Many millennials have fallen victim to easy believism. I served in summer camp ministries listening to easy believism gospel presentations for a decade. These presentations often skipped over a theology of sin and left out repentance altogether. Many would walk the aisle. After doing so, the first matter discussed was how to keep the spiritual high going. For many, however, this was impossible. The spiritual high could not continue because spiritual regeneration never took place.
The Gospel Call and True Conversion is the second of three volumes in Reformation Heritage’s series on Recovering the Gospel, adapted from Paul Washer’s preaching ministry. Washer is best known for the “Shocking Youth Message” that has been viewed more than 1 million times on YouTube. Former missionary to Peru for 10 years and founder of HeartCry Missionary Society, Washer has helped to shape the discussion on repentance versus easy believism, arguing that American evangelicalism has surreptitiously diluted the gospel of Jesus Christ. Much like the Galatian believers, people are turning to a different gospel because of the widespread effort to distort the true gospel (cf. Gal. 1:6-7).
The aim of The Gospel Call and True Conversion is to present a thorough treatment of repentance and genuine conversion. According to Washer, gospel reductionism has filled our churches with false converts. Each part and chapter is saturated with biblical exposition. Every poignant point is established on biblical precedence. Look in the chapter endnotes and you will find that most notations are Scripture references. Readers will be grateful for his meticulous study and faithful exposition of the biblical text.
Corrects Abuses
Keenly gifted at sniffing out false doctrine and practice, Washer confronts evangelical abuses to the gospel. Chapter 1, for example, confronts the tendency to downplay the role of repentance for salvation. This chapter also corrects how we help people into church membership with no demonstration of genuine conversion. Chapter 5 recounts Sallman Warner’s mistaken interpretation of Revelation 3:20 in his painting “Christ at Heart’s Door.” Chapter 6 debunks the myth that God saves because of our need; rather, Washer asserts, God saves for his glory. Chapter 8 discusses society’s tendency to deprive God of authority, while chapter 14 confronts how churches are filled with unconverted souls pandering to unconverted values.
The Gospel Call and True Conversion
Paul Washer
Washer skillfully applies biblical logic to dispel the myths behind these abuses to the gospel. He impressively tackles some of the biggest challenges to the faith and, with tact and clarity, presents a biblical construct for genuine conversion built on ongoing repentance and sanctification.
I love the vivid language Washer employs. In his instruction on demonstrating faith in Christ to the glory of God, he writes, “God has provided only one scarlet thread by which we may safely swing out into eternity: Christ and his bloody death on the cross of Calvary.” This is typical of Washer’s writing. Chapter by chapter is filled with images, analogies, and parables. Chapter 8 exhibits how effectively Washer employs extended analogy. Washer’s acuity for language shines through again in chapter 11 where he writes, “[The Lord] would write his law upon their hearts with indelible ink. His stylus would be the finger of God.”
Biblical Acumen
Washer’s biblical acumen also warrants high praise. In Part I, he skillfully walks through biblical repentance by laying the groundwork of the gospel call encompassing these components: faith, belief and confession, and receiving Christ. Lasting belief, confession, and the absolute and universal lordship of Jesus Christ are themes developed in this part. Speaking with conviction, Washer maintains his high view of the triune God and man’s need to submit to the authority of Christ.
Remember my experience with summer camp ministry? In chapter 4, Washer remarks, “We are not preaching a biblical gospel unless we are also giving a biblical gospel invitation.” A biblical invitation offers all of Christ and expects us to depend on Christ alone. People repent because of God’s promised calling. Just like in Acts 2:38-39, the Holy Spirit regenerates spiritually dead people through this call. Evidence of sanctification signifies spiritual regeneration. Washer concurs: “Sanctification is the real proof of justification.”
New Heart, New People
Wrestling primarily with Old Testament prophetic passages from Ezekiel 36 and Jeremiah 31-32, Parts II and III focus on the new heart and the new people who’ve experienced true conversion. Throughout The Gospel Call and True Conversion, Washer doesn’t shy away from tough Scripture passages, and Parts II and III are no exception. And rather than burdening himself with an eschatological timeline, Washer concerns himself with God’s redemptive plan through the gospel.
Part II contrasts our sinful nature before Christ and God’s dramatic new creative work in the redeemed. You’ll celebrate how God authored salvation and promises to effect it. According to Washer, “A person’s conversion requires a supernatural work of the Spirit on par with the creation of the universe and the resurrection of Christ from the dead.” As the Puritan Thomas Brooks put it, “Repentance is a flower which does not grow in nature’s garden. . . . [It] is a gift that comes down from above.”
Part III is a buffet of appetizing theology about the true church, true Christians, and God’s divine will of building an everlasting covenant. Throughout this concluding section, God’s goodness glows. Washer contrasts the Old Testament people and covenant to the New Testament people and covenant. He reproaches our popular view that the church is a collection of saved and carnal people with a remnant of spiritual people. That may have been the case for Israel, but, he writes, “There is not a godly remnant in the true church; that true church is the godly remnant.” Lest we become concerned Washer is creating a works-centered approach to godliness, he reminds us, “If there is any singular proof of conversion, it is this: the true believer will glory in the person and work of Christ and will not put even the smallest confidence in himself or his deeds.”
The Gospel Call and True Conversion offers a calculated rebuke to the evangelical church as Washer corrects many of the abuses the gospel has endured in recent decades. His clear affection for the lost and desire to see many repent of sin and turn to Christ leave us with a compelling portrait of conversion built on the craftsmanship of God. Reading this book will not fail to sharpen your perspective on the gospel.
