Customer Reviews

The Grace of God

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This isn't the deepest book theologically you'll ever read on grace, and Stanley himself even admits in the introduction that plenty of books have been written about the subject of grace.

But this is definitely one of the best. Stanley's writing style is simple and clear..nothing fancy, but he always gets the reader to consider things they might not normally think of. Early on in the book for instance, he points out how the simple act of God creating light was in fact, an act of His grace. How many of us have ever thought of it that way? I certainly hadn't.

Throughout the book Stanley uses stories about Abraham, Rahab, Jonah, Levi, Nicodemus and more to illustrate God's grace. Maybe the best of them all is the section on Judah. (pg.38-49)

THE GRACE OF GOD is full of excellent quotes:


.."Grace is never just enough. Grace is always far more than enough." (8)

.."Grace is not reserved for good people; grace underscores the goodness of God."(49)

.."To run from God is to run from grace." (113)

.."Grace is not earned; it is offered." (141)


Most of us have a much harder time of giving grace than receiving it, as Stanley points out. This book will help anyone wanting to be a more grace filled person who is eager to dispense the same grace to others that God shows to us.

Grace is a topic that has been covered quite a bit in the past and if you have read many of these books, this book scratches the surface on the literature. In saying this though the author explains this and reveals as much from the beginning of the book.

What makes this book different though is that the author does a great job at engaging his readers and making them think about the topic and about things that you normally would not in regards to the topic at hand. One example of this occurred in the middle of the book where the author is talking about Jonah and he states that "the purpose of God's discipline was not to pay him back but to bring him back". It was through comments such as these and more that makes the book stand out to me!

One simple thing that the author did, that I liked was that in each chapter, when he was particularly trying to hit home a point, he bolded the text. As I mentioned, a simple concept, but one that really helped me as a reader to identify the most important concepts.

While grace is still something that I struggle with, this book did open my eyes to the grace that God gives, and the challenge is for us to receive it and accept it. I do believe that you will find this book to be filled with a great array of ideas in living a more grace filled life!

In case you have been living under a rock for the past five or so years, Andy Stanley is considered to be the "leader's leader" amongst pastors. Ok, I admit "I" gave him that title but that is how I see him. Andy Stanley is the senior pastor of North Point Community Church. He also founded North Point Ministries, which is a worldwide Christian organization. (and his dad of course is (ta-da) Charles Stanley. The Principle of the Path and Next Generation Leader are two of my favorite leadership books of all time. (oh and Seven Practices of Effective Ministry).

So you can imagine I was pretty excited to review his new book The Grace of God. This isn't just another book about "amazing grace," but a deep reminder of the fact that even from as early as the book of Genesis, God has been offering his grace to humanity. The good news of the gospel of course is that we are all saved by the grace of God, as a total gift! "Grace is the vehicle that God uses on occasion to ensure that we get precisely what we don't deserve." (page 34)

I was just having this conversation with my wife the other day about how we as Christians explain the gospel, or Christianity or Jesus to seekers. I bet a lot of times we start with topics, or bible verses or even "let me tell you about Jesus." But I don't know why we don't always START with grace and the actual "message" of the gospel. A seeker may not know how to respond to who Jesus is, or an Old Testament law, but I believe everyone can understand how to relate to grace and forgiveness. Christianity can "appear" to be a bunch of rules and moral codes when we start with those topics, but "God didn't give us the law to make us good. He gave us the law to expose our sin." (page 73) And sin always leads us to grace and the fact that we are all forgiven by God - totally free of any action from us other than faith.

This is a great book for anyone to read, (even seekers) and will probably appeal to the wider crowd of Christians who read Rick Warren, Max Lucado and Philip Yancey. But on a deeper level, it's a good reminder to all of us of the complete grace of God. Andy writes, "People who were nothing like Jesus... liked Jesus (and) Jesus liked people who were nothing like him." (page 126). When we think of Jesus, he seemed so much more accepting and forgiving then our own Christian churches... why is that?

To the woman caught in adultery, Jesus' response was "neither do I condemn you." (John 8:1-11) and yet how often do Christians come across as condemning to those in sexual sin?

Grace is something the world does not often see or experience - the church can quickly become the light of the world by being true examples of the grace of God.

Upon receiving the book "The Grace of God" by Andy Stanley I dove right in. I have been a fan of Andy's preaching for years and am always interested to hear his perspective on issues. The book is a rather quick read, cover-to-cover totaling 221 pages.

Andy tackles the topic of Grace in this book. With 13 chapters he starts from the beginning of the bible. Andy takes the reader on a journey through scripture by highlighting well-known stories and points out God's grace.

In an interesting twist, Andy shows how the Ten Commandments are made of nothing but God's grace. Andy also briefly tackles God's law and God's grace and clarifies the difference.

As a former full-time pastor I have to admit while reading this book, it felt more like a commentary than anything else. I am not so sure a brand new Christian could get through it very easily. However, if you are in ministry and are looking for a great resource for a series on Grace, this is a must have.

I also must admit that it holds a different place than "What's so amazing about Grace" by Philip Yancey. Philip's book has probably been the best, mist life applicable book on grace that I've ever read.

You will not be disappointed with Andy Stanley's book; however, it's for the biblically savvy reader. Seminary students, student pastors and those in full-time ministry will find this book to be a must-have hit from Mr. Stanley.

Overall for commentary, I give it 5 stars, for live applicability, I'd give it a solid 3 out of 5 stars!

My favorite quote in the book is, "Hatred is rarely passive thing, more than an emotion. Hatred is nothing less than murder waiting to happen." This can be found on page 36 of the book. Incredible thought!

Disclosure of Material Connection: I received this book free from the publisher through the [...] <[...]> book review bloggers program. I was not required to write a positive review. The opinions I have expressed are my own. I am disclosing this in accordance with the Federal Trade Commission's 16 CFR, Part 255 <[...]> : "Guides Concerning the Use of Endorsements and Testimonials in Advertising."

'll be honest. I really didn't want to read this book. First of all, I have a quirky aversion to people with, what sounds like, two first names. And then there's the fact that I'm partial to Lucado, Swindoll, Yancey and Barclay when it comes to the topic of grace. But in spite of these reasons, I agreed to review the book for Thomas Nelson simply because I can't turn down a free book.

End result--1) I can get used to two first names; 2) I can appreciate new authors; 3) I can admit when I'm wrong.

In this book, Stanley courageously exposes the thunderous, jealous, scary God of the Old Testament to reveal the same forgiving Father of the New Testament. He dares the reader, like he did his wife years ago, to really get to know God and unravel him through the graphic prose of the Old Testament writers and discover the timeless, forever attributes of God that transcend culture, time and perceptions.

The book was so good that I could not let it sit on my shelf. I read it and passed it on to my father. Get a copy today, discover the God of Grace and share Him with someone else.

(I received this book free from the publisher through the [...] [...] book review bloggers program. I was not required to write a positive review. The opinions I have expressed are my own.)

"Grace is understood best within the context of relationship. After all, it is only within the mystery and complexity of relationships that grace is experienced. So it seemed to me that the best way to approach this subject would be to simply tell the story of grace. It is a story that begins in the beginning. It is a story that traces its way through every book of the Old and New Testaments." -Andy Stanley, p. xv

And so Andy Stanley, pastor of North Point Community Church in Atlanta, GA writes The Grace of God, published by Thomas Nelson this year. He writes about the "story of grace" by dropping in on the life of a different Bible character in each chapter and seeing how God's grace impacted their future. In the process, we, the reader, are taken on a journey that challenges the core of our faith.

Stanley delivers his typically engaging content, while maintaining his approachable style. I am personally used to listening to Stanley speak (live at Catalyst ([...]) or via one of his many podcasts through iTunes. (North Point Community Church podcast is his weekly sermon while North Point Ministries include select past series which are more popular and in demand. He also does the Andy Stanley Leadership Podcast which I don't miss on iTunes) So I confess a bias towards valuing Stanley's work. (I also got this book free through [...] for blogging about it. So there are my disclaimers!)

I admit, however, that I prefer his auditory skills to his writing. (I would love to listen to him read the audio book...wonder if he did it) I say this not because his writing isn't good (it is, actually) but because it's not as much Andy-esque as I'm used to. In other words, it's more polished. You can tell many others have edited and reworked it (as all publishers tend to do) and thus you miss some of the spontaneity and bit of irreverence that can slip out in a live message. Perhaps next time there could be less editing Sir Nelson...

But that is mostly just relevant to Stanley's fans. This is an important book. Few subjects are more significant to the advance of the gospel than grace. And few problems are greater in the life and health of the church. So I applaud him for taking on this writing project.

After his brief introduction, Stanley launches into his Bible starting with creation and marches through it and the New Testament. Here's what I love about his preaching and teaching: He takes the stories and passages we're all so familiar with (if you've grown up studying the Bible) and he peels away the layers of tradition and assumptions that have accumulated. It's like he doesn't know any better than to think for himself as he reads Scripture! (How novel!). It has changed the way I read, study, teach and preach.

Stanley is also a master at pulling out the pearl of a passage. He by-passes a lot of good stuff. Instead, he focuses on the best. A good principle to live by.

Much like Rick Warren, Stanley crafts statements of truth and principle in memorable ways. For example, he writes in his chapter on creation, "Whereas God's expressions of grace were innumerable, his requirements were minimal" and "A declaration of thirst is an invitation for God to quench your thirst." (p. 10) Why publishers don't allow this kind of formatting more often amazes me. It's bad enough there are no pictures in books today...(don't get me started).

Chapter 4 "Redeemed by God's Grace" was particularly insightful as Stanley explained law and grace. He emphasized that they are not opposites because the law was actually a work of grace for us.

Probably the paragraph in this chapter rocked me more than any other. It wasn't so much what he said but that what he said bothered me so much. Stanley writes,

"I've heard plenty of preachers and evangelists argue that if a person isn't consistently keeping God's law, he isn't really a Christian!" (Note: I'VE said this before!) He continues, "This take on law and grace implies that keeping the law is proof of salvation by grace." (Said that too) "In other words, real Christians will obey God's law (at least most of the time)." (p. 52)

Perhaps this bothers you too. I believe we're, "Saved by grace through faith" (Eph. 2:8-9) too. But I also read that those who are truly in Christ will not practice a pattern of disobedience. (1 John) So this rocked me a bit. But I know I am vulnerable to a lack of grace in an attempt to challenge those not walking obediently with Christ. So I guess I'm saying that this was a bit of a wakeup call for me.

Stanley's last chapter moves beyond his characters of Scripture. "Commissioned for Grace" is his attempt to awaken the American church, as he sees it, to be for the un-churched. He believes the problem in the church today is that it's just for church people. This controversial statement is at the core of how his own church operates. They exist to be a church that "un-churched people love to attend". This being a church for the un-churched is the statement that I wrestle with quite a bit.

In the end, I believe this book keeps an important conversation going. The story of grace should never end in our churches. This would be a great book for small groups, although it would be better if it had a few discussion questions included. Ah, but we saved some paper! A DVD curriculum with Andy Stanley preaching messages on this would be awesome.

In sum, I hope you'll read this and then encourage others to read it as you write about it on your blog or Facebook page. Well-done, Andy!

Part of my 2011 New Year's resolution is to surround myself with inspiring and interesting people, read 3 non-fiction books a month and of course, lose weight!

So, you can imagine my excitement when I received this book for review from Booksneeze. I have been introduced to Andy Stanley through Dave Ramsey. Dave talks about Mr. Stanley's teachings and books on his radio show, "The Dave Ramsey Show". He has also had him as a guest speaker, which is rare for Dave.

Andy Stanley starts out saying that "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." Like my community group leader keeps telling us, "You already have it". You don't have to ask for it, you don't have to want it.... you already have it."

With grace, comes faith. Such a strong statement in such a uncertain world. Believe.

I give this book 5 stars and will be passing it on to one our our church's small group leaders to share with her middle schoolers. Great read.

I just complete Andy Stanley's latest book "The Grace of God." I am a fan of Andy Stanley's books and have read most of them. He has a way of communicating in clear, compelling and memorable ways, especially when it comes to leadership topics.

This book is not about leadership, and I wondered as I began if I would get much from it. I love the topic of grace. It is the foundation of our faith. But I wasn't sure how much there was to say on this topic. Was this going to be an article stretched into a book?

But true to Stanley form, this book delivers great insight, inspiration, and simple truths in a memorable way. It follows the grace story through the Old and New Testaments with insight and power. Even the Old Testament law is presented within the framework of grace. Andy recounts a rich display of God's grace taken from the Biblical narrative and translates effectively to personal challenge and inspiration for today.

This book is one that could be foundational for new believers in the same way that 'Next Generation Leader" is foundational for leaders. And for churches struggling to reach their communities, the chapter "Commissioned for Grace" is a must read. And for those needing to restore the joy of their salvation, it's well worth the read. What an amazing grace!

Grace is my heritage-in my earthly family and my heavenly family.

Reading Andy Stanley's book, "The Grace of God," and listening to Jimmy Needham's song, I am reminded of how crucial grace is in all of our lives.

"Grace is bigger than compassion or forgiveness," Stanley writes. "Grace is the offer of exactly of exactly what we do not deserve."

Sometimes I forget this. I try to earn grace, but grace can't be earned.

"It is the knowledge of what we do not deserve that allows us to receive grace for what it is. Unmerited. Unearned. Undeserved. For that reason, grace can only be experienced by those who acknowledge they are undeserving," Stanley writes.

Stanley says grace is understood best when viewed within the context of relationships. I agree.

In his book, Stanley outlines grace throughout the Old and New Testament. It's part of our heritage as God's children.

Stanley's book reminded of me the ways my parents showed me grace throughout my growing up years, mirroring what our Heavenly Father does.

Amazing grace, how sweet the sound.

I love that grace is the undercurrent in my life.



Thomas Nelsons' Booksneeze program provided me with Stanley's book. My opinions are my own.

Some have rightly said: "Justice is receiving what one deserves.
Mercy is not receiving what one deserves.
And Grace is receiving what one does not deserve."

And in "The Grace of God" Andy Stanley delivers an inspiring message that serves as a contemporary in-depth study for all those who are discouraged and tired of the burden of legalism and yearn to be free. Read this to find the marvelous, accepting grace of God through Christ.

Herein the author expounds many biblical stories that often reflect our own lives; then the reader discovers that we all need that which we do not merit or deserve: God's amazing grace.

Since all manmade religions are performance-based, the error is often toward a law-centered religion as grace gets put aside. Jesus Christ came to set men free and He opposed performance-based acceptance as He preached mercy and grace to the sinner. Jesus was not opposed to God's commandments, but he knew men could not be justified by grace plus works; the sinner is accepted by God because of the work of Christ alone through grace alone. Then the saved sinner obeys God's word out of gratitude for God saving him.

Stanley discusses how grace and obedience relate as he answers questions like:

* What about following God's commandments?
* What about waywardness and stumbling into sin?
* What about recurring disobedience?
* What about righteousness?
* What is real repentance?

"But You, O Lord, are a God full of compassion, and gracious, long-suffering and abundant in mercy and truth" (Psalms 86:15).

God's grace is not grounded upon our obedience, for then it would not be grace (Romans 4). Stanley discusses: the fall of man; Abraham's failures; Rahab's past sinful lifestyle; King David's adultery, the Samaritan woman's sinful past, and the many failings of others in the pages of scripture. And, like the lives of Bible characters, we too need God's unmerited favor: His grace. His grace alone saves, restores, sustains, and leads us to heaven.

Many atheists attempt to label religious faith as a crutch. They charge that theists are afraid of death, and God is just a projection of our own needs to comfort that fear. The claim that Jesus is a crutch, in one sense is true, but I would go even further. Jesus is not just my crutch; He is my wheelchair. Without His grace and strength, I could not live a full and emotionally fit life.
Stanley observes: "Grace. It's what we crave most when our guilt is exposed. It's the very thing we are hesitant to extend when we are confronted with the guilt of others-especially when their guilt has robbed us of something we consider valuable. Therein is the struggle, the struggle for grace. It's this struggle that makes grace more story than doctrine. It's the struggle that reminds us that grace is bigger than compassion or forgiveness."

Indeed, God's grace is amazing and something that He extends to sinners through Christ. Grace is receiving that which we do not deserve via the Father giving His one only Son to die and rise from the dead.

Stanley writes: "Eternal life isn't a reward for good people; it's God's gift to forgiven people," forgiven through the person and work of Christ Jesus.

Christianity: The only Place where Justice and Grace Meet

The law of God requires justice. Man's law requires justice. Good works cannot pay the penalty for past sins, only Christ can. Nor can the believer's good works erase past transgressions. If I receive a speeding ticket, and I go to court and the judge asks, "What do you plead?" I say, "Guilty, but I promise I will never speed again. Judge, please forgive my ticket on account of my future obedience." The judge would say, "It is good that you will not speed again. That is your lawful duty. But you still have to pay the fine for your past mistake of speeding." The good news is Jesus Christ, as judge, came down, took off His robe and paid the fine Himself for all who trust in Him.

All thirty thousand religions, except one, believe that your future good works will help you get to heaven, nirvana, freedom from the karmic cycle, or paradise. Yet our good deeds can never erase bad deeds; if I murder nine people; later I help feed ten thousand people at a shelter; I am still a murderer. If caught and tried, the good works will not rinse away my capital crimes. We all have sinned. The atonement of Christ expiates the sins of the Christian and rinses his transgressions from his spiritual record. Then God graciously imputes Christ's righteousness to the believer's account. We enter heaven free from past sins, and clothed in the righteousness of Christ through faith alone and by grace alone.

"To you first, God, having raised up His Servant Jesus, sent Him to bless you, in turning away every one of you from your iniquities" (Acts 3:26).

Legalism, devoid of the gospel, cannot change anyone. You can put lipstick and a party dress on a pig, but you still have a pig. The pig, all gussied-up, has the same nature he had before the makeup. And a lost person, who outwardly appears to keep religious law, is still lost. He must have his nature changed by God's grace through faith in the gospel; one must be born again (John 3). By grace, when he turns and trusts in Christ, he is forgiven of all his sins. God's great grace credits him with the perfect righteousness of Jesus Christ. The believer is now in right standing with God, and at his death he will enter heaven's glory because of Christ alone.

Sooner or later many will discover that they need God's grace: the high achievers who lose steam, the strugglers who seem to lose hope, the seniors who are approaching death; and young people who think the future lacks options. This book reveals the need that we all have: the grace of God. The grace found in Jesus Christ revealed in the Bible. Read, ponder, and attend, and you'll be forever grateful for having a greater understanding of God's amazing grace.

BookSneeze for provided this complimentary book to review; I did not agree to post a favorable review for the exchange of the book.
also see the new Christian book: Truth, Knowledge and the Reason for God: The Defense of the Rational Assurance of Christianity