What’s So Amazing About Grace?

by Philip Yancey

I have yet to be disappointed with a Philip Yancey book, though I’ve only read four. This one, like everything else I’ve read, is one that would be worth your time to pick up and read.

At first, I was kind of concerned. After all, Yancey—though he never discloses his doctrinal convictions—probably isn’t a baptism-for-salvation believer. So, a book by him about grace was a little worrisome when I picked it up. And very many times, as I was reading it, I found myself wanting to say, “That’s not right, what about…?” But usually, I caught myself being over-sensitive and reading into his words what he didn’t say.

I’m afraid that those of us in the Lord's church have become so sensitive to the faith-only doctrine of Calvinism, and making sure we don’t preach or in any other way endorse it, that we’ve actually come minimize the grace of God and to believe that baptism and “living faithful until death” is what will earn us our salvation. And, of course, that’s not the case.

In addition to emphasizing the importance of grace, and how many so-called Christians don't display grace in their lives, Yancey made a point of discussing how grace can be "abused" and not accepted by the people to whom it is offered.

I will say that I don’t agree with everything he says in the book, but I had to do some serious thinking at various times to determine what my motivation was for wanting to argue with him. The Bible is the standard of grace for him and for my judgment of him and too many of the times I was questioning it was from my traditions and over-reactions to false doctrines and not from the Bible. So grab this book and give it a read-through. It will be worth your tmie. And when you find yourself ready to argue with him, stop and ask yourself why. Even mature Christians need to be reminded how great a gift salvation is.

The Editors do not advocate everything taught by the authors of the books we review. Like us, these authors are fallible humans and those who choose to read these books should measure them by the bible, the one true standard.