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Authors: Andrew Farley

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The Naked Gospel: Truth You May Never Hear in Church

BOOK: The Naked Gospel: Truth You May Never Hear in Church
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The Naked
GOSPEL
Praise for
The Naked Gospel

How do you know a sailboat is maxed out in the wind? The author’s wife, a sailboat captain, can tell you. It hydroplanes. How do you know it’s hydroplaning? You listen for the hum. This book shows you how to open the sails of your life to the winds of truth and max out in God’s Spirit. Read this book and hear the hum.

     —L
EONARD
S
WEET
,
bestselling author of
So Beautiful:
Divine Design for Life and the Church

Our culture screams at us, “Productivity!”—and often, this mantra gets absorbed and spread by the church.
Grace
is a word we use often but rarely understand the depth and true meaning of. In
The Naked Gospel,
Andrew Farley strips down religion and shows us the faith and freedom God intends for us to have in a fully abundant, radiant life.

     —A
NNE
J
ACKSON
,
speaker and author of
Mad Church

What a great “textbook” on how to strip away all the religious fakery and take the challenge to just be a normal person while being a healthy Christian.

     —S
TEVE
A
RTERBURN
,
founder and chairman
of New Life Ministries

Reading Andrew Farley’s book
The Naked Gospel
harkened me back to my own faith-altering encounter with Jesus when I first embraced the outrageous idea of the exchanged life. That message dynamically changed me, which is why I’m excited about Andrew’s book—a biblically centered freedom manual for today’s stuck Christian. If you’re tired of wearing the “I’m a super Christian” mask, if you’re weary and discouraged on the inside, read this book and experience the freedom Jesus brings.

      —M
ARY
D
EMUTH
,
author of
Daisy Chain

The Naked Gospel
is an intelligently written book that is thoroughly intriguing. Your church or small group could benefit greatly by its wisdom and concepts. This is a must-read!

      —D
AVE
S
TONE
,
senior minister,
Southeast Christian Church

The message that Andrew Farley brings in
The Naked Gospel
is so necessary for the church today. It is absolutely essential for a fulfilling and genuinely Christ-centered life.

     —J
OHN
B
EST
, ThD,
former professor of New Testament
Literature and Exegesis,
Dallas Theological Seminary

For over three years, I have co-hosted radio and television programs with Dr. Andrew Farley. God has gifted this insightful teacher and author with the ability to communicate the meaning of the Scriptures with remarkable simplicity. The clarity of his words should refresh the spirit of every saint and beckon to the lost. The heart of his message is captured here, and it comes at the perfect time, when the United States, and indeed the whole world, is hungering for answers.
The Naked Gospel
is unabashed truth.

     —C
HIP
P
OLK
,
cofounder and playwright,
Ragtown Gospel Theater

The Naked
GOSPEL

The Truth You May Never Hear In Church

Andrew Farley

ZONDERVAN

The Naked Gospel

Copyright © 2009 by Andrew Farley

All rights reserved under International and Pan-American Copyright Conventions. By payment of the required fees, you have been granted the non-exclusive, non-transferable right to access and read the text of this ebook on screen. No part of this text may be reproduced, transmitted, downloaded, decompiled, reverse engineered, or stored in or introduced into any information storage and retrieval system, in any form or by any means, whether electronic or mechanical, now known or hereinafter invented, without the express written permission of Zondervan.

ePub Edition JULY 2009 ISBN: 978-0-310-56328-0

Requests for information should be addressed to:
Zondervan,
Grand Rapids, Michigan 49530

Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data

Farley, Andrew, 1972-

The naked gospel : the truth you may never hear in church / Andrew Farley.

p. cm.

Includes bibliographical references.

ISBN 978-0-310-29306-4 (softcover)

1. Christian life. 2. Theology, Doctrinal—Popular works. I. Title.

   BV4501.3.F36 2009

   230-dc22                                                                         2008054098

This title is also available in a Zondervan audio edition. Visit www.zondervan.fm.

All Scripture quotations, unless otherwise indicated, are taken from the
Holy Bible, Today’s New International Version
™. TNIV
®
. Copyright ©2001, 2005 by International Bible Society. Used by permission of Zondervan. All rights reserved.

Scripture quotations marked NIV are taken from the
Holy Bible, New International Version
®
. NIV
®
. Copyright © 1973, 1978, 1984 by International Bible Society. Used by permission of Zondervan. All rights reserved.

Scripture quotations marked NASB are taken from the
New American Standard Bible.
Copyright © 1960, 1962, 1963, 1968, 1971, 1972, 1973, 1975, 1977, 1995 by The Lockman Foundation. Used by permission.

Scripture quotations marked NKJV are taken from the
New King James Version.
Copyright © 1982 by Thomas Nelson, Inc. Used by permission. All rights reserved.

Any Internet addresses (websites, blogs, etc.) and telephone numbers printed in this book are offered as a resource. They are not intended in any way to be or imply an endorsement by Zondervan, nor does Zondervan vouch for the content of these sites and numbers for the life of this book.

Published in association with the literary agency of Alive Communications, Inc., 7680 Goddard Street, Suite 200, Colorado Springs, CO 80920. www.alivecommunications.com

Interior design by Beth Shagene

09 10 11 12 13 14 · 24 23 22 21 20 19 18 17 16 15 14 13 12 11 10 9 8 7 6 5 4 3 2 1

For my son, Gavin—a map.

Yeah, it’s
really
this good.

It’s even better than I could explain.

Enjoy the New, and enjoy Him!

I’m proud of you, boy.

The naked gospel [is] discovering what was the gospel
which our Lord and his apostles preached; what additions
and alterations latter ages have made in it;
what advantages and damages have thereupon ensued.

Arthur Bury, 1691

Arthur Bury’s book titled
The Naked Gospel
was burned by the church of his day.

Fair Warning

T
HE REAL, NAKED GOSPEL IS A LOT BETTER THAN ANY OF US REALIZE
. A word of warning, though: You might throw this book down in disgust; you might pick it back up again in curiosity; you might shake your head in frustration as you wonder, “How could I have missed this before?” or “Is this guy crazy?”

When it comes to Christianity, I realize it’s more palatable to talk in generalities. It’s risky to draw lines in the sand and confront disagreements. But you may have noticed that much of the New Testament was written to correct misunderstandings and false doctrine. Apparently, pushing absolutes and even splitting theological hairs are supposed to be part of healthy church life.

Christians today are grateful for Jesus and heaven. Some of us go to church every time the doors are open. Some listen to hundreds of sermons each year. Some memorize scores of Bible verses. Some even hold a few degrees in God stuff.

Despite all of our fervor, many of us are still apathetic instead of ecstatic over the gospel. But maybe there’s an answer to our heartfelt yearning for more passion in our Christian life.

Is
this
kind of Christianity—the kind that replaces apathy with ecstasy—too good to be true? Actually, I believe it’s the only kind that’s biblical. However, it seems that today it’s the truth you may never hear in church.

We find too much
fluff, double-talk,
misleading jargon, and
pat answers in many
churches today.

We find too much fluff, doubletalk, misleading jargon, and pat answers in many churches today. No matter how much you hear it or how much it entertains you, it won’t bring genuine and enduring fulfillment. There’s only one message that I’ve found to bring real and lasting change. It’s the
naked
gospel.

BOOK: The Naked Gospel: Truth You May Never Hear in Church
11.94Mb size Format: txt, pdf, ePub
ads

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