Review: Paul Washer’s The Gospel Call & True Conversion

4 out of 5 Stars
Author: Paul Washer
Publisher: Reformation Heritage
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Reading Level: Moderate

Paul Washer provides a clarion call for gospel fidelity and recovery. His passion for the gospel drips from the pages of the book. You can just sense how much he loves Jesus and the church.

What I also immediately noticed is how much Scripture saturates the book. I caught myself on more than one occasion reading a paragraph and realizing much of the wording and phrasing is Scripture. I could tell he lives his life in God’s Word.

Each chapter focuses on one clear concept relating to the gospel call and conversion and usually expounds one passage of Scripture because these originated as sermons. So in one sense translating them helped, but in another sense some passages seemed a little wooden. Reading it I could hear Washer’s cadence, but I’m not sure it always translated well on the page.

He seems to make too much of the distinction between the old and the new covenant especially as it relates to the church. For instance, he says in the old covenant God’s people were national and mixed whereas in the new they are spiritual nation and there’s no remnant because the true church is the remnant (p. 121), but in the next paragraph says, “The Scriptures teach that there will always be believers and unbelievers mixed in the professing church” (p. 121). I wasn’t always sure whether he was talking about Church universal and church local (an issue through the book).  Another example, he writes off any bad the church or people in it have done as a sign of false conversion.

Overall a good exposition of basic gospel truth in the reformed tradition. Would be a good resource for a small bible study with Christians who have some experience reading practical theology books. Also, if you enjoy reading the Puritans, you’d probably enjoy Washer. His tone and style remind of them (i.e., saturated in Scripture, zealous for God, and intensely practical).

If you plan on purchasing The Gospel Call & True Conversion, consider supporting Grace for Sinners by purchasing from Amazon.

Disclosure of Material Connection: I received The Gospel Call & True Conversion free from Reformation Heritage. I was not required to write a positive review. The opinions I have expressed are my own. I am disclosing this in accordance with the Federal Trade Commission’s 16 CFR, Part 255: “Guides Concerning the Use of Endorsements and Testimonials in Advertising.”