This book is a thoughtful and insightful look into the depths of the Gospel of Jesus Christ and how it should permeate the life of his followers. It also looks at the modern church and shows how in many ways the church has missed the depth of the love of God for the shallowness of a gospel filled with cultural baggage. ( )

"In the well-appointed study of a professor of history in a prestigious university in the American South sits a brick-sized piece of the Berlin Wall. It sits on the floor, because he uses it as a doorstop. He is not ignorant of the piece’s historical significance; as a historian he is deeply informed of the struggle and the repression attached to the wall, to the shame it symbolized and the division both literal and cultural it created. He not only knows about but also teaches on the international reverberations that occurred when the great emblem of the communist stronghold in Western Europe finally came down. The piece of wall propping open the professor’s door has some sentimental significance to him as well, as it was
a gift from a former student, a star pupil currently pursuing her doctorate.

In a small, dingy apartment in Midwest America lives an elderly immigrant woman who sells newspapers and fresh cut flowers during the day and cleans an office building in the evenings. On an iron shelf in her bedroom sits a mall lidless glass jar, and in that jar is a piece of the Berlin Wall the size of a marble. She has often held that piece of rock in her withered hand and wept. Her husband did not live to see the wall come down. Her cousin was one of the estimated five thousand people who tried to escape from the communist Eastern Bloc into West Berlin. He was one of the estimated one hundred to two hundred people killed by border guards in the attempt. He was one of those crushed by the Iron Curtain, so she is one of those who knows the unique confluence of memorial pain and joy in having intimately felt how the world once was and in having experienced how the whole world was changed. She knows what it feels like to carry an ocean full of grief and longing, what it feels like to cling to a sliver of hope, and what it feels like when that sliver of hope—a crack in the great barrier of darkness—gives way to a dam break of glorious fulfillment and release.

When the professor hears the epic Brandenburg Gate speech in which President Ronald Reagan famously commanded, “Mr. Gorbachev, tear down this wall!” he admires it as a watershed moment in history, as iconic a sound bite from the annals of historical rhetoric as any. When the woman hears “Mr. Gorbachev, tear down this wall!” she is stirred, always. When the professor speaks of the fall of the Berlin Wall as an earth-shattering event, he really does mean to communicate the radical nature of the event; he really does understand this. But the woman knows that the fall of the Berlin Wall was an earth-shattering event deep down in her bones.
This is gospel wakefulness."

And this is how Jared Wilson begins his book, Gospel Wakefulness.

In it, Wilson spends many pages simply rejoicing in the message of the Gospel. Gospel wakefulness, defined by Wilson, is “treasuring Christ more greatly and savoring His power more sweetly.” This is what the book aims to aid the reader in doing and it is, by the grace of God, very successful. Wilson's intent is to rejoice in the Gospel in such a manner that it continues to stir up believers to greater affection and awe of the one true God. Wilson is clear that he is not speaking of conversion, primarily. There is a wakefulness to the Gospel that occurs when Christ makes dead men come to life, when we are converted by the Gospel, for sure. But Wilson's focus in this text is not conversion, but a greater Gospel affection that occurs after our initial Gospel reception. It is when the Gospel message, and the Savior King of the message, becomes preminent in the hearts, minds, lives and affections of the believer. When the sometimes becomes the all-the-time and the mountaintops of God's present love become the daily path the believer walks.

Wilson takes a few pages at the beginning of the book to answer the question, “What is the Gospel?” His answer avoids the typical reductionism that has become prevalent in a post-Revivalism Evangelical world where “the Gospel” is simply about how a person “gets saved”. Wilson does a good job, as he does in The Explicit Gospel, of helping the reader to see that “The Gospel” in Scripture is nothing less than personal salvation, but it is much more! It is a good, brief description of the Gospel that is ever-increasingly necessary in an Evangelical sub-world where we have become “Gospel” focused, but to the point where “Gospel” has devolved into a word devoid of its biblical meaning. “Gospel” has become an Evangelical shibboleth of sorts where, while maintaining a reductionist meaning, it is used as a catchphrase/buzzword to identify the “good guys” (gospel,gospel,gospel—even when the Gospel is poorly defined or poorly applied) from the “bad guys” (those liberals who hate the Gospel and only want to dig wells and feed people).

The pages Wilson devotes to initially defining the Gospel are necessary and beneficial, as are the chapters that follow. There really should be instructions on the back jacket for how to properly consume Gospel Wakefulness, like a shampoo tube telling you how to wash your hair. For this book, the instructions could be: Read, Rejoice, Repeat.

Read the chapter. Read the presentation of the Gospel. Read the explanation of the Gospel. Read testimony from people who have experienced a greater wakefulness to the Gospel message and the Savior of the Gospel. Read stories and accounts of people who have experienced “an expulsive power of a new affection”(Chalmers), people who have come to love Jesus in a whole new way.

Rejoice in the message of the Savior King. Rejoice in the message of a Father who loves His children. Rejoice in the message of a Creator who goes to the greatest lengths imaginable to redeem and restore His creation., including you and I. Rejoice in the messenger. Rejoice in the Scriptures that bring the message to us. Rejoice in the men and women who have perpetuated the story over the past millenia. Rejoice in the central figure of the message. Rejoice in the veracity of the message. Rejoice in the immediacy of the message. Rejoice in the supremacy of the message. Rejoice in the sufficiency of the message. Rejoice in the historicity of the message. Rejoice in the finality of the message. Rejoice, and again I say, rejoice!

Repeat. Some of these chapters deserve a second reading. Or a third. Not because they are complex, they are not. Not because it is a taxing or confusing or a monotonous read that would cause you to skim and miss, because the chapters are none of those. Rather, these chapters warrant a second or third or fourth read because the message they convey is amazing. The joy and confidence with which the message is conveyed is contagious and encouraging. And some chapters, depending on circumstance, will need to be read multiple times. Not to understand the concepts or to see the logical flow coupled with testimony and biblical evidence, but to simply “get it”. And maybe to keep it.

Maybe you have been attacked by the attempted enslavement of religiosity and everything in our oftentimes anti-Scriptural, “Gospel” focused Evangelical sub-culture. Chapter 5, Freedom from Hyperspirituality, may serve you greatly. Maybe you are a pastor, or an interested member of a local church. Chapter 10 on The Gospel Wakened Church is a great read. Maybe you are struggling with your role in sanctification, how does grace mesh with works in the life of a born-again believer. Chapter 7 on Gospel Driven Sanctification is a dynamic look at this complex subject.

The chapter that really ministered to me was Chapter 8 on Depression. Wilson draws from his own struggles, the testimony of others, teachings from church history and, primarily, Scripture itself to minister to those afflicted with depression. This is a subject that needs a dose of honesty and a refocus on the Savior who gives grace to those who believe, but also a common grace that reigns over His creation, and this is what Wilson does.

Gospel Wakefulness is a wonderful book and a means by which God will minister mightily for some time to come. It is worth a read, or a few. ( )

You can read my full review at Quieted Waters.

“[G]ospel wakefulness means treasuring Christ more greatly and savoring his power more sweetly.” In his upcoming book, Gospel Wakefulness, Jared C. Wilson exults in the joy of that wakefulness and yearns that all believers would experience that greater treasuring and more sweet savoring.

This book is a trumpet sounding the joy of the gospel of Jesus Christ, and Wilson’s goal is that the sound would be so sweet as to beckon the reader into a richer relationship with God. Although Wilson is clear to say that gospel wakefulness cannot be learned, he argues that it can be pursued. Wilson believes that people can be called to gospel wakefulness only “by routinely presenting the unchanging gospel in a way that does justice to its earth-shaking announcement.” In this book, Wilson attempts to define and illustrate what he means by “gospel wakefulness” in such a way that the reader will grasp that earth-shaking power of the gospel and will hunger and thirst to be wakened to its beauty.

( )

NCLA Review: Marriage is valid whether the union is arranged or a couple is madly in love with each other. In ideal cases, the mysterious alchemy of love eventually pervades an arranged marriage and hearts burst into flame. Christians have similar relationships with Jesus/God. They may be serving the Lord and zealous for righteousness, but their hearts are not “smitten.” Jared Wilson refers to a Christian’s enthralled heart as “gospel wakefulness.” Unlike conversion, which is a choice that usually precedes it, Wilson notes that gospel awakening is not of our volition, but only happens when conditions are right. Then we find ourselves thirsting, yearning for God, and our Christian life becomes more a dance than a walk. His descriptions of everyday life of persons madly in love with God will lead readers to desire that transformation, and will hopefully pave the way. The beginning chapters seem repetitious, but Wilson’s enthusiasm soon pulls the reader along. Rating: 3.5 —DKW ( )

This is the second book out by Jared Wilson, and the only one I have read. I started reading Jared's blog when he was part of the "nexus of the intelectual universe" The Thinklings. I have enjoyed his writings and this book is an excellent addition to everyone's library.

Gospel Wakefulness is a term that Wilson more or less made up, but uses to describe a process that people have called varying things over the life of the church. An awakening to the life of Christ, the greatness of God, and the evilness of our sin. This begins to affect all things, and makes a difference in your everyday life.

I recommend this book to all.