The introduction to Bruce Ashford and Heath Thomas’ new book, The Gospel of Our King, states that their goal in the book is to answer Wendell Berry’s question: “What are people for?”. Their answer, as simple as it may sound: For the King.

It may be simple, and it may not sound that satisfying, but Ashford and Thomas expound on this idea to the extent where it reveals its true form as the most satisfying possible answer to the purpose of humans. They make this point clear by (as the title implies) writing about the gospel. For those not familiar, the gospel means “good news”, and it is the story of God sending His Son Jesus (who is also God) into the world. Jesus lived a life with no sin, not once falling short of God’s perfect standard, but he performed many miracles including raising people from the dead until he was beaten, tortured, and killed on a cross. He This was all part of God’s plan so that there could be a permanent sacrifice for the sins of the entire world. God then raised Jesus from the dead, conquering death forever, he appeared to many people, and he was taken to be with God again. Now, to accept Jesus’ sacrifice, we must turn from our sin and believe in Jesus and the price he paid for it. We can then pursue God for the rest of our lives in community with Him and other believers, and we will spend eternity with God.

Ashford and Thomas begin this story at creation and continue it through the fall of man and Christ’s sacrifice. Then the second half of the book contains the answer to Wendell Berry’s question (What are people for?) by exploring the mission of Christians in the world. Existing for something outside of ourselves is the only acceptable mission for life, and the Christian gospel, of all religions, is the only one where the focus is outside ourselves. Unlike other religions, Christians should not do good works in order to gain something such as eternal life. Our future is already secure. Christ’s death on the cross and his resurrection ensured that. We do things on earth as a token of love for the grace we have received. That is good news, and that is a good mission.

For fellow Christians, you may be wondering why you need to read a book about something you already know a lot about. But since our mission as Christians flows out of the gospel, it is something worth diving into every chance we get. J.D. Greear likes to say that the gospel is not the diving board through which we enter the pool of the Christian life; the gospel is the whole pool. We can’t get beyond the gospel. We should only try to dive deeper into it.

The Gospel of Our King does a great job of that, and as they delve into the mission of Christians they do not get caught up on the idols of politics. A very small portion of the book is devoted to the Christian mission in the political sphere, as it should. And the authors, in my favorite chapter, enumerate the different spheres of culture that we should all be involved in working to redeem for the sake of Christ. They write:

Yes, most Christians throughout history have operated from the margins rather than from the centers of power. Operating from the margins, we are given the opportunity to be prophetic; just as Jesus declared that he is Lord and Caesar is not, so we must challenge the cultus publicus of our Western empires. From the sidelines, we have the opportunity to be sacrificial; just as Jesus ministered as a homeless itinerant teacher, we must be willing to serve from a position of weakness rather than of power, and in the face of disapproval instead of applause. With the world considering our gospel implausible and unimaginable, we are provided the opportunity to be humbly confident; our fallen world will one day be raised to life, made to bow to the King. Since we are privy to this secret, we must remain confident. And since Jesus — rather than we — will secure the victory, we must remain humble. With this humble confidence, we embark on our mission.
For more on this mission, I encourage you to read The Gospel of Our King. It is a great balance between theological study and practical application, so it will change your heart, mind, and actions. If you are looking for more reads to focus directly on the gospel, consider Greear’s Gospel: Recovering the Power that Made Christianity Revolutionary or Matt Chandler’s The Explicit Gospel.

Dive into the pool.

I received this book as an eARC courtesy of Baker Academic and NetGalley, but my opinions are my own.