No Longer I: The Power Of The Gospel Like You Have Never Heard It Before

by Jacob Hotchkiss

- Guaranteed to challenge your thinking- Great for personal devotion- Great for small group book studies---Jacob Hotchkiss was a preacher/teacher in the church for a number of years before he ever learned what it meant to walk by faith. He was halfway through seminary when he realized that no one there knew the entirety of the gospel, including himself. The result?Despite his desperate desire to be free from sin, and all his whole-hearted attempts to repent and do better, he could never shake his addiction to porn, his tendency to be lazy, and a wide variety of other self-destructive behaviors.For years, he was suspicious that he had to be missing something. According to scripture, the Gospel had to be better than this. The Christian life was supposed to be characterized by victory, but mostly he had experienced routine defeat. And the best advice the Church had to offer was either to try harder or to stop trying so hard. Neither worked.It turns out that he was missing something -- the gospel. And learning it changed his life forever, just as it is supposed to change everyone who believes it.The problem in the Church today is not a lack of self-discipline, prayer, bible study, etc. Nor is it that Christians are still unwilling or unrepentant. The problem at its core is that we do not fully understand what Christ has done.To put it frankly, there is a crucial piece of the gospel that even most Christians have never heard. "[T]he truth will set you free" (John 8:32), and this book is meant to show you how.This is NOT a book about more doing. This is a book about better believing. It is biblical, it is practical, and it is utterly good news.If you want the freedom that you know God has promised you; if you want to bear the fruit of the Spirit in all circumstances; and if you're tired of the endless cycle of trying and failing to obey God, then this book is for you. The Gospel is every bit as powerful as you have always known it ought to be but could never quite see how.

Genres: Christian

192 pages, Kindle Edition

Published December 14, 2020

Reviews

[Kevin Wolz · Rating 4 out of 5]

“No Longer I” contains a clear argument, a desire to read the Biblical text closely, and (most importantly) a compelling Gospel presentation. The author demonstrates some familiarity with the Greek text, though he does not get bogged down in exegetical minutia. He ably counters the common (mis)readings of Romans 7 and emphasizes the power found in Romans 6. I think that this is a good read, especially for lay-leaders and mature high school students.

That being said, there are at least two areas that could use improvement (but both have substantial implications). First, there is no secondary literature cited. While many readers are intimidated by 100 page bibliographies and dozens of footnotes, to eschew outside sources entirely does a disservice to readers who want to learn more. Furthermore, there were several places where Hotchkiss could have substantiated his argument by drawing on insights from some of this secondary literature. One such example is his discussion of flesh (sarx in Greek), which has some similarities to the famous work of Jimmy Dunn in “Theology of Paul the Apostle.” Even if Dunn is too academic for his audience, I also detected room for the influence of Dallas Willard, Robert Foster, and Scot McKnight.

Second—and related to the first—there are a few places where secondary literature could have *improved* his argument. Most glaringly is that his Gospel presentation—compelling as it is—comes across as too individualistic for my (or Paul’s) taste. Not that individuals are not saved, but Paul has more to say about the Church and the Communities that he is writing to (especially in Romans). Even an additional chapter on living out faith in community would have helped to address this oversight. Here the recent work of E. Randolph Richards or Jackson Wu would have served and remained largely accessible to the intended audience. I’d also commend the more technical work of Ben Witherington, Bruce Malina, and David DeSilva.

These concerns notwithstanding, I would gladly place this book in the hands of a small group (though I also wish the book had build in discussion questions!) or a lay-leader.

I received an advance review copy of this book for free, and I am leaving this review voluntarily.

[Don Doebler · Rating 5 out of 5]

This book changed the author's life - before he wrote it - which is why he wrote it. And - it is starting to do the same for me. At first, I must admit I was a bit skeptical as it was relaying concepts of Christianity, faith and the gospel in some ways that I hadn't really heard before - and I've been a Christian for almost 50 years and in church longer. I want more people to read this book, so if I got too much into the content here I'd have to throw out a spoiler alert. Let's just say the balance between how we see grace and the law, the flesh and the spirit -- it starts to make so much sense and it is almost like hearing the gospel for the very first time. Ultimately freedom is found in these pages - because that is why Jesus came for the world. Some excerpts I can share that I hope will tease you into reading and not give away too much: "being under the law actually undermines this goal (of obedience), making it more difficult to obey God and enslaving us to sin"; "our faith in God's grace is actually the only thing that delivers us from sin, whereas our sheer will to obey God's law ... is never enough"; "desires of the flesh may appear to be a part of you, but if you confess Jesus Christ as your Lord and Savior, then you must not confuse them with you". Because of this book, I found the author's podcast on the subject and have started listening to try to really absorb what God has revealed to him last year. I received an advance review copy for free, and I am leaving this review voluntarily.

[Dawson Stamberg · Rating 2 out of 5]

While it is good to remember the power of the Holy Spirit in defeating sin AND it is good to identify with Christ's death, resurrection, and character instead of our sin struggles (or our own righteousness for that matter), it is dangerous to lose the awareness of our sin and the battle that we must face daily in fighting it. For example, CS Lewis states that the first step to defeating pride is to recognize you have it, while this book implies the opposite.

Some red flags to be aware of: He quotes no outside Christian sources to back up his claims, it is self-published, and he claims that he understands the gospel better than the countless generations that were before him.

In conclusion, this book is more confusing than beneficial, and it is better to stick to reading God's word directly and using Christian books that have stood the test of time rather than this book. Justification is immediate, sanctification takes time, and he gets these mixed up.

[T. M. Reeves · Rating 5 out of 5]

Jacob Hotchkiss has written a powerful book. The book lives up to it’s subtitle: ‘The Power Of The Gospel Like You Have Never Heard It Before’. I indeed had never heard the concepts that Jacob lays out in his book. Jacob gives a new perspective that is found right within the Bible but that my background, upbringing and culture had filtered out. The truth and insights in this book helped change my mind from seeing the gospel as the ok news to truly good news! I bought a bunch of copies that I plan to give away to anyone who I think might be interested in reading it.

[Debbie Chatley · Rating 5 out of 5]

Clear and thorough discussion of what it means to live the Christian life. It’s about being, not doing. For the past 45 years I’ve for the most part looked at the Christian life as a list of do’s and don’ts and I always felt like I was doing something wrong. Reading thousands book the light bulb cane on as to the fact that I was to busy doing and not acknowledging all that was already mine In Christ. This book is life changing.

[Beverly · Rating 1 out of 5]

Much speculation and twisting of scripture to try and explain a spiritual truth that cannot be fully explained in human terms. A big ole’ word salad that I’m not interested in following through ‘til the bitter end. I will follow one of his suggestions and stick with straight scripture on this issue of flesh vs spirit.

[Matt Bootsma · Rating 4 out of 5]

Small group read: it made us think a lot and prompted great discussions, but it seemed to me that the author applied a semi-legalistic and dogmatic framework to a supposedly anti-legalistic message. It often felt overly simplistic and a little cookie-cutter. I gave it 4 stars because it is worth the read despite some of my critiques and frustrations.

[Mary Douphrate · Rating 5 out of 5]

Excellent thought provoking read.

[Justin · Rating 1 out of 5]

Shaky exegesis, contradictions, and unbiblical definitions of biblical words leading to something like a neo-gnostic, psychological prosperity gospel.

[Frits Bax · Rating 5 out of 5]

An excellent thorough book on identifying with jesus.
Explains the truth of "I am" and how Jesus is in you!
Because it is the truth, that God is IN us
And how to live it victoriously
Highly recommended!

[Noah Preston · Rating 3 out of 5]

If you are looking for freedom buy this book

If you are looking for freedom from sin or freedom to live the life God created you to live, then buy this book.