Review - The Radical Question/A Radical Idea

What is Jesus worth to you? (Question from the back cover of The Radical Question/A Radical Idea) This is a question that should shake all believers to the core. What value do we place on Christ? Do we desire Him above all else? More importantly do our actions back up our words?

In this book David Platt has taken snipets from two books he has written (Radical and Radical Together) on the topic of what Biblical Christianity is meant to be and how we are to fulfill the call Christ has for the church. In those books he makes the point that we as followers of Christ must serve Him radically since He deserves that and so much more. Great questions and discussion found in those books.

And that is the problem with The Radical Question/A Radical Idea - it isn't needed. All that is in them is found in those others. So I think that to review this book I need to recap the reviews I had of the others (found here and here).

After reading both I came away convicted and pushed away. Platt urges the reader to make much of Christ by reaching everyone we can with the Gospel. He teaches that we need to put much of our efforts into reaching the hurt, hungry and dying with the love of Christ. I agree with that entirely.

Where I disagree with Platt is that he puts so much emphasis on reaching those in other countries that he neglects ministering to those in our communities. He does mention them but just briefly, not nearly as much as those around the world.

And he does that in this book. It is unfortunate. Just look around your community. Are we to neglect them for the world? Leave them to die on the streets? Of course not. Nor should we ignore going beyond the borders of the USA. It isn't an either/or proposition. It’s a both/and. That is what Christ did. That is what the apostle Paul did. It is what we should be doing.

It is my prayer that I have the desire to reach everyone I come in contact with the Gospel. That is David Platt’s goal as well. Did he need to tell us that in another book? No. He did in two others.

You can purchase it at Christianbook, Amazon, or WaterBrook Multnomah.

Disclaimer - I received this book free from WaterBrook Multnomah Publishing Group for this review.