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The Gospel-Driven Life: Being Good News People in a Bad News World
In his well-received Christless Christianity Michael Horton offered a prophetic wake-up call for a self-centered American church. With The Gospel-Driven Life he turns from the crisis to the solutions, offering his recommendations for a new reformation in the faith, practice, and witness of contemporary Christianity. This insightful book will guide readers in reorienting their faith and the church's purpose toward the good news of the gospel. The first six chapters explore that breaking news from heaven, while the rest of the book focuses on the kind of community that the gospel generates and the surprising ways in which God is at work in the world. Here is fresh news for Christians who are burned out on hype and are looking for hope.
271 pages, Hardcover
First published October 1, 2009
58 people are currently reading
649 people want to read
About the author
Michael Scott Horton
86 books335 followersDr. Horton has taught apologetics and theology at Westminster Seminary California since 1998. In addition to his work at the Seminary, he is the president of White Horse Inn, for which he co-hosts the White Horse Inn, a nationally syndicated, weekly radio talk-show exploring issues of Reformation theology in American Christianity. He is also the editor-in-chief of Modern Reformation magazine. Before coming to WSC, Dr. Horton completed a research fellowship at Yale University Divinity School. Dr. Horton is the author/editor of more than twenty books, including a series of studies in Reformed dogmatics published by Westminster John Knox.
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Displaying 1 - 27 of 27 reviews
September 5, 2022
Just like with the previous book I read by this author, I totally agree with his claims here. Christianity has lost its way; we need to get back to truly living out the will of God and following the commandments of Jesus.
June 3, 2012
A great reminder that the gospel is indeed the main story, and not a sideshow. And God is the main attraction, and we are with him on his show telling his story to the world.
June 19, 2011
In 2008, Michael Horton wrote an excoriating critique of American evangelicalism called
Christless Christianity
(my review
here
). It was a wakeup call that our churches' focus has shifted from Christ to a multitude of other things, calling us back to the centrality of gospel preaching. I found the earlier book to be quite convicting, though it was a little heavy on criticism and light on solutions.
Thankfully, Horton followed that up with this book, which is a helpful and encouraging volume reminding us how wonderful and glorious the Christian life can be when we are driven by the gospel. The two books can certainly be read separately — each stands on its own — but they are best when paired together.
The book is organized around a "news" theme, which is fitting considering the word "gospel" means "good news". The problem is, we don't often treat the gospel like it's a big, breaking news story. Horton reminds us that the gospel is, first and foremost, an urgent message which must be broadcast repeatedly, to all people.
The gospel story has all the makings of headline news. We are in crisis! Every human being is a hell-bound sinner apart from God's grace, and yet God himself has come in the form of a man to rescue undeserving sinners from this fate. Not only that; He also lavishes kingly riches on those same redeemed sinners, and gives them the power and authority to take part in the redeeming of this world. Think about it: within the gospel itself, we have worldwide calamity, a heroic rescue, the ultimate rags-to-riches story, and countless examples of people banding together in acts of goodwill toward their fellow man. Why would we NOT want to tell this story?
A proper understanding of this story should (and will!) become a driving force in the life of the Christian. As you might have guessed, Horton contrasts the "Gospel-Driven Life" (or the "Promise-Driven Life" as he also calls it) with the"Purpose-Driven Life" popularized by Rick Warren's best-selling book. As Warren points out, those living in today's consumer culture have a passion for meaning and purpose, and are driven to discover and act on that purpose. The response of the typical American evangelical, though, is to take a pragmatic approach to finding purpose. This tends to leave Christians attempting to determine their own purpose, rather than seeing that we exist for a purpose determined by our Creator: "to glorify God and to enjoy him forever".
We don't have the authority to decide what our purpose is. What we do have are promises from God that each of us does have a unique role to play in the accomplishing of his purposes, and the necessary gifts to fulfill our calling. Seeing things this way requires us to humbly set aside our attempts to "seize our own glory here and now", but the result is a fruitful and blessed life governed by God's grace. As Horton writes, "While affirming the importance of having clear goals and a worthy focus in life, I am urging us to put purposes in their place as servants of promise... Christians are driven by God's promises, and directed by God's purposes."
The second half of the book puts feet on this principle, offering practical steps and encouragements (primarily in the form of exegetical Scripture teaching) for living the Gospel-Driven Life. The gospel informs every aspect of our lives; our politics, our community involvement, our family relationships, and our place in the Body of Christ. This book clearly lays out the gospel and its implications, fulfilling the author's stated purpose of the book: "to reorient our faith and practice as Christians and churches toward the gospel: that is, the announcement of God's victory over sin and death in his Son, Jesus Christ."
I hope that many believers will read and be challenged by this book, asking themselves the question: "What drives me?"
Thankfully, Horton followed that up with this book, which is a helpful and encouraging volume reminding us how wonderful and glorious the Christian life can be when we are driven by the gospel. The two books can certainly be read separately — each stands on its own — but they are best when paired together.
The book is organized around a "news" theme, which is fitting considering the word "gospel" means "good news". The problem is, we don't often treat the gospel like it's a big, breaking news story. Horton reminds us that the gospel is, first and foremost, an urgent message which must be broadcast repeatedly, to all people.
The gospel story has all the makings of headline news. We are in crisis! Every human being is a hell-bound sinner apart from God's grace, and yet God himself has come in the form of a man to rescue undeserving sinners from this fate. Not only that; He also lavishes kingly riches on those same redeemed sinners, and gives them the power and authority to take part in the redeeming of this world. Think about it: within the gospel itself, we have worldwide calamity, a heroic rescue, the ultimate rags-to-riches story, and countless examples of people banding together in acts of goodwill toward their fellow man. Why would we NOT want to tell this story?
A proper understanding of this story should (and will!) become a driving force in the life of the Christian. As you might have guessed, Horton contrasts the "Gospel-Driven Life" (or the "Promise-Driven Life" as he also calls it) with the"Purpose-Driven Life" popularized by Rick Warren's best-selling book. As Warren points out, those living in today's consumer culture have a passion for meaning and purpose, and are driven to discover and act on that purpose. The response of the typical American evangelical, though, is to take a pragmatic approach to finding purpose. This tends to leave Christians attempting to determine their own purpose, rather than seeing that we exist for a purpose determined by our Creator: "to glorify God and to enjoy him forever".
We don't have the authority to decide what our purpose is. What we do have are promises from God that each of us does have a unique role to play in the accomplishing of his purposes, and the necessary gifts to fulfill our calling. Seeing things this way requires us to humbly set aside our attempts to "seize our own glory here and now", but the result is a fruitful and blessed life governed by God's grace. As Horton writes, "While affirming the importance of having clear goals and a worthy focus in life, I am urging us to put purposes in their place as servants of promise... Christians are driven by God's promises, and directed by God's purposes."
The second half of the book puts feet on this principle, offering practical steps and encouragements (primarily in the form of exegetical Scripture teaching) for living the Gospel-Driven Life. The gospel informs every aspect of our lives; our politics, our community involvement, our family relationships, and our place in the Body of Christ. This book clearly lays out the gospel and its implications, fulfilling the author's stated purpose of the book: "to reorient our faith and practice as Christians and churches toward the gospel: that is, the announcement of God's victory over sin and death in his Son, Jesus Christ."
I hope that many believers will read and be challenged by this book, asking themselves the question: "What drives me?"
December 26, 2009
Sorry for the low stars. I may come back and give a fuller review. It's not that the content was bad, or that I disagreed all that much, it's just a very repetative book. It seemed like Horton rephrased and repackaged the same points in virtually every section. It was overkill. The book was nothing like Christless Christianity. The magic wasn't there this time. The best parts of the book were on politics and cross-culteral churches.
September 1, 2022
Michael Horton masterfully portrayals the focus of our Christian life as the very Good News that incepted it. Instead of being driven by a kingdom of glory, he contends that we should be driven by what our King was driven by: the Cross.
March 30, 2010
I finished this one last month. I liked it... I like Michael Horton! I have really applied the main theme this month towards other people and the big theme that "The gospel is outside of ourselves and is a historical,datable event." I have this quote on my fridge...and this one, "There is something to which we can point. Not anything that we ever did or were, but something that was done for us...This is our only hope!" I would recomend this one to anyone who wants to better understand the gospel.
September 1, 2011
This is a good book. A bit repetitive, but a good book. I do think at times that Horton uses a lot more words than what is necessary to communicate his idea well. This book was 272 pages and typeset pretty small, in RBPs (Rob Bell Pages) this book would have been around 500 pages. Nonetheless I do recommend this book, it is a well done sequel to Christless Christianity, and it does well to present the Gospel as a historical work done FOR US.
September 26, 2012
An excellent book all around. I found it to be most insightful and helpful. I would recommend it to anyone. I would especially recommend it to those who are disillusioned with the current state of affairs in the church. It's a great follow-up to Christless Christianity.
March 10, 2013
Good content, but Horton often takes the long way to make a point.
August 7, 2013
Horton's views here are very solid, but the book drags a little bit. Still recommended.
March 12, 2015
It's content was repetitive but maybe necessary to drive its point home.
November 20, 2018
The follow-up to Christless Christianity. Horton continues to develop his argument for a Christianity that is built on the ministry of the ordinary means of grace (preaching of the Word, administration of the sacraments, and church discipline). In my opinion, this is a much-needed book for the church in our days.
July 25, 2022
A call back to basics
Horton’s book calls Christians to refocus on the historical basics of the faith. The section where he calls for restoration of the sanctity of the holiness of worship and restored dignity to the elements of church life was a surprising element.
Horton’s book calls Christians to refocus on the historical basics of the faith. The section where he calls for restoration of the sanctity of the holiness of worship and restored dignity to the elements of church life was a surprising element.
August 17, 2017
Excellent.
March 11, 2019
Second time through. To paraphrase Martin Luther, I need to preach the gospel to myself every day. This is a reminder.
September 23, 2019
So excellent. Need to read again because there were many valuable insights.
March 19, 2020
Great moments of insight from a brilliant mind, but the book was deceptively long and I felt like it could have been condensed.
November 24, 2020
read w/ acceleratebooks. expected a bit more...
August 11, 2011
If Christless Christianity was Michael Horton's diagnosis of the Christian church, The Gospel-Driven Life is his prescription. Using the lingo of the news room, Michael argues in his sequel that the church needs to reorient to the "Good News" as central to our faith and practice.
Where the former book was bleak, this book is hopeful. The book is split into two halves, the first focuses on getting the elements of the Gospel straight and the second details what sort of a community the true Gospel creates (what he calls a "cross-cultural community" and, yes, pun intended). Horton memorably says that we need to get back to "Drama, Doctrine, Doxology, Discipleship", themes that continually recur throughout the book.
In contrast with the narcissism and Pelagianism that Horton diagnosed as the church's primary problems in Christless Christianity, he offers this as the solution: "The gospel makes us extroverts: looking outside ourselves to Christ in faith and to our neighbor in love."
Again, as in Christless Christianity, Michael is sure to ruffle everyone's theological feathers at some point. For me it came when (I felt) he overstated his case for the sacraments and the inclusion of the believers' children under the new covenant. Still, when it is so relentlessly couched in Gospel, I am more inclined to consider Michael's position, and this is one of the greatest strengths of the book.
I wholeheartedly recommend both of these books to every Christian, but particularly to those involved in church leadership.
Where the former book was bleak, this book is hopeful. The book is split into two halves, the first focuses on getting the elements of the Gospel straight and the second details what sort of a community the true Gospel creates (what he calls a "cross-cultural community" and, yes, pun intended). Horton memorably says that we need to get back to "Drama, Doctrine, Doxology, Discipleship", themes that continually recur throughout the book.
In contrast with the narcissism and Pelagianism that Horton diagnosed as the church's primary problems in Christless Christianity, he offers this as the solution: "The gospel makes us extroverts: looking outside ourselves to Christ in faith and to our neighbor in love."
Again, as in Christless Christianity, Michael is sure to ruffle everyone's theological feathers at some point. For me it came when (I felt) he overstated his case for the sacraments and the inclusion of the believers' children under the new covenant. Still, when it is so relentlessly couched in Gospel, I am more inclined to consider Michael's position, and this is one of the greatest strengths of the book.
I wholeheartedly recommend both of these books to every Christian, but particularly to those involved in church leadership.
July 3, 2014
An excellent book that seeks to crystallize the church's unique mission in the world. The first half of the book focuses on its message and how it relates to us. The second half of the book focuses on what kind of community the message creates.
I would agree with other reviewers that the book is somewhat verbose and repetitive, but Dr. Horton really is explaining the same concept from different angles in order to help drive it home in the reader's mind. The gospel has been so confused, and the church has seen such mission creep that our minds truly need to be renewed, which often takes time and hearing the same thing multiple times. Therefore, Dr. Horton is making case using the plethora of images and types throughout Scripture to really drive it home and transform our thinking.
I would say Chapters 3 and 8 are the two essential chapters to read. I highly recommend the book.
I would agree with other reviewers that the book is somewhat verbose and repetitive, but Dr. Horton really is explaining the same concept from different angles in order to help drive it home in the reader's mind. The gospel has been so confused, and the church has seen such mission creep that our minds truly need to be renewed, which often takes time and hearing the same thing multiple times. Therefore, Dr. Horton is making case using the plethora of images and types throughout Scripture to really drive it home and transform our thinking.
I would say Chapters 3 and 8 are the two essential chapters to read. I highly recommend the book.
June 4, 2014
Simply fantastic. Michael Horton excels in this book at placing the Gospel before your eyes and calls you to savor the Good News as if it's a great feast or banquet set before you. He derives all his points and material from Scripture, and doesn't hesitate to linger page-after-page on various Bible-episodes. Taken from the general idea of how a newspaper delivers news to a community (and indeed the world), he calls the church to be "Good News People in a Bad News World." Though lengthy (perhaps unnecessarily so at times), it's a very worthy read.
January 7, 2014
I would recommend this book for anyone who wants to be reacquainted with the magnitude, the timelessness, and the beauty of the Gospel. Like other reviews, it is a dense read, but it is well worth it. It is one of those books you need to take slow and process the points. While it can be repetitive, if you are taking it slow, the repetitiveness actually helps drive the new points he is making home. Definitely pick this one up and work through it.
August 2, 2016
Sound doctrine
This is not a book to read in one sitting, or even fast. I took several breaks and even read other books before coming back to this one. I find that the weightier books, which my wife calls "tech manuals" are more meaningful when digested in shorter bursts that I can allow to resonate. This was a pleasure to read.
This is not a book to read in one sitting, or even fast. I took several breaks and even read other books before coming back to this one. I find that the weightier books, which my wife calls "tech manuals" are more meaningful when digested in shorter bursts that I can allow to resonate. This was a pleasure to read.
June 15, 2017
The Gospel-Driven Life is not an easy read, but it's worth the effort. This is Horton's follow-up from Christless Christianity in which he moves from diagnosis to prescription. Horton is one of those writers who says a lot with every sentence. That makes for slow but rich reading.
September 23, 2011
Read this for a Sunday School class. Made some interesting points, but found it to be rather dry and repetitive.
October 12, 2013
Great concept, got bored quite quickly
January 24, 2014
A thought-provoking book that will aid in placing the emphasis of our lives on the Gospel. I appreciated the ways in which my mind was challenged and spurred on to further thought.
Displaying 1 - 27 of 27 reviews