Mark Dever Chapter Summary

Mark Dever outlines this book with nine marks of the church that are often neglected. He begins the book explaining that these nine marks are not supposed to be deemed as the nine most important aspects of the church. However, Dever does believe that the church often neglects the importance of these nine marks. The marks are expositional preaching, biblical theology, the gospel, biblical understanding of conversion, a biblical understanding of evangelism, a biblical understanding of church membership, biblical church discipline, a concern for discipleship and growth, and biblical church Leadership.

He believes that good expositional preaching will create pervasive knowledge of the essential truths of scripture that stimulate godly living. Dever argues that expositional preaching is the first and most important mark of a

Dever argues that when you have a biblical understanding of the gospel, then you will have a biblical understanding of conversion. He points out that true conversion is coming from death to life by the power of God. He believes that true conversion is a change of nature as oppose to merely a change of attitude. Dever takes time to tackle the importance of understanding our need for change and if it is really possible. He looks at the particular change that we need, what this change will involve, and how this great change will take place. He examines how we do nothing and that God alone works this saving faith in us.

Next on the list is having a biblical understanding of evangelism. Dever believes that the way we evangelize has a lot to with the way we understand biblical conversion. Dever sought to answer: What is evangelism? Who should evangelize? Why should we evangelize? How should we evangelize?

Dever argues that if you water-down the message of the gospel, then you will have a church full of water-down believers. Every Christian is called to make disciples of all