One Gospel for All Nations: A Practical Approach to Biblical Contextualization

by Brad Vaughn

The Bible tells us what to believe––the gospel. Did you know it also shows how to contextualize the gospel? In One Gospel for All Nations, Jackson Wu does more than talk about principles. He gets practical. When the biblical writers explain the gospel, they consistently use a pattern that is both firm and flexible. Wu builds on this insight to demonstrate a model of contextualization that starts with interpretation and can be applied in any culture. In the process, he explains practically why we must not choose between the Bible and culture. Wu highlights various implications for both missionaries and theologians. Contextualization should be practical, not pragmatic; theological, not theoretical.

293 pages, Kindle Edition

Published December 14, 2015

Reviews

[Ryan Martin · Rating 5 out of 5]

Both practical and technical, this book gives a careful look at contextualization. While often we tend to see contextualization merely as communicating and applying the Biblical text, this book recognizes that even our interpretation of Scripture is seen through a cultural lens. Wu does a faithful job of differentiating between exegetical contextualization (seeing what is true about our culture within the Bible itself) and cultural contextualization (interpreting culture from a Scriptural perspective), and then giving a framework for how we can move from Biblical text to Cultural context. Wu overall places a heavy emphasis on the importance of biblical theology in our contextualization, which I found helpful. The practical examples from both a Chinese culture (which Wu has served in), as well as other cultures helped to bring the more technical concepts of the book to a level that helps them be lived out in context.