The Rest of the Gospel: When the Partial Gospel Has Worn You Out [Paperback]

Dan Stone (Author), Greg Smith (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: February 1, 2000

Having God's forgiveness is wonderful. Spending eternity with God is great. But for now, where is the abundant life Jesus promised? Why is the Christian life such a struggle? Because getting forgiven is only half of the gospel! The rest of the gospel is not us striving on our own to be good Christians, but Christ in us, living His life through us as we rest in him.

Editorial Reviews

From the Publisher

One Press was founded to proclaim the message of "Christ in you, the hope of glory" (Colossians 1:27) to the body of Christ. We believe The Rest of the Gospel is, quite simply, the finest teaching on the believer's union with Christ and Christ living His life through us that we have ever come across. Our prayer is that the Lord may use it to bless your life with an ever-increasing experience of His life and rest.

About the Author

Dan Stone traveled the U.S. sharing the message of Christ in us for over 20 years. A graduate of Southern Baptist Theological Seminary, Dan served as a pastor for 16 years, in administration at Georgetown College and Samford University for 10 years, and as a board member of Union Life Ministries. David Gregory is the author of Dinner with a Perfect Stranger and The Last Christian, among other fiction books. He has masters degress from Dallas Theological Seminary and the University of North Texas. He served as a writer and editor for Insight for Living and Exchanged Life Ministries Texas before writing on his own full-time. David lives in the Pacific Northwest.

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Product Details

• Paperback: 256 pages
• Publisher: One Press (February 1, 2000)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 096751410X
• ISBN-13: 978-0967514109
• Product Dimensions: 8.9 x 6 x 0.8 inches
• Shipping Weight: 15.2 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 4.7 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (55 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #31,775 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

28 of 29 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars nothing short of amazing, July 7, 2003

By A Customer

This review is from: The Rest of the Gospel: When the Partial Gospel Has Worn You Out (Paperback)

One amazing word: union. At times, believers may think they are living life on their own and gaining "help" from God when the going gets rough. Life doesn't have to be like that!!!! When someone is in union with something else, your life is not separate. It is together, it is "one." If you are a child of God, you are "one" with God. I needed to hear that and this book was used instrumentally in revealing that truth. I trust God will lead you to read this as well.

21 of 22 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars It Will Transform Your Walk, November 2, 2006

By 

S.C. (Texas) - See all my reviews

This review is from: The Rest of the Gospel: When the Partial Gospel Has Worn You Out (Paperback)

The message of Stone's book is written in an accessible, "folksie" style but it is profound: that a Christian believer's spiritual death, rebirth, and indwelling by Christ are far more than metaphorical statements about a spiritual reality that is outside our grasp to understand. Rather, a believer's death, rebirth and union with the Spirit of Christ is a metaphysical reality by which that believer's essential self, from the moment of receiving Christ, enters into the exact eternal life Christians have traditionally believed was only available after the death of their bodies.
After reading and receiving revelation from the Holy Spirit regarding the Scriptural teachings explained in this book, pursuits such as "imitating Christ," "spiritual formation," "seeking God's presence," etc. will cease to be a focus of a reader's walk with God. Instead their walk will consist of getting their self-conceived interpretation of "what Jesus would do" out of the way. Moving away from a view of being separate from God and thus having to seek after His will, readers will discover the real potential for living fulfilling lives rests in moment by-moment faith and trust in God's willingness and ability to live out His activities in Perfect Union with their own unique spirits in the guise of their unique and God-ordained humanity with all its "bumps and warts."
Whether a mature believer or a new believer, this deeply encouraging book will tranform and define your walk, offering true "hope for glory." (P.S. Don't skip the intro to the book.)

21 of 22 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Experiencing the Life of Faith, July 2, 2001

By 

Hal Messinger (Redondo Beach, CA United States) - See all my reviews

This review is from: The Rest of the Gospel: When the Partial Gospel Has Worn You Out (Paperback)

The book deals with a subject that is virtually untouched by pastors and preachers. I believe the reason is that one cannot teach on a subject where they have never been.

Through many years of Christian life, the author knew something in his Christian life was missing and as it was revealed to him, he did a superb job in short, concise chapters of conveying his experiences to others. In the American culture, too often we take our identity from the "things of the world". Then, when we become Christians we are confounded to learn the world in which we live is not reality in the eyes of God.

Stone explains the necessity of taking upon a new identity and living a life of faith out of that identity. He gives us an eternal, biblical perspective from which to learn the thought processes which leads to true life, the abundant life. The book is for true believers who are tired of the pablum dispensed from pulpits. I have gone through the book personally, been in a small group where each chapter was discussed on a weekly basis and I am currently leading a small discussion group with enormous success. It is a subject matter that can be engaged with knowing you will gain better insight in how God sees you and, as a result, experience the life of faith as it is intended to be. It is definitely a "gotta have" book.