Irresistible: Reclaiming the New that Jesus Unleashed for the World

I have been a Christian by knowledge of what a Christian is (or believes) for about eleven and a half years. I’ve know the Lord Jesus for twelve years. The first six months of knowing him were fantastic and uncomplicated. The next eleven years would become ever increasingly difficult. Why? I entered into the church system. To be fair I have had many wonderful moments inside the church. But my experiences certainly prepared me for needing to read Andy Stanley’s “Irresistible.”What I liked about “Irresistible” is also what I dislike about it. It has radically changed my view of the Bible. What’s weird is that I have read what Jesus said about ‘new covenant’ and ‘new command.’ These two things are prevalent in Andy Stanley’s book. However, apparently I missed the meaning behind it in a very big way as what I was taught for many years and put into practice for all those years was a mix and match of both ‘old’ and ‘new’ covenants. Now, because of Stanley I have been brought back to the drawing board. A entire overhaul of what I thought was correct to do I have to abandon because I see now it was wrong, a waste of time and made my life and the ability to defend the Bible unnecessarily difficult.With that said, Andy Stanley’s “Irresistible” is a book that is necessary in our time. In fact, it seems to me that with every generation that comes there always seems to be someone that God raises up to steer people back to Him. It’s been two weeks since I’ve started reading “Irresistible” and it has been difficult to adjust my thinking and some nights I was in tears as a result of the challenge to actually think as Jesus wanted me to; as his apostles reiterated the message of Christ that informed his followers to come to also think in terms of ‘new covenant; new command.’I certainly recommend Andy Stanley’s “Irresistible” to those who are like me. Have known the Lord for a time, have loved him all that time but started to realize that there was something wrong or off about how the message was being conveyed inside the church and had been praying to God to show them the correct way, true way and even asking God for ‘new beginnings.’I also recommend this book to those who love Jesus but left the church either recently or some time ago (such as myself) due to becoming disillusioned with the preaching and teaching and environment that was not inviting and not compelling.This book is also for everybody who falls into Post-Christian, unchurched, de-churched and everything else in between.Reading Andy Stanley’s “Irresistible” makes being a Christian to be not as difficult as it seemed to be. It’s far easier to defend one’s hope in historical verifiable people, events and accounts (as recorded in the New Testament as well as outside sources) then to defend the Hebrew God of the Jewish Scriptures (i.e. Old Testament) to whom many take issue with his ways, methods and commands.Jesus and his appointed apostles were focused on the life, death and resurrection of Jesus. Nothing more. That was the sum total of their apologetic and theology. If we can see the confidence in that way of thinking and get into our hearts to solely depend of that (i.e. New Testament or more accurately the new covenant and new command) our lives and witness as it were as Christians will become increasingly powerful, confident, bold and full of unwavering hope. That is what I want, what I pray for and hope you too will see and go for as well.Enjoy Andy Stanley’s “Irresistible.” It’s what our generation; this generation needs now.

This is an impactful book. This will challenge many Christians to rethink how they present their faith. Pastor Stanley asks a question several times in the book, "What does love require?". Are we willing to love as great ambassadors for God in a way that points people to Christ?He also makes a clear distinction about something that we as Christians sometimes forget. The Mosaic covenant was never for the non-Jewish. And, once Jesus came He brought a new covenant. This book was a very insightful piece of prose that will challenge many and upset others. For me, it helped to expand and solidify my faith.

Wasn't sure what to expect after some of the unfavorable reviews, but glad I read the entire book for myself.The only people who can read such basic truths and react so negatively would be the very people this book highlights as making the Christian faith resistable; who live to control others through "law".I found many of these truths for myself, simply reading New Covenant (Testament) scripture. But so many of us grew up if fire and damnation, driven to faith via scare tactics. But that isn't what Christ or new testament writers called us to follow or live in.This was an amazing experience, knowing we need a shift in how our faith is shared. Watching my friends, family and so many others abandon their faith for the very reasons outlined here.This has been one of my most shared readings, in a long time. And will likely continue to be. We are saved through love. We have been called to love. We are not called to old testament law, and anyone who practiced such laws would be jailed by many of today's laws.Hypocrisy must stop. Love must become the focus. Simplicity is where The Way began, and it's what our world is waiting for.Absolutely great read and worth your time.

This is who the Church should be! Andy is thorough and unrelenting in his case for Christ. If the Church today could love and serve like this, then God would change our world. This is the message of Christ.

I have followed Jesus for 40+ years and this book has provoked my thinking more than any other.Every 21st century believer would benefit from reading it, studying it and acting on it.The times they are a changing

Andy Stanley continues with his father's great tradition of down-to-earth Christian teaching, albeit in a new and perhaps controversial direction.Andy builds a compelling case of differentiating the purposes of the "Old" and "New" Testaments in the Christian Bible. Although not the first one to do so, he promotes calling the "Old" Testament the "Hebrew Bible" and the "New", "Christian". I fully endorse that.He builds a convincing case using teachings from Christian Bible writers--Paul, Luke, James, Peter, John, and the unknown writer of the Book of Hebrews--that the Hebrew Bible does not apply to Christians. He affirms that the writers of the Hebrew Bible were inspired by God but it's obsolete as far as Christians are concerned. "Old" is not "bad". He likens it to the smart phone that we trade in for the newer model. The moment we activate the new one, the traded in one is obsolete. It's still a good phone but no longer applicable.Many Christian Hebrew Bible teachers will have hair balls swallowing this. But I urge them to read it through thoughtfully. For example, why don't we stone to death adulterers and those who break the Sabbath anymore? Why do Christians eat shrimps and bacon? There are numerous other examples showing how Christians hold the Hebrew Bible as applicable and yet willfully and knowingly disobey many of its clear commands.It's impossible to summarize Andy's many convincing explanations in a review. I can only ask the skeptic to please read the book cover to cover before criticizing it. And in the criticism, please remain objective and make sure the critical comments are biblical and not just based on religious doctrines or traditional teachings not directly taught in the Bible.I recommend this as a MUST READ for all thoughtful Christians.

Punctual and committed

Andy Stanley has done it (again), he has enraged the powerful elite of high-volume watchbloggers and reformed neofundamentalist leaders. This alone may make a powerful argument for buying his latest book, “Irresistible”. Even Scot McKnight disses him – interesting. It seems here’s something going on that is worth investigating with open eyes.The book is Andy’s detailed explanation of his early 2018 quip of “unhitching our faith from the old testament”. Actually, it’s more. Andy’s goal is to win (or win back) a post-Christian generation for Christ. He explains why former strategies (like “the bible says…”) will fail to communicate under the new circumstances, and makes some suggestions on how to go about that.But it’s even more than that. He reminds us of the situation of the first Christians, who communicated the Gospel to Jews and gentiles. The book makes a detailed argument for why the old covenant is obsolete (since fulfilled in Christ) and therefore shouldn’t be part of our communication to unbelievers and shouldn’t be part of our standards to evaluate our lives and ethics as well – and then he explains the new covenant standard which should hold true. This is in my opinion the strongest part of the book. The ethical foundation of Christian living – this section alone is worth any price you pay for the book. It is unrelated to whether you agree with Andy’s take on the OT or not (and interestingly I haven’t seen it mentioned in any web-published review of the book I encountered). On the other hand, it makes perfect sense. And of course, if we all were living according to Christ’s standards, the Gospel would become attractive to people who now view Christians with contempt.You may not subscribe to everything (no, even if Andy's argument doesn't sound Marcionite or heretic, you may want to hold out on the unhitching for your own reasons), but the proposed changes on how and especially why we live the Christian life make this highly recommended and highly necessary reading.

Every christian needs to read this. Fresh look at how to pursue the great commission. What does love require of me.