Jesus Manifesto

Jesus Manifesto by Leonard Sweet and Frank Viola
The premise of this book was giving Christ supremacy in our lives, churches, and theology. Sweet and Viola discussed their view that Christians have turned away from letting the person of Jesus change us into trying to conform Jesus to our own personal beliefs.
I was challenged by this book and it gave me a lot to think about in my own life. However, I did not agree with everything Sweet and Viola claimed. I disagreed with their view that the “purpose of the Law was to structure a way of living together that he [Jeusus] called ‘love.’” In Romans, Paul repeatedly points out that we are now to live in the Law of Christ versus the Law of Moses. I also disagreed when the authors wrote, “The kingdom is a presence that we enter, a gem-like gift that we receive and treasure, a new creation that embraces and engulfs us. In other words, the kingdom of God is Jesus the Christ, and His righteousness. In seeking Him, “all these things are added in our lives.” Scriptures tell us that the kingdom will be a tangible 1000 year reign of Christ on earth not an experience we enter into if we have a right relationship to Jesus.
Despite these theological problems the book was enjoyable, the anecdotes and analogies made reading interesting, and I appreciated the large number of quotes in the margins.
Disclosure of Material Connection: I received this book free from Thomas Nelson Publishers as part of their BookSneeze.com book review bloggers program. 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