Gospel Allegiance

I thought this book was one which provided support for a more holistic worldview. For me personally it provided detailed and nuanced support for my life as a Christian. The points he makes throughout this work are well argued and provides significant historical context throughout. It was an exciting experience to read this book and to share important parts with my wife and friends.

I have well over 3,000 books in my library and this book is definitely in the top ten. It should be used in Churches to educate parishioners on what the gopel is..The author expands the view of what the gospel is, wit an emphais on enthronement as follow:

The Gospel
The gospel is that Jesus the king

1. preexisted as God the Son,
2. was sent by the Father,
3. took on human flesh in fulfillment of God’s promises to David,
4. died for our sins in accordance with the Scriptures,
5. was buried,
6. was raised on the third day in accordance with the Scriptures,
7. appeared to many witnesses,
8. is enthroned at the right hand of God as the ruling Christ,
9. has sent the Holy Spirit to his people to effect his rule, and
10. will come again as final judge to rule.

I highly reommend this book as it brought coherence and correspondence to my Christian worldview.

My review of Matthew W. Bates’ new book “Gospel Allegiance: What Faith in Jesus Misses for Salvation in Christ”.


Goals of the book:
We’ve all probably heard something about the “centrality of the Gospel”. It’s almost a fad in a lot of Reformed circles at this rate to put “Gospel-centered” in front of new books and programs. And, for the most part, this is an admirable practice that captures the importance of the Gospel. Think, for example, about the introductions to both Mark and Romans, and how both frame the Gospel as one of the central elements of the Christian faith. Think about the long discussion of the Gospel that Paul writes in I Corinthians 15. Or think about how zealous Paul is to defend the central tenets of the Gospel in Galatians.

Because the Gospel deserves our central focus, and because it has become a sort of “marketing” term for some groups, it seems like it is extremely important for us to understand what the Bible actually teaches about the Gospel. Have we truly understood what the Gospel is about? Matthew W. Bates is concerned that we have misunderstood the Gospel. Not only have we missed the central message, he says, but we have made secondary matters primary matters. This book serves as a corrective to these misunderstandings. Bates hopes to break the fog that has clouded our vision of the Gospel and shine a bright light into the center of the Gospel, showing us what is truly of central importance.

What does this book offer the Church?:
One of the most important things that this book offers is its central vision of the Gospel. The book is very concerned with showing us that the Gospel is about Jesus becoming King in his resurrection. It’s paramount that we understand the Biblical storyline in the context of the Kingship of Jesus, not through other lenses that may obscure the point of what God is doing in the world with Jesus.

The book is popular level, but tries its best to help the average reader understand quite a few concepts. These definitions are never too difficult or scholarly, but don’t treat the reader like they are less intelligent. Some definitions that are explored in the book include “gospel” and “faith”. Bates has written previously on the concept of “faith as allegiance“, and readers who find the chapter in this book interested would be well-served to check out his previous book on the subject.

How successfully does this book meet its goals?:
For the most part, I think Bates succeeded in showing how important it is that we understand what the Gospel truly means. If there’s something that disappointed me in the book was how many times Bates aimed his discussion at specific people. Now, if someone is wrong, they’re wrong and that should be explained. But it seemed like there was quite a lot of ink spilled writing about specific authors that Bates disagreed with. He respectfully engages with their ideas, never resorting to name calling, but it felt weird to read about how many people were wrong when I would’ve probably liked to see more space dedicated to building up his own ideas. (This may also be my own sensitivity, reading far too much tension into a normal practice with no malicious intent behind it. But I should think that if I were uncomfortable at times, so might other readers be. Especially since most of these people fall within similar camps, it could alienate a section of readers.)

In general, I think this is an important book to work through and engage on a somewhat deeper level. Readers familiar with Scot McKnight’s King Jesus Gospel will find some familiar ideas here, but also may find themselves stretched as well. Readers outside of Bates’ camp might be turned off by the first few

The gospel hasn’t changed. But maybe our view of it needs to. Matthew Bates writes that the heart of the gospel is not justification by faith. It’s not just trusting alone in Jesus’s death on the cross. He says that the cross is not presented in the Bible as the theological center of the gospel.

Rather, he says the crux of the gospel found in the Bible is that Jesus is the Christ, the king, and deserves our allegiance as such. In short, Jesus is the saving king.

Bates gives a 10-point gospel-allegiance model, set within a royal framework:

The gospel is that Jesus the king
1. preexisted as God the Son,
2. was sent by the Father,
3. took on human flesh in fulfillment of God’s promises to David,
4. died for our sins in accordance with the Scriptures,
5. was buried,
6. was raised on the third day in accordance with the Scriptures,
7. appeared to many witnesses,
8. is enthroned at the right hand of God as the ruling Christ,
9. has sent the Holy Spirit to his people to effect his rule, and
10. will come again as final judge to rule.

Bates says the purpose of the gospel is allegiance to Jesus the king in all the nations. Our response is allegiance alone, expressed in repentance, trusting loyalty, and baptism.

"The gospel is the good news about Jesus the saving king. We are saved by allegiance alone. Jesus’s singularly effective allegiance comes first. Our imperfect allegiance follows and depends on his. The result is saving vindication, resurrection unto new life."

Overall the book is informative, if not heavy on detailed explanation and multiple scripture references, almost to the point of tedium. But Bates emphasizes his point that our view of the gospel must change because "nonbiblical versions of the gospel are wrongly splitting the one true church."

"Every knee will bow and every tongue confess, not that 'Jesus died for my sins,' but that 'Jesus the Messiah is Lord.'"

A quick reading of this book will get you the main point, but to really absorb it in its fullness, plan to read slowly.

My thanks to Net Galley for the review copy of this book.