Christians have a bad habit of diverting their early passion for the gospel into a subsequent passion for peripheral issues. In this 50-page booklet Carson challenges us to be passionate most of all for King Jesus and His saving work for the world. Our world needs to hear how it can flee from the coming judgement of God, and only prophetic gospel preaching and evangelism can achieve that. We miss the mark when we assume the gospel and give our energy to secondary concerns.

Carson structures his plea around Eight Summarising Words, Five Clarifying Sentences and One Evocative Summary. He has strong emphases on the life of Jesus as historic fact and on how Jesus’ work is aimed at saving us from the just wrath of God directed at our sins. Our proclamation must stress these “loudly and repeatedly, in a generation that feels slightly embarrassed when it has to deal with the cognitive and the propositional.” It must also make clear that response to the gospel is indicated by the fruit of transformed character.

All in all a robust, relevant and challenging booklet, which pulls no punches theologically or in its linguistic register. It will have an impact on anyone who wants to get to the heart of what the gospel is saying to the present age.

Roddie Rankin, Plockton & Kyle Free Church