Review of GOSPEL DEEPS by Jared C. Wilson

Rating: 4 out of 5

GOSPEL DEEPS by Jared C. Wilson is a basking in the gospel of Jesus and a call to find our greatest joy in the God who so beautifully planned and completed our redemption through the gospel. From the beginning, it's clear that Wilson doesn't want Christians to be satisfied by a narrow view of the gospel that sees it as only about saving sinners from hell when they die. Instead, the gospel is meant to impact every aspect of our lives. In fact, one of my favorite chapters in the book is his chapter on cosmic redemption. Jesus means to redeem all of our lives, bringing great joy in following him. Chapter 4 is a chapter that combats the idea that following Jesus is boring as Wislson explores the idea of enjoyment.

Of course, following Jesus doesn't mean a life void of suffering, and Wilson presents some biblical ideas of why God allows suffering. However, the key to this chapter is resting in Jesus in the midst of our suffering more than about trying to find a reason for our suffering.

A couple other highlights are Wilson's chapter on the atonement and a discussion of the attributes of Christ being always present in the incarnate Christ.

While there was some areas that I was in disagreement with Wilson (he holds to a deterministic view of God's providence), I still found myself impacted by his deep love of Jesus and his authenticity in sharing some intimate details of his spiritual journey. GOSPEL DEEPS is a celebration of "the excellencies of Christ," and a focus on Christ's character and nature is much needed by believers and the Body of Christ as a whole.

I received this book for free for review from Crossway Books, and the opinions contained in this review are completely my own