The Grace of God by Andy Stanley is another great book to add to list of great books he has already written. One thing I've really enjoyed about reading Andy Stanley is that after hearing him speak and reading other books he's written is that he writes the way he speaks. It's nice to know that he's not trying to be someone he's not. He puts as much passion into his writing and into a subject as he does into his messages for his church. It shows not only his passion for God, but his passion for providing a resource to help others grow in their relationship with God.
This book provides examples of grace shown throughout the Bible; Old Testament and New Testament. So often we think of grace as only a New Testament act, but Andy Stanley shows us that grace was extended to people in the Old Testament as well. Andy Stanley walks us through the entire Bible sharing stories of how God has continuously extended grace to people, including us as modern day Christians, who don't deserve it at all. Andy Stanley writes this,
"God's promise of blessing was not anchored by the behavior of the recipient, but by the grace of the One who had made the promise."
If grace was based on our actions and behaviors, then there would be no hope for any of us. Lucky for us, that is not the case, and that's not the case of the examples that Andy Stanley writes about in this book; Adam and Eve and the fall of man, Abraham who took his wife's maidservant to start the lineage God said He would provide, Rahab who was a prostitute, David who committed adultery with Bathsheba which led to the murder of Uriah, Jonah who ran from God, Levi who left his heritage to become a Roman tax collector, Nicodemus who was a Pharisee, the Samaritan woman at the well who had been married five times and now lives with a man who is not her husband, Paul who had been a persecutor of Christians, and one of the criminals crucified with Jesus. Then ultimately you and I and all those that have yet to come a saving knowledge and relationship with the Lord and Savior Jesus Christ. We are called to share this grace with others. Earlier today I found this on a note that I had written on my facebook page,
"People's lives can be completely changed by Christ. God's grace is given to everyone who should call on His name and believe. No matter your background or what you've done, God's grace is extended to you."
God's grace is amazing and something that He extends to us. Grace that we don't deserve, but we must not forget that it came at a price; the giving of God's one and only Son. I leave you with this that Andy Stanley concludes one of his chapters with, "Eternal life isn't a reward for good people; it's God's gift to forgiven people. So the only question left for you to answer is: 'have I ever received God's gift of eternal life by placing my faith in Christ's death as the full and final payment for my sin?'"
Heavenly Father, I confess that as good as I've tried to be, I'm still not good enough to earn eternal life. I'm a sinner. I need more than a second chance-I need a Savior. I believe Jesus, your Son, came to this world to be my Savior. So right now I place all my trust in his death on the cross as the full payment for my sin. I'm no longer trusting in my goodness, my effort, my commitment, or my consistency. I'm trusting completely in Jesus. Thank you for forgiving me. Thank you for giving me the promise of eternal life. In Jesus' name I pray. Amen.
Special thanks to
Thomas Nelson and
BookSneeze for providing this complimentary book to read and review. You can purchase the book here on
amazon.com.
