Barbara R. Duguid - Extravagant Grace: Gods Glory Displayed in Our Weakness

In this fine book, Barbara Duguid combines her love of church history, her enthusiasm for John Newton, her insights honed as a pastors wife, and above all her love for Christ and his church. Here the reader will find sharp insights into the psychology of sin and sound practical advice on how the Bible speaks to the mundane rebellions of everyday human existence, The heart is indeed restless above all things; Barbara Duguid ably directs us to where we can find rest: in Christ alone.

Carl R. Trueman, Paul Woolley Professor of Church History, Westminster Theological Seminary, Philadelphia; Pastor, Cornerstone Presbyterian Church (OPC), Ambler, Pennsylvania

Consider this: What if growing in grace is more about humility, dependence, and exalting Christ than it is about defeating sin? No, this is not heresy; this is deft and loving pastoral care. If you are earnest in your desire to follow Jesus but wondering why you still feel like such a sinner, this is the perfect book for you.

Edward T. Welch, Faculty Member, Christian Counseling and Education Foundation

John Newton was such a good pastor because he understood so well sin, suffering, and the amazing grace of Jesus Christ, and it helps to hear from those who are familiar with his work, summarizing it in light of their own faith journey. Barb Duguid has done todays church a great service by sharing with us her fine overview of Newtons understanding of the Christian soul. Feast, be encouraged, and be built up.

Eric Johnson, Lawrence and Charlotte Hoover Professor of Pastoral Care, The Southern Baptist Theological Seminary, Louisville, Kentucky; Society for Christian Psychology

Stay away from this book! Barb Duguid makes idolatry too nauseating, grace too promiscuous, the Trinity too omnipotent, Christian experience too diverse, sanctification too scary, and sovereignty too comforting.

Dale Ralph Davis, Teaching Pastor, Woodland Presbyterian Church, Hattiesburg, Mississippi

The way many Christians think about sanctification is, well, not very sanctified. In fact its downright narcissistic. We think way too much about how were doing, if were growing, whether were doing it right or not. We spend too much time brooding over our failures and reflecting on our successes. What Ive discovered is that the more I focus on my need to get better, the worse I actually get. I become self-absorbed, which is the exact opposite of how the Bible describes what it means to be sanctified. This is why I was shouting, Yes, yes! again and again as I read Barbaras excellent book.

Over and over again Barbara reminds us that spiritual growth is not arriving at some point where we need Jesus less and less because were getting better and better; its realizing how utterly dependent we are on Christs cross and mercy.

Tullian Tchividjian, Pastor, Coral Ridge Presbyterian Church, Fort Lauderdale; Author, Jesus + Nothing = Everything

Barbara is qualified to bring you a message of extravagant grace because she has drunk deeply of it herself. She knows that, along with John Newton, she is a great sinner who has a great Savior and it is this message of Gods mercy to undeserving sinners that will encourage you to live in the light of the sweetest news ever heard: He died for a wretch like me!

Elyse Fitzpatrick, Author, Idols of the Heart ; Conference Speaker

Weaving together the delightful insights of John Newton with her own experience and that of many people shes counseled over the years, Barb tells the story of Gods unrelenting compassion toward sinners like us with profound wisdom. How amazing is grace? Like Newton, Barb has learned well the answer to that question from the greatest storyteller of all.

Michael S. Horton, J. Gres ham Machen Professor of Systematic Theology and Apologetics, Westminster Seminary California

If only there were some secreta strategy, an answer, a truth, a fixto end all the awkward struggle in life! There is a way to live, however, that teaches us to struggle well through the wrongs inside us and around us. Barb Duguid struggles well. She has learned well from another lifelong struggler, John Newton. Both of them learned well from the Man of sorrows and grace.

David Powlison, Faculty Member, Christian Counseling and Education Foundation

extravagant grace

Gods Glory Displayed
in Our Weakness

Barbara R. Duguid

2013 by Barbara R. Duguid

All rights reserved. No part of this book may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system, or transmitted in any form or by any meanselectronic, mechanical, photocopy, recording, or otherwiseexcept for brief quotations for the purpose of review or comment, without the prior permission of the publisher, P&R Publishing Company, P.O. Box 817, Phillipsburg, New Jersey 088650817.

Unless otherwise indicated, Scripture quotations are from ESV Bible ( The Holy Bible, English Standard Version ). Copyright 2001 by Crossway Bibles, a publishing ministry of Good News Publishers. Used by permission. All rights reserved.

ISBN: 978-1-59638-449-1 (pbk)

ISBN: 978-1-59638-941-0 (ePub)

ISBN: 978-1-59638-942-7 (Mobi)

Printed in the United States of America

Library of Congress Control Number: 2013943699

For Wayne,

my dearly beloved son,

who loves Newton and needs Jesus almost as much as I do,

and who persuaded me to write this book.

Now to him who is able to keep you from stumbling and to present you blameless before the presence of his glory with great joy, to the only God, our Savior, through Jesus Christ our Lord, be glory, majesty, dominion, and authority, before all time and now and forever. Amen. (Jude 2425)

Contents

Foreword 13

Acknowledgments 15

Preface 17

1. Welcome to Your Heart 21

2. Babes in Christ 35

3. Maturing in Faith 51

4. Grown-ups in Faith 63

5. The Disney Delusion 75

6. Saints and Sinners 91

7. Discovering Your Depravity 109

8. Grace to Fall 121

9. Standing in Christ Alone 139

10. Suffering Sinners 157

11. Unbearable Love 177

12. The Joyful Implications of Amazing Grace 195

13. From Here to Eternity 219

Notes 231

Foreword

T his book has been a long time in the making. It had its roots in our time in seminary in Philadelphia, when Tim Keller recommended that Barb read The Letters of John Newton as a resource to understanding the Christian life. Specifically, her concern was the fact that those areas of her life where she sought to battle sin most energetically were precisely the areas where she seemed to be making least progress. Since then, John Newtons warm, pastoral, and grace-centered understanding of sanctification has had a steadily increasing effect on Barbs thinking (and my own).

Yet this topic has never been an abstract intellectual field of inquiry for Barb. As one of the most honest people I know, she has wrestled through the practical application of these truths in her own battles with indwelling sin, as you will read in these pages. In addition, as she has grown in her own understanding, she has been able to share those insights with others in the counseling room, in small group Bible studies, and on church retreats. Many have been blessed through her ministry with a new understanding of the dynamics of Gods grace at work in the midst of our sin.

It is not news to most Christians that the gospel of Gods grace is good news and that we also need to grow in our holiness. The challenge is putting these two truths together in a biblical way. Some have perhaps so emphasized Gods grace that people lose sight of striving toward the goal of holiness, while others put so much stress on the need for holiness that, for struggling sinners, Christianity seems hardly to be good news anymore. For many, our understanding of how God thinks about us is shaped by the old childrens hymn.