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Essential Christianity: The Heart of the Gospel in Ten Words
A clear gospel explanation that helps you understand the heart of the Christian faith. If Paul wrote the book of Romans to 21st-century men and women today, what would he say? This book follows the key points of Paul’s explanation to the Romans and puts them into the terms of 21st century men and women, showing both ‘secular’ and ‘religious’ people what the gospel is and how it addresses our deepest questions. The gospel, as he explains, is not just about life after death; it’s about reclaiming the life we’ve always yearned to live. Whether you are exploring the core concepts of Christianity or are a weary Christian wanting to rediscover the excitement and joy of knowing God, this warm and compelling explanation of the goodness, truth, and power at the heart of the Christian faith is for you. As J.D. says in his “The gospel is not just the diving board off which you jump into Christianity―it’s the swimming pool in which you swim. See this book as your invitation to rediscover the goodness, the excitement, the liberation, and the power of the gospel.”
176 pages, Paperback
Published February 1, 2023
59 people are currently reading
365 people want to read
About the author
J.D. Greear
69 books223 followersJ.D. Greear, Ph.D., did his degree work in Christian and Islamic theology at Southeastern Baptist Theological Seminary in Wake Forest, NC. He is Lead Pastor of The Summit Church in Raleigh-Durham, NC. The Summit’s vision is to plant 1,000 churches in by the year 2040. Currently, they have planted 11 and have several church planting teams stationed around the world.
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 31 reviews
March 21, 2023
This was fantastic. Read through it with a new Christian or non-Christian.
May 13, 2024
This book is great for people at any level in their walk with Christ. Whether you are an unbeliever, a new believer, or have been following Jesus for years, J.D. does a great job taking you deeper into the knowledge of the gospel and how that is meant to transform our lives. This would be a great book to read along with someone else as a way of discipleship.
September 5, 2024
J.D. Greear is a masterful, down to earth writer. This book was both humbling and encouraging. It is a handbook for navigating the Christian life in a relevant, biblical way. I have been immersed in Romans in Sunday School and in our weekly sermons, so this book has provided a deeper insight into Paul's journey. Highly recommend this book!
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June 4, 2024“To progress in the Christian life is to begin again” - Martin Luther (paraphrased)
Kicked off my sabbatical “beginning again” by immersing myself in these gospel truths.
Highly recommend for new Christians and seasoned followers alike - so refreshing!
Kicked off my sabbatical “beginning again” by immersing myself in these gospel truths.
Highly recommend for new Christians and seasoned followers alike - so refreshing!
August 5, 2024
I found it very easy to read. It was funny at points and answered some difficult questions that Christians may have about their faith in how to practice basic apologetics.
September 13, 2024
Wow! I want to share this book with everyone! Such good story examples to help understand the hard concepts of Romans! A very encouraging yet convicting book!
January 5, 2025
Summary
This book is a short work on what Christianity really is. It is not an exegesis of Romans, but each chapter harkens to the book of Romans and is an illustrative and simple presentation of the gospel.
The book is divided into 10 chapters with a few interludes, as if this is a train ride through the book of Romans, pausing at unique stations to see the view and then hopping back onto the route toward the “therefore” of the gospel.
Chapter 1: This is the announcement of the gospel. Greear states the gospel as
“God, in an act of grace, sent his Son, Jesus, to earth as a man so that through his life, death, and resurrection he could rescue us, reign as king, and lead us into the eternal, full life we were created to enjoy”
This is a simple yet powerful summation of the gospel and the path JD takes as he topically exposits Romans is enjoyable to read through.
The second chapter points to creation as the undeniable evidence of God. The cosmology of this universe implies a creator prior to this universe. There can be no infinite regress. The fine tuning of the universe points to an original fine tuner; the moral fingerprint explains that God is the source of our ethics. We desire to do good, we know murdering children for enjoyment is evil, etc. This points to a God who has given humanity this moral compass. Finally we desire things outside the material, such as eternal life. This comes from deep longings that God as creator has given us. But people still refuse God.
This takes us into the next chapter about refusal. People have a big I problem. They are not focused on the God problem, meaning they have not turned their attention to God and submitted to Him. Instead their focus on themselves causes them to continually refuse this God and His message of salvation. Simply put this is sin, continual refusal to look and acknowledge God as our God.
Greear shifts his focus in the next chapter on how many naturally “seek” God through religion which is ultimately an I problem because they believe that their works make them good enough for an eternal perfected life. This is not so though. The Christian God offers himself to be our personal God and savior. In this we have a God focus rather than an I focus.
Throughout the book are a few intermissions. These act as occasional viewing points along the train route of the Gospel. In this first interlude, JD focuses on who Jesus is. He is the God-man. Jesus is fully divine and fully man. He is the exact representation of God in Hebrews 1:3 and the eternal word in John 1:1. This eternal word became a full human to be able to fully relate to all humanity at all life stages. In this, Christ is able to understand us and be a human sacrifice. As God, He is able to cover all human sacrifices. He is in the category of human and then also in the category of God. In his God category He is authorized to offer eternal life to the soul and body.
After this interlude JD in chapter 5 moves onto the Acts of rescue: justification, redemption and propitiation. Justification is being declared righteous. Redemption is Jesus buying us back from slavery to sin toward Himself as the new master. Propitiation is Jesus receiving the punishment of sin for us. This can be summed up as: Jesus in my place.
Faith is the next keyword. Faith is a trusting and an abandoning of ourselves toward a full and ready acceptance of Jesus as our Savior and Lord. In this we are redeemed and justified with Christ as our efficacious propitiation.
Second interlude: The truthfulness of the Christian message. The essential evidence of this truthfulness is the fact that many Christians have died for their faith in the resurrection of Jesus in the Gospel and have gotten no reward for it. They did not receive any promise of success, safety, or prestige. They merely died for one message: Christ crucified. This acts as strong evidence of the reality of Jesus as a historical figure and all important to these martyred believers.
Chapter 7 is about how inclusivistic the Christian message is. It is not limited to the poor, rich, good or bad, but limited to all who call on the name of Jesus. Within the Christian world there is a wide variety of views on non gospel issues, such as the role of women in the church, end times, etc. The gospel unifies all people from all places.
With such good news there must still be some bad news. The “bad news” is that suffering still occurs. The decision we have to make is to see the battle we may be losing and shift that view toward the life in Christ that can’t be lost. Christ will perfect your faith. He will do it. He accomplished your salvation; He’ll finish the salvation of us from suffering toward a state of not needing any more saving from sin, the consequences of sin and the death of sin. We need to experience the victory of the gospel every day.
Intermission 3: The Christian view of sexuality. The Bible states that marriage is only supposed to be between one man and one woman for all of human life. Excluding death and adultery, there is no biblical basis of divorce for the believer. Three myths exist around the issue of homosexuality as one of various marital deviances. Myth one is that there are only two responses to our homosexual friends and neighbors. Christian’s need to treat homosexual people just as they treat their loved ones, as precious and cared for. Second myth is that homosexuality is the worst sin. Paul lists homosexuality along with other sins like boasting, greed, disobedience toward parents, etc. Homosexuality is a disordered heart, like all other sins. Myth three is that being homosexual is how some people are born. This is unproven thus far but even if one were born with this “impulse” there are other impulses that are not good either, such as anger, rash murder, etc. There is a difference between being an active unrepentant homosexual and a repentant same sex attracted person. The homosexual person fighting off same sex lust is fighting a good fight, just like the heterosexual person fighting off lust.
The second to last chapter explains how the Holy Spirit helps those in need, all people and in particular believers. Christ finishes the work of atonement and the Spirit helps us live our lives for Christ. The Spirit enables us to believe in Jesus, produces living for Christ, fills us with God’s love for us, and prays for us. The Spirit comforts us, and assures us of future victory in Jesus. We live in the Spirit when we confess our sins, continually surrender our lives, saturate ourselves in the gospel, and memorize the Bible. Then we don’t stop.
Finally JD Greear asks the reader to make a decision. Similarly as to how Paul begins Romans 12 with a “therefore”, so readers must also therefore make a choice. JD asks if we will join the winning team, with full faith and commitment. Will we daily walk as living sacrifices, “daily re-surrendering our lives” (pg. 169) to Christ?
Joe Gibbs writes a simple afterward that emphasizes.that becoming a Christian is like joining an athletic team. Will we make Christ our head coach?
Comments
I quite enjoyed this book. It was a simple gospel message but clear and enjoyable to read. It helped me in my assurance issue because it explained things simply and gave relatable illustrations. I enjoyed the banter of JD Greear. He understands how to communicate to confused and questioning unbelievers, admitting such things as the oddity of the Trinity, confusion over propitiation, etc.
I have only one serious negative and one quibble. In his chapter on the deity of Christ he ties Hebrews 1 into the story but does not do a good job actually explaining the relationship of image and bearer of image. I find that the image of deity that Christ “has”, to be complete and to truly convey Yahweh’s identity, must then necessarily be of the same nature/image/essence as Yahweh. When seeing Christ we see the exact representation of Yahweh. To be a complete and whole representation this image must actually be divine. JD states that Jn. 1:1 and Heb. 1 act as helpful analogies for the deity of Christ; I find this less than satisfactory.
The second issue I found slightly strange was his comment on pg. 149 to keep concerns over homosexuality on a back burner if one doesn’t understand the issues as well as they ought to. JD is emphasizing the shift of hyperfocus on one sin issue to the exclusion of other sin issues. I understand the pragmatics of this, but this “punting the issue” around homosexuality may inadvertently make the issue of homosexuality less important than it is. I find homosexuality to be a more significant sin issue to be discussed because of degrees of sin. All sin is damning, but not all sin is equally reprehensible. The sin of stealing can be a degreed sin. It is not so easy with homosexuality. People who struggle with homosexuality are doing very intimate behavior that is really tied to identity and the development of the self. These are incredibly important sin issues to discuss and I find “punting this issue forward” to be unhelpful at best and detrimental at worst. Other than these two issues, I found the rest of the book very enjoyable to read.
It was a fast but comprehensible read. Three particular sections were well explained…
On pg. 115, JD explains how the gospel is actually very inclusive of everyone. All other religions say only good people make it in. But by definition this means bad people don’t make it in. Those bad people are determined as bad from the good people. Every religion is like this, which implies no real standard. God’s standard is perfection, therefore no one is able to get there unless God takes them there, declaring and making them perfect through Christ. This implies an inclusivity of all people. All people are welcome to come unto Jesus. I found this a great way to explain a unique but true angle of the gospel. It is useful in explaining to the oft critical view that Christianity is exclusive. Christianity is exclusive in behavior and beliefs, but so are most other religions. Christianity is inclusive and welcoming to all who turn to Christ.
I thought the differentiation between being an active homosexual and a same sex attracted person (pg. 148) fighting against impure desires was helpful. It is good to be able to explain to unbelievers that homosexual temptations are not the sin. They are a consequence of sin in this world, just as heterosexual temptations are, but not sin. Acting on temptations is sin, because it is allowing ourselves to become self centered.
On pg. 154-5, there is the comfort that the Spirit helps us build up our “spiritual sanity” so that when we read things of Jesus we instinctively believe it, resting in those beliefs rather than jumping back into fears and unbelief. The Spirit also gives us felt experiences that assure us that we are saved. When we are overwhelmed by the love of Christ in the Bible and in our own life we are assured that we are children of God. This was super encouraging to me because these experiences have been quite assuring to my salvation.
JD has a way of writing as a simple thinker, but not in a dumbed down book. This is a fine book for a thinker who is considering what Christianity is all about. This book is somewhat how I would explain the gospel. The Gospel can have some aspects that are confusion, such as incarnation, the concept of forgiveness and the shedding of blood. This book gives great illustrations and anticipated what some would bring up as possible objections to aspects of the gospel. I want to think this way with the ability to argue the grounding of my beliefs.
In conclusion I would recommend this book because it does not simply state scripture, or re-state it, but explains it evangelistically and apologetically, with hints of pastoring and exegesis thrown in. This is a good book for struggling and new Christians and those Christians who teach and preach in a vocational ministry role.
This book is a short work on what Christianity really is. It is not an exegesis of Romans, but each chapter harkens to the book of Romans and is an illustrative and simple presentation of the gospel.
The book is divided into 10 chapters with a few interludes, as if this is a train ride through the book of Romans, pausing at unique stations to see the view and then hopping back onto the route toward the “therefore” of the gospel.
Chapter 1: This is the announcement of the gospel. Greear states the gospel as
“God, in an act of grace, sent his Son, Jesus, to earth as a man so that through his life, death, and resurrection he could rescue us, reign as king, and lead us into the eternal, full life we were created to enjoy”
This is a simple yet powerful summation of the gospel and the path JD takes as he topically exposits Romans is enjoyable to read through.
The second chapter points to creation as the undeniable evidence of God. The cosmology of this universe implies a creator prior to this universe. There can be no infinite regress. The fine tuning of the universe points to an original fine tuner; the moral fingerprint explains that God is the source of our ethics. We desire to do good, we know murdering children for enjoyment is evil, etc. This points to a God who has given humanity this moral compass. Finally we desire things outside the material, such as eternal life. This comes from deep longings that God as creator has given us. But people still refuse God.
This takes us into the next chapter about refusal. People have a big I problem. They are not focused on the God problem, meaning they have not turned their attention to God and submitted to Him. Instead their focus on themselves causes them to continually refuse this God and His message of salvation. Simply put this is sin, continual refusal to look and acknowledge God as our God.
Greear shifts his focus in the next chapter on how many naturally “seek” God through religion which is ultimately an I problem because they believe that their works make them good enough for an eternal perfected life. This is not so though. The Christian God offers himself to be our personal God and savior. In this we have a God focus rather than an I focus.
Throughout the book are a few intermissions. These act as occasional viewing points along the train route of the Gospel. In this first interlude, JD focuses on who Jesus is. He is the God-man. Jesus is fully divine and fully man. He is the exact representation of God in Hebrews 1:3 and the eternal word in John 1:1. This eternal word became a full human to be able to fully relate to all humanity at all life stages. In this, Christ is able to understand us and be a human sacrifice. As God, He is able to cover all human sacrifices. He is in the category of human and then also in the category of God. In his God category He is authorized to offer eternal life to the soul and body.
After this interlude JD in chapter 5 moves onto the Acts of rescue: justification, redemption and propitiation. Justification is being declared righteous. Redemption is Jesus buying us back from slavery to sin toward Himself as the new master. Propitiation is Jesus receiving the punishment of sin for us. This can be summed up as: Jesus in my place.
Faith is the next keyword. Faith is a trusting and an abandoning of ourselves toward a full and ready acceptance of Jesus as our Savior and Lord. In this we are redeemed and justified with Christ as our efficacious propitiation.
Second interlude: The truthfulness of the Christian message. The essential evidence of this truthfulness is the fact that many Christians have died for their faith in the resurrection of Jesus in the Gospel and have gotten no reward for it. They did not receive any promise of success, safety, or prestige. They merely died for one message: Christ crucified. This acts as strong evidence of the reality of Jesus as a historical figure and all important to these martyred believers.
Chapter 7 is about how inclusivistic the Christian message is. It is not limited to the poor, rich, good or bad, but limited to all who call on the name of Jesus. Within the Christian world there is a wide variety of views on non gospel issues, such as the role of women in the church, end times, etc. The gospel unifies all people from all places.
With such good news there must still be some bad news. The “bad news” is that suffering still occurs. The decision we have to make is to see the battle we may be losing and shift that view toward the life in Christ that can’t be lost. Christ will perfect your faith. He will do it. He accomplished your salvation; He’ll finish the salvation of us from suffering toward a state of not needing any more saving from sin, the consequences of sin and the death of sin. We need to experience the victory of the gospel every day.
Intermission 3: The Christian view of sexuality. The Bible states that marriage is only supposed to be between one man and one woman for all of human life. Excluding death and adultery, there is no biblical basis of divorce for the believer. Three myths exist around the issue of homosexuality as one of various marital deviances. Myth one is that there are only two responses to our homosexual friends and neighbors. Christian’s need to treat homosexual people just as they treat their loved ones, as precious and cared for. Second myth is that homosexuality is the worst sin. Paul lists homosexuality along with other sins like boasting, greed, disobedience toward parents, etc. Homosexuality is a disordered heart, like all other sins. Myth three is that being homosexual is how some people are born. This is unproven thus far but even if one were born with this “impulse” there are other impulses that are not good either, such as anger, rash murder, etc. There is a difference between being an active unrepentant homosexual and a repentant same sex attracted person. The homosexual person fighting off same sex lust is fighting a good fight, just like the heterosexual person fighting off lust.
The second to last chapter explains how the Holy Spirit helps those in need, all people and in particular believers. Christ finishes the work of atonement and the Spirit helps us live our lives for Christ. The Spirit enables us to believe in Jesus, produces living for Christ, fills us with God’s love for us, and prays for us. The Spirit comforts us, and assures us of future victory in Jesus. We live in the Spirit when we confess our sins, continually surrender our lives, saturate ourselves in the gospel, and memorize the Bible. Then we don’t stop.
Finally JD Greear asks the reader to make a decision. Similarly as to how Paul begins Romans 12 with a “therefore”, so readers must also therefore make a choice. JD asks if we will join the winning team, with full faith and commitment. Will we daily walk as living sacrifices, “daily re-surrendering our lives” (pg. 169) to Christ?
Joe Gibbs writes a simple afterward that emphasizes.that becoming a Christian is like joining an athletic team. Will we make Christ our head coach?
Comments
I quite enjoyed this book. It was a simple gospel message but clear and enjoyable to read. It helped me in my assurance issue because it explained things simply and gave relatable illustrations. I enjoyed the banter of JD Greear. He understands how to communicate to confused and questioning unbelievers, admitting such things as the oddity of the Trinity, confusion over propitiation, etc.
I have only one serious negative and one quibble. In his chapter on the deity of Christ he ties Hebrews 1 into the story but does not do a good job actually explaining the relationship of image and bearer of image. I find that the image of deity that Christ “has”, to be complete and to truly convey Yahweh’s identity, must then necessarily be of the same nature/image/essence as Yahweh. When seeing Christ we see the exact representation of Yahweh. To be a complete and whole representation this image must actually be divine. JD states that Jn. 1:1 and Heb. 1 act as helpful analogies for the deity of Christ; I find this less than satisfactory.
The second issue I found slightly strange was his comment on pg. 149 to keep concerns over homosexuality on a back burner if one doesn’t understand the issues as well as they ought to. JD is emphasizing the shift of hyperfocus on one sin issue to the exclusion of other sin issues. I understand the pragmatics of this, but this “punting the issue” around homosexuality may inadvertently make the issue of homosexuality less important than it is. I find homosexuality to be a more significant sin issue to be discussed because of degrees of sin. All sin is damning, but not all sin is equally reprehensible. The sin of stealing can be a degreed sin. It is not so easy with homosexuality. People who struggle with homosexuality are doing very intimate behavior that is really tied to identity and the development of the self. These are incredibly important sin issues to discuss and I find “punting this issue forward” to be unhelpful at best and detrimental at worst. Other than these two issues, I found the rest of the book very enjoyable to read.
It was a fast but comprehensible read. Three particular sections were well explained…
On pg. 115, JD explains how the gospel is actually very inclusive of everyone. All other religions say only good people make it in. But by definition this means bad people don’t make it in. Those bad people are determined as bad from the good people. Every religion is like this, which implies no real standard. God’s standard is perfection, therefore no one is able to get there unless God takes them there, declaring and making them perfect through Christ. This implies an inclusivity of all people. All people are welcome to come unto Jesus. I found this a great way to explain a unique but true angle of the gospel. It is useful in explaining to the oft critical view that Christianity is exclusive. Christianity is exclusive in behavior and beliefs, but so are most other religions. Christianity is inclusive and welcoming to all who turn to Christ.
I thought the differentiation between being an active homosexual and a same sex attracted person (pg. 148) fighting against impure desires was helpful. It is good to be able to explain to unbelievers that homosexual temptations are not the sin. They are a consequence of sin in this world, just as heterosexual temptations are, but not sin. Acting on temptations is sin, because it is allowing ourselves to become self centered.
On pg. 154-5, there is the comfort that the Spirit helps us build up our “spiritual sanity” so that when we read things of Jesus we instinctively believe it, resting in those beliefs rather than jumping back into fears and unbelief. The Spirit also gives us felt experiences that assure us that we are saved. When we are overwhelmed by the love of Christ in the Bible and in our own life we are assured that we are children of God. This was super encouraging to me because these experiences have been quite assuring to my salvation.
JD has a way of writing as a simple thinker, but not in a dumbed down book. This is a fine book for a thinker who is considering what Christianity is all about. This book is somewhat how I would explain the gospel. The Gospel can have some aspects that are confusion, such as incarnation, the concept of forgiveness and the shedding of blood. This book gives great illustrations and anticipated what some would bring up as possible objections to aspects of the gospel. I want to think this way with the ability to argue the grounding of my beliefs.
In conclusion I would recommend this book because it does not simply state scripture, or re-state it, but explains it evangelistically and apologetically, with hints of pastoring and exegesis thrown in. This is a good book for struggling and new Christians and those Christians who teach and preach in a vocational ministry role.
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
April 13, 2025
J.D says this about the gospel:
“That is an announcement that you cannot treat casually. It’s either the world’s greatest offer or the world’s cruelest hoax.”
“That is an announcement that you cannot treat casually. It’s either the world’s greatest offer or the world’s cruelest hoax.”
February 11, 2023
In my own pastoral life, I’ve always broken down Christian doctrine into three tiers: foundational doctrines, secondary doctrines, and preferences/opinions. Foundational doctrines are Essential Christianity. Take a doctrine away—like the Resurrection of Jesus—and you no longer have Christianity. Secondary doctrines have a right and wrong answer, but different denominations and people disagree over what that answer is. A lot of ink is spilled on these doctrinal disputes, but usually there is agreement that no matter one’s belief they are under the banner of orthodox Christianity. Preferences/opinions are just that—they may be rooted in denominational rituals or styles, but there is no right or wrong answer.
J.D. Greear’s Essential Christianity is an attempt to explain foundational Christianity using the template provided by Paul in Romans 1. Because he’s taking the Romans 1 route, Greear’s book isn’t so much a theology as it is a commentary. He’s providing basic information about foundational questions of Christianity, but not in a way that could be categorized as systematic theology. Instead, Greear asks 10 questions about the faith and provides answers:
1. What is Christianity?
2. How do we even know there is a God?
3. If God is real, why doesn’t everybody believe in him?
4. Is religion the answer?
5. Why do Christians talk about “being saved”?
6. Can anyone actually know they’ll go to heaven?
7. Aren’t all religions basically the same?
8. Why does the Christian life seem so hard?
9. What is the difference between being religious and being spiritual?
10. Now what?
Greear’s writing is clear and accessible. It’s a bit of a retread of other works that have done the same thing. You can see the influence of Josh McDowell, Norm Geisler, and other SBC theologians/apologists of previous generations in the work. For someone who grew up in evangelicalism, there wasn’t anything new in the content of Essential Christianity (as might be expected) but also there wasn’t anything new in the way it was being presented. It’s fine. It’s serviceable. But it’s lacking in uniqueness and personality.
The deal-breaker for me was Greear’s choice to write an excursus condemning same-sex relationships. I get it. Greear is a conservative evangelical and believes that same-sex relationships are sinful. But one’s view of same-sex relationships is categorically not a foundational belief essential to Christianity. It is a secondary doctrine—something that should be debated and exegeted with the understanding that Christians have looked at these passages and come down with differing interpretations. Greear unequivocally states that people cannot be both gay and Christian, elevating conservative interpretation of passages concerning same-sex behavior to the level of fundamental orthodoxy.
While Greear claims to not treat homosexuality different than “other sins,” he does just that by singling it out as a sin that one must not engage in repeatedly in order to be a Christian. Would he say the same for heterosexual lust? Interestingly, earlier in Essential Christianity, Greear asks readers to check off which of the Ten Commandments they’ve broken. While there’s an empty box at the end of most of the paragraphs, Greear goes ahead and checks off “you shall not commit adultery” for you, assuming that lustful thoughts are a given. So why would those habitual (heterosexual) lustful thoughts not carry the same penalty as homosexual sin?
Further, Greear does not engage with the text or its possible interpretations to determine what Paul might have had in mind when same-sex behavior is discussed in Romans 1. Well-respected Christian scholars have interpreted Paul as condemning sexual acts related to religious practices. Greear discusses none of this, assumes that his interpretation is right—and not only that is required for salvation.
Essential Christianity is really Essential Evangelical Fundamentalism, complete with culture war crusades and dated apologetics. Greear is not a dumb person. He’s been the president of the SBC—and a rather reasonable voice within a troubled organization—and holds a Ph.D. He’s capable of better and more nuanced discourse than this.
J.D. Greear’s Essential Christianity is an attempt to explain foundational Christianity using the template provided by Paul in Romans 1. Because he’s taking the Romans 1 route, Greear’s book isn’t so much a theology as it is a commentary. He’s providing basic information about foundational questions of Christianity, but not in a way that could be categorized as systematic theology. Instead, Greear asks 10 questions about the faith and provides answers:
1. What is Christianity?
2. How do we even know there is a God?
3. If God is real, why doesn’t everybody believe in him?
4. Is religion the answer?
5. Why do Christians talk about “being saved”?
6. Can anyone actually know they’ll go to heaven?
7. Aren’t all religions basically the same?
8. Why does the Christian life seem so hard?
9. What is the difference between being religious and being spiritual?
10. Now what?
Greear’s writing is clear and accessible. It’s a bit of a retread of other works that have done the same thing. You can see the influence of Josh McDowell, Norm Geisler, and other SBC theologians/apologists of previous generations in the work. For someone who grew up in evangelicalism, there wasn’t anything new in the content of Essential Christianity (as might be expected) but also there wasn’t anything new in the way it was being presented. It’s fine. It’s serviceable. But it’s lacking in uniqueness and personality.
The deal-breaker for me was Greear’s choice to write an excursus condemning same-sex relationships. I get it. Greear is a conservative evangelical and believes that same-sex relationships are sinful. But one’s view of same-sex relationships is categorically not a foundational belief essential to Christianity. It is a secondary doctrine—something that should be debated and exegeted with the understanding that Christians have looked at these passages and come down with differing interpretations. Greear unequivocally states that people cannot be both gay and Christian, elevating conservative interpretation of passages concerning same-sex behavior to the level of fundamental orthodoxy.
While Greear claims to not treat homosexuality different than “other sins,” he does just that by singling it out as a sin that one must not engage in repeatedly in order to be a Christian. Would he say the same for heterosexual lust? Interestingly, earlier in Essential Christianity, Greear asks readers to check off which of the Ten Commandments they’ve broken. While there’s an empty box at the end of most of the paragraphs, Greear goes ahead and checks off “you shall not commit adultery” for you, assuming that lustful thoughts are a given. So why would those habitual (heterosexual) lustful thoughts not carry the same penalty as homosexual sin?
Further, Greear does not engage with the text or its possible interpretations to determine what Paul might have had in mind when same-sex behavior is discussed in Romans 1. Well-respected Christian scholars have interpreted Paul as condemning sexual acts related to religious practices. Greear discusses none of this, assumes that his interpretation is right—and not only that is required for salvation.
Essential Christianity is really Essential Evangelical Fundamentalism, complete with culture war crusades and dated apologetics. Greear is not a dumb person. He’s been the president of the SBC—and a rather reasonable voice within a troubled organization—and holds a Ph.D. He’s capable of better and more nuanced discourse than this.
March 21, 2023
Pastor and author J.D. Greear explains the basic story of Christianity in this book, summarizing the gospel in ten words, exploring biblical teachings from Romans, and focusing on different foundational elements of faith in each chapter. He also includes "intermissions" between chapters where he addresses common questions or hang-ups, such as the identity of Jesus. Greear's writing style is conversational, honest, and frequently humorous, and he writes about complex philosophical and theological ideas in ways that people can connect to regardless of their existing background with faith or level of interest in theology or philosophy. His down-to-earth style and vivid analogies will appeal to teens and adults.
Essential Christianity will help and encourage Christians who want to better understand and articulate their beliefs, and it is accessible to skeptics and doubters who are curious about the Christian faith or at least want to better understand what some of their loved ones believe. However, I don't think that this book will be useful to many people who are deconstructing their childhood faith. Greear writes in an understanding way near the beginning about why many young adults are leaving the institutional church and questioning their faith, but the book doesn't say anything that lapsed or questioning evangelicals haven't heard before. It's best for people who already agree with Greear or have never heard or considered what he's saying.
On a related note, I didn't think that the intermission regarding same-sex sexuality was helpful. Greear needed to include it because he was using the first chapter of Romans as part of his source material, and skipping over and ignoring controversial verses in it wouldn't be appropriate. However, he didn't add anything new or helpful to a contentious conversation that is a hang-up for many people considering faith, and this section felt fairly dated, with no major differences from what I would have read ten years ago. This part of the book doesn't address current shifts in the debate and won't change anyone's mind, and Greear doesn't engage with any alternate interpretations of those verses in Romans, not even to argue against them.
Overall, I would recommend Essential Christianity to Christians who would find Greear's summary of the gospel encouraging, and who would benefit from his clear explanations of things they believe but might not know how to verbalize. I would also recommend this as an accessible entry-point for skeptics who are curious about the Christian faith and want to read a book that covers a wide variety of information in a highly readable way, instead of taking scholarly deep dives. This is a good introduction to foundational Christian beliefs, even though I think it could have been better.
I received a free copy from the publisher in exchange for an honest review.
Essential Christianity will help and encourage Christians who want to better understand and articulate their beliefs, and it is accessible to skeptics and doubters who are curious about the Christian faith or at least want to better understand what some of their loved ones believe. However, I don't think that this book will be useful to many people who are deconstructing their childhood faith. Greear writes in an understanding way near the beginning about why many young adults are leaving the institutional church and questioning their faith, but the book doesn't say anything that lapsed or questioning evangelicals haven't heard before. It's best for people who already agree with Greear or have never heard or considered what he's saying.
On a related note, I didn't think that the intermission regarding same-sex sexuality was helpful. Greear needed to include it because he was using the first chapter of Romans as part of his source material, and skipping over and ignoring controversial verses in it wouldn't be appropriate. However, he didn't add anything new or helpful to a contentious conversation that is a hang-up for many people considering faith, and this section felt fairly dated, with no major differences from what I would have read ten years ago. This part of the book doesn't address current shifts in the debate and won't change anyone's mind, and Greear doesn't engage with any alternate interpretations of those verses in Romans, not even to argue against them.
Overall, I would recommend Essential Christianity to Christians who would find Greear's summary of the gospel encouraging, and who would benefit from his clear explanations of things they believe but might not know how to verbalize. I would also recommend this as an accessible entry-point for skeptics who are curious about the Christian faith and want to read a book that covers a wide variety of information in a highly readable way, instead of taking scholarly deep dives. This is a good introduction to foundational Christian beliefs, even though I think it could have been better.
I received a free copy from the publisher in exchange for an honest review.
February 1, 2023
J. D. Greear sets a lofty goal in this book as the subtitle conveys. He seeks to communicate the heart of the gospel in ten words. In my humble opinion, he masterfully did exactly what he set out to do.
To accomplish this, he walks the reader through Paul’s epistle to the Romans. He states that his reason for doing so is that this letter is seen as “the clearest, purest, most in-depth explanation of Christian basics ever penned.” From this letter, Greear draws out the major emphases and gleans ten words that he expounds on in ten chapters. There are a few “intermissions” interspersed throughout these chapters that go in depth on some subjects to bring greater clarity to the reader.
Now, down to the nitty-gritty: this book is saturated in the gospel! There were so many things that I appreciated about reading it. I enjoyed some of the scientific stats that were used to point to the intelligent design of our world. (These alone led me to awe and worship!) I enjoyed being reminded of the good news in a systematic way. And I enjoyed how anyone could read this book and understand the essence of the gospel.
This book would be great for a seeker or someone new to the Christian faith, but quite honestly, it’s a book that every believer would benefit from! As Greear notes, “the gospel is not just the diving board off of which we jump into the pool of Christianity; it’s the pool itself.” We will never outgrow the gospel; Greear does a wonderful job of helping the reader to understand that as well as what it is and why it’s so important. Highly recommend!!
I received a copy of this book for free from The Good Book Company in exchange for this honest review.
To accomplish this, he walks the reader through Paul’s epistle to the Romans. He states that his reason for doing so is that this letter is seen as “the clearest, purest, most in-depth explanation of Christian basics ever penned.” From this letter, Greear draws out the major emphases and gleans ten words that he expounds on in ten chapters. There are a few “intermissions” interspersed throughout these chapters that go in depth on some subjects to bring greater clarity to the reader.
Now, down to the nitty-gritty: this book is saturated in the gospel! There were so many things that I appreciated about reading it. I enjoyed some of the scientific stats that were used to point to the intelligent design of our world. (These alone led me to awe and worship!) I enjoyed being reminded of the good news in a systematic way. And I enjoyed how anyone could read this book and understand the essence of the gospel.
This book would be great for a seeker or someone new to the Christian faith, but quite honestly, it’s a book that every believer would benefit from! As Greear notes, “the gospel is not just the diving board off of which we jump into the pool of Christianity; it’s the pool itself.” We will never outgrow the gospel; Greear does a wonderful job of helping the reader to understand that as well as what it is and why it’s so important. Highly recommend!!
I received a copy of this book for free from The Good Book Company in exchange for this honest review.
December 28, 2023
This book makes a great introduction to the Gospel for young adults in this generation. In an age of antagonism and apathy towards and ignorance of the Gospel, this book presents a case based on Paul's argument in the book of Romans for the truth, goodness, and beauty of the Gospel. It makes a case for the existence of God and the truth of Christianity. Then it explains what the message of the Gospel is and defends it against common misconceptions and objections. I picture this being a good book to read with spiritually curious young adults. My only critique is that I am not a fan of Tim Keller's distinction between The Gospel/Jesus and religion, which JD adheres to. It equivocates between the senses of Law/Gospel and Religion/Relationship which I don't think is warranted by the Bible. Other than that, great and relevant book.
September 10, 2025
An excellent exploration into what the gospel is how it transforms us. Whether you are a new believer or have been on for a while but need a reminder this is for you!
“Jesus is stronger than earthly power. What greater power can there be than a sovereign God who has promised to commandeer every molecule in the universe for your good.”
Also if you see my copy out in the wild could someone please return it to me ???
“Jesus is stronger than earthly power. What greater power can there be than a sovereign God who has promised to commandeer every molecule in the universe for your good.”
Also if you see my copy out in the wild could someone please return it to me ???
April 10, 2023
I recommend this book to the curious about Jesus, the new believer in Jesus, and the long-standing believer in Jesus. JD lays out the basics of the Gospel with excellence. He challenges the reader to lay down all their misconceptions about both the Gospel and life. JD walks through ten words that, if you let them, will change your life!!
May 1, 2023
This is an easy to read book about the central teachings of Christianity taken from the Book of Romans. The basic idea is expressed when he says that the Gospel is not just jumping off the diving board into Christianity but it is the swimming pool where we swim. To put it another way it is where we begin and where we come back to all the time.
January 24, 2024
Good, clear, and helpful introduction to the Christian faith with a few brief excursions into some contemporary issues. Much of this book is repackaged material from previous books, but it is still good and timely regardless. I read this in a men’s group at my church and we had some good discussion out of it.
February 25, 2023
An easy to read and follow along guide of the Gospels.Appeals to christians and non christians and offers a clear understanding of the Gospels and breaks them down in an easy to understand way.Very humerous and writtens with 21st century terms
April 6, 2023
Essential Christianity is an Essential Read
The power of the Gospel is felt on every page. The heart of the Gospel is something to begin the Christian life and see you through your Christian life. Excellent book and needed content to speak over your life.
The power of the Gospel is felt on every page. The heart of the Gospel is something to begin the Christian life and see you through your Christian life. Excellent book and needed content to speak over your life.
December 6, 2023
“if the gospel is true, what else is worth living for?” so glad i got to spend my last semester at osu with amazing people studying this book!! so blessed to have an an amazing community over the past few years
December 27, 2023
Great book introducing Christianity through the book of Romans. I would definitely feel comfortable giving this book to an unbeliever to introduce them to the gospel, which is what JD wrote the book to do.
February 20, 2023
A gospel packed Roman’s unpacked in this book! Thank you JD!
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May 8, 2023Great simple primer that skims the book of Romans for understanding the heart of the gospel. Highly recommend as an introduction to Christianity.
August 25, 2023
Clear gospel presentation! Really enjoyed the analogies and jokes in here.
October 8, 2023
Really well written! J.D. Greer helped me sort through the reasonableness of Romans and how that impacts how I live. Def read
December 5, 2023
Made the Gospel message sing in a down to earth, easy to follow way. A joy to read.
December 22, 2023
This is not a complicated book, but it is a good one. JD walks through some basic Christian beliefs that Paul addresses in Romans.
A simple reminder of the glorious gospel!
A simple reminder of the glorious gospel!
April 4, 2025
I felt like it read like apologetics. Helpful book for Christians, old or new, and non Christians too.
September 7, 2025
What a fantastic book! I rarely give five stars but this book taught me how to be a better Christian! Every Christian should read this book! Highly recommended.
September 29, 2025
Excellent book for clearly and simply explaining Christianity
December 4, 2023
JD Greear's "Essential Christianity" provides a concise and compelling overview of the core beliefs and practices of the Christian faith. In this book, Greear emphasizes the importance of a personal relationship with Jesus Christ as the foundation of Christianity. He explores key doctrines such as the Trinity, the authority of Scripture, and the significance of Jesus' death and resurrection. Greear also delves into the crucial aspects of Christian living, including prayer, obedience, and sharing the Gospel with others. With clarity and passion, "Essential Christianity" serves as a valuable resource for both new believers and seasoned Christians seeking to deepen their understanding of the essentials of the Christian faith.
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
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