The Explicit Gospel Audiobook (Unabridged)

Too few people attending church today, even those in evangelical churches, are exposed to the gospel explicitly. Sure, many will hear about Jesus, and about being good and avoiding bad, but the gospel message simply isn't there--at least not in its specificity and its fullness. Inspired by the needs of both the overchurched and the unchurched, and bolstered by the common neglect of the explicit gospel within Christianity, Matt Chandler has written this punchy treatise. He begins with the specifics of the gospel--outlining what it is and what it is not--and then switches gears to focus on the fullness of the gospel and its massive implications on both personal and cosmic levels. Recognizing our tendency to fixate on either the micro or macro aspects of the gospel, Chandler also warns us of the dangers on either side--of becoming overly individualistic or syncretistic. Here is a call to true Christianity, to know the gospel explicitly, and to unite the church on the amazing grounds of the good news of Jesus!

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"Absolutely amazing. I thought this book was going to be "another" book about the Bible that was going to be good, but not necessarily anything I hadn't heard before. Wrong. This book blew my mind away as it portrayed the Gospel in ways I had never thought of, nor considered before. It convicted me with its powerful truths and crushed my toes with its doctrinally sound exhortations. At the same time, it filled me with abounding joy and had me crying tears of happiness at how big and great and wonderful our God is. The Lord has gifted Matt Chandler with a way with words that made a huge impact on this often-times-a-cynic's heart. Chandler painted so many pictures with this book, and put every day things in a Christ exalting perspective that caused me to face palm myself for never realizing before. One example that has stuck with me is that all of creation is groaning. As awe-inspiring as the mountains are, as magnificent as the northern lights shine, and as beautiful a sunset may be, they are tainted by sin and not as majestic as God created them to be. But one day, Christ will renew this world and restore the natural order as He created it--not destroy it as is a popular belief. Chandler explained this by parsing the Greek translations of certain words in different Bible verses (I believe he was referencing Acts 3: 21...I listened to it on audio and didn't get to take many notes due to listening while driving). Additionally, Chandler weighed in on different beliefs from pantheism to moralistic therapeutic deism. I appreciated the depth he went into, and his way of explaining things that didn't talk down to the reader or oversimplify his message. One another thing that really challenged me in The Explicit Gospel is that we can't add anything to the Gospel by trying to make it cool to certain people, or attempting to tie the Gospel to social or economic issues in our culture. In Biblical times, people heard the Gospel and responded--be that by seeking justification and sanctification through Christ or by being hardened to the word of God. The Bible doesn't say to spin the words in a way that makes the Gospel appeal to certain groups of people. Nor does it say to take up a cause (ex. a social injustice) and somehow intermarry the cause and the Gospel in a way to reach people. We are not to add nor take anything away from the Bible. Period. End of story. This convicted me deeply as I often times think I should meet non-Christians at their level and try to make the Bible appeal to them somehow. Go and tell, yes. Spin and water down, no. I think this book will really speak to Christian layman looking for a deeper and richer look at the Gospel and/or those Christians who think they've heard the Gospel enough to be "experts." I fully intend to read this book again. And again."

— Shannon (5 out of 5 stars)