A Gentle Answer: Our 'Secret Weapon' in an Age of Us Against Them

by Scott Sauls

Overview

A remarkable vision for how Christians can live with countercultural gentleness in a perpetually angry, attacking, outraged time.

Wow! What a great book!" — Max Lucado

In a defensive and divided era, how can followers of Jesus reveal a better way of living, one that loves others as God loves us? How can Christians be the kind of people who are known, as Proverbs puts it, to "turn away wrath?" Scott Sauls's compelling new book shows Christians how to become people of "a gentle answer" in a politically, relationally, and culturally fractured world by helping readers:

• grow in affection for Christ, who answers our hostility with gentleness;
• nurture a renewed, softened heart in light of Christ's gentleness toward us;
• and catch a vision to forsake us-against-them mentalities, put down our swords, and "infect" a hostile world with gentleness.

For those who long for a more civil way of being, A Gentle Answer reveals why answering hostility with gentleness is essential, how we can nurture our hearts to do so, and what a gentle answer looks like, both in the church and in the world.

"A great, highly practical volume that points us to the tenderness of Jesus: 'a bruised reed he will not break'." — Tim Keller, Pastor Emeritus, Redeemer Presbyterian Church, New York City

"Wow! What a great book…. We will be better humans because of it." — Max Lucado, bestselling author and pastor of Oak Hills Church in San Antonio, Texas

"Scott Sauls is the preeminent voice for fractured, polarized times…. Scott’s every word is read under our roof." — Ann Voskamp, bestselling author of One Thousand Gifts and The Broken Way

"This book could not have come at a better time, as we navigate a culture of polarization….This is a heart changing book!" — Rebekah Lyons, bestselling author, Rhythms of Renewal and You are Free

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9781400216550
Publisher:	Nelson, Thomas, Inc.
Publication date:	06/02/2020
Pages:	224
Sales rank:	420,542
Product dimensions:	5.40(w) x 8.30(h) x 0.30(d)

About the Author

Scott Sauls is senior pastor of Christ Presbyterian Church in Nashville, Tennessee, and author of Jesus Outside the Lines, Befriend, From Weakness to Strength, Irresistible Faith, and A Gentle Answer. Scott also served at New York City's Redeemer Presbyterian Church as a lead and preaching pastor and planted two churches in the Midwest. His work has been featured in publications including Christianity Today, Relevant, Qideas, Propel Women, He Reads Truth, Leadership Magazine, The Gospel Coalition, Table Talk, and Made to Flourish. Scott can be found on Facebook and Twitter/Instagram at @scottsauls. He also writes weekly at scottsauls.com.

Table of Contents

Foreword Ray Ortlund xiii

Introduction xvii

Part I The Gentleness Jesus Has For Us

1 He Befriends the Sinner in Us 3

2 He Reforms the Pharisee in Us 25

3 He Disarms the Cynic in Us 49

Part II How his Gentleness Changes Us

4 We Grow Thicker Skin 73

5 We Do Anger Well 97

6 We Receive Criticism Graciously 117

7 We Forgive All the Way 139

8 We Bless Our Own Betrayers 161

Moving Forward 181

Acknowledgments 186

Notes 188

About the Author 196

Editorial Reviews

03/30/2020

Sauls (Irresistible Faith), senior pastor of Christ Presbyterian Church in Nashville, Tenn., provides a fresh look at the Christian response to division and hostility in what he considers today’s “culture of suspicion, mistrust, and us-against-them.” Much of society has come to view some Christians as hypocrites and partisan political opponents, he writes. Worried about a decline in evangelism (included are statistics showing Christians to be increasingly unlikely to share their faith), he cites a lack of Christian empathy as the root cause for the current passiveness of many believers and argues for rejection of religious pride and emulation of Jesus’s spirit toward others: “Armed with a gentle answer, modeled and provided by our gentle Savior himself, it is time we got about the business of mending our fractured world with a presence that is less combative and more gentle and kind.” For readers apt to jump to righteous retaliation against wrongdoing or who feel forced to turn the other cheek, he suggests responding to criticism with grace, harnessing the energy of anger for good, and speaking out against injustices to strike a balance between righteous anger and forgiveness. Sauls’s ability to acknowledge the shaky reputation of Christianity without judgment is refreshing and welcome. This patiently argued work will appeal to Christians as a persuasive rebuke to defaulting to defensiveness. (June)

Publishers Weekly