The Discipline of Grace by Jerry Bridges - Book Review

It took me a while to finish this book simply because of the richness of the content. This is the second book by Jerry Bridges that I have read and I have loved every single one of them. Both of his books are full of passages I have underlined, margins I have written in and beautiful quotes I have highlighted. He is truly a gifted writer and I am glad that a pastor I was listening to mentioned him in a sermon.

While reading this book, Mr. Bridges passed away to be with our Lord and it gave me a sense of pleasure reading about his hope of Heaven knowing that he is presently with God. What a beautiful thought!

The book is not hard to read, but there is just so much good stuff in it that I couldn't help but pause and think about what I had just read. I didn't want to just skim through it. This book is a rich dessert or a full bodied aged wine that is meant to be enjoyed slowly. So if you want a fast read, don't read this book. But if you want a slow dance with words that help you understand the beauty of Grace and what this MOST HOLY GOD has done for His children and how we can live a more holy life, then by all means pick up this book.

The book emphasizes that we should preach the Gospel to ourselves on a daily basis. It also does prick the heart of those who have been stagnant in working on their sanctification (haven't we all?).  The last 5 chapters were very helpful, my favorite chapter being on conviction. Not the kind where I feel bad about something, but the kind that I have a strong belief. Here is an excerpt I underlined and "starred":

A conviction is a determinative belief: something you believe so strongly that it 

affects the way you live. Someone has observed that a belief is what you hold,

but a conviction is what holds you. You may live contrary to what you believe, but you 

cannot live contrary to your convictions. (This doesn't mean you never act contrary

to your convictions, but that you do not consistently violate them).

Isn't that just beautiful!! At moments while reading, I caught myself just exclaiming, "Yes! Amen! Preach it!" And at other moments, words like "I'm a wretch, I'm a sinner, Thank you for the cross!" came out! 

Mr. Bridges also asks a lot of questions through out the book which is why there were times when I just paused and stopped reading. Here are some questions:

What does your mind turn to when it is free to turn to anything?

The greatest sorrow and burden you can lay on the Father, . . . is not believe that He loves you. Does that sentence surprise  you?

To what degree does a belief that the Bible sets forth absolute truth determine the way we live?

As Christians, should we view ourselves as saints or sinners? 

There are so much more sprinkled throughout the book!  Some he answers with Godly wisdom, others are left open for us to use to search our hearts and hopefully lead us to prayer. He corroborates all he says with Scripture and often times I had to stop and read the Scripture again because it was just so refreshing. I remember several times thinking: "That's in the Bible!?!" What sweet surprises!

If you are struggling with Grace, which most Christians do at some point in their lives, this is a great book to read. If you are in a time of darkness, hating your sin and/or yourself and seeming like you just can't get out of the mire; this book will help point you to the cross and also equip you in ways to combat the sin in your life. 

Mr Bridges eloquently balances the pain of sin, the joy of grace and the work of sanctification in this book. Obviously, I highly recommend it!

Although there are many quotes I underlined and wish I could share with you, I will not and allow you to dig up these treasures on your own. But here are a few I HAD to share:

Sin . . . creeps up on us little by little. What was once unthinkable become thinkable, then doable, and finally acceptable to society at large. Sin becomes respectable, and so Christians finally embrace it. It is my perception that Christians are no more than five to ten years behind the world in embracing most sinful practices.

We should not seek holiness in order to feel good about ourselves. . . Far too often our concern with sin arises from how it makes us feel. Sinful habits . .  cause us to feel defeated and we don't like to be defeated in anything.

Our greatest source of temptation dwells within us. 

The pursuit of holiness must be anchored in the grace of God; otherwise it is doomed to failure. 

We cannot serve God or pursue holiness with any vigor at all if we are dealing with a guilty conscience. 

Oh there are so many more! I know you will really grow in your faith in reading this book, but it is meaty and it does prick at our hearts and like all good things, it does take some time to finish.

You can buy this book here.

Book Review - Doctrines that Divide By Erwin Lutzer

Doctrines that Divide by Erwin Lutzer

"Doctrine is a vital part of the Christian faith, but certain doctrinal 

beliefs have divided the church for centuries. Today when many are calling

for unity by glossing over major theological differences, Lutzer revisits

those differences and shows not only how the divisions came about but also

why such divisions were necessary." (back of the book)

This book does not have to be read chronologically. If there are specific questions to specific doctrines, this book makes it easy just to jump to the chapter that pertains to the readers question. Here is a list of all the chapters and doctrines this book covers:

          1. Is Christ Truly God?

          2. Is Christ Truly Man? 

          3. Was Mary the Mother of God?

          4. Was Peter the First Pope?

          5. Justification: By Faith, Sacraments, or Both?

          6. Why Can't We Agree About the Lord's Supper?

          7. Why Can't We Agree About Baptism?

          8. How Many Books Are in the Bible?

          9. Predestination or Free Will: Augustine v. Pelagius

        10. Predestination or Free Will: Luther v. Erasmus

        11. Predestination or Free Will: Calvin v. Arminius

        12. Predestination or Free Will: Whitefiled v. Wesley

        13. Can a Saved Person Ever Be Lost?

I read this book in order and was just amazed at the different questions Lutzer raises that I had never even thought to raise. Important questions. 

For example: I always knew I believed in the Trinity, but when asked, "Did God die on the cross?" I answered "No, God does not die". So was Jesus God? I answered "yes". So did Jesus die on the cross? I answered "Yes". So did God die on the cross. Ummm "yes?"

I believe it is a good thing to wrestle with these very deep theological truths. It is good to understand that God is mysterious and that the creature will never completely understand the Creator (Job 36:26). As a Baptist, I "know" what I should believe and I trust those who teach me, but I think there is a time to reflect on "why" I believe certain doctrines and not others.

Lutzer does a great job unfolding and unpacking what other doctrines uphold to. And I found myself understanding where the opposition came from and why they believe their doctrines, but in the end, I was grateful for a clearer picture of my own convictions. The knowledge obtained by reading this book is priceless. In an age where doctrinal lines are being blurred for the sake of unity within the "body", this book is invaluable. 

Here is a small excerpt that really caught my attention: "I have learned never to let a person tell me that he believes in Christ without asking, "Which Christ?". Albert Schweitzer, the humanitarian, believed in a Christ who was essentially insane; Rudolf Bultmann, the German theologian, believed in a mythological Christ; Immanuel Kant, the German philosopher, believed in a human Christ; many modern cultist believe in a created Christ."

What we believe about Jesus is crucial! It is so easy to dismiss learning and studying these things because we believe these pursuits to be for pastors or professors, but nothing can be further from the truth. Lets look at Scripture:

Hosea exclaims: "my people are destroyed from lack of knowledge" (Hosea 4:6)

                           "... a people without understanding will come to ruin!" (Hosea 4:14)

Isaiah explains: "my people will go into exile for lack of understanding" (Isaiah 5:13)

Jeremiah perceives: " they are foolish, for they do not know the way of the LORD, the requirements of their God. (Jeremiah 5:4)

Proverbs says: "It is not good to have zeal without knowledge (Proverbs 19:2)

Paul expected us to learn: "I myself am convinced, my brothers, that you yourselves are full of  goodness, complete in knowledge and competent to instruct one another." (Romans 15:14)

Paul implored: It is important that we go forward in the light of such truth as we have already learned. (Philippians 3:16)

Paul prayed:  "...asking God to fill you with the knowledge of his will through all spiritual wisdom and understanding (Colossians 1:9-10)

And there are so many others!

One of my favorite verses is this: 
 ^{. "}but in your hearts honor Christ the Lord as holy, always being prepared to make a defense to anyone who asks you for a reason for the hope that is in you; yet do it with gentleness and respect," ~ I Peter 3:15

The experience I had from reading this book is that I know nothing! And I say this not to discourage you from reading it, but as an encouragement TO read because God is just so deep, and so wide, and so big, and so awesome that we will never fully "know" Him. But this excites me! He is so NOT boring! He is so NOT ordinary! He is so NOT bland! And the more I learn about God, the more I want to learn about God. And the more I learn about God, the more I learn about myself. Who I am? Who I want to be? He reveals all my what's, why's, where's etc through Himself. 

I really hope you consider going deeper in your faith by learning more and more about our Creator. 

You can buy this book on Amazon here.

5 out of 5 stars

Book is 243 pages long

Erasing Hell - Book Review

As Christians, we must be aware and willing to fight against the attacks that face the church body and the minds of new believers. The Bible countlessly warns against false teachers, prophets and doctrines. The whole gospel of John was written to combat the new movement of gnosticism that was rising up and declaring a false Jesus.

There is a new movement now. A movement that smudges the bold lines of what is right and was is wrong. A movement where tolerating others' way of living is peace loving. Where moral convictions are antiquated and thought of as narrow-minded. Where there are absolutely no absolutes. Where a good person goes to heaven in their own way. Where a loving God would never send anyone to Hell.

It is because of this movement and because of the book Love Wins by Rob Bell that Francis Chan with Preston Sprinkle wrote the book Erasing Hell. Chan sincerely admits to his own struggles of believing that God sends people to Hell. He openly admits that this is a subject many Christians avoid because it is uncomfortable. Who wants to hear that nice old grammy didn't make it to Heaven because she didn't know Jesus? No one does. As we quickly turn the channel when a starving child is displayed on TV, we quickly turn the idea off that there is a place of utter doom and punishment for people that reject Jesus.

The book is basically a study on hell - what it is, where it is, who goes there, etc.  He does go into the exegesis of many verses and explains a lot of the character of God. The book also spends a lot of time on the holiness of God. He also writes about the history of hell and universalism. This book has a very serious tone as it should.

Read the following verses out loud: Not everyone who says to me, ‘Lord, Lord,’ will enter the kingdom of heaven, but only the one who does the will of my Father who is in heaven.  Many will say to me on that day, ‘Lord, Lord, did we not prophesy in your name and in your name drive out demons and in your name perform many miracles?’ Then I will tell them plainly, ‘I never knew you. Away from me, you evildoers!’

The feeling you have after reading and believing that, well that is what you feel throughout the whole book.

The book is easy to read and every Christian that struggles with the idea of Hell should read it. It is a book that stirs your spirit to proclaim the Good News, the Good News that we don't have to end up in Hell, that God provided a way for us to be with Him through Jesus.

Not all will like this book because of the truth in it. Who wants to read a book that condemns the majority of the human beings on this earth to a place of torment? But, nonetheless, it is a book worth reading.

The book does spend some time addressing the length of time a soul is in hell. Mr. Chan does mostly side that Hell is forever, but he does leave room for the reader to make up his or her mind regarding the length of people's torment in Hell.

I recommend this book to Christians of all maturity levels and to those who are toeing the idea of universalism.

Rating: 5 stars out of 5

If you would like to order the book, click here.

Here is a video regarding the book.