The Gospel, How the Church Portrays the Beauty of Christ, Ray Ortlund, Crossway, Wheaton, Illinois, 2014, 136 pages. Reviewed by Member John Ice.
The word “gospel” is present in our churches and discussions. We read the gospel, we study the gospel, we share the gospel, or at least we think we do. Can we know? Can we discern what the gospel is and if we are remaining faithful to it in our reading, studying, and sharing? What will the local church look like if we do it properly? These are questions that The Gospel addresses. The Gospel is one volume within 9Marks’ Building Healthy Churches Series.
Mark Dever, Ray Ortlund, and a variety of other pastors, teachers, and laypeople use the 9Marks platform to discuss their vision of how we can identify a healthy church. In a series of books grouped under the concept of building healthy churches, these men detail what they believe to be the nine marks of a healthy local church. One of those marks is a biblical understanding of the Gospel.After an introduction to the series and a forward to introduce this volume, Ortlund uses almost the first half of the book to discuss how the Gospel relates to each of us as individuals, the Church as a whole, and finally all of creation. The rest of the book is anchored in this three-part view of Gospel relationships. Ortlund proceeds to detail how this Gospel is not something that can be merely included in the rest of our, or anyone else’s, worldview. It is not to be mashed together with our humanism, nationalism, or any other -ism that we favor. It is utterly life-changing, church transforming, and creation renewing. Anything less, argues that we may not have an authentic understanding of the amazing gift of the good news of Jesus. He then admits that truly following this gospel will not be easy, but if done to God’s intention and satisfaction, it reaps a reward not otherwise attainable; a living, breathing, renewed relationship with our creator, savior, and companion.
After an introduction to the series and a forward to introduce this volume, Ortlund uses almost the first half of the book to discuss how the Gospel relates to each of us as individuals, the Church as a whole, and finally all of creation. The rest of the book is anchored in this three-part view of Gospel relationships. Ortlund proceeds to detail how this Gospel is not something that can be merely included in the rest of our, or anyone else’s, worldview. It is not to be mashed together with our humanism, nationalism, or any other -ism that we favor. It is utterly life-changing, church transforming, and creation renewing. Anything less, argues that we may not have an authentic understanding of the amazing gift of the good news of Jesus. He then admits that truly following this gospel will not be easy, but if done to God’s intention and satisfaction, it reaps a reward not otherwise attainable; a living, breathing, renewed relationship with our creator, savior, and companion.
The other concept that Ortlund refers to and describes throughout the book is one of gospel culture. He shapes it early on as a “public lifestyle that expresses a shared mindset and convictions” (p.13). He argues that this is a framework that should identify us as Christians to the world. They should be able to identify us as authentic believers even without a full or working understanding of our God or His gospel to man.
In the end, Ortlund states that the point of understanding and properly framing the church’s understanding of the Gospel is that only through that can we have access to Christ’s power, courage, and love. Christ’s power, through a biblical understanding of the gospel, is not something we can add to our efforts to make it extra effective. His power is what moves the church forward, for God’s glory. Our courage is faint and weak when compared to that of our Savior who bore the Cross and separation from the Father in order to fulfill the Father’s plan and redeem mankind. Christ’s love is the love of a man who maintained fellowship with the one who would willingly betray the Messiah until the betrayer broke it. He loved all mankind and died to save us. If we are to successfully preach the Gospel to “Judea, Samaria, and the uttermost parts of the earth,” we must do it with the love of Christ as shown in the Gospel.
