In his book The King Jesus Gospel:  The Original Gospel Revisited (Zondervan, 2011), author Scot McKnight, the Karl A. Olson professor in religious studies at North Park University, provides a much needed challenge to the way we view the Gospel of Jesus Christ.

In his forward to the book, teacher/author Dallas Willard writes:

Scot McKnight here presents, with great force and clarity, the one gospel of the Bible and of Jesus the King and Savior.  He works from a basis of profound biblical understanding and of insight into history and into the contemporary misunderstandings that produce gospels that do not naturally produce disciples, but only consumers of religious goods and services.  In the course of this he deals with the primary barrier to the power of Jesus’ gospel today — that is, a view of salvation that gets one ready to die, but leaves them unprepared to live in the now in the grace and power of resurrection life.

The gospel of King Jesus and of his kingdom-now is indeed “the power of God that brings salvation/deliverance.”  To prove this, just preach, teach, and manifest the good news of life now, for you and everyone, in the kingdom of the heavens with Jesus–your whole life.  Study the Gospels to see how Jesus did it, and then do it in the manner he did it.  You don’t need a program, a budget, or any special qualifications to do this.  Just understand it in the biblical form and do it.  Scot McKnight gives you the key (p. 16).

Most of us have grown up in a culture where the gospel was four basic points to help you go to Heaven when you die.  Professor McKnight helps us to see it is so much more than that.  He clearly shows us the gospel is the story of God from the initiation of creation to the consummation of the kingdom.  Anything less is a truncated message that leaves us with far less than the Lord originally intended.  Scot does an excellent job of showing us how we lost our way, as well as how we can find our way back to the center of God’s focus.

This book should be in the library of every serious Christian.  It’s message should be studied, pondered, and acted upon.  Click on the thumbnail to purchase your copy.  I believe this book will be greatly used to help God’s people as they seek to live in the Reign.

M

For a more in-depth review of the book, go to David Flowers’ blog The Centrality and Supremacy of Jesus Christ.  In a previous post I also cited an interview with Scot McKnight conducted by Frank Viola.