Having watched the Joseph Prince program "Destined to Reign" the Lord led me to purchase one of Pastor Prince's books. Not willing to wait for the delivery times on Amazon, or pay the extra for SuperFast shipping, I went to a bookstore (I can't believe they still have those) and picked up a copy of Unmerited Favor. Rather than bore you with the details of my transformative experience I will focus on the 3 main questions Christians will have when picking up this book.
1.) Is it biblical?
I can answer this with a definitive yes. I only use a KJV translation and found most of Pastor Prince's conclusions to be completely in line with what Scripture teaches. When it comes to modern Christian preachers Pastor Prince is in a league of his own, not just when it comes to the amount of revelation he receives from the Lord, but when it comes to the scriptural backing for it. Some Christians have issues with the idea of "jumping around", that is, going to other Scriptures in the Bible to verify what one scripture is saying, the feeling is that by doing so, someone can make the Word of God say whatever they want. The sheer volume of scripture that Pastor Prince uses however negates such logic. To be blunt, you probably couldn't find a more well researched book in all of Christianity (aside from the Bible of course)
2.) are there any mistakes?
Yes actually, there is one to note of. However I should mention that it is when Pastor Prince states his own opinion, and that this mistake doesn't in any way hamper or diminish the overall message of this book. The mistake occurs in one of the middle chapters when the Pastor seems to admonish that the gospel of grace should be preached to sinners as a way of bringing them to Christ. He states that the world has a better knowledge of law (i.e. the Ten Commandments) than the understanding of grace. However statistically and biblically this is untrue. In a random sampling of Americans(in conjunction with the release of the film "the Prince of Egypt), only 14% of people could name all Ten Commandments, and while a good portion could name such as Thou shalt not Kill, and thou shalt not bear false witness, many could not remember the ones that we so easily break (such as adultery, covetousness, idolatry, etc.). The Bible states that in Psalms,"The law of the Lord is perfect converting the soul", and the Apostle Paul chimes with "The law is a schoolmaster to bring us unto Christ". Its precisely the law that makes us receive and appropriate grace, realizing that no amount of work can earn the favor or blessing of God. I should reiterate that this mistake is minor, and I would not recommend anyone not buying this book for that reason.
3.) Okay so what makes this book different than the THOUSANDS of christian books that seem to be all saying the same thing?
Out of all the Christian books I've read this is the only one (outside of The Way of the Master by Ray Comfort) that is cover to cover about Jesus.There is absolutely no doubt in my mind that after reading this book you will come to a greater understanding of who Jesus is, and the work that he performed upon the cross. To say where this differentiates from other Christian books, I would submit to you that while many books may even start with the idea from the gospel of John that "apart from God we can do nothing", many go astray and begin to focus on results, and that failing to do good works represents a lack of God's working in your life. However Pastor Prince seems to identify that there is nothing to hard for God, and that as we continue to seek Him and His righteousness (being rooted in Him0, He will actually flow through us easily and without struggle. Pastor Prince encourages us, much as the Apostle Paul admonished the believers in the first church, to find our "supply" in Christ and his infinite grace, rather than to do what we can on our own and out of our own strength.
Whenever I have preached the gospel I've often had to explain, to those unfamiliar with the Gospel, that no amount of works can pay our debt or earn us a special pass from God. Yet on Sundays I would frequently hear messages explaining to me as a Christian that the only way to grow, prosper, and have the blessings of God upon my life, as others who attended church with me had, was through the works that I do. To be honest this contradiction was quite frustrating, after all if God's greatest blessing (eternal salvation) was a "free gift", why was it that the temporal things, such as employment, I had to earn through deeds? Rightly dividing the word of truth Pastor Prince reveals the true nature of what "christian living" is supposed to be. I am so glad that in buying this book I have been able to sow into Pastor Prince's ministry, which is promoting a message that is undoubtably from the Lord. Pastor Prince writes in his book early on that he wishes when we read this book that all we see is Jesus. After finishing this book for the first time I can honestly state, How can you see anything else? I strongly recommend this book for any Christian, no matter where you are at. This isn't a basic teaching, this is a foundational one.
