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Revise Us Again: Living from a Renewed Christian Script

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I finished reading "Revise Us Again: Living From A Renewed Christian Script" by Frank Viola. What a great book! I highly recommend every Christian to read it! "Revises Us Again" is refreshing book that takes a thoughtful but candid look at and a fresh perspective of how brothers and sisters gather together, sharing life together. The problem is our "religious script" as Frank calls it. "As Christians, we can safely assume that some of the script we have been handed matches the heart and mind of our Master. But typically, much of it doesn't." So begins a very revealing look at how typically the body of Christ relates according to the each others "script" and how to view our life as one in Christ, and to be "revised and re-visioned to match His heart and mind."

As I read the book Frank comes across like a brother sitting in your house (over some coffee, :)) with a gathering of brothers and sisters and sharing his heart about living by Christ's life, reminiscent of the little book "Life Together" by Dietrich Bonhoeffer. As stated in the back of the book "Frank Viola believes we need to revisit and revise what it means to live the Christian life." Dietrich Bonhoeffer finding himself amidst an institutional church that had become apostate determined to learn to live by Christ's life and to do so organically in community underground in Nazi Germany. Bonhoeffer's thoughts on the importance of living in community by the life of Christ, "our life together under the Word," is described in his excellent booklet "Life Together." I can sense Bonhoeffer sitting around with the brothers and sisters sharing many of these thoughts that were put together in his booklet so many years ago. I get the same feeling as I read Frank's book "Revise Us Again." Frank, himself a church planter, with an apostolic functioning, brings his hearts burden for the body of Christ, those things he has learned of Christ as he walks with brothers and sisters organically, to learn to live by the life of Christ, to live by the Spirit.

Below are some thoughts from each of the chapters from the book:

- Chapter 1 (God's Three-Fold Speaking) one word - wow! Frank keys in on recognizing the different ways God speaks through His people and the importance of seeking the mind of Christ together. Frank sees how God communicated with His people in three typical ways in the past to how He communicates with His people in the present. He describes them as "thinkers," "feelers," and "doers." "Three temperaments, three denominations, and three forms of God's speaking." The problem is we often view how God communicates through only one of His three ways.

- Chapter 2 (The Lord Told Me). Frank notes the disturbing consequences of using "God told me" in the "vocabulary of a number of Christian traditions" and gives warning to those who "choose to use...hyperspiritual language." "I've routinely watched God get credit for things that He never authored and blamed for things He never imagined." Frank points out to speak with your own words what you believe God has said without having to punctuate it with "The Lord told me."

- Chapter 3 (Let Me Pray About It). Frank gives some real to life examples of instances where some of God's people were asked for help but never followed through and Christ's life was not increased. "In short, 'Let me pray about it' is Christian code language for 'No.'" How important it is to walk in wisdom and do what God has empowered us to do to help and serve others in love in the everyday moments of life. I am reminded of Proverbs 3:27-28, "Do not withhold good from those to whom it is due, when it is in your power to do it. Do not say to your neighbor, 'God and come back, and tomorrow I will give it,' when you have it with you." (NASB). May we learn to walk in wisdom.

- Chapter 4 (Spiritual Conversational Styles). Frank describes what he calls "spiritual conversational styles" or SCSs. SGS is the religious script of how we generally communicate with each other either charismatic, quoter, or pragmatic. By the way I tend to be a "quoter" if you haven't realized that by now, :). He makes a point that if we know each others SGS then we can "make progress in how we hear and understand one another." It sounds similar to Gary Chapman's "Five Love Languages," which is also a great book by the way, lol. Frank notes that most of our differences in opinion "over spiritual matters" are really over "differences in communication style" and describes the importance of being "better listeners" towards one another in order to better "understand each other."

- Chapter 5 (What's Wrong With Our Gospel?). Frank gives five "vital elements of the gospel" that are "neglected" in "a large portion of the Christian world." They are from brief scriptural phrases: "Christ in you, the hope of glory...who is our life;" Christ who is "head over all things;" God's "eternal purpose...in Christ Jesus our Lord;" "our old self was crucified with Him;" as as Job spoke "naked I came from my mother's womb, and naked I shall return." If Christ is not "at its center (it) is doomed to fail."

- Chapter 6 (The Felt-Presence of God). What a wonderful chapter! Frank writes with sensitivity and a conscious goal to help brothers and sisters to realize that "God is always present in the life of a believer - whether one actively feels His presence or not" and "to be conscious of His presence is to be 'intentionally aware' that He is with you and in you." This made a big impact on me. After having read this chapter and going to work the next day I realized how often I was not "intentionally aware" that Christ was with me and in me. How important to learn to set our minds on Him. Perhaps the same can be said of when we gather together with brothers and sisters, do we intentionally set our minds on Him or some thing or some one?

- Chapter 7 (Captured By The Same Spirit You Oppose). This chapter was like wow, deja vu, how many times have I seen and done the same thing. How many heartaches we give one another, how many loss of relationships occur because of this mindset. As Frank says: "we are all susceptible to this spirit...Each of us needs a steady dose of God's infinite grace to avoid falling sway to it."

- Chapter 8 (The God of Unseen Endings). This was an incredibly written chapter that looks at the mystery of Christ. Frank describes parallels in the Old and New Testament scriptures to show that "God takes away to establish, and what He establishes is always better than what He takes away" and "God's beginnings are our nights." Christ not the God of our expectations.

- Chapter 9 (Stripping Down to Christ Alone). I so appreciate Frank's candidness in this chapter. He describes what he is against, leery of, skeptical, opposed to, and critical of regarding the fleshly abuses in church gatherings. But how he is so much for "the centrality, supremacy, sovereignty, and exaltation of the Lord Jesus. Period."

- Chapter 10 (Your Christ Is Too Small). Frank describes his personal journey into the community of brothers and sisters in Christ. "I live by the Lord who lives in me, and I live by the Lord who lives in my fellow brethren (in whom Christ also dwells)." The body of Christ is a shared life. We know Christ through His body. Frank also gives warning about not moving forward in Christ together, not receiving Christ when he comes to us unexpected and the importance of diversity in the body of Christ.

- Afterword (The Three Gospels). Frank has mentioned these before but think the are still so relevant to be brought up as reminders and that is the gospel of libertinism and the gospel of legalism which are in reality not gospels, or good news, at all, they only "tether you to the flesh." Only Paul's gospel that he preached, the same as that of Christ Jesus is real, "the gospel of the new creation." This is perhaps one section above all others a must read, as institutionalism, whether in a house or a 'church" building, no matter the form, corrupts Christ to either libertinism or legalism.

So Frank ends his little book. I feel like I have sat around some brothers and sisters, those whom I love, those whom I have offended, and realize how dead the flesh is and how alive Christ wants to be expressed in me, in us, and I cry "Christ you are our life, may we so live by your life, come quickly, may it be so." How we need to remember these words about the Christian life: "For Paul, the Christian life is becoming what you already are." "Revise us Again" helps us to learn to live life together.

Taking a break from a heavier theological work, I picked up Frank Viola's most recent book, Revise Us Again: Living from a Renewed Christian Script.

It was like turning aside from the steak to the potatoes and gravy.

Revise Us Again is a relatively light and quick read: ten chapters, just over 160 pages, smaller hardback - but no pictures (darn!). I was actually just intending to sample, but Viola drew me into his musings about various aspect of the "Christian script" we in our Christian culture tend to work from. His observations range from what was for me more humorous poking at ourselves to some very helpful thoughts on deeper levels.

An example of the former is our common tendency to answer queries for help from others with the "I'll have to pray about that" response. In case you were wondering, that always means "no" (just as when parents say to their kids "I'll have to think about that"). At least that's Viola's experience without fail. Not only do we not take responsibility for a yes or no answer, we put it "on the Lord" and then dismiss the person and then (again, according to Viola) never get back to them with a final answer even if we said we would. Reading this chapter I realized that I had just done this myself within the past month.

Thanks, Frank.

Among the "meatier" (for me) observations and musings was one concerning Christians' "spiritual conversation styles" (SCS). Viola outlines three SCS Christians frequently employ that essentially amount to different languages, each style connecting with the form of divine revelation most valued by the user/speaker. There's the "quoter SCS" that is immersed in the written word. "God says it, that settles it, so I believe it - so what's your problem?" Text and proof-texts abound - just quoting the text should be enough - no need for discussion, right, it's right there in black and white! I'm personally very familiar with this SCS - and with what happens when you match up a "quoter" with a "charismatic SCS." The "charismatic" uses phrases like "the Lord told me" and tends to regard the "quoter" as a bit legalistic and out of touch with what God is currently saying or doing. The "quoter," of course, thinks the "charismatic" simply has no real respect for God and his Word (otherwise he would certainly listen to his texts!). And watching the whole exchange is the "pragmatic" who has her own "SCS" as she looks at the bigger picture and marvels at how both "quoter" and "charismatic" just don't seem to get it.

Watching Viola unfold his thoughts about these "conversation styles" and his emphasis on the importance of the body of Christ embracing and recognizing all three of them was a wonderful "connect-the-dots" moment for me. How easy it is to talk right past each other and then to write you off because you obviously aren't getting it. And how this is compounded by our impersonal emailing, facebooking and blogging ways.

I found myself wishing for more chapters by the time I finished - but Viola had accomplished his purpose: he has me looking again with fresh eyes at my own "script" and asking just where it might need to be revised, for only the script of fools never needs changing.

Take and read.

Obviously, Christians should be reading the Word of God, however, I believe God speaks to us through other believers as well, and He spoke to me through Frank Viola in this book. I am quite sure that "Revise Us Again" has something for just about any believer. Frank thoughtfully but plainly lays out some simple truths- some correctional, some informational and all spiritual. It is obvious that these are truths that he has gathered through many years and many experiences in his walk with the Lord.

I feel "revised" after reading the book. He touched on areas that I have had questions about and some that I had not really given much thought to previously. It is a fairly quick read but one that you will probably want to read again, I know I plan to. I also plan to buy some extra copies to share with some brothers and sisters in the Lord.

I believe that Frank Viola is one of the more critical thinkers in western Christian thought. His website "Beyond Evangelical" ([...]) is one of my must read blogs. His books (especially Jesus Manifesto, which he wrote with Leonard Sweet) are among what I consider to be the most important contemporary writing for the western church.

Viola's newest book: Revise Us Again: Living From a Renewed Christian Script, asserts the Christians need revising, specifically as it relates to certain areas vital to our life in Christ, issue Viola suggests are seldom address today. Christians believe that the scriptures give us a script for experiencing the life God desires. The problem is that this biblical script is often distorted by our religious, socio-economic, and political traditions. In other words, we read into the Bible the scripts of our traditions - and then assert that they are holy writ.

Viola's challenge is that we continually revise our scripts to rescue them from these distortions and bring them back in line with scripture. Specifically Viola says we need to revise things like how we speak of God, our Christian code language, our semantics, our messages, Christianeze, our understanding of the Holy Spirit's work, and our chief pursuit as Christ-followers.

As with Viola's blog and previous books, I highly recommend that every Christian read "Revises Us Again."

In his intro, Viola writes: "As Christians, we can safely assume that some of the script we have been handed matches the heart and mind of our Master. But typically, much of it doesn't."

If you are willing to have the part of your script challenged which DOES NOT match the heart and mind of the Master, then this is an important read. Just be aware that what you think might match the Master's heart, may in fact be a false script. Read with an open heart and mind so that the Holy Spirit might "revise" you again.

I would like to quickly point out that I am no expert at writing book reviews. Ok, now that the pressure is off I would say some of the reviews above really gave some good points about the book and each chapter, they were very helpful.

I really appreciated the content in "Revise Us Again" because it points to and bolsters the life of Christ within the believer. This book leads to mature thinking in context of a Christian's life. When I think of maturity in Christ it also reflects the maturity of the individual person. Mature thinking is being able to look at your self objectively and thus allows you to treat another individual with respect and decency. One of the most amazing points in this book is how to relate to others and see their point of view or how to recognize someone else's Spiritual Conversation Style.

Frank does an excellent job pointing out that we as believers each have a portion of Christ and we have a portion of Him to share with eachother but because of our various religious backgrounds and emphasis which is reflected in our SCS we often don't listen to one another and on top of that reject each other.

When reflecting on this I had a picture in mind of two different Christians sharing with each other about a horse and how the one sees the head and the mane etc... and how that is the right way to see the horse and the other person is saying how strong the back legs are and beautiful the tail is etc... both thinking to themselves they have thee best picture. What they are not realizing they each only have a partial picture and that they are both in fact sitting on the same horse with their backs to each other not willing to look over from the others point of view. It really seems simple when you think about it to be able to talk together with other Christians from various backgrounds about our glorious Lord together but in fact it hasn't been. Frank points out how and why this is and how we can turn to the Lord to find that place of simple communication so that we might see a greater sight of the Lord.

Frank touches on so many really misunderstood but vital things such as the presence of the Lord, spiritual language that we use and many times are unaware of how it really sounds, plus much much more.

I especially enjoyed the last chapter/appendix where he went through the epistles of Paul. Each epistle was broken into two sections and showed what Paul stated initially in his letters to the saints about who we are in Christ as members of His body and because of that fact, this is what our behavior as the new man looks like. It took verses that we many times take as rules and regulations fueling legalism and put it back into the Lord's hands allowing us to rethink our actions and behavior in light of our new life in Christ and then turn to Him so that He can express Himself through us.

I must mention another chapter that was very liberating and that was on the three different gospels. The gospel of the libertine, of the legalist and of Christ. The legalist gospel is the most compelling and I know first hand because it was a natural bent for me when I approached the scriptures from a sincere heart in wanting to follow and serve Christ. However, as Frank points out so wonderfully it is only Christ that can live the Christian life. God never intended us to live for Him out of ourselves. But rather in response to His life in us and giving Him expression.

This is such a beautiful book and its effective in helping the reader think more maturely by thinking more from Christ's viewpoint on many misunderstood yet vital topics.

Frank Viola has a unique ability to observe and perceive things going on in the Christian culture that few authors are able to do. In "Revise Us Again," he pinpoints several areas in which Christians have been stuck in a bit of a rut, and are in need of "revision."

For those who know of Viola through his works on church restoration, you should know that this book does not deal much with that topic, or organic church life, beyond a couple of brief mentions. Like From Eternity to Here and Jesus Manifesto, the thoughts that Frank shares here are applicable to Christians of nearly every background or disposition. But even so, he is very consistent with all of his other books in that the things he talks about, and suggests that we need to revise, are things that take our focus off of Christ and His endless glory.

Why do I have to say "Post-Charismatic"? That is because I had been in Pentecostal and Charismatic circle for more than 25 years and has not seen much fruits out of that (now I am calling myself "Post-Pentecostal"). I was blind for that long, which accurately described one of Frank Viola's 13 narrow lens that virtually each Christian had regardless of whether he/she was under impression from Bible, the Lord or God's Speaking. Here is list in no particular order:

CHARISMATIC/ PENTECOSTAL- only will stop only if he feels led of Spirit and sign is Rhema, not Logos.

CALVINIST- believes God made pre-decisions for everyone: running stop sign = never chosen to be saved... stopping at stop sign = already chosen to be saved.

DENOMINATIONAL TRADITIONALIST- follows tradition, does not bother to read the stop sign

LIBERTINE- begins to sign "Hallelujah, I am free!" and runs the stop sign at full speed.

PROPHETIC PREACHER- end time theological that sees sign as S T O P then multiply by 40 then divide by 4 equals 666.

LEGALIST- keeps condemning eye out to see if others run the stop sign

NEW TESTAMENT SCHOLAR- notes there is no stop sign on Mark Street because there is one on Matthew or Luke streets.

PROSPERITY PREACHER- will stop at sign, make positive confession concluding God made him rich.

ARMINIAN- believes if he ran the stop sign, he will lose salvation and works hard to stop at every sign.

SOUTHERN BAPTIST- believes God wants him to stop at sign, still saved if don't stop.

FUNDAMENTALIST- taking the text very literally, stops at stop sign

LIBERATION THEOLOGIAN- believes stop signs belong only to those who are elitist, wealthy; otherwise the poor are free to run whenever they wish.

SEMINARY EDUCATED EVANGELIST- something that prevents motion, might look up stop sign

SILLY, YES... that is how we have NARROW-MINDED LENS we inherited from variety of denominations. That is why we have 30,000 Christian denominations today, check Pagan Christianity?: Exploring the Roots of Our Church Practices by Frank Viola and George Barna. I suggest that book will explain everything about how we got into one or more of 13 narrow lens listed in the Revise Us Again.

"Many Christians fear diversity. We all love unity, but we tend to toward uniformity.n This tendency is most clearly seen in denominational-ism. Diversity, however, is part of the nature of the Body of Christ."

The book is great in helping us see how variety of different denominations were created and formed, especially Spiritual Conversational Styles. Frank Viola has divided old testament into three parts: First books of Old Testament is Priest which made of THINKERS; Major and Minor Prophets and Historical Books is Prophet which is made of FEELERS; and Wisdom Literature that includes Psalms, Ecclesiastes, Proverbs, Job and Song of Solomon is WISE MAN which is made of DOERS. That is why we have three temperaments, three denominations and three forms of God's speaking. Hence, we have Spiritual Conversation Styles, that does not mean one is right, other is wrong. That is why we must not forget to see how God communicates only one of three ways. NO. Everything is right, but need balance. That is why Frank Viola has successfully concluded with THREE GOSPELS:

LEGALIST, LIBERTINE and CHRIST. I was guilty of being legalist for more than 25 years and now I am guilty of being libertine for now. Thanks to Frank, the description of CHRIST GOSPEL is very similar to WHO AM I IN CHRIST by Neil Anderson. We will know Christ's identity in our Christian life and we will make right.

I want to close with life-impacting that finally helped me understand what Christian Life is all about after 25 years of legalistic Christian Life:

"Throughout my Christian life, I've met believers who had their own private walks with the Lord. They never knew Christian community, yet they had an extremely strong devotional life. Every person who fit that bill was lopsided in some arena of their lives. The reason? They didn't avail themselves of the balancing and tempering of the body. No Christian is wired to live an individualistic Christian life. Without Christian community, we cannot grow normally in Christ. We are designed to live with other believers and receive their spiritual portion."

I have never read a Frank Viola book before this one. I was quite excited to be able to review this book in particular because of the topic of uniting the body of Christ.

From the beginning Viola wastes little time in exposing the supposed barriers of why the church is so fragmented when we look at all the different expressions of Christianity. I was impressed as I really sensed that Viola has friends or has been a part of many different groups of people who all worship Jesus as God. In each vantage point of Christianity, Viola points out the strengths and weaknesses of each. In short, we all have something to offer each other, no matter our expression.

Later in the book, he discusses the confusing power of words when it comes to Christian speak. Christian people have picked up some bad habits over the years saying things such as, "God told me to..." and "I am praying for you (yet quickly forgetting it)." We oftentimes confuse our will for God's. We make our God very small.

He later goes onto to talk the conversational styles that we all have. He notices three different types that ail our faith. Each person has a contrasting viewpoint, but when you blend all three, it is possible to see a beautiful example of how incredible the body of Christ really is.

I also enjoyed his thoughts on revising the Holy Spirit's ministry. Having been in a pentecostal and charismatic tradition a few years, I have definitely seen the excesses and fall out of being too Holy Spirit centered. Viola delicately mentions ways in which we can begin to balance out these areas.

I especially liked his section on being a post-charismatic. He makes a bulleted list on why he considers himself such a person. It is a manifesto of sorts, which I agreed with most of them. In the end he talks about three varied types of gospels and the people who believe them.

This would be a tough topic for most people to handle, but somehow Viola never seemed to offend anyone, he just gave the facts as he saw them. I respect that he did not bash any particular denomination, but found fault and good in each of them.

Congratulations to Frank on an incredible work that I hope people from all styles of Christianity will explore them self. It encouraged my heart and reminded me that we are all part of this faith, we each play a role.

Revise Us Again, by Frank Viola, is one of the most refreshing books I've read in a long time. It's a little volume that packs a big punch. I shared a few nuggets with my staff, and it really blessed them.

God provides a beautiful script for every life -- but as we go through the process of living, things get complicated. Our experiences, upbringing, religious traditions, culture and environment muddle the script in such a way that it needs revising

In each chapter, Viola presents a vibrant, robust faith to counteract the stale and false narratives that Christians tend to assume.

Some take-aways from the reading:

1) Christ is always present.

"The light of God is always on. But it looms in the background. Yet, at another level, we can be deliberately conscious of his presence. We can be focused on his presence in the foreground. We can be attentive to it."

Viola then describes a simple but powerful way to bring Christ to the foreground:

"Open your mouth and say to him, 'Lord Jesus, I need you.' As soon as you do, you are consciously practicing his presence."

2) The indwelling Christ is the secret to spiritual vitality.

It's not just Jesus beside us -- or Jesus as our friend and guide. It's not just asking "What would Jesus do?" Rather, through the Holy Spirit, we can experience the fullness of Christ within! "What is Jesus doing now?"

3) Christ speaks to us through others -- and not just the people we agree with.

If we only listen to people we agree with, we won't hear everything Christ has to say to we. Some people have a unique emphasis -- and they go overboard on it. Yet, with biblical discernment, and an open heart, we can learn much from these brothers and sisters, that will enrich our own understanding and faith.

4) Be careful not to be captured by the same spirit you oppose.

When we're riled, it's easy to slip into the very same mindset and patterns we're criticizing. For instance, if you're ranting about those who are judgmental, you're being judgmental towards them!

Great book -- great food for thought. I highly recommend it.

If you have read any of Viola's previous works, you will not be surprised that he is again calling Christians to rethink some things. While his previous works delve into church history, church practices, and the church's ultimate purpose, this lighter book encourages and challenges us to revise how we personally and corporately express Christ.

The book's ten chapters and afterward address:

*Revising the Lord's Voice

Viola begins with a humorous look at how different streams of Christians would react to a stop sign as an illustration of how varied and selective our responses to God's voice are. He then looks at the three divisions of the Old Testament: Torah, Prophets, and Wisdoms, as three examples of how God speaks to us today, and that we should weigh and receive each voice equally as the expression of the mind of Christ.

*Revising Christianeze

This chapter looks at a personal pet peeve of mine: using the "God told me to do xyz" line to justify our personal decisions. Viola sheds light on this Christian habit and shares some personal confessions from people who have done this.

*Revising Christian Code Language

Have you ever asked a Christian for something and heard "Let me pray about it" as the reply, just to never get any answer at all? According to Viola, you're not alone. While he certainly does not reject praying for others or over decisions, he does reject using prayer as a code-phrase for saying "no".

*Revising Our Semantics

Here, Viola looks at three Spiritual Conversation Styles (Charasmatics, Quoters, and Pragmatics) and how they interact (or fail to). He emphasizes how these styles cause difficulty in relating to our brothers and sisters who might move in a different Christian circles. Viola encourages us to learn from each other despite varying semantics.

*Revising Our Message

This chapter looks at what Viola sees as five missing elements in the gospel message most Christians are preaching today. They are: the reality of an indwelling Lord, the greatness of Christ, the eternal purpose of God, that it takes God to be human, and that everything wears out except for Christ.

*Revising Our Awareness of the Divine

This section tackles the tricky issue of the "felt presence of God". Viola reveals four distinctions of God's presence, which expands our divine encounters beyond "feeling" God's presence.

*Revising Our Attitudes

Viola observes here that Christians often become self-fulfilling prophecies and become the very thing that they oppose (elitism, jealousy, etc). Five common results of this condition are given, as well as how each one causes division in Christ's body.

*Revising Our Spiritual Expectations

This chapter touches on the Lord's way of defying our limited expectations with His unlimited means of providing for us. Viola shows a biblical pattern in which God takes things away and then replaces them with something better. Despite when, how, or if God meets your particular expectation, He is always in control.

*Revising the Holy Spirit's Ministry

This chapter calls Christians to be revised in their understanding of how the Spirit expresses Christ. While many hold to narrow, selective ways in which the Spirit works, Viola says, "I believe in the supernatural operation of the Holy Spirit but without the classic Charasmatic and Pentacostal trappings and wrappings. A great deal of those wrappings are artificial, learned by imitation, and detract from the reality and primacy of Jesus Christ." Viola asserts that the role of the Holy Spirit is to reveal to us the Lord Jesus Christ.

*Revising Our Chief Pursuit

Viola says, "I'll be blunt: Either you and I can know God intimately, or the gospel is a sham." Not only that, but he believes that we know Him by seeing and hearing Him through our brothers and sisters in Christ. Viola gives a high view of Christian community in this chapter and calls us to love each other and to love and know Christ through each other.

*Revising The Gospel We Live

In the afterward of the book, Viola describes two gospels that many Christians today live: the legalist gospel and the libertine gospel. He then calls us to a third way. "In Paul's gospel, the standards of God are neither ignored nor rationalized into oblivion (as in the gospel of the libertine). On the other hand, the standards of God are never presented as demands by which our acceptance by God is tied (as in the gospel of the legalist)." Viola ends with a stirring reminder of who we are in Christ, and that our lives should flow from our life in Him.

I was personally challenged in many ways through this relatively short book. Viola brings many personal stories and experiences to these areas that he is calling us to revise. I believe that if Christians took these matters to their Lord with an open, honest, and meek heart, the Lord will not only revise us individually, but He will begin to revise us all together so that we may stand with each other in Christ.