Customer Reviews

Grace: An Exposition of God's Marvelous Gift

5 star:		(8)
4 star:		(0)
3 star:		(0)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

No one has taken on the Biblical theme of God's infinite GRACE extended to mankind through the Person and work of Jesus Christ, as revealed in the Bible, like Chafer. He has skillfully exposed the simplicity and, at the same time, the depth of this glorious, Biblical theme. This is a book which will cause the reader to spend much more time THINKING about its contents than actually reading. But what a pleasure for the reader!

I agree with the reviewer from Eugene, Or. Chafer's work is a masterpiece on the grace of God. Like the prophet Jonah we all want God's grace for ourselves but we do not necessarily want it for those whom we hate. Dr. Chafer does a marvelous job of exposing the chracter of God and his Grace and how no one can merit eternal life apart from belief in Jesus Christ.

This is the best book ever written on God's Grace.
If you want to have a thorough understanding of God's
Grace, than this is a must read for you!

This book was a life-changing read for me. Chafer's exposition of grace displays probably the clearest exposition of a classic presentation of dispensationalism and its position on the difference between law and grace. It presents lines of discontinuity in the drastic way it is needed in today's church. Law is not Grace - Grace is not Law, to confuse the two is tragic. Beyond anything, Chafer makes sure we understand how foolish and dangerous it is to infuse and confuse law with grace and confuse the two. Luther clearly saw this great discontinuity in the bible between law/grace (more so than the Reformed churches), truly bringing freedom to the person dead in sin. This is not to imply that Luther was dispensational, clearly not so, its just that both sides see a clear contrast in the law/grace economies.

I could comment on all the distinctives Chafer applies from this system of discontinuity such as the Sermon on the Mount, the Sabbath, the Christian Life, etc. but I'll leave that to your reading. What is clear is that Chafer sees a drastic, drastic difference in these economies, sometimes I think a little too discontinuous. This is not to say Dr. Chafer is wrong, just that he seems to emphasize the differences to the extent that it misses the continuity between the dispensations and the progress of history and God's revelation. I think this is a bit problematic even though I am a dispensationalist and love Dr. Chafer's works very deeply. This has already been revised in expression and corrected in dispensational teaching (see Ryrie's 'Dispensationalism', Renald Shower's 'There Really is a Difference') for quite some time, but it is still important to know that it has been corrected.

I think its very important to understand this since Christians from other views (primarily Covenant teachings) have given solid, solid critiques of the 'classical' understandings of Dispensationalism (as taught by Scofield, Chafer, Brookes, A.C. Gaebelein, etc.) and Dispensationalists have listened (please see the great dissertation by Todd Mangum titled 'The Dispensational-Covenantal Rift, 1936-1944'). Poythress is a high suggestion, also Hoekema's 'The Bible and the Future', and Hans K. LaRondelle's 'The Israel of God in Prophecy'. Please steer clear of foolish and error filled critiques such as John Gerstner's book, 'Wrongly Dividing the Word of Truth' and many others. Though I am still a dispensationalist, these (former) works are important to help us to understand that both 'extremes' lead to an imbalanced perspective. When I say 'imbalanced' I mean that the Classic Disp. position tends to be almost dualistic in its thought of earthly/heavenly which is problematic and I do thank others for those kind of critiques. However, the other side (such a Covenant teachings, etc.) when very consistent upon emphasizing that everything is a spiritual shadow, type, etc. seems to err on the side of a metaphysical problem in the Christian faith. Clearly we don't want that either.

Also, one last slight critique; Chafer holds to a view of Christian filling of the Spirit that is an either/or on/off teaching. I think the view errs slightly because you are not filled with the Spirit simply by confessed sin and repentance in the life of the believer. I believe the filling of the Spirit has to do more with a walking of obedience than an instantaneous experience of spiritual filling/spiritual life. Though this is minor, it has been critiqued by others and I feel they are correct in their critiques of Chafer on these points.

However, with all that being said, Chafer's work should be read by every Christian because it is so clear and thorough on the teaching of grace as the thread through which the history/progress of revelation is seen. It truly brings the bible together for a Christian who has applied themselves to the study of the scriptures. It sheds so much light on the scriptural truths of justification, assurance, growth in grace (progressive sanctification), and our expectation of the return of Christ. Truly a monumental work by Dr. Chafer that is vital for the growth in grace of every Christian. Highly recommended.

In my opinion this is by far the most comprehensive work written about God's Grace. I highly recommend it to the few of the Believers today that insist on rightly dividing the Word of Truth (2 Tim 2:15). The author clearly spells out the differences between the Church and Israel, Law and Grace. This book should be a companion to every open Bible.

Another great topic the believer needs to study. Dr. Chafer is timeless. You would have thought he wrote this in 2010. Better yet, God's Word is timeless and Dr. Chafer's study on the subject of Grace needs to be in everyone's own study. He puts "Grace" in proper perspective in this "age of grace."

Four years into the Christian life (1958) I was given this book. How did I like it? Thus far, in July of 2008, I have bought and sold or given away over 1100 of them. There is nothing else like it. It permeates every aspect of life. Children, grands and greats learn how to live and raise children who do not rebel, having no law to rebel against. We evangelize using the principles of grace. We grow older with no stress, all thanks to what Chafer has written and what God has provided.

Helping the Christian to understand the great gift of grace that has come through the Lord Jesus Christ.