Dark Words

Dark words…

When you read the title dark words you think to yourself, those are negative words, but this is not the case in the book by Andy Stanley, The Grace Of God.

Listed below are the thoughts from each chapter that Andy highlights as he discusses grace. These dark words are actually an expression of light, I hope you enjoy reviewing them is much as I did.

• Grace acknowledges the full implication of sin and yet does not condemn.
• In the beginning God created, this was a marvelous act of grace. But this was just the beginning.
• Whereas God’s expressions of grace for innumerable, his requirements were minimal.
• From the very beginning God has responded to the sins of humanity with… well… Amazing grace.
• God chose to wade in hip deep and clean up the mess sin had created.
• At that very moment, the Lord established an important precedent: a righteous standing with God comes through faith.
• … a right standing with God comes to faith in the promises of God.
• Grace is the vehicle God uses on occasion to ensure that we get precisely what we don’t deserve.
• Once again, the law of sowing and reaping was thwarted. But this time it was thwarted by grace.
• …grace is not reserved for good people; grace underscores the goodness of God.
• …the Ten Commandments do not stand in contrast to grace; they are introduced within the story of grace.
• The 10 Commandments reassured the Israelites that their God was not only powerful but good.
• God initiated relationship with his people before he even told them what the rules were.
• God’s law is never given to establish relationships; God’s law is given to confirm an existing relationship
• ..obedience does not determine ownership.
• …maximum freedom is always found under the authority of God.
• …the law of God is actually an expression of the grace of God.
• God didn’t give the law to make us good. He gave the law to expose our sin.
• The law confronted humanity with both the seriousness of sin and the depth of God’s grace.
• God punishes sin and he extends grace to sinners.
• When it comes to your labels, current or past, God is slow to judge and more than willing to deliver.
• Fortunately for those of us who have been given much and are thus responsible for much, there is much grace.
• …grace and discipline are not mutually exclusive. One does not preclude the other. Discipline is often an expression of grace.
• If grace has limits, David’s behavior would expose them.
• If David story is any indication, grace has no end.
• …you can run from God, but you can’t out run him.
• God is thorough with his discipline.
• …the purpose of God’s discipline was not to pay him back but to bring him back.
• …to run from God is to run from grace.
• …receiving grace is often easier than dispensing it.
• People who were nothing like Jesus liked Jesus… Jesus like people who are nothing like him.
• …the story of Jesus is the story of God drawing near to those who have been pulled away by sin and were subsequently pushed away by the self-righteous.
• There was no point in hiding the fallen flawed humanity of Jesus’s ancestry. In many ways, that was the point of the story.
• Jesus, God in a body, was not uncomfortable surrounded by those who most needed the bridge back to God that only grace could provide.
• …grace is not urgent; it is offered.
• This Messiah had something much larger in mind. He had come to liberate the entire world.
• Jesus equated believe or trust with eternal life.
• Forgiveness and eternal life were not attained through the law. Forgiveness required of payment.
• ...eternal life isn’t a reward for good people; it’s God’s gift to forgiven people.

That is quite the list. Some of these you may remember others you may not. Feel free to peruse back through the book and find the context of the ones you don’t remember. And as always feel free to comment.

I hope you’ve had a chance to catch up on your reading, we will jump into Chapter 11 after June’s board meeting.