The Grace of God

Andy Stanley’s book is unlike any other book I’ve seen of his. This is a biblical theology of grace — a splendid march from creation — a gracious God who creates — to the missionary task of the church. This is not a book about leadership or the Christian life or about preaching … it’s a series of reflections on how the story of God’s grace motivates, guides, and sustains the entire story of the Bible.

Yes, there are some funny stories, one of Andy’s well-known gifts, but this book focuses on the Bible’s Story as God’s Story of God’s Grace: The Grace of God.

This book is excellent for small groups; it is really good for those who are prone to legalism or who have suffered from it. It is good for all of us.

Here are the chaps: In the beginning, grace; chosen by grace; surprised by grace; redeemed by grace; ruled by grace; rescued by grace; sustained by grace; puzzled by grace; accepted by grace; reborn by grace; filled by grace; saved by grace; and commissioned by grace.

It’s a story of grace — the Bible.

My favorite chapters were his retelling of the story of creation through the lens of grace; and his chp on David was outstanding; well, yes, a great chp on the missional grace of Jesus’ own life. But there are some great lines about grace in this book, and I won’t swipe them all but here is a taste:Grace is never just enough. Grace is always far more than enough.

Grace is the vehicle God uses on occasion to ensure that we get precisely what we don’t deserve.

Grace is not reserved for good people; grace underscores the goodness of God.

If grace had limits, David’s behavior would have exposed them. If David’s story is any indication, grace has no end.

On Jonah… The purpose of God’s discipline was not to pay him back but to bring him back.

The story of Jesus is the story of God drawing near to those who had been pulled away by sin and were subsequently pushed away by the self-righteous.

And… The grace of God is the life of the Savior coursing through the souls of believers to sustain us through those things that will not or cannot change.

The church is most appealing when the message of grace is most apparent.