I picked up a free copy of [amazon_link id=”B00J3F1Q5Q” target=”_blank” ]Charis: God’s Scandalous Grace for Us[/amazon_link] by Preston Sprinkle. As you know, if there is a book on grace, I want to get my hands on it.
I had never heard of Preston Sprinkle before. I have no idea what his views on other topics are. But, what I read in the pages of Charis, blew me away. This is one of the best books on grace I’ve ever read.
Sprinkle is a PhD and seminary teacher. He runs in academic circles. He brings great historical background to so many passages. But, unlike most academics who can only be understood by others with higher degrees, Sprinkle speaks the language of the people.
Charis is an overview of grace in the Bible with an emphasis on the Old Testament. Some “grace” teachers reject the Old Testament outright, even saying the Bible Society’s decision to include the Old Testament was a huge mistake. Charis proves them wrong.
I loved this book. I will “borrow”, adapt, and merge Sprinkle’s thoughts with my own in teachings and grace seminars. His thoughts will become frequent quotes and notations on this blog.
I could list pages of notable quotables, but here are a few to entice you to BUY THIS BOOK!
- “Grace is God’s aggressive pursuit of, and stubborn delight in, freakishly foul people. And since we all stand guilty in God’s courtroom….we all need grace.”
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“The Old Testament is all about grace. You can’t understand grace apart from the Old Testament, and you can’t understand the Old Testament without understanding grace. If you read the Old Testament and aren’t kindled and confronted by the scandal of grace, then you need to go back and read it again. You missed it.””
Grace for all of life
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“We don’t just leave grace at the door after we enter salvation – “Thanks, God, I’ll take it from here.” Grace is just as necessary for our ongoing life as it is for our conversion.”
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“When we want God to love us, we turn up the performance dial….God’s love flows from His transcendent and intimate character. He loves you because of who He is and because of what He has done, not because of what you do or don’t do.”
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“Too often we think of our relationship with God in terms of how we are pursuing Him.”
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“Grace is not leniency. Grace is what compels God to act on His own initiative for His own glory to do what no other god can do, forgive those who don’t deserve it and cannot earn it.”
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“Grace isn’t a term. It’s not a doctrine. It’s not a buzzword. It’s not the words of a song, a prayer before meals, or a name plastered on our churches. It’s not leniency or niceness. It’s not something that can be domesticated or completely understood. And it’s something that can never grow old or stale.
Grace is what flows through the veins of Jesus, whose heart stubbornly beats for you.”
These are just a few. I have pages of notes from this book. Not since [amazon_link id=”B006G3NFR0″ target=”_blank” ]The Cure: What If God Isn’t Who You Think He Is And Neither Are You[/amazon_link], has there been a book on grace which has had such a profound impact on me.
Sprinkle concludes the book with an epilogue exploring the relationship of grace and obedience. This part is worth a full separate post. It’s coming soon!
In the meantime, pick up a copy of [amazon_link id=”B00J3F1Q5Q” target=”_blank” ]Charis: God’s Scandalous Grace for Us[/amazon_link]
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