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Grace: Gods Unmerited Favor

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It is often said that Augustine of Hippo was the "theologian of grace." Charles Spurgeon was the theologian of grace par excellence, not to mention one of the finest evangelical preachers this side of the Apostle Paul. The message of God's grace in the Gospel of our Lord Jesus Christ is *the* distinctive teaching that distances vital, virile Christianity from all other forms of religion which are essentially predicated upon the notion that man must *earn* the favor of God or the gods. No one but Charles Spurgeon has been able to so ably unpack the *doctrine of grace* from the Pauline epistles. All of grace - salvation, becoming right with God, being *rescued* from sin and eternal destruction, becoming a son or daughter of God, being translated from being enemies of God to becoming friends of God adopted into His Kingdom . . . it is *all of grace*! If this is the hunger of your never-dying soul - then feast on Spurgeon. CHS masterfully unpacks the text: "Who has saved us and called us with a holy calling, *not according to our works* - but according to His own purpose" - this is good news for those who have spent half a life-time engaged in works-righteousness endeavors in order to find peace of soul, rest for their souls. Spurgeon is the master! Read his works and fight the good fight to find true rest in Jesus Christ who is the Lord our Righteousness, the Lord our Holiness - all of His unmerited favor.

As insight is only a relative term to one's level of learning and instruction, to say that this book is not insightful is grossly misleading. This is an excellent Biblical message of God's finished work done on the cross, written in a very conversational manner and easily understood. This is a short but powerful read that might be especially useful for new believers or the seeker. Jonathan Edwards' writing is a good place to go from here.

There is nothing we can do to earn God's favor. We do not impress him in the least, nor do we teach him anything. Yet by his grace he invites us into his eternal kingdom. Amen!

This little book is an entirely competant introduction to the traditional Reformed unerstanding of grace, though it's rarely poignant and never insightful. There's nothing particularly wrong with it other than its dated prose, but anyone who's already reasonably knowledgeable in the subject will be far better off studying Jonathan Edwards instead.