Counterfeit Gospels: Rediscovering the Good News in a World of False Hope by Trevin Wax
My rating: 5 of 5 stars
It isn’t often that I don’t fly through a book. I like to
immerse myself in its pages, and leave a day or two later. There are
only two reasons I don’t do that -- one is because I don’t like the
book, or secondly, it is so filled with truth I can’t read it quickly or
I’ll miss something. Counterfeit Gospels was the latter. Each chapter
brought eye-opening revelations about how things have always been done
and how the Bible presents truth.
Using the analogy of a
three-legged stool, Tevin Wax explains major components to the Gospel:
Story, Announcement, Community. When I saw the subsections of this
book, I wondered how someone like me, raised in the church, educated in
Christian schools, and VBS teacher could get much out of this book. I
was pleasantly surprised as the author tackles some of the most
prevalent themes in American Christianity.
For
instance, in discussing sharing the Gospel, he makes the point that it
used to be that every person in the United States was aware of the
basics of the Bible. That is not always the case in this post-modern
age in which we live. He explains it is important that we explain the
why of needing a Savior. To someone like me who knew John 3:16 before I
could read, it is hard to imagine people who didn’t grow up looking at flannel graph pictures of Adam and Eve covered in fig leaves talking to a
snake, but there are people who don’t realize that God created a
sinless world and that because we sin we have fallen short of God’s
plan. The author of Counterfeit Gospels states that unless the problem
is known (which started in the Garden of Eden) then how does one realize
the solution (Jesus.)
While he tackles six false
gospels that permeate our society (therapeutic, judgmentless,
moralistic, quietist, activist, churchless). He explains why each one
of these cannot be the true Gospel by bringing story, announcement and
community into each one of these ideologies.
The one I
really appreciated was the chapter on the activist gospel. He told the
story, which to me was chilling, of a church that fought against the
sale of alcohol in their community. When the ballot was brought before
voters, and the county remained “dry”, a deacon said it was the best
victory their church ever had. Really? While I won’t get into the
debate of alcohol, if your church sees politics and activism as more
important than people being saved, baptism, or discipleship, are you a
church or a political party? I’ve seen so much activism in churches in
the last few years, I sometimes wonder why those churches don’t remove
the cross and replace it with a ballot box behind the altar.
This
is a great book, and I recommend it to everyone, both new Christian,
and those who have been in the church most of our lives. I promise you,
though, if you take this book seriously, and you should, you will find
yourself challenged as to if what you are believing is the Gospel God
intended, or if it has been slightly distorted by what people have
decided the Bible should say.
You can purchase a copy here: Counterfeit Gospels
FTC disclaimer: I received a copy of this book free from Moody Publishers in exchange for a fair and honest review. The free book in no way influenced my opinion.
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