RICH
The Reality of Encountering Jesus
By Peter Dickson with David Gibson. Christian Focus.120 pages. £6.99
ISBN 978-1-84550-607-0
This is a great book. I. Howard Marshall writes in the foreword: ‘This book demonstrates that encountering Jesus is a matter of urgency for all people everywhere’.
The author clearly longs that believers and unbelievers alike will have a right understanding of the gospel through the message of Luke. The title, Rich, is intriguing in itself. It is not in any way advocating a prosperity gospel. Instead, it is Dickson’s conviction that being spiritually rich is what Luke says the Christian is through faith in Christ — rich in him and rich towards him. Christ’s preaching in the synagogue in Nazareth (Luke 4.14-30) is pivotal in this regard. Both the first and the last chapter of the book use this passage to clearly explain what it means for Jesus to ‘proclaim the year of the Lord’s favour’ in terms of cancelling the spiritual debt we owe to God (the penalty for our sin).
