is the gospel?” I would stumble. I could probably recite the Roman road to you or walk you through a typical Billy Graham prayer to salvation, but is that the gospel?  

Scot McKnight’s brilliant book “The King Jesus Gospel” takes us back to the shores of Galilee with twelve young men who followed Jesus and asks them, “What is the gospel?”  

This book both surprised and excited me. Be forewarned; it will challenge some assumptions you may have about the revival movement, and McKnight specifically takes aim at the Billy Graham crusades. Many beautiful things came from those Crusades, but many people who raised their hands are no longer walking with Jesus. The question is, why? What have we missed as the body of Christ for the last fifty years? Are we sure we understand the gospel correctly and can explain it to others? 

I don’t have all the answers to these questions yet. But this book is an excellent beginning to some wonderful conversations. Whether you agree with everything in these pages or not, this asks some sincere questions worth discussing within the body of believers.  

How we handle and talk about the gospel is our primary purpose as followers of Jesus. We need to know that we are being true to the original apostle’s intentions behind the gospel they shared. If you read this book, I’d love to hear your thoughts!