Reviewed by: Tim Pietz, Professional Writing student at Taylor University, Upland, IN.

Introduction

Title: Insurgence: Reclaiming the Gospel of the Kingdom

Author: Frank Viola

Publisher: Baker Books

Publication Date: 2018

Format: Paperback

Length: 422 pages

OVERVIEW

Frank Viola has seen three gospels in the world today: the false gospel of legalism, the false gospel of libertinism, and the glorious gospel of the kingdom. “Legalism leads to the self-righteousness of the flesh. Libertinism leads to the defiling acts of the flesh. But the source of both is our flesh—the fallen nature. And both lead to bondage” (p. 36).

Some Christians make their faith about politics, some Christians make their faith about perfectionism, some Christians water down their faith until it is hardly faith at all. With Insurgence, Viola calls Christians to make their faith about Christ, first and above all. If Christians are to obey Christ, be like Christ, and show Christ’s love to others, they must first love and rejoice in Christ. From there, the insurgence, the kingdom of God, can come forth.

Insurgence seeks to reveal the heart of the Christian faith by stripping away the counterfeit gospels the world has pasted onto it. In many ways, it is successful, with an engaging writing style and 5-star content. Any Christian should be able to grow through this book.

Insurgence’s biggest limitation to readers is its structure. The book has no chapters, only a page break followed by a new heading and subject every two pages or so. It’s essentially a conglomeration of closely related short articles. This makes it easy to engage quickly with the book, but the frequent breaks between sections make it hard to build on that momentum and read large chunks at a time.

Overall, Insurgence has desperately needed messages that address current Christian misconceptions and timeless gospel truths. It’s not a short read (400+ pages), and its organization may rub readers the wrong way, but the writing is accessible and the content is excellent.

ASSESSMENT

Rating (1 to 5)

4 stars

Suggested Audience

Christians who are wondering if there is more to the Christian life

Christian Impact

Refining and refocusing what it means to live out the gospel

Other Notes

Has a website with supplementary articles and videos at insurgencebook.com for readers who want to pursue the subject more.

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