Final Chapters of Charis

Last week, I finished reading Charis by Preston Sprinkle.  This is a great book on grace and especially helpful because it focuses on grace in the Old Testament.  Here are some quotes from the final chapters:

God has a relentless desire not just to save us, forgive us, redeem us, and deliver us from evil but to enjoy us...
The incarnation is a powerful demonstration of grace, since it shows that God doesn't just care for our needs but loves us to the point of experiencing our needs.
Jesus planted the first church on earth with a group of hoodlums who wouldn't be let inside the doors of most churches today.
But if you do a character study, you'll see that Jesus handpicked these thugs (12 disciples), not because they were morally upright, but because they weren't. They didn't bring anything to the table. That's precisely why Jesus chose them.
Because Peter's commitment to Jesus isn't sustained by Peter. Peter remains committed to Jesus because Jesus is steadily committed to Peter.
The same is true for you. Your Bible-reading plan, prayer life, and baptized New Year's resolutions are not what tether God's heart to you. It's because of Jesus--and it will always, forever be because of Jesus--that God loves you.
Grace isn't a term. It's not a doctrine. It's not a buzzword. It's not the words of a song, a prayer before meals, a name plastered on our churches. It's not leniency or niceness. It's not something that can be domesticated or completely understood. And it's something that can never grow old or stale. Grace is what flows through the veins of Jesus, whose heart stubbornly beats for you--a thug loved by the One who gladly endured the cross to bring you back to Eden.

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