Book review of Bill Gothard's The Exceeding Great Power of God's Grace by Pastor Barry D. Black with contribution by L.L. (Don) Veinot, Jr.

During the 1980's and early 1990's, we attended no less than half a dozen of Bill Gothard's "Basic Seminars," and no less than two "Advanced Seminars." we distinctly remember during that period, Gothard defined "grace" as "the power and desire to do God's will joyfully." That definition is far removed from the orthodox, Biblical definition of grace which, again, is: God's unmerited favor. The English word grace comes from the Greek word charis meaning gift, and it was in common usage among the pagans in the culture in which the epistles were penned. They certainly would not have understood it to mean "the power and ability to do God's will joyfully;" and if they had, the question then would have been, "Which god or gods?" since the word was in use prior to Christianity. Read more...