Review: Unchained

Unchained
By Noel Jesse Heikkinen
David C. Cook, 2017


Summary

Christians are free in Christ, yet Christianity can feel like a prison.

Unchained helps Christians who don't feel that grace has changed their lives.

Often when people follow Jesus, they feel more guilty instead of more free. A powerful book for the spiritually restless, Unchained shows readers how to have a robust faith that celebrates their freedom in Christ without compromising their holiness as God's followers.

Unchained turns to the person and work of Jesus Christ as the source of freedom-not just his work 2,000 years ago but also what he is doing today. As readers dig into the meaning of the freedom that Jesus offers, they will understand, perhaps for the first time, what true freedom in Christ means.

Learn more and purchase a copy.

http://litfusegroup.com/author/njheikkinen


My thoughts

Before reading Unchained, I thought I had a pretty good grasp of what freedom in Christ meant, but I don’t believe I had a clue. This is a book that everyone should read because you’ll find it quite eye opening – and freeing! As a word of advice, have plenty of highlighters on hand. It was hard to read for review purposes, for I kept wanting to go back and reread sections, letting everything sink in more fully.

Noel Jesse Heikkinen comes across exactly like he must be in person – passionate about his subject, extremely knowledgeable, honest, and not afraid to laugh at himself. I was impressed by the amount of Scripture he references, as well as the thorough and logical flow of his easily readable narrative.

The premise of Unchained is this: “Even though you cannot lose your freedom, you can lose feeling free.” The book is divided into four sections:

Part 1:  The Problem with Chains
Part 2:  Set Free From … the Law, religion, sin
Part 3:  Set Free for Freedom … from guilt, shame, to say yes
Part 4:  Set Free To … love, live free

Just to pull one example, this quote from the first chapter where he talks about yokes is right on target: “The problem occurs when our man-made rules become more important than Jesus – when praying or reading the Bible every day becomes more important than following Jesus.”

I’m glad for the opportunity to review Unchained and am ready to work through it at my own pace.

Highly recommended.

I was provided a free copy of this book through Litfuse Publicity. The opinions expressed in this review are entirely my own.

Noel Jesse Heikkinen is a pastor at Riverview Church, a multi-site church of over 3,000 near Lansing, Michigan. Heikkinen also helps lead the church planting ministry Acts 29 and is the chairman of the board for the mission agency Reliant. He and his wife, Grace, have four children.

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