As a gift this past April someone gave me a copy of “A Gospel Primer for Christians” by Milton Vincent. This book has been one of the best little books I have ever read.

The book’s title captures everything this book is. It is a “primer”, an introduction to the Gospel and it’s affect on Christians. It’s a succinct, easy-to-read book brimming with practical ways that God’s love for us radically transforms the way we view ourselves, the world around us, and the seemingly random circumstances that would seek to steal our joy. If you’re looking for a quick read (although not as quick as this blog post) check this book out. You will not regret the time taken to read this book. Here’s a few quotes from the book to whet the appetite.

“The gospel is so foolish (according to my natural wisdom), so scandalous (according to my conscience), and so incredible (according to my timid heart), that it is a daily battle to believe the full scope of it as I should. There is simply no other way to compete with the forebodings of my conscience, the condemning of my heart, and the lies of the world and the Devil than to overwhelm such things with daily rehearsing of the gospel.”

What Vincent is saying is that the gospel is huge. It is so far beyond my understanding that I can never fully grasp the depths of it. Life comes with troubles and there’s no other way to deal with those things without the gospel because the gospel has in it the power to overcome those troubles.

“Outside of heaven, the power of God in it’s highest density is found inside the gospel. This must be so, for the the Bible trice describes the gospel as “the power of God.” Nothing else in all of Scripture is ever described in this way, except for the Person of Jesus Christ. Such a description indicates that the gospel is not only powerful, but that it is the ultimate entity in which God’s power resides and does its greatest work.”

The Gospel is where we experience the grace of God as we come to grips with our weakness and see more clearly God’s power working in our frailty. Vincent gives many examples of the way the gospel transforms us from selfish to sacrificial, sinful to holy, enslaved to free, and prideful to humble. The gospel gives us perspective that any good that we experience in life can only be attributed to the goodness of God and knowing that brings about thanksgiving and joy in a persons soul.

“The gospel reminds me first that what I actually deserve from God is a full cup churning with the torments of His wrath… I see that to be handed a completely empty cup from God would be cause enough for infinite gratitude. If there were merely the tiniest drop of blessing contained in that otherwise empty cup, I should be blown away by the unbelievable kindness of God toward me.”

What awesome reminders of God’s goodness toward us. And this book is absolutely jam packed with more ways that the gospel impacts different aspects of life.