I’ve been looking forward to this book for a while, and I’m genuinely glad it is now available.
Sharing the Gospel with a Catholic Friend fills a gap that many of us in conservative evangelical circles may not even realise exists. We often assume we understand Roman Catholicism well enough to engage with it confidently, yet in practice our understanding is frequently partial, second-hand, or shaped more by caricature than careful listening. Richard Baxter offers a timely and pastorally wise corrective.
One of the great strengths of this book is that Baxter writes not as a detached observer but from personal experience. Having been raised within the Catholic Church himself, he is able to describe Catholic belief and culture with an accuracy and nuance that many Protestants lack. He repeatedly reminds the reader that “Catholic” is not a uniform category. There is enormous diversity within the Catholic Church – cultural, theological, and devotional – and assuming that every Catholic believes, practices, or understands doctrine in the same way is not only inaccurate but deeply unhelpful for gospel conversations.
This emphasis on listening and discernment is one of the book’s most valuable contributions. Baxter encourages us to slow down, ask good questions, and seek to understand what our Catholic friend actually believes, rather than what we assume Rome teaches at its most official level. For those of us shaped by Conservative Evangelical theology, there can be a temptation to jump quickly to the well-worn debates – justification, authority, sacraments – before we have truly engaged with the person in front of us. Baxter does not dismiss these doctrinal differences, nor does he minimise their seriousness, but he urges us to remember that evangelism is about people, not winning arguments.
The book is also refreshingly practical. Baxter offers concrete guidance on how to navigate conversations with sensitivity and clarity, how to avoid unnecessary offence, and how to keep the focus on the person and work of Jesus Christ. He repeatedly draws us back to the gospel itself: salvation by grace alone, through faith alone, in Christ alone. Rather than encouraging a confrontational or triumphalist approach, he models a posture of humility, patience, and love – qualities that should mark all Christian witness, but are especially important when speaking with those who may already assume that Evangelicals are hostile or dismissive of Catholicism.
For a UK readership, where Catholicism is often encountered through family ties, schools, or local communities rather than abstract theology, this book is particularly useful. It equips ordinary Christians to speak faithfully and graciously about the gospel in real relationships, trusting that the Lord uses clear truth spoken in love.
With around 1.4 billion Catholics in the world, it is almost certain that each of us knows at least one Catholic personally. If you care about sharing Christ with them – and doing so in a way that is both Biblically faithful and pastorally wise – this book is well worth your time. I warmly recommend it.
SHARING THE GOSPEL WITH A CATHOLIC FRIEND By Richard Baxter 10Publishing 128 pages. £5.99 ISBN 978 1 837 280 391
