Customer Reviews

Time is Running Out

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Echoing what Mike T wrote, the purpose of this book is to increase your passion to share and show the good news about Jesus. I read it because I want more of that passion. I wanted to gain insight from a man whose life has changed for the better the lives of so very many others. With the busyness of life and the pressure to please/not offend others, it is easy to say little to others about the goodness of God. Learning more is useful but not sufficient. This book is great for helping you to look at others with more of the passion that Jesus has for them, then to act accordingly. It's helping me have fresh passion and to put it into action.

Ok, this might not be the BEST written book on evangelism and Bonnke maybe couldn't been more exegetical, theological, philosophical in his hermeneutical approach to the original Hebrew and Greek... Er.... Whatever. Here is a man who has dedicated his life to evangelizing Africa because God told him to and you know what, he sees over 1 MILLION people saved in a SINGLE CRUSADE.

If that doesn't mean we should listen to what He has to say I think we have a problem because I don't care who you are, there is NO ONE on this entire earth that can assemble over 1 million people in one place for one purpose except Jesus and if He is helping Bonnke, I think I wanna know more...

(1/14/10 - about the above review - how would we know if these 1 million people are being "saved"? Bonnke writes and sells these books on the urgency of evangelism yet the Biblical gospel is never taught or proclaimed throughout all his pages! Thus on what bases do we say people are being saved when Rom 1 says the gospel is the power of God unto salvation, NOT enormous crusade gatherings? Anyone can gather a crowd. That doesn't do anyone eternal favors in and of itself.

Jesus even gathered crowds. That is until He proclaimed difficult truths to people and they walked away. In fact Scripture even warns of people being gathered to hear what their itching ears want to hear, hence why teachers need to soberly consider the things they teach and use their time effectively while they still can (James 3:1).

Regardless, what is the gospel of Scripture? That's what is most important because that is what is the power of God unto salvation. This is not MY opinion but is simply what Scripture teaches. Any cursory reading of Romans and Galatians would show that - with no hardcore exegesis required.

Bonnke's book is a buckshot out of the barrel when it comes to the substance of the gospel message itself. He seems to emphasize that the preaching of it will be accompanied by miracles, while believing the gospel is the greatest miracle there is anyways. I'm grateful that he at least recognizes in chapter 10, even though it's way later in the book, that the gospel must touch on the topic of sin (and is only 2 paragraphs long). Yet he fails to mention how God's moral law is a reflection of God's own holy eternal character and how this is what reveals to us our sinfulness and wicked hearts. In other words, God's law summed up to love Him perfectly and others as well (which the 10 Commandments reflect). To fail to uphold this standard perfectly means eternal separation from God forever.

This is where the real gospel begins and where evangelism should begin (as it does with the apostles in Acts 2 and 17). Then one ought to evangelize that it is Christ Himself whom we are ultimately saved from. Are you saved? Saved from what? Saved from Christ! He is the Judge of every sinner(2 Thes 1:5-10). So we are ultimately saved from Christ, by Christ, to Christ, and for Christ. If you want to know what the gospel is and how to evangelize I recommend 'The Law and The Gospel' by Ernest Reisinger, and 'Finding Common Ground' by Tim Downs.) To sum up the gospel, "the law was given so grace would be needed, and grace was given so the law could be upheld." ~ Ernest Reisinger)

This book does not give any biblical substance on what the gospel message itself is. It mostly talks about how fervency and enthusiasm for the spectacular will somehow by osmosis get people to be "saved". I don't approve of this book because there is no mention of God's law, God's wrath, nor God's Sovereignty in salvation. How can people ever be in need of a real Savior if they don't even hear about how their really lost? And how can people ever need to be "saved", if they don't even know from what?