ZONDERVAN

The Naked Gospel

Copyright © 2009 by Andrew Farley

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Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data

Farley, Andrew, 1972-

The naked gospel : the truth you may never hear in church / Andrew Farley.
p.  cm.
Includes bibliographical references.
ISBN 978-0-310-29306-4 (softcover)
1. Christian life. 2. Theology, Doctrinal — Popular works. I. Title.
BV4501.3.F36 2009
230 — dc22 2008054098

All Scripture quotations, unless otherwise indicated, are taken from the Holy Bible, Today’s
New International Version™. TNIV®. Copyright © 2001, 2005 by International Bible Society.
Used by permission of Zondervan. All rights reserved.

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sion®. NIV®. Copyright © 1973, 1978, 1984 by International Bible Society. Used by permis-
sion of Zondervan. All rights reserved.

Scripture quotations marked NASB are taken from the New American Standard Bible.
Copyright © 1960, 1962, 1963, 1968, 1971, 1972, 1973, 1975, 1977, 1995 by The Lockman Foun-
dation. Used by permission.

Scripture quotations marked NKJV are taken from the New King James Version. Copyright
© 1982 by Thomas Nelson, Inc. Used by permission. All rights reserved.

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 contents
fair warning • 15

Part 1
obsessive-Chris tianity disorder • 17
Part 2
religion is a headache • 29

Part 3
crossing the line • 77

Part 4
burning matryoshkas • 95

Part 5
cheating on Jesus • 131

Part 6
we don’t marry dead people • 171
Part 7
ego assault • 201

nude reflections • 221

sidebar • 229
acknowledgments • 237

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 The naked gospel [is] discovering what was the gospel
which our Lord and his apostles preached; what additions
and alterations latter ages have made in it;
what advantages and damages have thereupon ensued.
Arthur Bury, 1691

Arthur Bury’s book titled The Naked Gospel

was burned by the church of his day.

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 fair warning

The real, naked gospel is a lot better than any of us realize.

A word of warning, though: You might throw this book down in
disgust; you might pick it back up again in curiosity; you might
shake your head in frustration as you wonder, “How could I have
missed this before?” or “Is this guy crazy?”
When it comes to Christianity, I realize it’s more palatable to
talk in generalities. It’s risky to draw lines in the sand and con-
front disagreements. But you may have noticed that much of the
New Testament was written to correct misunderstandings and
false doctrine. Apparently, pushing absolutes and even splitting
theological hairs are supposed to be part of healthy church life.
Christians today are grateful for Jesus and heaven. Some of us
go to church every time the doors are open. Some listen to hun-
dreds of sermons each year. Some memorize scores of Bible verses.
Some even hold a few degrees in God stuff.
Despite all of our fervor, many of us are still apathetic instead
of ecstatic over the gospel. But maybe there’s an answer to our
heartfelt yearning for more passion in our Christian life.
Is this kind of Christianity — the kind that replaces apathy with
ecstasy — too good to be true? Actually, I believe it’s the only kind
that’s biblical. However, it seems that today it’s the truth you may
never hear in church.

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 t h e n a ke d GOSPEL

We find too much f luff, double-

We find too much talk, misleading jargon, and pat an-
fluff, double-talk, swers in many churches today. No
misleading jargon, and matter how much you hear it or
pat answers in many how much it entertains you, it won’t
churches today. bring genuine and enduring fulfill-
ment. There’s only one message that
I’ve found to bring real and lasting change. It’s the naked gospel.

A N I N V I TAT ION
I once thought I knew all about the Christian faith, but it wasn’t
until fourteen years after I’d received Christ that I would begin to
grasp the real thing. I’m not talking about another salvation expe-
rience or a second blessing. I’m talking about a return to the foot
of the cross and the door of the tomb to learn all over again.
And for me, there was as much unlearning as learning.
With that in mind, I invite you to dive deeply with me toward
the indispensable, powerful core of the Christian faith. I found
genuine answers that don’t disappoint. I’m excited to share them
with you. I’m betting you’ll be surprised at least a time or two
along the way.
The real thing has a tendency to do that.

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 PA RT 1

obsessive-Christianity
disorder
We may spend our days in what we call our religious duties,
and we may fill our devotions with fervor, and still may be miserable.
Nothing can set our hearts at rest but a real acquaintance with God.
Hannah Whitall Smith (1832 – 1911)

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 1

Meds, therapy, and a mental health facility — these were

the solutions I was offered. One counselor suggested that my con-
dition wouldn’t change for the rest of my life and that I’d always
need medication. As desperate as I was, I just didn’t buy it. There
had to be some other answer to my problem. After trying several
Christian therapists, each of whom employed a different approach,
no one could alter the patterned behaviors I was stuck in.
After all, obsessive Bible study and street evangelism aren’t
your run-of-the-mill symptoms.

MY BE GI N N I NG
In high school, I was popular, earned good grades, and was elected
president of the student body. I had no trouble making friends and
making friends laugh. I enjoyed success in sports, in theatre, and
with girls. None of these areas contributed to the deep-seated
inferiority that I felt.
The trouble for me was that I didn’t seem to stack up in an-
other arena — the spiritual one. Whether it was the church, my
Christian high school, Christian camps, or even Christian con-
certs I attended, they all implied the same thing: you need to
rededicate, recommit, and be different. You’re not doing enough.

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 t h e n a ke d GOSPEL

Don’t be satisfied. Don’t be stagnant. Never rest. There’s always

more to do for God.
Fear. Guilt. Pressure. These were the motivators that hooked
me early on and nearly killed me. Killed me? Yeah, I had close
encounters with death or serious injury a few times. I took a
two-by-four to the head once in a dangerous neighborhood while
street evangelizing. Another time, I was thrown to the pavement
by a drug dealer whom I was trying to convert.
Committed? You bet. But committed to what? Although I’d
stand up on the subway and preach to the entire train car, I was
still empty inside. Despite my willingness to go door-to-door
witnessing in my own neighborhood, I really had no life of fulfill-
ment to offer. Whether I was preach-
ing on a train, in neighborhoods, or
Although I’d stand even in the local jail, there was always
up on the subway and an underlying anxiety.
preach to the entire
I grew up with a f lavor of the
train car, I was still
gospel that assured me I was going
empty inside.
to heaven, but that didn’t help with
the present turmoil. I was afraid God
was so thoroughly disappointed with my performance that he
wouldn’t use me, grow me, or “have fellowship” with me. Voices
around me only confirmed that I was falling short and needed to
strive yet again to meet the standard.
You wouldn’t have known any of this bothered me, because I
never let it show. But after years of not being considered for the
Christian Character Award at school, it got to me. The key to
winning the award was to be quiet or even shy. Those who didn’t
say much at all were labeled “meek.” The problem for me was that
my personality didn’t fit the requirements.
I had a personal relationship with Christ. I knew my Bible bet-
ter than many. And I really cared about my friends at school. But I

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 o b s e s sive - Ch ris tia n i t y d is o r d e r

was the class clown and the life of the party. Humor and Christian
character just didn’t mix.

MY M I DDL E
“I’ll be different in college,” I told myself. This was my opportu-
nity to change — to find a whole new environment and start with
a clean slate. I received acceptance letters from two universities.
One was Wheaton College, perhaps the best Christian college in
the nation; the other was Furman University, a reputable school
in the South. After informing my parents that I wasn’t “a good
enough Christian to study at Wheaton,” I accepted the invitation
to study at Furman.
My first year at Furman was a transition. I decided I no longer
wanted to be mediocre in the spiritual arena. I wanted to earn the
respect of God and of those around me. After poring over dozens of
Christian books, I felt more knowledgeable than most of my peers.
I delivered my first church sermon at the age of nineteen. I evan-
gelized on the streets in Spain, Greece, and Italy while on study-
abroad trips. I was intense, and everyone around me knew it.
After I returned to the United States, I lost all my friends.
Who could blame them? I had changed. I still remember one of
my best friends telling another friend that he was embarrassed to
be seen with me.
Sure, some outsiders applauded me and respected me. But they
were strangers. All they saw was the product — some were coming
to faith in Christ, and others appeared to benefit from my “dis-
cipleship.” But these were the minority. Most could detect that
there was something not right within me. I was driven, and there
seemed to be no end in sight.
My intensity hit its pinnacle when I could no longer sleep at
night unless I had shared Christ with someone that day. When my
head hit the pillow, I’d recall my lack of ser vice. So I’d get up, go

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 t h e n a ke d GOSPEL

to the nearest twenty-four-hour grocery store, and find someone

to preach at. Once I said my lines, I could go home and sleep.
The response I received wasn’t important. “You can’t control the
outcome,” I told myself. I had fulfilled
my duty. I had answered the call. And
I could no longer now I could sleep.
sleep at night unless Ridiculous? Maybe. But all I was
I had shared Christ doing was carrying out what I had
with someone heard some people suggest to be the
that day. path to spiritual growth and fulfill-
ment. My madness seems extreme,
but it was nothing more than taking the method presented to me
to its ultimate conclusion. I would always have a response ready
for those who inquired about my “walk” and wanted to keep
me “accountable.” They would never label me as backslidden or
unspiritual. That would hurt worse than carrying out this perfor-
mance ritual. Or so I thought.

MY E N D
Soon all the exertion with no payoff took its toll. I began spiraling
into a deep depression. A few months later, I found myself lying
on the f loor of my apartment, sobbing for hours on end: “God,
I’m doing everything I’m supposed to do, and I still don’t feel
closer to you. In fact, I feel worse than ever! How could this have
gone so wrong? I can’t see any way out. Help me!”
I had no choice but to call home. I picked up the phone, and
within hours I had left the university mid-semester to return to
my home state of Virginia. I didn’t know what awaited me, but I
knew I couldn’t remain in my current condition.
There was no quick fix. After months of seeking help, I still
couldn’t break free from my obsession with performing for God.
My father got wind of a man who might have answers for me, so

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 o b s e s sive - Ch ris tia n i t y d is o r d e r

we jumped on a plane to Atlanta. After spending a day in prayer

with this man, some of my thoughts began to clear up. At least I
was able to agree that the compulsions to perform were not com-
ing from God. This was a start.
The following years were not easy. I returned to college,
earned my degree, and even went on to graduate school, but I
had lost all confidence in who I was. My beliefs had betrayed
me. If I were vulnerable enough to be honest during the times
I was evangelizing, I would’ve made
the following pitch: “Would you like
“Would you like
to become a Christian and be miser-
to become a
able like me?”
Christian and be
So I was in a rebuilding time. I
miserable like me?”
had been broken, stripped of any sense
of self-worth. I had gone from class
clown and student body president to intense Christian warrior and
then to quiet, awkward guy in the corner. Psychologically, I was
all over the map. I needed answers.

MY NE W BE GI N N I NG
It’s been seventeen years since I lay sobbing on the f loor of that
apartment. Today, I wouldn’t trade my relationship with God for
anything. In fact, I would wish my relationship with him on ev-
eryone! Through my desperation, my surrender to God for real
answers, and my willingness to leave behind everything I had
presumed before, I was introduced to the naked gospel.
I was already a Christian, but no one had ever taken the time
to strip off all of the convoluted ideas and misleading jargon. No
one had ever presented me with the bare truth. What I needed
was an intravenous shot that wasn’t poisoned with religiosity.
Once I realized I was on the wrong path, God enabled me to see
his way — the route to freedom.

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 t h e n a ke d GOSPEL

The content of this book is the result of my journey. Hope

began with grasping an important distinction between two oper-
ating systems — one Old and one New. Once I saw the doorway
to the New, all I had to do was walk through.
What was on the other side was life changing.

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