The Discipline of Grace

A must for anyone's library! And not just for the shelf - read it - so good!

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.

I've grown up in church and have have been seriously walking with God for several years now as an adult in her mid 20s. I have heard the gospel preached numerous times throughout my life, but I can say I've never fully grasped what it means to be under God's grace until I read this book. As crazy as it sounds. I've never heard the gospel explained like this before. This book is scripturally backed and theologically sound. Every claim is backed up with scripture. This genuinely has changed my understanding of the gospel. Before I finished this book, I knew it was one that I would be compelled to reread. If I could give it infinite stars I would. I will be coming back to this book time and time again. If you ever question how God sees you in light of your mistakes, read this book.

A fine, fine read.

Definitely an insightful book! I'm still reading & enjoying it! Absolutely fabulous author!

It has been a handful of years since I had read a Jerry Bridges book and I had forgotten how tremendous of a Christian author and teacher he is. I sought out The Discipline of Grace wanting to grow in the area of spiritual disciplines. My performance and productivity driven attitude was looking for practicality - what to do and not to do. In true Bridges fashion, even his book about "our role in the pursuit of holiness" spent the first 8 chapters properly framing the role of our works and actions in the Christian life. No matter how 'good' one could become, it could never be good enough. Any spiritual discipline must come as a response to God's grace and love, not a means to earn it. Daily preaching the gospel to yourself is the key to properly maintaining an accurate view of both God's role and our role in the pursuit of holiness. His example of having a race-car mentality when it comes to obedience (rather than cruise-control) is powerful and convicting. Through the Spirit's undeniable guidance, he masterfully demanded that believers be relentless in their disciplines and obedience to Christ while understanding that, unless that discipline is done through a spirit of dependence on God, it is futile. "Our behavior may appear outstanding to other people but not be acceptable to God because it does not spring from a motive of love to him. Only conduct that arises from love is worthy of the name of obedience."

An extremely well-written book. I've only read the first two chapters so far, as I'm reading this as part a book study that meets monthly. But the first two chapters are powerful, and I expect that the rest of the chapters which follow will be equally so. If, as a Christian, you feel that you don't "measure up", that you are ineffective and can't be used by God, then this book is for you. If you are a Christian who thinks you've got it all down, and wonder why everyone else isn't as good as you seem to be, this book is for you. If you're somewhere in between, this book is for you.

But not in a bad way. I'm partially through chapter 4 right now (which is kind of slow going, but also not in a bad way, just very dense). I'm reading through it with a friend, and let me tell you, this book has really challenged both of us to think about the way we've approached our lives. Some of the best things so far: * Spiritually "bad" days and "good" days alike are covered by His grace -- it doesn't matter how good or bad we are, we can't measure up, but He covers us anyway. * "refined sins": his analysis of gossip and pride were really striking, particularly when he pointed out that if we consider ourselves perfect (pride), we mentally remove ourselves from the scope of God's grace: only sinners need grace, and if we don't consider ourselves sinners, we are not eligible for God's greatest gift to us. * "preaching the gospel to ourselves every day": his overview of the gospel is really encouraging, but also a great exhortation to holiness. Overall, I've enjoyed this and find it very Biblically-based. A few times I've wished he'd gone into a bit more detail when defining terms, but he's done really well so far explaining both God's grace and the obedience He asks from us, without falling into either legalism or "God loves everyone! Hearts and rainbows!" that can result from discussions of grace. This is well-grounded in an acknowledgement of our sinfulness but also the hope we have through our Messiah's grace. I would (and have) definitely recommend this to people who are serious about maturing into Him who is our Head.

I could easily say that Jerry Bridges's "The Discipline of Grace" has become one of my top 5 books of all time! It has some deeper insights on how Grace disciplines a person, who can enjoy a greater personal relationship in Christ. Jerry has shared practical applications, and this one book is something I like to read once a year at least!

But with this book it needs to be understood that most Christians and churches do not effectively preach about the grace of God (receieving Christ's reward for perfectness, in your sinful state). And most Christians can not tell you what it is, as such this book clears up alot of the muck, false doctrine and works based mentalities that currently exist. Believe that this book would be beneficial to you it's not a book every Christian should read that is the bible. But this book makes the bible even more clear. The writer is not one giving you new inspiration from God or a new thing he has found but rather expounds on the scripture to make clear that which has become murky. Reading this book I understood that Romans solely is about the grace of God. But praise be to the Most High God who gives the grace for us to be part of the priviledged few.

One of my most favorite books. Helps and reminds me to orient my growth in holiness on grace

Sanctification has been explained in a beautiful manner. The author illustrates the issues and Biblical doctrine in a relevant and empathetic manner. Speaking truth with love.

A book which brings together the concepts of Christian discipline and the freely given grace of our Father God. As the book says, these are often seen as being diametrically opposed, whereas to live a truly Christian life both are needed. We cannot earn our way into heaven - Jesus has already provided the way - but without discipline how can we become more holy? The book is written in an everyday style, no need for a theological degree, but on the other hand Jerry Bridges does not hesitate to tackle the truths of how far we fall short of the holiness God wants us to aspire to and its practical outworking, not only in our lives but in those of the people around us.