Christians need to rehearse the gospel after conversion, and this book will help you do that. In this little primer you will find short passages of biblical truth to help you savor the glories of God's love and experience the life-transforming power of the gospel in all areas of life. Use this book to preach the gospel to yourself daily and be amazed at the difference it can make in your life.
Milton Vincent has served as Pastor-Teacher of Cornerstone Fellowship Bible Church since 1992. He is the author of “A Gospel Primer for Christians: Learning to See the Glories of God’s Love” published in 2008. Milton and his wife, Donna, were married in 1987 and have four children.
I NEVER read the same book twice - but I just finished reading this one for the second time because it’s just that good!
This book is a helpful correction to the “mistake made by Christians who view the Gospel as something that has fully served out its purpose the moment they believed in Jesus for Salvation.” Not only does the truth of the Gospel give us the light of Salvation, but also it’s implications are life-changing for the believer’s daily life as well—so long as he does not “lay it aside after conversion to move on to 'bigger and better' things.”
As Vincent says, “The gospel is the craziest thing I’ve ever heard in my life. And it’s true!”
-------- My review from first time reading this book:
Excellent little book that should be read and re-read frequently! I would recommend reading sections two and three (Gospel Narrative) before section one (Reasons to Rehearse the Gospel Daily) so as to give you a better understanding of what exactly he is speaking about in section one.
I took it slow and read a section every day, which I recommend. I don’t really want to be done with it — and I am forgetful, so I should read it again. It’s such a great way to camp out on different facets of the gospel and allow it to permeate your heart in a different way each day. The gospel narrative and poem at the end 🥹 those would be well worth reading every morning.
“For this purpose He brought me to be, that I might His glory and kindliness see and cherish Him fully in all of my days, obeying with pleasure whatever He says, fulfilling the calling He’s laid upon me to show forth His glory deliberately. Yet I could not fail God much worse than I’ve done. Ignoring His glory, for mine I have run. I’ve spurned a life under His wisdom and care, begrudged Him the throne and pretended me there… I’ve nothing to offer to ransom my soul. But wonder of wonders, so great to behold, my God chose to save me with method so bold. What I could not render, God fully has done, and doing, He rendered it all through His Son… That Jesus was wiling His life to lay down, be scourged and insulted and wear thorny crown for one such as I who had spited God so, amazes and blesses and makes me to know that greater a lover is no man than He, who laid down His life for a sinner like me… And each day I’m made a bit more as I should, His grace using all things to render me good… Deserve it? I don’t on my holiest day; but this is salvation and herein I’ll stay.”
I also read this book in Sept 2008 (review below). After my second time all the way through, I'm bumping my rating to 5 stars. This really is a wonderful little book.
2008 review:
This short (97 pages), but helpful book, is divided into four parts. Part 1 is a series of thirty-one meditations on "Reasons to Rehearse the Gospel Daily." These Scripture-laden reflections will nourish your soul and thrill your heart with the wonders of God's grace. Part 2 is "A Gospel Narrative: Prose Version." This is a short summary of the message of the gospel, broken down into four parts (The Glory of God; My Sin Against God; God's Work on My Behalf; My Salvation) and forty-one "verses." Part 3,"A Gospel Narrative: Poetic Version," is the summary of the gospel in the form of poetry. Part 4, "Surprised by the Gospel" explains the story behind the book - how a performance-driven pastor discovered the freedom and joy of justification by faith alone.
Here's an excerpt from Part 1 of the book. This is one of the thirty-one reasons to rehearse the gospel daily. "The gospel encourages me to rest in my righteous standing with God, a standing which Christ Himself has accomplished and always maintains for me. I never have to do a moment's labor to gain or maintain my justified status before God! Freed from the burden of such a task, I now can put my energies into enjoying God, pursuing holiness, and ministering God's amazing grace to others. The gospel also reminds me that my righteous standing with God always holds firm regardless of my performance, because my standing is based solely on the work of Jesus and not mine. On my worst days of sin and failure, the gospel encourages me with God's unrelenting grace toward me. On my best days of victory and usefulness, the gospel keeps me relating to God solely on the basis of Jesus' righteousness and not mine."
Each of these meditations are written in the first person like this. Just reading them really is an exercise in preaching the gospel to oneself. I came across this book through Andy Naselli's review in Themelios. It was so positive that I ordered it immediately. I'm glad I did. Take it and read.
Ahhhh this is a book I will reread and reread!! It’s been beautiful to read, and it’s been so encouraging. The book comes from a pastoral heart to dwell on the gospel in all things. A couple of my favorite sections: “The gospel, however, slays sin at this root point and thereby nullifies sin's power over me.” “Being justified in Christ doesn't mean that God no longer sees or cares about my sin. He does see, and He is grieved by my sin. But His gracious favor upon me remains utterly unchanged by my sin, and no wrath is awakened in Him against me - because Christ already bore it all! In fact, God favors me so much when I sin that He sends chastisement into my life. He does so because He is for me, and He loves me, and He disciplines me for my ultimate good.” “Preaching the gospel to myself each day keeps before me the startling advocacy of God for my fullness, and it also serves as a means by which I feast anew on the fullness of provision that God has given to me in Christ. "Eat[ing] freely" of such provision keeps me occupied with God's blessings and also leaves me with a profoundly enjoyable sense of satisfaction in Jesus. And nothing so mortifies fleshly lusts like satisfaction in Him.”
This is a book I will read many times over. It provides daily reminders of the glories of the gospel in bite-sized chunks, and is useful for orienting my attitude and mindset every day.
Excellent! A solid resource to have at hand when you need extra help (like me) getting the glories of the gospel into your own stubborn heart. This would work well as a devotional to help you meditate on the gospel throughout the day.
Can we ever truly plumb the depths of the great sacrifice made for believers by the Lord Jesus Christ? Not on this side of heaven. A Gospel Primer is a very short book that exhort Christians to remind ourselves daily how much Christ loves us but reflecting on His life, death, and resurrection. The gospel should never get old or repetitive to those in Christ.
Where has this book been hiding? It is impactful and equipping for any Christian. I was greatly moved by these readings. My spiritual life will be forever blessed from the time I spent meditating on these truths. Everything is backed up and footnoted with scripture references. I will definitely be making this a yearly read. I struggle so much about my standing with God and this really helped me to change some of those negative thoughts.
I loved this little book, and was very blessed by reading it. We can’t ever drink in too much of the gospel, the glory of God. After finishing the book, I thought on the old hymn’s lyrics with a renewed sense of understanding and gratitude: “Amazing love! How can it be, that thou, my God, should die for me?”
02/09 - Second listen-through while driving for work. An excellent read.
A Gospel Primer was a fantastic reminder of how foundational and essential the Gospel is to our faith life. In Theology, people can get caught up in nuances and secondary doctrine beliefs, but the Gospel is the core of faith. Vincent takes you on a journey making a case for the reasons why it is essential to preach the Gospel daily to yourself as a believer. The Gospel is like a diamond that you can continue to turn and see so many different aspects of. Two of his reasons that stuck out to me were 1. That part of our inheritance as believers is other believers and the sweet depth of community that provides. 2. As we see the depth of our brokenness and sin, we continue to see how big the cross is. I would recommend this book to believers and nonbelievers alike as it helps sift through what is at the core of being a Follower of Jesus.
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
"When my mind is fixed on the gospel, I have ample stimulation to show God's love to other people. For I am always willing to show love to others when I am freshly mindful of the love that God has shown me."
A Gospel Primer for Christians (2008, Focus Publishing) by Milton Vincent is intended to help Christians "to See the Glories of God's Love."Anne's Goodreads review piqued my interest in this book, so I started reading it to my family in the mornings at breakfast before school.
Rating: 5 stars
The book is divided into four sections.
1) Reasons to Rehearse the Gospel Daily 2) A Gospel Narrative (Prose Version) 3) A Gospel Narrative (Poetic Version) 4) Surprised by the Gospel
So, as a Christian, what reason do I have to preach Gospel to myself? I accepted Jesus as my Lord and Savior long ago, after all. Reason #1, of the author's 31 reasons, is "The New Testament Model." In other words, because it is modeled in the new testament by Paul! "Re-preaching the gospel and then showing how it applied to life was Paul's choice method for ministering to believers, thereby providing a divinely inspired pattern for me to follow when ministering to myself and to other believers."
Reason #28 is "Thankfulness Enriched by Relief". After mentioning the famous concept of seeing the glass as half full versus half empty, the author writes, "yet the gospel cultivates within me a richer gratitude than this… God in fact, has given me a cup that is full of 'every spiritual blessing in Christ,' and this without the slightest admixture of wrath… As for my specific earthly circumstances of plenty or want, I can see them always as infinite improvements on the hell I deserve."
What I liked: I love how the author has drawn from various aspects of Gospel to give the readers many mini-lessons about why to preach it to ourselves. I also particularly liked the fourth section of the book, which was a personal testimony by the pastor and author, which, by the way, is totally PG and appropriate to read to your family if you wish.
The bottom line: This was a great short book, nicely concise, nicely organized, and profound. The author has convinced me that there IS value in preaching Gospel to myself! I recommend it to Christians looking for an enriching read or a devotional. I found it suitable as a family devotional, though some of the vocabulary was challenging for the youngest kids. If it's being used as a family devotional, be aware that there are no discussion questions.
i try to reserve 5-star ratings for books that i deeply enjoyed, were particularly impactful to me, and that i would recommend for everyone to read. a gospel primer for christians is one of those books. i recognized the title of this book after hearing some sisters at church mention it in various passings and mindlessly thought i could listen through this short book on my commutes... ayo what the heck--why are the sisters gatekeeping?! why did no one tell me to read this sooner?? what else have they read that is this good?!?! what else are they hiding???? >:( i immediately ordered a physical copy of this book upon completion of the audiobook. i listen to every podcast, sermon, or video on at least 2x speed, but with this book, i had to change the setting to 1x speed to really feel all the heat this book was packing. i almost crashed multiple times listening to it as i was forced to rewind the audio and jot down some notes on my phone. a gospel primer encourages the reader to take on the discipline of daily gospel meditation: "preaching the gospel to yourself everyday." of course, i had heard other pastors suggest this but it quickly became a trivial clichè, another overused christian saying. and of course i would think upon the gospel every day to varying degrees, whether in my daily bible reading, in times of prayer, in conversations, and even when i had nothing to do or think about. but through this book, i was exposed to how shallow and superficial my thoughts of Christ and His gospel really were. i was shown how immature my thoughts were and how much room i had to grow in the knowledge and grace of the Lord. a gospel primer not only encourages the reader to meditate on the gospel daily, but is in itself a gospel meditation. the author takes the reader through the facets of gospel truth and steeps in the several benefits the saints have in Christ. because of this, you really get to experience firsthand the benefits of gospel meditation even as he urges you to practice it. so freaking awesome. the way the author writes is personable, relatable, accessible, and poetic. he really speaks as a needy sinner who has tasted the sweetness of God's grace and so his calls to do the same are that much more persuasive. on top of this, his writing is saturated with Scripture, his arguments are biblical, and he carefully employs extreme and almost provocative language at an appropriate frequency to shake the reader out of their apathy. here are just some of my takeaways and some of my favorite quotes: - christians have an obligation to become experts in the gospel, not only to preach it to non-Christians but also to preach it to ourselves and experience its benefits. - gospel meditation should be enjoyed, relished in, and savored. try to get past the words, facts, and doctrine, and get into the reality that the doctrine is speaking of. don't settle for mere knowledge or recitation of gospel truth, but recognize that the benefits of the gospel are really yours. - God's power is most concentrated in the gospel; more than in the eruption of volcanoes, the explosion of stars, or anything else. no other act or thing in the New Testament is given the title of "the power of God" except Christ in 1 Corinthians 1:24. - nothing is more foolish to my natural mind, more scandalous to my conscience, or more foreboding to my timid heart than the gospel. thus, i need daily rehearsal of it to believe all of it and its benefits in its fullness. - each and every believer is a gift and a part of my gospel inheritance. - the gospel exposes us and kills our sense of self-righteousness. if it took the death of the holy, eternal Son of God to redeem you, then what must you be but a horrible, miserable, wicked wretch? because of this, i can share openly and freely about my sins. why do i have to fear exposure of my sins when the cross already informs others of the deep depravity of my own soul? - prayer is not just something we are given access to as Christians, but it is one of the purposes for why we were saved (john 15:16). we were saved to behold, worship, depend on, and ask things of God. - i don't deserve to be a child of God. i don't deserve to be freed from sin and its power. i don't deserve intimacy and communion with God. i don't even deserve to be of use to God. but by the grace of God, i am what i am and i have what i have. i hereby resolve not to let any portion of God's grace prove vain in me (1 corinthians 15:9-10). and to the degree that i fail to live up to this resolve, i will boldly take for myself the forgiveness that God says is mine and will continue to walk in His grace. may God be glorified in the confidence that i place in Him.
This was my third time reading this short book, but I think I enjoy it more each time I read it. This is a great book reminding us how essential it is to “preach” the Gospel to ourselves daily. As one prone to wander, oh how easily I forget the truth and freedom present in the Gospel! This is one I plan on coming back to often.
My biggest takeaway this time around was in part 4 where Vincent relates his experience on wrestling for his own justification. For Vincent (and I can certainly relate) it became an endless cycle of following God, then sinning and beating himself up, then trying to work hard to justify himself before God again. The truth is that Jesus took on the wrath of God once and for all, and now all faithful believers can rest in peace with God (Romans 5:1) with no need (or ability) to justify themselves further.
I highly recommend this short primer. It is an excellent reminder of what it means to be a Christian. In academics, you move on from the simple to the complex. The result, in my experience, being that basics are sometimes forgotten. With God, we should constantly remind ourselves of the basics, because, though there is great and important truth to be found in the details and complexities of the Bible and Christian teaching, getting lost in them means losing sight of the foundation: our sin and God's infinite love. If we lose sight of that we risk our humility, our identity and our very friendship with God, which is the point.
Fantastic book to soak in at a slow rate. I read this each morning during my time with God and it truly is a great mind refresher for where we stand before our perfect and holy God. I would love to read this again because it is packed with so much truth!
Great review of gospel basics, would highly recommend it for new believers but also those in the faith for many years to review often. Very well supported by scripture to each point that he makes.
I’ve read this one multiple times, and every time I’m reminded just how sweet the good news of the Gospel is for all of us! It is by nothing we’ve done, but only by what God has done for us.
Practical speaking, it seems as if every sentence is referencing scripture in some way, shape, or form. For Part I, the benefits of preaching the Gospel to yourself each day are laid out as plainly and practically as possible and there wasn’t a page that didn’t strike a chord.
Part II and III were laid out beautifully in a poetic way. Part III especially seems to always resonate with me. There is no sweeter name than the name of Jesus.
I also enjoy Part IV as Vincent lays out how the book came to be, how truly understanding the Gospel changed things for him, and how he eagerly offers up the same good, life saving news of the Gospel of Jesus Christ.
Truly and honestly, I don’t think I could give this one enough stars.
This is a book that I will not just put back on the shelf now that I’m finished, but I will continue to read it bit by bit as I did these past two years. Each new passage is just another reason to forget yourself and bring glory to God through your breath and life. Milton Vincent has changed my perspective of living as a Christ follower, and heavily influenced my realization that Christ’s righteousness is what I need, and I do not need to strive for my own. Rest in Gods desire for you. Rest in his readiness to forgive and love!
I wish what I’m about to say was an original thought or idea but it’s not. It’s attributed to my dear friend who recommended this book: The best way to use this book after the initial read is to keep it at your bedside, to open each morning before starting the day. The first section is divided into 31 sections so easy to read one each day of the month. Such glorious reminders of our justified state of redemption and just how amazing grace really is!
This book is a must-read for any believer! Not only does Vincent help the reader better understand and be reminded of what the Gospel is, he also does an incredible job of driving home the reasons for our need to meditate on its simple yet profound truths.
WOW! I wish I could give this 10 stars. This is such a simple but wonderfully detailed description of how EVERY. ASPECT. of our lives is completely transformed by the gospel. Almost every sentence is backed with scripture. As someone who sometimes struggles to comprehend the grace and forgiveness of our God, this book and the scripture with it was so refreshing for my soul. The good news of the Gospel is the power of God and we ought to dwell on it every day, every hour, every minute. I cannot recommend this enough!
This is a great one to keep handy as a to preach the gospel to yourself, if you are suffering with a bout of gospel amnesia. particularly enjoyed section 3 the poem
Could not recommend this book enough! Truly written for every Christian. Clearly spells out how and why to preach the gospel to yourself everyday! This a must read!
I really enjoyed this devotional as a companion to my Bible reading every day. Milton Vincent shows how the gospel shines through all of Scripture and affects every facet of our Christian lives. Very edifying read!
I wanted an audiobook to listen to, so I chose a book on my "to-read" shelf and bought it on audible. I should have thought about my decision a little more carefully. This is a great book! I think all Christians, especially young Christians, should read this. But you'll want a physical copy, one where you can write notes and look up the references at will.