Normally I don't do book reviews, but I am a sucker for a free book, so when I was offered this book for free in return for a review I thought "OK, what's to lose?"! Anyway, a book written by the son of disgraced televangelist and leader of PTL ministries Jim and Tammy Faye Backer had to be juicy, right? A scandalous read that made one feel self-righteous and tut in all the right places, surely?
Well, no, because this book is about grace- the scandalous, incomprehensible, glorious foundation of the Christian life, and the stuff so lacking from much of what we call church. The story of Jay's journey from the destructions of a graceless life is charted in the initial few chapters, while the second part takes a closer look at Paul's continual challenge to believers in Jesus to live by grace, and not by law. So far so good, except...
In the effort to explain and defend grace, in light of the continual pull against grace by our natural selves and by the Law, I feel that Jay oversteps himself. His explanation of the decision by the council of Jerusalem to ask the Gentile believers to abstain from eating meat offered to idols, sexual immorality, and eating the meat of strangled animals as being an example of "grace plus" is stretching the point, to say the least. Would Jay suggest that refaining from sexual immorality is a grace plus issue, or would it be more sensible to understand these requests as being asked in line with the teaching of respecting the weaker brother (Romans 14), or as restraints on freedom to allow fellowship?
Furthermore, although Jay tackles the hot potato of homosexuality head on, the breadth of his treatment of grace is rather limited. I would suggest that reading "What's So Amazing About Grace?" (Philip Yancey) and "No future Without Forgiveness" (Desmond Tutu) would give a wider picture as to how grace is not just confined to our individual relationship with Jesus and each other, but actually transforms societies.
Finally, although this book is a good read, it does have a major fault- it will expose some of your own areas where grace is not, and could leave you sitting rather uncomfortably in your seat! Read and be challenged!
