Gospel Reset (Download)

Ken Ham does a fine job of relating today's dilemma in sharing the gospel given our current cultural atmosphere. A simple, quick read. A good foundation for sharing the Good News and reaching others for Christ; especially the children in our homes.

Mr. Ham first gives us insight into two Biblical examples of social acceptance toward sharing Jesus, first in Acts 2 and again in Acts 17; comparing and contrasting the worldview in each culture and the reasons for their acceptance or denial of the Gospel message. He then proceeds to compare both of these Biblical societies to the modern culture of today; helping us gain a better understanding of how to reach the hearts of the people around us. Mr. Ham goes on to explain the need for understanding our audience in order to better reach them where they are, and to help them comprehend their need for a Savior. We are further exhorted to look closer at whether we are allowing the world to raise our children, and be mindful of how the next generation is being indoctrinated. Finally, Mr. Ham shares his thoughts on how we can overcome obstacles we face when attempting to share the Gospel both in our own homes and in our daily interactions; having a greater impact on those with whom we have the opportunity to share.

This was a wonderful book; a fantastic introduction for anyone new to sharing the Gospel message and those who wish to be more effective in their ministry. Ken Ham gives a solid argument for the importance of accepting the Word of God; it all starts in Genesis.

I have seen many ideas on 'updating' the Gospel but this one rings true to scripture. It's not about the music or preaching or what program you use, it's about what people do (or don't) understand about the Bible and it's authority.

You can't teach math jumping in at multiplication/division, you have to start at the beginning. The same is true with the Gospel, we can't start teaching that Christ died for sins when who Christ is and what sins are don't have a definition in todays culture.

I was raised in church, actually a PK, but have never heard of "young or old earth" claims until I began homeschooling. I know about Ken Ham, and use MB, but have not truly understood the relevance of young earth until now. As someone working in ministry as well as discipling my own children, I found this book helpful. The view that most people now do not even understand who Jesus is, or who God (as in God the Creator in the Bible) is, was absolutely spot on. We have been seeing the same trends this book discusses in our church and I even want our educators in our church to read it. It is an eye-opening book that will help you understand the world's view and how we can better reach them and the people in our own churches. I now understand why we need to give an understanding of church history in this day and age. Before, preaching/teaching Jesus was all we needed to do, whereas today, much more is needed. I highly recommend this book to parents, disciples, teachers, pastors... I am actually getting one for our Pastor.
*I was given a digital copy to review, but the comments are solely my own.

As soon as I saw the title of Ken Ham's new book, Gospel Reset: Salvation Made Relevant, I wanted a copy of it. It's published by Master Books and contrary to what some folks are saying Brother Ham is not preaching a new gospel. Far from it.

This is a book of tactics. So, what Mr. Ham has done in this book, is point out that a lot of times Christians will preach an Acts 2 sermon to the world when we are really dealing with an Acts 17 culture. This just does not work. We are not living in the same country we had a few years ago, and while we should have seen it coming many of us didn't. The culture is no longer familiar with the Biblical terms, but now largely ignorant of them...so much so that we have got to define the terms we use even if we think they are obvious when we witness to the people.

We must earnestly contend for the faith, be ready to give an answer, and preach the gospel! As Mr. Ham points out that we need to follow the example given by Paul in his dealings with the Greeks. The apostle took the Greeks from the very beginning (Jesus is the Creator) so they could understand the very message of the Cross. That's what we need to do as well.

I'd recommend this book as an apologetics, evangelistic study guide for preachers, pastors and anyone who is interested in being obedient to the Great Commission!

This book was an easy but great read! I love how Ken Ham is showing that the gospel itself doesn't need to change in order to be relevant, but rather the starting point of the gospel needs to get back to the foundations found in Genesis, which then leads to why we need a Savior. We are definitely in a time where the basics of the Bible aren't known anymore. Fresh soil. And therefore, to take the Acts 17 approach is necessary now. This book also helped me to see our "Greek" culture with fresh eyes and more compassion, without compromising God's truth and His whole counsel found in His Word. I appreciate Mr. Hams heart in loving these people through an apologetic type approach that fully supports and preaches the true biblical gospel.

This book is the most relevant book I have read in a long time. It explains why our culture, both worldly and in the Church, have lost people from factual Bible teaching and from churches as a whole. It explains how to reach them by returning to the root of the problem. It is concise, easy to read, and needs to be implemented before we lose any more souls to secularism. I highly recommend this book to everyone. It explained a lot to me about a church I was in, why I was having problems with it, and why I left. Thank you MB.

Ken Ham, in his book "Gospel Reset," shows why people in today's culture are not as responsive to the gospel message as people were in the past.

Most people no longer have a solid Biblical foundation. This culture has started believing in science and see no reason to be "saved" from their sin. Indeed many do not know what sin is.

When well meaning Christians try to share their belief with others, they wrongly assume that the person understands the Biblical foundation of sin and salvation.

Ham does a good job pointing out how to correct these issues so one can build a foundation from which to reach others.

Although not an exhaustive resource on the topic of making salvation relevant, Gospel Reset provides a richness for understanding how times have changed culturally in the United States. Specifically, Gospel Reset identifies Biblically how to identify the culture of the past and the culture of today. Understanding the culture of yesterday and the culture of today, Christians can have a better strategy of sharing the Gospel.

Ken Ham does a good job of using scripture to relate to the culture changes. For example, Ken Ham identifies that the past culture in the United States lived in an "Acts 2-type" culture. That means that most people in the generations prior to millennials (in this book, those born between approximately 1982-2002) were raised in a "Christian" culture. From an Acts 2-type culture perspective, this is related to Peter preaching a sermon on the day of Pentecost. Peter spoke about God, how Jesus was the fulfillment of the Old Testament and how to be saved. Peter though was speaking to a group of people (Jews at that time) who had a foundation in the history of God's word. They knew when "God" was mentioned, it was the one true God of the Bible. They knew they all were sinners because of Adam's rebellion in the garden of Eden. They were waiting for a Savior. Because of their foundation, the Jews could easily related and receive Peters message of the Gospel (whether they chose to or not).

Ken Ham related how the Jews received the Gospel message from Peter in Acts 2 to how the people in the past within the United States used to respond to the Gospel message. Ken Ham used the Billy Graham crusades as one example of this. However if Billy Graham were to preach the same sermons today, it is unlikely as many people would follow. Why? Due to a culture change.

Today's culture is centered around millennials. Millennials have not been raised in a Christian culture. It is sometimes termed a "post-Christian" culture. The primary reason is because of Government education. Unlike previous cultures, Christianity was more influential, even in Government schools. However today, Government schools are heavily focused in humanism and anti-christian teachings. Add to this anti-Christian media, music, and movies and the Millennial generation is bombarded by a humanistic, secular culture. Millennials do not recognize the One True God of the Bible, but many. Truth is relative. There are many ways to Heaven (if it exists at all). Atheism is on the rise. So if the Gospel message were to be preached to this generation in this culture, they will not connect with it very well at all.

Hence is why Ken Ham relates today's culture and millennial generation to an Acts 17-type culture. In this chapter of the book of Acts, Paul is preaching on Mars hill. This community was Greek and believed in many gods. Paul could not use the same strategy that Peter used in Acts chapter two because their foundation was different. Paul had to go back to the beginning to introduce them to when God created, back to the fall of man, so they could determine they were sinners and needed to be saved.

These two Biblical scenarios is much of what the book discusses. The book does provide a solution to the issue, of which I will let you find out for yourself. The book though achieves what it set out to do which is why and how we need to reset our thinking on how to share the Gospel with a generation of people who have no biblical foundation and have their minds being indoctrinated with humanistic teachings.

However I will say that if you want to learn more about this topic, you must also pick up two more books and they are: Already Gone - Why Your Kids Will Quit Church and What You Can Do To Stop It and Why Won't They Listen - The Power of Creation Evangelism.