Book Review—“RISKY GOSPEL" by Owen Strachan

Good Evening to All


This book took me a couple of tries to “get going”, but once I stuck with it,  I found the more I read, the more I wanted to read.    It reminded me of what being a “Christian” is all about.

"Risky G0spel", written by Owen Strachan, was  sent to me by Booksneeze.com a division of Nelson books as a complimentary copy for review.  My opinions are of my own volition for which I received no other compensation. 

Mr. Strachan seems to be very "plain spoken", and that is a good thing.  Too often, authors get too caught up in fancy words, or big complex ideas.  he just puts it "out there", to be easily understood. 

The idea of this book is to remind us what a "true Christian" is.  What our duties are as true Christians.    He brings up the parable of the Master who gave his servants talents, and expands on that, explaining that this isn't just about the money, but about everything we do as Christians.  Just as there is "risk" in investing as a couple of the servants did and made more money for their master, we are to step out of our comfort zones and take risks as Christians. Risk such as boldly stepping up and witnessing to someone.  The risk is that the person won't want to accept what we have to say, or will call us names because as "true Christians", we should not be wanting to do the things that the "world does", or accept immorality as "the norm" in our lives. 

Mr. Strachan brings up the fact that we do this as Christians everyday.  Not just with money, but we “play it safe”.  Rather than taking a risk and being bold and assertive about our Christian walk with God, we bury our heads in the sand and just accept life and everything it throws at us, such as turning everything we ever learned as we were growing up upside down, such as the union of marriage according to the  Bible is to be a man and woman,  that people should wait until they are married to live together, and/or have “intimate relations”.  We know these things go against God’s Word, but because “we don’t want to offend anyone we go along with it.    That is not being an assertive Christian.  Do you think that Jesus would have gone along with it if He would have come across some of the things of today? 
 
I really started enjoying this book because it hit me where the “rubber meets the road”.  It re-affirmed for me that too many churches today are willing to condone and accept things that even they know are against Biblical teaching because they don’t want to “offend anyone”.   Too many preachers worry about what people think and would rather water down God’s Word, albeit maybe "having good intentions" to keep people coming, what good does it do for people to come if they aren't given the "tools to be saved by?"  The WHOLE TRUTH is all that is going to save them.  We need to hear about the blessings of God, yes, but we also need to hear about the consequences that will happen if we choose not to live for Him.

This book has really helped me realize that I need to get my relationship with God back on track.  Not that I don’t live for God now, I do.  Not that I don’t love God as much as I ever did, I do.  I just needed this “swift kick “ from the “Risky Gospel” to kick my relationship with my Savior back into “overdrive”.  I need to get back my zealous attitude that I had when I first received the Holy Ghost.  Back then, I couldn’t stop talking about God.  I talked about my experience and God  to everyone I came in contact with.  My love for God showed through my actions as well.  That is what a “true Christian” does.  That is what Jesus’ disciples did back then, and that is what we are suppose to do today. 

 Anyway, this book is a real “thought-provoker”.  He brings scriptures to light such as Proverbs 11:14 which says “In an abundance of counselors there is safety”.  In the paragraph which he brought this up, he was speaking about how while God wants us to go out and witness to others, we don’t just go out and start spouting out whatever “half sane” spiritual idea comes to mind.  We should be careful, thoughtful Christians and not be afraid to seek guidance if need be.  We should also pray for guidance, just as the apostles did. 

We can always say we need more of God, more of Christ.  More of the true gospel which is grounded in the tenacious commitment of Jesus to the eternal salvation of His people.    We need the same tenacious commitment, and in this book, Owen Strachan explains how to develop this plan.   He speaks about the steps to a bolder spirituality.

Now, he also spoke about our faithfulness, our commitment or “lack there of” in today’s spiritual climate.  We like to "say" I'm a Christian, but when it comes right down to it, would we be willing to be tortured, such as being put on a rack and stretched until our bodies are mangled and disfigured?  Would we be willing to say "I'm a Christian and I've done nothing wrong, while being whipped and tortured? 

I pray I'm never put in that position, but I read of a true account of a girl that was, and she didn't give in.  She held to her faith.


This turned out to be a really good book.  By the end of the first few chapters, it was definitely becoming a "self-learning" experience.  I found out I wasn't doing near the job of being a "good and true" Christian as I thought I was.  I really took a critical soul-searching look at myself and did some re-evaluations.

I would definitely recommend this book to everyone. 

Have a wonderful evening and May God Bless!