Andy Stanley - The Grace of God

Praise for The Grace of God

Andy Stanley has captured grace with a wide-angle lens... and it is one beautiful sight.

BETH MOORE, FOUNDER OF LIVING PROOF MINISTRIES

Andy Stanley on grace: how could you NOT want to read it? Andy is one of the most compelling voices of this generation. He doesnt just know about grace; he lives it.

JOHN ORTBERG, AUTHOR AND PASTOR OF
MENLO PARK PRESBYTERIAN CHURCH

Grace is a foundational pillar of our faith, and understanding it is essential for every believer. Andy Stanleys The Grace Of God is an amazing, in-depth study of grace, and his contemporary style really allows you to understand how amazing Gods grace really is.

JOYCE MEYER, BEST-SELLING AUTHOR
AND BIBLE TEACHER

Andy Stanley has done it again! He has taken a subject that many of us think we know a lot about and reminded us that Gods grace is greater than we could ever fully know or completely understand. What a great book that takes us even deeper into that Amazing Grace!

MAC POWELL, LEAD SINGER OF THIRD DAY

The
GRACE
of
GOD

The
GRACE
of
GOD

ANDY STANLEY

2010 by Andy Stanley

All rights reserved. No portion of this book may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system, or transmitted in any form or by any meanselectronic, mechanical, photocopy, recording, scanning, or otherexcept for brief quotations in critical reviews or articles, without the prior written permission of the publisher.

Published in Nashville, Tennessee, by Thomas Nelson. Thomas Nelson is a trademark of Thomas Nelson, Inc.

Thomas Nelson, Inc., titles may be purchased in bulk for educational, business, fund-raising, or sales promotional use. For information, please e-mail SpecialMarkets@ThomasNelson.com.

Unless otherwise noted, Scripture quotations are taken from HOLY BIBLE: NEW INTERNATIONAL VERSION. 1973, 1978, 1984 by International Bible Society. Used by permission of Zondervan Publishing House. All rights reserved.

Scripture quotations marked amp are from the amplified bible: old testament. 1962, 1964 by Zondervan (used by permission); and from the amplified bible: new testament. 1958 by the Lockman Foundation (used by permission).

Scripture quotations marked msg are from The Message by Eugene H. Peterson. 1993, 1994, 1995, 1996, 2000. Used by permission of NavPress Publishing Group. All rights reserved.

Scripture quotations marked nasb are from NEW AMERICAN STANDARD BIBLE, The Lockman Foundation 1960, 1962, 1963, 1968, 1971, 1972, 1973, 1975, 1977, 1995. Used by permission.

Scripture quotations marked nlt are from Holy Bible, New Living Translation. 1996. Used by permission of Tyndale House Publishers, Inc., Wheaton, Illinois 60189. All rights reserved.

Scripture quotations marked tniv are from HOLY BIBLE, TODAYS NEW INTERNATIONAL VERSION TNIV Copyright 2001, 2005 by Biblica. All rights reserved worldwide.

Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data

Stanley, Andy.

The grace of god / Andy Stanley.

p. cm.

Includes bibliographical references.

ISBN 978-0-8499-4814-5 (hardcover)

1. GraceBiblical teaching. 2. Grace (Theology) I. Title.

BS680.G7S73 2010

234dc22

2010029335

Printed in the United States of America

10 11 12 13 14 15 QG 6 5 4 3 2 1

For Mary Gellerstedt:
You saw the future when others
could not see past the moment.

Contents

W hile most books have individual authors, no book is the product of individual effort. The Grace of God is certainly no exception. To begin with, this book wasnt even my idea. Matt Baugher, vice president and publisher with Thomas Nelson, suggested the topic. He recognized grace as a theme in my preaching that had never been a primary theme in my writing. When I reminded him of all the great books already written on this subject, he quickly reminded me of how long ago those books were published. He had a point. So we went to work. Thanks, Matt.

Matts second contribution to this project came by way of an introduction. I mentioned to Matt that I needed someone who could help me organize my material and create a strong first draft. He said he knew just the guy. Matt introduced me to Mark Gaither. Mark is a freelance writer from Dallas who is a published author in his own right. I liked Mark immediately. I started sending him MP3s and outlines, and in return he began sending me completed chapters. Marks insight into the Scriptures, his commitment to biblical scholarship, and his love for excellence ensured that this project would exceed my best effort. Thank you, Mark.

The other two individuals who were instrumental in getting this project across the finish line are Suzy Gray and Diane Grant. Suzy serves as my agent, and Diane is my ministry assistant. Suzy, thank you for riding herd on the details. Thank you for reading and rereading and then reading again. Your relentless commitment to quality is reflected in the finished product. When I wanted to be done, you wanted the book to be better. Thanks for pushing.

Im constantly telling leaders that the key to their success is for them to only do what only they can do. For that to happen, a leader must have someone in his professional world who can keep the path clear of unnecessary distraction. For me, that someone is Diane Grant. Diane and I have worked together for more than twelve years. Directly or indirectly, shes involved in everything I do professionally. And this book is no exception. Diane, thank you for tracking down what must have felt like an endless list of outlines. Thank you for managing communication between all the various parties involved. Thank you for discovering and setting up Dropbox. And thank you for handling all the stuff I dont know about because you decided I didnt need to know about it. Thats what you do best. Its no wonder that so many pastors send their assistants to sit at your feet to learn.

Lastly, I want to thank the members and attendees of North Point Community Church, Browns Bridge Community Church, and Buckhead Church. So much of what Ive learned about the grace of God Ive learned while serving alongside you these past fifteen years. Thank you for creating churches that unchurched people love to attend, churches where the grace of God is not just talked about but modeled and celebrated.

G race. Its what I crave most when my guilt is exposed. The very thing Im hesitant to extend when Im confronted with the guilt of othersespecially when their guilt has robbed me of something I consider valuable.

Therein is the struggle, the struggle for grace. Its this struggle makes grace more story than doctrine. Its this struggle reminds us that grace is bigger than compassion or forgiveness. This struggle is the context for both. When we are on the receiving end, grace is refreshing. When it is required of us, it is often disturbing. But when correctly applied, it seems to solve just about everything. Contrary to what is sometimes taught, the opposite of grace is not law. As we will discover, Gods law is actually an extension of grace. The opposite of grace is simply the absence of grace.

To say that someone deserves grace is a contradiction in terms. You can no more deserve grace than you can plan your own surprise party. In the same way that planning voids the idea of surprise, so claiming to deserve