Gospel Wakefulness

by Jared C. Wilson

Do you ever feel like your desire for God is waning? Are you numb to the routine of church? What does it mean to be truly awakened to the wonder of the gospel? Jared Wilson contends that we must be regularly engaged and engaging others with the good news of the sacrificing, dying, rising, exalted person of Jesus Christ. Wilson reminds us of the death-proof, fail-proof King of kings who is before all things and in all things and holding all things together, and of the Spirit's power to quicken our hearts and captivate our imaginations. The message of Gospel Wakefulness will make numbness the exception (rather than the norm) and reawaken us to the multifaceted brilliance of the gospel.

Genres: Christian, Theology, Christian Living, Christianity, Nonfiction, Religion, Discipleship

223 pages, ebook

First published January 1, 2011

About the author

Jared C. Wilson is the Director of Content Strategy for Midwestern Baptist Theological Seminary, Managing Editor of For The Church (ftc.co), and Director of the Pastoral Training Center at Liberty Baptist Church in Kansas City, Missouri. He is the author of numerous books, including "Gospel Wakefulness," "The Prodigal Church," and, most recently, "The Imperfect Disciple." Wilson blogs regularly at gospeldrivenchurch.com, hosted by The Gospel Coalition and is a frequent speaker at conferences and churches around the world.

Reviews

[J.S. Park · Rating 3 out of 5]

Jared Wilson writes a stirring work with such a flawed premise that he continually detracts from his own passion and eloquence. Because of this elitist, New Age "Gospel Wakefulness" that he drills over and over, at times he appears insincere in marketing a new breed of religion that ascribes transcendental experience as orthodoxy. While he spends many pages protecting his own idea with reasonable disclaimers, this isn't enough to ward off the uneasiness that this is his idea, an extrabiblical concept for a secret club of those who "get it."

There's no doubt that Wilson is a great writer, but because of his blogging background, much of his work is strung together randomly as if he copied-and-pasted some old blog posts with tenuous transitions. Nothing flows evenly. He also uses distracting superlatives that are not grounded in the reality of everyday Christians. There is a ton of analogical language that sounds pretty but has no function in the gritty hurt of real life. I kept thinking Hallmark.

The concept of "Gospel Wakefulness" itself was extremely problematic. It's apparently a second awakening in the Christian's spiritual walk when someone actually "gets" the Gospel. This, I understand. But what is being "gotten"? An emotional experience? Wilson says no. A theological insight? Wilson implies no. A spiritual brokenness? Apparently so: but imagine I told you that you don't get the gospel unless you have been thoroughly racked from top to bottom with something spectacular. While I doubt this is Wilson's intent, it's still his result. He creates an exhausting goose chase of brand new feelings (or not-feelings) to authenticate our faith.

The other problem is his whole "Gospel Centrality" angle that the Reformed movement has been riding to death. Not only does he claim that Reformed people "get it" more than other denominations (big sigh), but he claims this is true Christianity. That sort of cult-like claim in church -- "Only I have the truth!" -- only puffs up and does not build up. And as always, Gospel Centrality leaves out Jesus. It will talk about his approval, validation, qualification, and calling, but always dances around Jesus himself.

Wilson does show flashes of sincere brilliance in many places, and when he is not promoting his own ideas, he writes convicting statements to the church. The last few chapters, a focus on ministry and Jesus himself, nearly redeem much of the book. Wilson comes back to earth for these chapters and speaks some real life matters.

Bottom Line: I believe Jared Wilson is a great writer, a humble Christian, and onto something wonderful. But some of his superiority and his reliance on neo-Reformed doctrine is brash at best, uninformed at worst. I would love to talk with Pastor Jared about some of his ideas so he can better clarify what he means. And I do look forward to his next work. For good works on Gospel Centrality (which I am not against), try Gospel by J.D. Greear, Jesus + Nothing = Everything by Tullian Tchividjian, or King's Cross by Timothy Keller.

[Aaron · Rating 5 out of 5]

Read my full review at Blogging Theologically:

What’s the thing that’s supposed to captivate Christians, above all else? What should motivate us to greater heights of joy, to greater levels of confidence and boldness in our daily lives? The gospel. For the Christian, there’s no better news than the good news of Jesus’ perfect life, death and resurrection. Nothing comes close. So why is it that we seem kind of ambivalent to it—as it it were something that we need to hear once and then can move on to “bigger and better things”?

What’s happened to us that causes us to stop marvelling at the gospel? What’s made us fall asleep—and how do we wake up? Jared Wilson wants to help us do that in his new book, Gospel Wakefulness. In this book, Wilson seeks to help readers regain a sense of wonder as he explains what it means to be awakened anew to the gospel and it’s implications...

[Abigail · Rating 2 out of 5]

way too many "stories". I felt like he sometimes drifted off topic.

[Lydia · Rating 2 out of 5]

Harder to understand some of it. No discussion questions which would've been helpful

[Samuel G. Parkison · Rating 5 out of 5]

Nourishing, as always.

[Joshua Ray · Rating 3 out of 5]

I enjoyed several aspects of this book. Wilson is a great communicator and funny at times too. I highlighted like crazy because he just says things in a memorable way many times. But the book has some issues that detracted from it in my opinion.

First, the good stuff. Wilson states that "gospel wakefulness means treasuring Christ more greatly and savoring his power more sweetly." It is "not a second conversion experience...but rather a deeper and fuller appreciation of...conversion." What Wilson is really writing about is gospel-centrality. The gospel is or should be the center of every aspect of your life and here's what that looks like. Wilson further defines this wakefulness to the gospel as a two-step process: be utterly broken and utterly awed. He reverently and gloriously describes Christ, his Word, and the place the gospel deserves in our lives. Very passionate stuff.

As far as the negatives go, the book seemed to have some structural issues. Every chapter (or almost every chapter) he includes a story from a friend or acquaintance to tie into his overall point. Good idea, but the stories were a lot more miss than hit for me. Many of them seemed more mystical than anything. Also, at times the chapters felt like a series of strung-together blog posts. There was a "flow" issue. Nothing too serious, but distracting nonetheless.

If you don't mind some digging, there are nuggets aplenty to be found here!

[Gareth Russell · Rating 2 out of 5]

I've struggled with some of Jared Wilson's books in the past and thought I'd give him another chance, and go back to one his earliest works that is supposed to be behind much of his writing. I wish I hadn't.

In Gospel Wakefulness, Wilson contends that there are two types of Christians: normal ones, and then those who have discovered true brokenness in the gospel, and complete dependence on God -- or "Gospel Wakened Christians". That is a little unfair on Wilson, as he goes out of his way to say again and again that he's not promoting two classes of Christians. Yet the impression that Wilson leaves the reader with is one of gnawing angst as to whether you might be missing out on some vital Christian experience.

There are some good pearls in here, his chapter about hyper-spirituality is excellent but the problem is the underlying argument and thrust of the book. It's not ideal to have to look beyond the main point of the book to benefit from it.

I could not in good conscience recommend this book to any new Christian. It's Galatian.

[Jeanie · Rating 5 out of 5]

It is so easy for Christians to become numb to the Gospel. It seems like it is a daily battle. Gospel Wakefulness reminds us of the Glory of the Gospel that we cannot but help to wake up to it or even to see that we have been neglecting our first love. I appreciated so much that wakefulnes does not start and cannot start without our brokeness. It is a brokeness that is freeing and God-glorifying. We cannot proclaim the Gospel unless we see that we are broken. This explained very well in the book. It is not a Judas brokeness but a Peter brokeness. The Gospel becomes major part of your every day life. I love this part...page 63...When Gospel wakefulness happens,we despair of our emptiness and exult in God's fullness. We begin to see Jesus is the true and better.

[Kevin · Rating 4 out of 5]

A powerful call to live the Gospel - to eat, breath, sleep, live with the Gospel as the source of life.

Jared's prose is so full of honesty, insight and worship that the call to Gospel wakefulness has an integrity and power that is rare from my experience. The exhortation and exegesis comes from a life of living it and a faith that full of its promise.

The book covers a wide range of aspects of the Christian walk and includes a number of powerful and exemplary illustrations - stories told in the words of those who lived it.

There is a lot to digest and meditate on so this is not a book you should or can rush through. But I marked a number of passages and found the message as timely as ever and a powerful reminder of what our focus is to be if we are to be followers of Christ.

[Dr. Z · Rating 3 out of 5]

Good book - solid exposition of the gospel. A product of its time (10 years ago) in addressing distracted boomer churches to remember what is of first importance. Would be of less help in the present day to churches on the other side of the gospel-centered wave whose challenges might be different: members who know they're supposed to preach the gospel to themselves but don't see the attributes of God in a transforming way, don't see the sufficiency of every part of Scripture for every area of life, and don't have Pauline categories for the put-off / put-on of sanctification. None of this is to fault Wilson for not writing a different book than he wrote, but just to say that in 2020 the problems he's addressing may or may not be the problems your church is facing.

[Jonathan Roberts · Rating 5 out of 5]

@jaredcwilson has done it again! He has taken a concept that we take for granted, the Gospel, and unpacked the urgent need for a new awakening in our hearts to this true Gospel. I can attest from my life a period after I believed where I was not truly awakened to the Gospel and now on the other side of that awakening I can see I truly went from death to life. Wilson's book captures this in many different ways. I have been blessed by Wilson's teachings, ministry and books and I think you will be as well. Highest recommendation!!!

[Jen · Rating 5 out of 5]

Gospel Wakefulness is an excellent book that both convicts and encourages. It is something that I think all people who profess faith in Jesus Christ should read. It will definitely cause one to reevaluate your faith walk or journey and this is a good thing. I'm grateful for Jared Wilson's passion for Jesus and his exhortation for us to be gospel-centric; that we should never be bored with the gospel; that the gospel should be constantly renewing.

I highly recommend this great book.

[Brittany · Rating 5 out of 5]

as soon as i finished this book i wanted to start it over again. it is balanced, biblical, Christ-centered, and real. if you want to get excited about life, the Bible, and Jesus, read this book and find Christ as the all-satisfying, glorious Savior.

[Adam · Rating 5 out of 5]

Wonderful. Compelled me to worship over and over again.

[J.R. Underdown · Rating 3 out of 5]

Though occassionally a strong point sticks out, the prose wasn't as engaging. The key concept here is worth ruminating on but I feel like a chapter or two could've been cut down or cut out entirely.

[Josh · Rating 5 out of 5]

"In the well-appointed study of a professor of history in a prestigious university in the American South sits a brick-sized piece of the Berlin Wall. It sits on the floor, because he uses it as a doorstop. He is not ignorant of the piece’s historical significance; as a historian he is deeply informed of the struggle and the repression attached to the wall, to the shame it symbolized and the division both literal and cultural it created. He not only knows about but also teaches on the international reverberations that occurred when the great emblem of the communist stronghold in Western Europe finally came down. The piece of wall propping open the professor’s door has some sentimental significance to him as well, as it was
a gift from a former student, a star pupil currently pursuing her doctorate.

In a small, dingy apartment in Midwest America lives an elderly immigrant woman who sells newspapers and fresh cut flowers during the day and cleans an office building in the evenings. On an iron shelf in her bedroom sits a mall lidless glass jar, and in that jar is a piece of the Berlin Wall the size of a marble. She has often held that piece of rock in her withered hand and wept. Her husband did not live to see the wall come down. Her cousin was one of the estimated five thousand people who tried to escape from the communist Eastern Bloc into West Berlin. He was one of the estimated one hundred to two hundred people killed by border guards in the attempt. He was one of those crushed by the Iron Curtain, so she is one of those who knows the unique confluence of memorial pain and joy in having intimately felt how the world once was and in having experienced how the whole world was changed. She knows what it feels like to carry an ocean full of grief and longing, what it feels like to cling to a sliver of hope, and what it feels like when that sliver of hope—a crack in the great barrier of darkness—gives way to a dam break of glorious fulfillment and release.

When the professor hears the epic Brandenburg Gate speech in which President Ronald Reagan famously commanded, “Mr. Gorbachev, tear down this wall!” he admires it as a watershed moment in history, as iconic a sound bite from the annals of historical rhetoric as any. When the woman hears “Mr. Gorbachev, tear down this wall!” she is stirred, always. When the professor speaks of the fall of the Berlin Wall as an earth-shattering event, he really does mean to communicate the radical nature of the event; he really does understand this. But the woman knows that the fall of the Berlin Wall was an earth-shattering event deep down in her bones.
This is gospel wakefulness."

And this is how Jared Wilson begins his book, Gospel Wakefulness.

In it, Wilson spends many pages simply rejoicing in the message of the Gospel. Gospel wakefulness, defined by Wilson, is “treasuring Christ more greatly and savoring His power more sweetly.” This is what the book aims to aid the reader in doing and it is, by the grace of God, very successful. Wilson's intent is to rejoice in the Gospel in such a manner that it continues to stir up believers to greater affection and awe of the one true God. Wilson is clear that he is not speaking of conversion, primarily. There is a wakefulness to the Gospel that occurs when Christ makes dead men come to life, when we are converted by the Gospel, for sure. But Wilson's focus in this text is not conversion, but a greater Gospel affection that occurs after our initial Gospel reception. It is when the Gospel message, and the Savior King of the message, becomes preminent in the hearts, minds, lives and affections of the believer. When the sometimes becomes the all-the-time and the mountaintops of God's present love become the daily path the believer walks.

Wilson takes a few pages at the beginning of the book to answer the question, “What is the Gospel?” His answer avoids the typical reductionism that has become prevalent in a post-Revivalism Evangelical world where “the Gospel” is simply about how a person “gets saved”. Wilson does a good job, as he does in The Explicit Gospel, of helping the reader to see that “The Gospel” in Scripture is nothing less than personal salvation, but it is much more! It is a good, brief description of the Gospel that is ever-increasingly necessary in an Evangelical sub-world where we have become “Gospel” focused, but to the point where “Gospel” has devolved into a word devoid of its biblical meaning. “Gospel” has become an Evangelical shibboleth of sorts where, while maintaining a reductionist meaning, it is used as a catchphrase/buzzword to identify the “good guys” (gospel,gospel,gospel—even when the Gospel is poorly defined or poorly applied) from the “bad guys” (those liberals who hate the Gospel and only want to dig wells and feed people).

The pages Wilson devotes to initially defining the Gospel are necessary and beneficial, as are the chapters that follow. There really should be instructions on the back jacket for how to properly consume Gospel Wakefulness, like a shampoo tube telling you how to wash your hair. For this book, the instructions could be: Read, Rejoice, Repeat.

Read the chapter. Read the presentation of the Gospel. Read the explanation of the Gospel. Read testimony from people who have experienced a greater wakefulness to the Gospel message and the Savior of the Gospel. Read stories and accounts of people who have experienced “an expulsive power of a new affection”(Chalmers), people who have come to love Jesus in a whole new way.

Rejoice in the message of the Savior King. Rejoice in the message of a Father who loves His children. Rejoice in the message of a Creator who goes to the greatest lengths imaginable to redeem and restore His creation., including you and I. Rejoice in the messenger. Rejoice in the Scriptures that bring the message to us. Rejoice in the men and women who have perpetuated the story over the past millenia. Rejoice in the central figure of the message. Rejoice in the veracity of the message. Rejoice in the immediacy of the message. Rejoice in the supremacy of the message. Rejoice in the sufficiency of the message. Rejoice in the historicity of the message. Rejoice in the finality of the message. Rejoice, and again I say, rejoice!

Repeat. Some of these chapters deserve a second reading. Or a third. Not because they are complex, they are not. Not because it is a taxing or confusing or a monotonous read that would cause you to skim and miss, because the chapters are none of those. Rather, these chapters warrant a second or third or fourth read because the message they convey is amazing. The joy and confidence with which the message is conveyed is contagious and encouraging. And some chapters, depending on circumstance, will need to be read multiple times. Not to understand the concepts or to see the logical flow coupled with testimony and biblical evidence, but to simply “get it”. And maybe to keep it.

Maybe you have been attacked by the attempted enslavement of religiosity and everything in our oftentimes anti-Scriptural, “Gospel” focused Evangelical sub-culture. Chapter 5, Freedom from Hyperspirituality, may serve you greatly. Maybe you are a pastor, or an interested member of a local church. Chapter 10 on The Gospel Wakened Church is a great read. Maybe you are struggling with your role in sanctification, how does grace mesh with works in the life of a born-again believer. Chapter 7 on Gospel Driven Sanctification is a dynamic look at this complex subject.

The chapter that really ministered to me was Chapter 8 on Depression. Wilson draws from his own struggles, the testimony of others, teachings from church history and, primarily, Scripture itself to minister to those afflicted with depression. This is a subject that needs a dose of honesty and a refocus on the Savior who gives grace to those who believe, but also a common grace that reigns over His creation, and this is what Wilson does.

Gospel Wakefulness is a wonderful book and a means by which God will minister mightily for some time to come. It is worth a read, or a few.

[Daniel Gutierrez · Rating 2 out of 5]

If you've read any book written with the word 'Gospel' in the title, written by a conference speaker for The Gospel Coalition, between 2008-2016, you've already read this book. (It also likely indicates you were either a burnt out Fundamentalist or burnt out Word of Faith devotee who were looking for a simple pious message to hold onto as you healed up and recovered in your new church.)

UNIQUE DOWNSIDES:
The writing style is uneven. I could see why his piety and artistic style could be charming for many people, but the occasional hard to follow 72-word long sentences -- with 4 sentence interruptions like this one -- could get hard to follow. Also, a lot of very narrow & dated cultural references (I think I'm one of 5% of people under the age of 45 who would know who Linda Carter is).

MORE SERIOUS ISSUES:
This book came out in the "Gospel-Centered everything era" and has a lot of the same deficiencies of that general genre that was really popular during 2008-2016ish. It has some really well made points here and there, but not worth it's downsides. This entire genre seems like everyone wanted to do their poor man's version of a "the Gospel changes everything" Tim Keller sermon and then pile their reflections onto it. This whole genre tends to have a lot of false dichotomies and hyper-reductionistic thinking.

[Jeremiah Hopkins · Rating 5 out of 5]

Aaron Hardin came in clutch with another book recommendation. The message of this book hit me right in the gut, and I share the sentiments it outlines: for decades now, much of the American church has been leaving the true gospel of Jesus Christ on the sidelines and neglecting the true awesome love, grace, and power of Jesus Christ. However, the bigger message is that we as individual Christians, myself absolutely so, have been pulled into complacency in our own spiritual practice. This, more than anything, has both motivated me to grow in my walk with Christ and to rest in the work that has already been done through Christ’s death and resurrection.

“Retail stores replacing ‘Merry Christmas’ with ’Happy Holidays’ is not persecution. Your town hall removing the Ten Commandments from its hallway is not persecution. Many of us may look like whiny babies to the church in the Two-Thirds World.

The church in China prays for us in the West, and many Chinese Christians, I've been told, pray that we will experience persecution as they do, because they believe that is what it will take for revival to occur in our land. Meanwhile, we translate political offenses against our political gospel as persecution of our faith. And we have lost the wonders of the cosmic gospel made personal.”

9.5/10

[Sophie · Rating 1 out of 5]

The book was incongruent. From chapter to chapter there was little connection but much contradiction. Overall, it was difficult to ascertain the point if individual chapters and even more difficult to understand the main point of the book.
There is some idea of "Gospel Wakefulness" throughout, but this is never clearly or consistently defined. Just when the reader thinks there is a discernable point, it seems to flip the opposite direction.
From a reformed Christian perspective, I further struggled with the brief glimpses of doctrine presented in the book (though the author himself claims to be reformed). At times, I questioned the biblical foundation of many of the ideas expressed in this book.
Besides these negatives, the writing style did not suit me. It was a difficult and unmotivating book. There was no interest, or really any substance, that drew me back in. Truthfully, I struggled through this book simply to finish it.
The shorter version is, I would not recommend this book to anyone. Not a good, interesting, helpful or otherwise profitable read, really.

[David · Rating 4 out of 5]

The primary premise of the book is that right embracing of the gospel should lead to an actual change in our affections. The gospel is not just something we intellectually affirm but something that we should love. A lot of this reminds me of Jonathan Edwards' "Religious Affections." I wish he would have actually interacted with it more as it could have provided some more meat to the book.

I can see why some feel as if he is calling for a Pentecostal-like experience of the baptism of the spirit. It seemed to me, he was simply calling for a belief in the gospel that actually leads to greater love for God. Although, maybe my background in the charismatic world just makes me more sympathetic to the argument.

The worst thing you can say about Jared Wilson's books is that he writes about the gospel too much. It is why I find myself continuing to return to his writings and always appreciate them as they help me see the gospel in new ways.

[Andrew · Rating 4 out of 5]

Another solid work by Wilson. I particularly enjoyed the personal testimonies of people Wilson knows. Tying those stories in to the descriptions of Gospel Wakefulness was helpful. Wilson is careful to tie his insights to Scripture and to Church history, while looking for new(er) ways to describe how God is working. I would highly recommend this work.

For 2018 I decided to read through the entire Jared C. Wilson's corpus. Previous to 2018 to I had only read Otherworld and The Storytelling God.

[Ryan Ross · Rating 5 out of 5]

Re-reading this after close to a decade, and it still holds up. It’s excellent. There were some concerns about Jared promoting a “second blessing” type of Christianity, but I don’t think he does. He accurately describes a leap in sanctification that happens when someone grasps the gospel in a heartfelt way and begins to center on it. What Jared describes happened to me in college, and re-reading this was inspiring and motivating to ask God to do it again in my life and help me continue to live by the gospel. This is such a good book about how the gospel grows us, not just saves us.

[Rebecca Ray · Rating 5 out of 5]

This is an excellent book. It caused me to reconsider my testimony and answered some questions that I had about my own conversion to Christ. I also considered how often I act like what Christ has done is just a "down payment" that I need to keep working toward. I stand convicted there, and I am also convicted for not praying when I think I know what to do. Very powerful message.. . I also found the chapter on depression to be more than worth the price of the whole book.

[D.J. · Rating 5 out of 5]

As a Christ follower who has had moments of gospel wakefulness, I knew Wilson's exact point in the first few pages. Nonetheless, he outlines a path to a deeper walk with Jesus. Deep in theology, but accessible to believers of any maturity level. If you're struggling to fit in among the "stronger Christians" or a church group, this is the book for you.

[PJWC · Rating 3 out of 5]

Some very good & necessary points regarding the Gospel but I would argue wakefulness is true salvation - if any man is in Christ he is a new creation. If our eyes have been opened we will never be the same & all of live is lived in & through Christ.

[Andrew · Rating 4 out of 5]

This was a great book on the importance of the Gospel in our lives and how it is SO much more than just the thing needed for salvation. It can be a little “heady” at times and a little repetitive but the truths in this book are great!

[Sarah Howard · Rating 5 out of 5]

Great book! As much gospel talk that goes on in Christian circles, this is a must read to help clarify what the gospel is and how to, by Gods grace, help keep it at the center of our minds and lives.

[Brandon Siwula · Rating 5 out of 5]

Really uplifted my soul and has challenged me to rely on Christ and cling to Him in my brokeness. Alot to meditate on and I am thankful Jared wrote it.

[Tim Michiemo · Rating 5 out of 5]

Simple yet profound. If you want to love the greatness of the gospel more, read this book!

[Dana · Rating 5 out of 5]

deep