Book Review: Need To Know By Gary Millar

Gary Millar has done us a great service in writing his latest book, Need To Know: Your Guide to the Christian Life. As the title suggests, it’s a primer on what it actually looks like to be a Christian. I’d strongly recommend this book because it is gospel-centred, engaging, short, and practical.

Gospel-centred. Nowadays it’s becoming increasingly popular in some circles to talk about gospel-centrality. This is a great thing, but it’s very easy to use the word ‘gospel’ a lot without actually getting to the content of the gospel. Millar’s book, however, is gospel-centred in the truest sense of the term. He defines the gospel clearly, and repeatedly returns to that definition throughout the book to show how it connects with various aspects of the Christian life. As he rightly points out, “the gospel is at the heart of becoming a Christian, living as a Christian, and keeping going as a Christian.”

Engaging. Millar connects with the 21st century reader without compromising on theological rigour. For example, he manages to reference Irenaeus and Beyonce in the same sentence, and encapsulate his definition of the gospel (see first point above) in a tweet. His writing style is clear, engaging, and littered with real-life examples that bring the point home. I felt drawn-in the whole way through.

Short. Call me lazy, but I think brevity is an important quality in a book (especially if you want to give it to someone and them to actually read it!). Too many books have a great concept, but then pad it out unnecessarily for 200 pages. This is not one of those books. This makes the message of the book a lot sharper and more accessible, and contributes to it being a great book to give away.

Practical. Chapter after chapter, Millar keeps asking (and answering) the question, “So what? What actual difference does this make to the way we live?” This book manages to be practical without doing so at the expense of theological depth. Millar happily tackles meaty topics like the Trinity, for example, while also deftly showing its concrete implications for everyday life.

Expectations — What Does It Really Look Like?

One of the things I love about this book is how clear it is about what the Christian life actually looks like. I’ve spoken to many people who are curious about Christianity. Many are really drawn to Jesus, but one of the things that holds them back is that they feel they don’t know what they’re signing up for. I mean, sure, Jesus seems pretty cool. But what would my life actually look like if I became a Christian?

Need To Know helps us set our expectations clearly about the Christian life. And it’s pretty up-front: following Jesus is hard. Being a Christian involves surrendering control to let Jesus call the shots in our lives, and there are often very real costs involved. But at the same time, Millar reminds us that it will all be worth it:

“Jesus is not out to limit your life or make it less fun. He came to give you life — a life that overflows with love, joy, and satisfaction, both now and for eternity. So his commands to us in the Bible are not cruel or arbitrary or limiting. He loves us. We can trust that doing what God says never involves missing out in the long term. The gospel-shaped life is the best life there is.”

Who Is This Book For?

I’d recommend this book to anyone, and I greatly benefited from and enjoyed reading it even though I’ve been a Christian for many years. But it is especially helpful for two groups of people:

For new Christians. If you’ve ever had the privilege of seeing someone come to put their trust in Jesus for the first time, you’ll know there’s no greater joy. But you’ll also know it’s soon followed by the question: what next? Well, this book is designed to help answer that question. If you’re discipling a new Christian, Need To Know is a great book to give them and work through together.

For not-yet-Christians. If you’ve got a friend who’s curious about Christianity and you want to give them a book, maybe your first thought would be something on apologetics. There’s certainly place for that. But I think this book is excellent for those who aren’t sure about Christianity, because it so clearly spells out (1) what the gospel is and (2) what it actually looks like to respond to the gospel.

So if you’re looking for an engaging and accessible primer on what it means to be a Christian (either for yourself or to give to someone else), go no further. This book tells you what you need to know.

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(Want to get a taste of what the book is like? Here are 20 of my favourite quotes from it).