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Holiness by Grace: Delighting in the Joy That Is Our Strength

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This book has a similar theme to books by Jerry Bridges and Steve Brown on the grace of God, but is much bigger and more thorough than the others. If you want a quick and to the point rundown on grace try "Transforming Grace," by Bridges, or "Born Free" by Steve Brown.

But, if you have the time and desire to soak in the depths of the Bible's teachings on God's grace, I heartily recommend this book. It is best taken slowly. I think I read it too fast and will need to go back and re-read some portions of it.

Chapell has a great writing style. He mixes teaching with illustration very effectively. His illustrations range from the mundane things of everyday life to quotes from famous theologians in the Reformed and Puritan tradition.

The title of the book shows the theme clearly - holiness comes by the grace of God. Too often Christians treat grace as the thing that gets them into the Christian life, and holiness as the thing that gets them through the Christian life. The fact is that grace gets us into the Christian life and grace produces the holiness that characterizes us throughout the Christian life.

The author does a wonderful job of displaying the grace and mercy of God without making it a license to sin. One of my favorite chapters was the one on mercy. We Christians often forget God's mercy after awhile, and our daily need of it.

He shows that, rather than being an excuse for sin, grace helps us live above sin. The grace that saves us from the penalty of sin saves us from the power of sin.

Thanks to the Sonship ministry of World Harvest Mission and the writings of Bridges, Brown, Max Lucado and others grace is now high on the radar of many Christians. But Chapell reminds us that grace is not just a new fad for the church, nor is it a mere reaction to more oppressive types of fundamentalism. Grace is the path we walk throughout the Christian life.

This book was my first encounter with Chapell. His clarity and exposition are excellent. I thoroughly enjoyed this work on the wonderful doctrine of grace. Chapell systematically demolishes the fallacy of human merit. He displays the beauty of liberation through justification based on Christ's imputed righteousness to the undeserving sinner. The entire book is one of liberation and spiritual growth. Highly reccomended!

If you ever read a Christian books, and you actually have a conscience that is displeased with your sin, this book will mean the most comfort to you, apart from reading the Bible yourself. Chapell takes us away from our delusions that we'll never be able to be holy, to the hope that we can be holy--a hope that only comes from the love of Jesus and the power of grace given by the Holy Spirit within. This book will transform not only your erroneous theological assumptions, but also the dread you feel in your heart towards God's standard of holiness. Read it! It is worth every penny...

Yes, that title is correct: Holiness by Grace! Have you ever heard of such a thing? Like me, you may have grown up listening to sermons and Sunday School lessons that seemed to press home some point, "step on your toes," and challenge you to live a better life each and every week. If you really focused on making the specific changes that you were recommended, you may sooner drive yourself to the insane asylum or give up completely.

What then is this notion of holiness coming by grace? In the book, Dr. Bryan Chapell, president of Covenant Theological Seminary, seeks to answer that very question. In the book of Galatians, Paul talks about how we received salvation by no merit of our own and that it was completely a free gift from God by way of Christ's work for us on the cross. Paul goes on to say that by this same way we also receive our righteousness and holiness.


As R.C. Sproul discusses in his book The Holiness of God, holy does not only mean "pure" but "set apart." Obviously, those who are called to salvation are "set apart" from those who are lost. That calling to salvation is by the Holy Spirit and just as the Spirit convicts us of our sin and draws us to Christ, He also gives us the means and ability to serve God and glorify Him through our lives.

Holiness is not only a doing, but a manner of living in light of the presence of God. It means that we put our faith and confidence in God, trusting that He knows what is best for us in every circumstance, in spite of how the events may appear.

Of the 34 books I have read so far in 2011, this has been by far the most personally challenging. I read this book while sitting with my now 3-month-old son as he recovered from surgery in the Pediatric ICU. Watching his condition moment to moment, listening to the puzzlings of the medical staff, and see him get better only to slip away again made every cell in my body want to cry out with anguish to a God who did not seem to hear.

Yet even in those dark moments God was present. His was not a passive presence, but God exudes power wherever He is. We can be confident of our salvation and our adoption as sons of God. And if I am to believe that I am God's son, then I surely cannot think that he does not want the very best for me and for all those who He has called to salvation.

What then was I to do? In meditating on God's promises and the assurance that He gives his beloved, I was able to place my worries into His hands and believe that even if the worst were to happen that it is all in God's sovereign plan. Did it make the pain any less? No, but God knows my pain and He also knows what is best for his sons and daughters.


God has been gracious to our family, and He has given increasingly rich health to our son. His full recovery will likely not be for a few years, but we have seen God's provision through meals, visits, finances, and prayers of a loving and supportive group of family, friends, and brothers and sisters in Christ. God is graciously working His work of holiness in our lives.

What a fantastic read. I couldn't breeze through it like I can most other books. There was just too much meat. I could only handle a half dozen pages at a time just because I had to sit back and ponder what I had just read.

This book excels where other books on Sanctification fails. Some authors focus so much on our doing that they neglect the Cross and the working of the Holy Spirit in our lives. Chappell puts the Cross back into focus and grace as the only means of Sanctification, but at the same time does not neglect our obedience in walking it out.

This book destroys any concept, realized or unrealized, that you might hold concerning a Law of Merit or Attainment. Instead, Chappell goes into detail on the unmerited favor of our Lord toward us and the Law of Love that compels us.

You ever just want to throw up your arms and give up when other believers tell you that in order to conquer sin in your life you just need to do the right things....read your Bible more, pray more, etc? This book totally dispells that notion. Instead, Chappell shows how we have been delivered of these things already through the Cross of Christ and that the doings we do now are merely the outward reaction to that. It is freeing to come to the realization that we don't have to live defeated lives...that Christ took care of it all and created in me a brand New Creation who is thoroughly empowered through His ressurrection life to live out this life....pursuing that Holiness that is had by Grace.

If only everyone could read and understand the full message of the gospel. A great read for non-Christians who want to know what living as a Christian is about and Christians who want to be reminded that Holiness is attainable only through the acknowledgement of God's grace, not on our own merits. This is a beautifully written discussion of God's amazing grace and what effects it should have on us.

This tremendous book was providentially placed on my path several years ago as I struggled to come to a biblical/reformed view of sanctification after floundering through a men's Bible study in Rick Warren's "purpose-driven" dreck. What a breath of fresh air this work is--grounding our sanctification in the finished work of Christ. Thank you, Dr. Chapell, for a work which glorifies our Lord and Savior.

Amazing book! What a wonderful new insight into the grace of God. Some of the chapters are a little hard to read, but the message is very inspiring!

In this brilliant, but unrecognized little work, Bryan Chapell answers one of the most challenging questions of a Christian: can I really be holy like God (1 Peter 1:16)? Such a call is intimidating and can lead the believer to a great degree of frustration. Chapell writes to alleviate the frustration and intimidation by leading the reader to the grace that enables victory in the realm of practical holiness. This book is not a book of deep theology meant for the elite, but the reader should plan to be stretched. The book is similar to many written by men like Jerry Bridges; however, Chapell's literary prowess is easily demonstrated by the quality of the writing. Numerous impressive illustrations abound throughout, which keep the reading colorful and exciting. The applications are incredibly practical and hard-hitting. The part I enjoyed best is that Chapell does not make all the easy shots at the legalistically entrenched stereotypical fundamentalists (although in the introduction he certainly makes a good case for why elements of that approach are wrong). The writer hits legalism and license equally hard. If you want a one-sided message (i.e. it's all about grace, so live how you want), you will not find it here. Prepare to come away challenged and fed, no matter where you fall in the spectrum.

On a more personal note, as with Chapell's other works which I have reviewed (Christ-Centered Preaching: Redeeming the Expository Sermon, and Christ-Centered Worship: Letting the Gospel Shape Our Practice), I have found him to have a huge heart for the church to better understand and apply the Gospel. This passion overflows throughout this book. I am thankful for men and women of such passion, and I certainly believe that this book will revive such a passion in the heart of any believer who takes the time to read it.

This book is simple to read, worth the money and brings us to understand God more clearly and how he feels and thinks about us.


-CSL