Summary:
Good Faith is not just another “Christian Living” book or Christian self-help book. This book is the product of years of research on both Dave and Gabe’s part in seeking after how Christians can live out their faith in a society that thinks Christians are irrelevant, extreme, and only focused on self-preservation. Good Faith is a convicting and eye-opening realization for Christians that now is the time to start living out our Christian faith in a way that is good, honest, pure, and betterment of our society.
Good Faith takes you through understanding the situation that we as Christians face in a world that is more like Babylon when King Nebuchadnezzar was ruling. David and Gabe do a complete walk-through of the most pressing issues facing Christians not only in the United States but across the globe. Issues like racial reconciliation, same-sex marriage, transgenderism and other such issues are the by-products of the sexual revolution of the 1960’s. The authors also talk about how to boldly and publicly live out the call of self-sacrifice, along with living out the peace of Christ to those who would try to stamp out Christianity in the public square.
Within this book, David and Gabe will show you in Scripture and with historic orthodox Christian teaching that:
“People of good faith, however, contend that every thought, word, and deed are meant to be weighted on the scale of faith, that faith should be the primary lens through which life is perceived, that science, commerce, business, politics, and every other sphere of human endeavor are at their best when approached from a distinctly theological point of view.”
That faith being the faith delivered once for all the saints and all those who have not yet professed Jesus Christ as Lord, and within the pages of this book, David and Gabe exhort you to live out that faith in the goodness of Christ in every avenue of public life. The crucial aim of this book is to make a case for good faith, practicing that good faith, and for you to gain confidence that holding fast to biblical convictions are worthwhile, but also necessary for natural human flourishment on this planet.
This book will show you how to have the “difficult” conversations of our time with those who would appear at the onset to be our most vocal enemies of practicing good faith, but, when in fact, are desperately seeking answers themselves and hoping to find out their true purpose. Having good faith conversations with those very people will show them that you love them, appreciate them, respect them, but most importantly help them understand how Christ is ever-present and relevant in this day and age.
Ultimately David and Gabe make the critical point that is not up to us to determine the outcome of what persecution and pressure we may face, but that if we are led by God, led by love, rooted in the biblical truth, and ready to live our lives for Christ in an unchristian world then our good faith will glorify God. Furthermore, he will use us to be change agents in this world.
Quotes:
- “If Christians are to be agents of good faith, we’ve got to overcome the real or perceived barriers to talking with people who don’t already agree with us. We need to become experts at engaging in difficult conversations” (44).
- “In order for us to flourish as God’s people, his moral order must be allowed to rule our lives” (60).
- “Our identity is not found by looking within. God designed human identity to be found and fulfilled in a fixed point outside ourselves-in He beckons us toward his plan for our flourishing, toward what’s truly best for our hearts, minds, and bodies” (188).
Insights:
#1 – Chapter 9, 13, 14, & 15 are worth the cost of the book alone. David and Gabe are extremely helpful and clear in talking about how to minister to and practice the good faith. It’s our job as pastors and ministers to understand these people are image bearers just like we are, and that God loves them deeply too. We have to love them like Christ loves them and show them that Christ is more fulfilling than any worldly pleasure.
#2 – You could spend hours researching all of the information Good Faith talks about. Thankfully David and Gabe make it accessible, easy to understand and interact with and offer excellent graphs to perfectly illustrate the state of Christianity and Christian thought in the United States. This information is a goldmine for pastors. It gives pastors the cold hard facts while showing how to embrace them, and objectives to overcome them.
Discussion Questions:
- What does living out good faith look like in our community and context?
- What can we do to be better at having the difficult conversations in a non-confrontational way?
- Are we prepared, and if not, how can we prepare to minister to those who are sexual refugees?
- What does being multi-ethnic look like? How can living out good faith drive us to racial reconciliation in our community?
- “The Church is a culture in its own right. Christ does not simply infiltrate a culture; Christ creates culture by forming another city, another sovereignty with its own social and political life.” How can we do this within our own church and community?
Action Steps:
- Actively pursue friendships outside your Christian “bubble” and have loving, but conviction driven conversations.
- “Offer a vision of human intimacy beyond sex” by modeling Christian love and fellowship through hospitality, discipleship, and creating a welcoming household of faith for people outside of your Christian “bubble” to see Christ at work in a real tangible way.
- Affirm all people as image bearers of God no matter their sins because you yourself are a sinful image bearer, while never losing sight of biblical orthodoxy or God’s moral law.
James Forbis is a graduate of The University of Arkansas, a former Jr. High and High School football coach, and American history teacher. He is completing his M.DIV at The Southern Baptist Theological Seminary in Great Commission Studies and Expository Preaching. He’s a self-proclaimed sweet tea connoisseur and Tex-Mex addict. Most Saturday’s you can find him cheering on his Arkansas Razorbacks, hiking or fishing, or reading up on his favorite subject, the Revolutionary War, or spending time with his wife.
