What is the Gospel - A Review

What is the Gospel?

Greg Gilbert's What Is The Gospel? is a little book that is packed with helpful information. It delivers on answering the question by which it is titled.

Gilbert begins by stating this question should be an easy one to answer. Certainly, it is something all Christians should find agreement on, right? A book such as this should “be completely unnecessary. It’s like asking carpenters to sit around and ponder the question, What is a hammer?” (Gilbert, p. 15).

But it is necessary. Gilbert’s experience matches my own. If you ask Christians the simple question, “What is the gospel?” you will get varied responses. Many of these responses fall well short of the biblical testimony. Certainly, they do not all agree with each other. Gilbert sets out to bring some clarity and substance to this basic, fundamental question of Christian life and practice.

Greatest Strengths

1. The Outline.

Gilbert traces the gospel testimony throughout Scripture and looks for an outline to follow. He is not searching to simply find an easy to recite list of basic facts or content. I think this is an element that sets this book apart from other attempts to answer the same question. It’s not that this book ignores content. Quite the contrary! However, it looks for an overall outline of how that content is connected throughout the varied proclamations of the gospel recorded throughout Scripture.

The outline of God-Man-Christ-Response is informative. It is helpful. It is a faithful outline that can be followed by Christians as we proclaim the gospel to the world. It also gives us freedom.

2. The Flexibility.

This is related to the first point. Once the outline is established in your mind, the follower of Christ has the freedom to expand each element as necessary for the context they find themselves in. Gilbert gives examples throughout Scripture of certain preachers who spend more time on certain elements than others based on their context.

If we are equipped to proclaim faithfully on each element in the outline, then we can follow the lead of the Holy Spirit in emphasizing which aspects of the gospel are more needed in the moment. We can also be sure that we are not leaving necessary elements out simply because it seems like other aspects need to be emphasized. A particular witnessing situation may require more or less time spent on the “God” element, for example. If the outline is understood, I can be free to expand and dwell on this element before quickly touching on the remaining elements to ensure a complete proclamation.

3. The Need For Further Study.

Some may consider this a weakness. I consider it a strength.

I firmly believe that what is most needed for Christians desiring to be faithful in their witness is to be saturated in biblical truth. Not just some of it. All of it. Every word.

Sometimes evangelism methods can claim to be exhaustive. As a result, the Christian can be deceived into believing that once the method is memorized and the content is assimilated, you’re good to go. No further growth is needed because: Congratulations! You’ve arrived!

Gilbert's model presents an outline that is well-suited for a lifetime of further biblical study and growth. As you saturate yourself in the Word of God you will be better equipped to expand on each and every element of his suggested outline. The more you study, the more helpful the outline becomes. Not because it gives you the content to say but rather because it offers a coherent way of organizing the content of the gospel no matter how much content you have hidden in your heart from your own study.

The outline can be used by the newest, most immature believer and it can grow with you until the very end of your spiritual maturation process. For those who want another resource after they’ve finished Gilbert’s book, my recommendation would be to check out Paul Washer’s Recovering the Gospel series. The link will take you to our review of that series.

4. What The Gospel Is Not.

Gilbert also takes some time to address many of the incomplete ideas of the gospel that are featured predominantly in popular theology. It was good to include this to both address what the gospel is and what it isn’t.

The longer I walk with the Lord, the more aware I become of the dangers of incomplete and partial gospel proclamations. Sometimes, these incomplete and partial testimonies are given by well-meaning Christians who simply don’t know any better. The discussion of incomplete and false views of the gospel will be a great starting point for Christians to lovingly and seriously evaluate the message that they and others are proclaiming in the world.

Greatest Weakness

While the length of this book can be viewed as a strength (it's pretty short), there is a possibility that someone may conclude this study is all you need to know. Not only does Gilbert address the gospel but he deals with a very important related topic: the kingdom of God. This second study could (and probably should) be a book all on its own.

Likewise, as Gilbert addresses some of the incomplete gospel ideas (a strength) I felt he could have given them a lot more attention than he did. A whole lot more.

I tend to like longer explanations. I understand that this weakness in my view will be a strength to many others. It makes the book more readable and accessible to a wider audience. I tend to think that those who agree with Gilbert from the beginning will be most likely to appreciate the shorter length. For those who are inclined to disagree with Gilbert, however, I’m not sure that his short engagement with ideas held near and dear will convince those in error to change their minds and agree with him.

Conclusion

What is the Gospel? is not as thorough as Paul Washer’s book series on the same topic. However, that is not really a criticism or a weakness. It is a strength. Gilbert has done something that very few authors have done. He took the important topic of the gospel and made it very accessible. In my opinion, this short read is an excellent primer. It is a great book to give to those who are interested in learning more about the gospel and don’t know where to start.

This book has also served our personal ministry very well. We have equipped people to preach the gospel in many contexts. Gilbert’s What is the Gospel? has proven especially helpful for those who desire to learn to proclaim the gospel in public places.