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The Gospel-Shaped Life
Gospel means ‘good news’. It is good news from God, about his Son Jesus Christ, for a world of perishing sinners, offering eternal life as a free gift, to be received by faith alone (John 3:16).
But the gospel does so much more than rescue us from hell and save us for heaven. It also takes possession of our lives and remakes them into the image and likeness of Jesus Christ (Rom. 8:29). This is God’s ultimate purpose for every one of his blood-bought and dearly loved children.
How does the gospel do this? And what does a gospel-shaped life look like? And what impact will such a life have on others? These are some of the questions raised and answered by Ian Hamilton in this book.
The Gospel-Shaped Life is a book for Christians of all ages. Its goal is to move us to confess with the apostle Paul, ‘Oh, the depth of the riches and wisdom and knowledge of God! How unsearchable are his judgments and how inscrutable his ways!’ (Rom. 11:33)
But the gospel does so much more than rescue us from hell and save us for heaven. It also takes possession of our lives and remakes them into the image and likeness of Jesus Christ (Rom. 8:29). This is God’s ultimate purpose for every one of his blood-bought and dearly loved children.
How does the gospel do this? And what does a gospel-shaped life look like? And what impact will such a life have on others? These are some of the questions raised and answered by Ian Hamilton in this book.
The Gospel-Shaped Life is a book for Christians of all ages. Its goal is to move us to confess with the apostle Paul, ‘Oh, the depth of the riches and wisdom and knowledge of God! How unsearchable are his judgments and how inscrutable his ways!’ (Rom. 11:33)
- GenresTheologyChristian Living
175 pages, Paperback
Published September 19, 2017
6 people are currently reading
88 people want to read
About the author
Ian Hamilton
8 books8 followersIan Hamilton has been minister of Cambridge Presbyterian Church since 1999. He graduated from Edinburgh University in 1979 and became the minister of Loudoun Church of Scotland, Newmilns, Ayrshire in the same year, serving there for almost twenty years. He is married to Joan, and they have four children.
Ian Hamilton is a Trustee of the Banner of Truth Trust and has preached at conferences around the world. His books include a commentary on the Letters of John, published by the Trust in the ‘Let’s Study’ series, The Faith-Shaped Life, and The Gospel-Shaped Life.
Ian Hamilton is a Trustee of the Banner of Truth Trust and has preached at conferences around the world. His books include a commentary on the Letters of John, published by the Trust in the ‘Let’s Study’ series, The Faith-Shaped Life, and The Gospel-Shaped Life.
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Displaying 1 - 12 of 12 reviews
January 31, 2018
Excellent. Great devotional read. The final chapter on the heart of Calvinism is gold.
January 1, 2020
Loves this. Short daily devotion-type chapters that point you to Christ and encourage your love for him.
March 20, 2019
Read this book devotionally and spent each day focusing on the rich gospel topic that each short chapter presented. Found this book to be useful and inspirational.
September 2, 2019
In brief chapters, suitable for daily devotional reading, Hamilton takes the reader on a tour of what is means to live a life shaped daily by the gospel of Jesus Christ. Easy to read, but penetrating, thoughtful, and profound. Highly recommended.
July 30, 2020
Short little chapters with a ferocious bite.
November 26, 2019
My husband and I used this as a break between commentaries for family worship. It is short, had a devotional quality, and nicely sized chunks for a daily family readings. We enjoyed Hamilton's writing, his ordinary means of grace focus, and his convicting challenges.
April 6, 2020
So a few months ago at a conference, I came across this book that Banner of Truth was selling. The title alone caught my eye as there is a lack of Gospel-centered preaching and sound doctrine nowadays. Therefore, we must return to the Gospel and let it shape our lives so that we would reflect Our Saviour, Jesus Christ.
The book itself is small, but as the phrase goes, “don’t judge a book by its cover”, so that rings true for this book. Yet it’s content makes up for its size (43 chapters!). I honestly thought I’d finish this book in less than a week. But it took me much longer than that. Well for one, I did stop reading for a while. But when I did read consistently, I couldn’t read through it quickly. Some chapters are easy to pass through while other chapters were much more time consuming. It is densely packed but without ever becoming tedious.
If anything, you want to chew on what you just read as it begets awe and adoration of the Good News. Some stories in the Bible are discussed as it highlights the Gospel. Additionally, key figures in church history are discussed as they offer their take on the Gospel. Not only is the book doctrinal, but also applicable to one’s daily life, which is a must! If we are going to live out this life in which we are called by God, we must live it out on behalf of the Good News He has given to us.
Good book, I recommend it! 4.5/5
Some book quotes
“A Christian has intimate fellowship with the triune God. A Christian has freedom of access, night and day, into the presence of the one who made the uncountable myriad of stars.”
“If any one phrase sums up the substance of the Bible it is, ‘Behold your God’.
“God’s purpose in saving sinners is not only to save them but to sanctify them, to transform into the likeness of His Son.”
The book itself is small, but as the phrase goes, “don’t judge a book by its cover”, so that rings true for this book. Yet it’s content makes up for its size (43 chapters!). I honestly thought I’d finish this book in less than a week. But it took me much longer than that. Well for one, I did stop reading for a while. But when I did read consistently, I couldn’t read through it quickly. Some chapters are easy to pass through while other chapters were much more time consuming. It is densely packed but without ever becoming tedious.
If anything, you want to chew on what you just read as it begets awe and adoration of the Good News. Some stories in the Bible are discussed as it highlights the Gospel. Additionally, key figures in church history are discussed as they offer their take on the Gospel. Not only is the book doctrinal, but also applicable to one’s daily life, which is a must! If we are going to live out this life in which we are called by God, we must live it out on behalf of the Good News He has given to us.
Good book, I recommend it! 4.5/5
Some book quotes
“A Christian has intimate fellowship with the triune God. A Christian has freedom of access, night and day, into the presence of the one who made the uncountable myriad of stars.”
“If any one phrase sums up the substance of the Bible it is, ‘Behold your God’.
“God’s purpose in saving sinners is not only to save them but to sanctify them, to transform into the likeness of His Son.”
December 13, 2017
One of the best books I’ve read this year. Nothing profound here - Hamilton is just easy to read and yet deep; concise and yet touching on all the essentials. This book covers the essentials of the Christian faith: justification, sanctification, the means of grace, the nature and character of God, the person and work and centrality of Jesus Christ, the Christian sabbath, etc. This is an excellent book for new believers, those new to the Reformed faith, and/or those looking to study the essentials of the faith in bite-sized chunks. With 43 short chapters, it could be read as a devotional, or used as a guide for group study. I highly recommend this book! This is evangelical/experiential Calvinism at its best.
July 13, 2021
I used this book as a devotional along with my daily Bible reading. I really enjoyed the succinct and insightful reflections on key points of doctrine- good reminders and clarifiers of the gospel. My one criticism is how he feels he needs to defend/hold up Calvinism - he didn’t even need to use that term, because it is distracting. It makes it sound like Calvinism is up there as a key part of the gospel, when he really could just be saying “gospel” or “Jesus”.
July 13, 2020
Tremendous collection of short essays/chapters on how the gospel of grace changes us, challenges us, and conforms us more and more to the image of Christ! I underlined it a lot! Great pithy quotes abound throughout! Highly recommended as it give a lot of spiritual bang for your buck in only 175 pages!
April 1, 2021
Very nice book from Ian Hamilton, focused on bringing to the reader's attention to our lives being built around Christ and His gospel in our day-to-day. Could be read devotional style or straight through.
October 11, 2024
Excellent and edifying morning reading
Displaying 1 - 12 of 12 reviews