A Brief Book Summary from Books At a Glance
by Steve West
Table of Contents
Part One: Today’s Gospel: Good News or Bad?
1 A Look at the Issues
Part Two: Jesus Heralds His Gospel
2 He Calls for a New Birth
3 He Demands True Worship
4 He Receives Sinners, But Refuses the Righteous
5 He Opens Blind Eyes
6 He Challenges an Eager Seeker
7 He Seeks and Saves the Lost
8 He Condemns a Hardened Heart
9 He Offers a Yoke of Rest
Part Three: Jesus Illustrates His Gospel
10 The Soils
11 The Wheat and Tares
12 The Treasure of the Kingdom
13 The First and Last
14 The Lost and Found
Part Four: Jesus Qualifies His Gospel
15 The Call to Repentance
16 The Nature of True Faith
17 The Way of Salvation
18 The Certainty of Judgment
19 The Cost of Discipleship
20 The Lordship of Christ
Part Five: Appendixes
1 The Gospel According to the Apostles
2 The Gospel According to Historic Christianity
Summary
Part One: Today’s Gospel: Good News or Bad?
The gospel that Jesus proclaimed was a call for obedience and submission to his authority and lordship. Today, contemporary churches tell people to make a decision for Christ, accept Jesus as a personal Savior, and ask Jesus into their hearts. In contrast to Jesus who challenged people with the rigors of discipleship, righteousness, and holiness, many people today proclaim an easy-believism. Jesus said the way was narrow, but evangelicalism is trying to make the way wider and wider. Some people today are even saying that in order to be saved no amount of commitment or submission to Jesus as Lord is required. People are told they can live however they want and still be saved. Scripture, however, is clear that anyone who is truly justified will also be sanctified. Many will claim to have known Jesus, but he will say he never knew them. At no time in church history has the church taught that people can be saved without a change in their lives and affections.
There is much that is right in dispensationalism, but Chafer’s erroneous distinction between spiritual and carnal Christians has done a great deal of harm. Jesus is both Lord and Savior: He cannot be divided. Nobody can receive Jesus as their Savior while refusing to submit to his lordship in their lives. It is a major error to say that we “make” Jesus Lord; he is Lord over everything already, including every single person in the world! Rather than making Jesus Lord, we are called to recognize that he is Lord of all, and we are to joyfully submit ourselves to him. Separating true salvation from true discipleship is false, unbiblical teaching. We are saved by grace through faith alone and not by works, but it is an egregious error to fully separate faith from works, as if faith can be genuine even in those with no good works or growth in holiness. Every true believer will bear spiritual fruit and follow Jesus. The gospel does not do away with good works, but it insists that good works are not the way that we merit entrance into heaven. . . .
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