While it has been prominently placed at the number 1 spot in the "Satanist" category of Amazon, Satan is not happy about this book. Jared C. Wilson's latest, The Gospel According to Satan: Eight Lies About God That Sound Like The Truth, is worth reading and I think will be a tremendous help to the church.
Wilson has provided another volume that brings us to Christ and opens life to real freedom. I think this book acts like a booster shot for word-centered, gospel life. Satan loves to twist truth into bondage and the finished work of Christ is what breaks us free and gives us feet to stand. Because it is written!
Each chapter is devoted to a different lie we are prone to believing. They are: God just wants you to be happy; You only live once; You need to live your truth; Your feelings are reality; Your life is what you make it; You need to let go and let God; The cross is not about wrath; and God helps those who help themselves.
Of course some of these things sound okay, maybe we even have a coffee mug with the lie printed on it! But when it comes to our flourishing and faith in Jesus, it is important that we don't miss THE TRUTH and what we are actually called to in Christ.
Wilson is a winsome writer and this work is easily understandable and will resonate with you. The book is a great tool to help sharpen us and keep us on the path to maturity in Christ. I recommend you check it out, pick it up, download it and start reading.
Here are some choice quotes:
"Sin isn't purely about the malfunction; it's essentially about the faulty wiring... In that regard, grace is not simply about pardoning sinful behavior; it's also about rewiring the sinners themselves. The grace the Bible talks about is power not just for justification but also for transformation." (p. 7)
"Joy is the music that plays when our hearts are tuned to the frequency of God's glory and our connection to it. Joy is the heart's settled and worshipful contentment in our justification with God. Joy is the conviction that, no matter the sadness of our circumstances or the weakness of our bodies, we are secure in the sovereign God who loves us." (p. 21)
"We must not think only of seizing the day but, in the day to day, taking hold of eternity." (p. 40)
"When power becomes your god, you'll do as much biblical gymnastics as it takes to get it or keep it." (p. 59)
"Ignoring your feelings isn't the answer. Facts may not care about your feelings, but Jesus does. Which is why his Word says so much about them." (p. 73)
"Meekness is weakness weaponized against the spirit of the age and the spirit of the Antichrist..." (p. 107)
"If Satan cannot keep you from salvation, he will do his best to undermine and obscure the gospel that saved you by making you either overconfident in yourself or underconfident in God. Both dispositions make the gospel look small and consequently may prevent more people from believing." (p. 125)
"In pursuit of a view of the atonement that is less bloody, less dark, less offensive, we may be stumbling upon one that is less effectual, less powerful, less... well, atoning." (p. 139)
"So come needy. Come empty-handed. Turn out your pockets. Beat your chest, if you have to, and tear your clothes. Scrape the boils off your skin, if that's what you need to do. But whatever you do, do not come to the fruit of Christ's righteousness seeking a bargain. Do not barter, do not buy, but beg... The blessing is for those who are poor in spirit, not rich. If you will bring the empty hand of faith, however trembling, to the infinitely holy Lord of the universe, he will fill it with the immeasurable riches of himself. There is no other way. God is actively looking to save those who cannot save themselves." (p. 170)