At the beginning of each new year, I reflect back on my favorite books of the previous year. Sitting at the top of my list this year is Gospel Wakefulness by Jared C. Wilson (despite Wilson being a huge Patriot fan…haha).
Gospel Wakefulness is a gospel feast. In the foreword of the book, Ray Ortlund writes concerning Gospel Wakefulness, “It is the smelling salts of the gospel waved under our noses, startling us with realities in Christ more awakening in power than we have realized” (pg 9). This is a perfect description of the book.
We often wonder what makes our senses dull towards the Gospel. We fall into a spiritual laziness where we seem more asleep than awake. We run through systems and plans hoping to awaken to the realities of the Gospel. The truth is that it seems so far from us. Wilson writes to awaken us to the gospel.
On every page, Wilson is waving the gospel under our noses. With each pass, we are awakened to the deeps of the gospel. Let me be clear here. Wilson is not presenting an implied gospel with a set of rules to awaken us to the realities of Christ. After all, Wilson writes “An implied Gospel is a gospel FAIL.” (pg. 18). No, Wilson presents an explicit Gospel, page after page, which leaves us falling deeper in love Christ. This is what Gospel Wakefulness is. It is “treasuring Christ more greatly and savoring his power more sweetly” (pg 24).
Wilson lays out the book in thirteen chapters including an introduction and conclusion. He begins the book with a helpful explanation of what exactly he means by the term Gospel Wakefulness. I appreciated this chapter because I didn’t have a clear understanding of the meaning going into the book. The remaining chapters of the book are written for us to behold Christ. It is the gospel that wakens us. Therefore, Wilson reminds us that it is only the gospel that can change us. He can’t change us, nor is he seeking to change us. However, he can teach us and present us with beautiful streams of gospel truth and that is exactly what he does.
I thoroughly enjoyed reading this book. No other book (besides the Bible) this past year has shaped and ignited my passion and wonder for the Gospel. I do not say that lightly. One of the biggest encouragements from the book is seeing Wilson’s passion for the Gospel along with stories of people changed by the Gospel. It is hard to read this book without seeing that the Gospel really has captivated and consumed the life of Jared Wilson and others. The Gospel really does captivate us. It really is power and it really is beautiful! Gospel Wakefulness is a testament to that truth.
A Caution for the Reader
I do, however, have a caution concerning a portion of the book. As a reader, it could be easy to get the idea or left feeling that there are tiers of believers. What I mean is that believers who are not Gospel waken are second class Christians. However, I want to caution you because I believe that Wilson writes enough clarification in the book to dispel this idea. I also truly believe that this is not Wilson’s intention at all. He even writes “This is not to set up tiers of Christian sanctification, as if there is a first-class discipleship and a second-class, and so on. Every believer is united with Christ on the same foundation, with the full access and authority granted by being made joint heirs with Christ. And in the final day, no matter where we are in our Christian walks, we will all reach the same destination on the same basis” (pg. 31).
So really, I mention this to be fair to the book and to the reader of the book.
Overall, I highly recommend this book. I would encourage you to sit under Wilson’s passion and learn from a humble man who dwells in the Gospel. It will stir your affections and drive you to worship our King Jesus. I plan on reading it again in 2012.
My Rating 5/5 Stars
I received this book free from Crossway Publishers. I was not required to write a positive review. The opinions I have expressed are my own.
