The Discipline of Grace

The Lord says to Moses, "Speak to the congregation of the children of Israel and say to them: `You shall be holy, for I the Lord your God am holy'". The Master calls His followers, saying, "Be perfect, therefore, as your heavenly Father is perfect". Yet we clearly are imperfect, and our response to this calling all too often smacks of striving, pride, and ultimately of hypocrisy. So what are we to do? And who's responsible for what? These questions are explored by Jerry Bridges in this excellent book. The title itself is a meditation on shared responsibility in the process of sanctification. On the surface it may seem that grace and the personal discipline to pursue holiness are opposed to one another, but Bridges argues that they are not. "In fact", he writes, "they go hand in hand. An understanding of how grace and personal, vigorous effort work together is essential for a life-long pursuit of holiness". A foundational point that the author makes is that Christians must constantly preach the Gospel to themselves. The conventional paradigm is that the Gospel is relevant to unbelievers, and that after they come to the Lord, the essential focus becomes one of discipleship. However, Bridges reminds us that daily recognition of the saving grace of the Gospel message is necessary if discipleship is not to become a matter of performance and of empty striving. He describes how the primary responsibility of the disciple is to behold the glory of the Lord as it is displayed in the Gospel; this opens us to the sanctification that is the work of the Holy Spirit. And as we receive this grace, the practice of the other spiritual disciplines that are discussed in the book becomes a natural out flowing of the love of God in the believer. And so it is; as the Lord said to St. Paul, "My grace is sufficient; my power is made perfect in weakness". This book, which grapples with some of the central issues of the Christian walk, should be required reading for all believers.

If you ever want to understand God's grace, read this book! This was the first book that I ever read as part of a home group and it was totally awesome! It really touched me and set me free. I'd never really fully understood what God's grace is and how to discipline myself to live in it until I did this study. I highly recommend this book to anyone who wants to break free of legalism and truly live in God's awesome grace.

When it comes to the area of books on Christian living, Jerry Bridges stands out among a very crowded field of authors. In the last 10 years, there has been an explosion of books on Christian living, with all kinds of authors trying to find a publishing niche - whether it's books that are geared specifically towards women, homeschoolers, men, parents, seniors, new Christians, seasoned Christians, etc. Thankfully, in the midst of all this we have an author like Bridges, whose 'niche' is writing thorough and challenging books that the entire body of Christ can profit from. This particular book certainly falls into that category. The purpose of the book is to attempt to find a Biblical basis for understanding our individual pursuit of holiness. In particular, the book tries to explore what our role is, versus what God's role is, and then expanding upon not only what we should be doing, but what our approach and attitude should be in order for our efforts to be effective. This is a difficult area. As Bridges properly points out, teachings on personal holiness range from a 'God is in control so don't worry about your own conduct' approach to a legalistic rules and regulations approach that on a practical level leaves holiness entirely up to the individual. Bridges spurns both approaches in favor of a balanced approach that struck me as being very biblically responsible. That approach being that God is indeed in control and His grace is the ingredient that empowers our efforts to become more holy. The strength of the book is the last six or so chapters where Bridges puts practical legs upon many of the Biblical concepts discussed in the first half of the book and develops several Biblical disciplines that all Christians should heed in their lives. Those who read the first part of the book and begin (as I admittedly did) to think that Bridges is soft-peddling sin by so exalting grace need to read through the entire book. The last several chapters really bring a solid balance to the presentation, and I found these disciplines to be substantive and challenging not only in the disciplines themselves, but also in the perspective we need to have about them as being spiritually worthless without the power of the Holy Spirit and the motive to discipline ourselves out of a love for God. Particularly insightful was Bridges comment that many folks who practice certain disciplines can get into a legalistic mindset because they don't practice the disciplines out of a love for God, but out of a fear of guilt or out of loving the disciplines themselves but not loving God. Very good point.I would strongly recommend this book to all Christians at any stage of their Christian walk. There is some very good meat in here that personally convicted me, and I think many Christians who are trapped either in a legalistic or antinomian mindset will find the Biblical balance set forth by Bridges to be very refreshing. Those who struggle with understanding their ro

I would recomend this book to anyone and everyone. I'm reading it for the third time right now, and I still get new depth and insight from it. It is filled with scripture and centered around that, so that is a very good thing. Jerry Bridges is an excellent author with a wonderful background in literature, and this book really just brings it all together. It has transformed my thinking about grace and how to apply it to my life daily.

The Discipline of Grace is a wonderfully clear explanation of how God's grace frees us from the impossible task of being self-made people. The central idea of this book is that grace is the key to enjoying the freedom that is offered in the Gospel of Christ. This is without question one of the most helpful and encouraging books I have ever read. It would be an excellent read for the Christian who struggles with guilt or having an assurance of their salvation. It would also be a good book for a seeker who wants a better understanding of how the gospel of Christ should be applied in practical living.