Transforming Grace: Living Confidently In God's Unfailing Love

Book review by Bill Newcomer

Transforming Grace: Living Confidently In God's Unfailing Love by Jerry Bridges, NavPress, 1991

One can read a book about a topic, but it may seem all too academic unless there is something related to the content of that book that you yourself have had to wrestle through. I do not endorse Jerry Bridges' "Transforming Grace" because it tickles my academic theological fancy. I endorse this book because in God's providence I've "Been there... Done that.... Got the t-shirt..."

Jerry Bridges articulates conclusions and thoughts I have come to regarding the Biblical concept of grace in the life of the believer; conclusions and thoughts I came to after wrestling with the issues of law and grace in the context of a former church characterized by a sophisticated subtle legalism founded in a scholastic pseudo-Puritanism; thoughts and conclusions forged in the fire of painful experience, the study of Scripture, and prayer. Bridges has not only articulated many of the same thoughts and conclusions I had come to regarding a Biblical concept of grace, he has expanded on them.

I also saw in "Transforming Grace" some of the principles and concepts set forth by Francis Schaffer in his seminal work "True Spirituality". The advantage of Bridges' work is that it articulates those things from "True Spirituality" on a more popular and understandable level.

The Apostle Paul very clearly states in Titus 2:11-12 that it is Biblical grace that teaches us how to deny ungodliness and worldly desires and to live sensibly and righteously and godly in the present age. It is a focus on grace that teaches these things, not a focus on the law or duty or scrupulosity. It is not that there is no place for law and duty, but that place is subordinate to grace, not equal to, above, or apart from it. This truth is a foundational principle to what Bridges is saying in "Transforming Grace".

The grace that is spoken of in this book is not some vague concept of "grace" that has no context or content. It is the grace of God as exhibited in the gospel of Jesus Christ. It is in the context of the Gospel that grace has content and meaning. Bridges clearly articulates the great cost of grace from God's perspective in the work and suffering of Jesus Christ. It is through the payment of that great cost by Christ Himself that grace becomes free, unearned, and unconditional not just for lost and bankrupt sinners, but also for forgiven sinners living their Christian lives in response to the grace and love God has shown them. "Transforming Grace" clearly sets out that Biblical grace is "God's Riches At Christ's Expense."

Nor is Bridges pulling his view of grace out of a hat. This book looks at Scripture and expounds relevant passages. "Transforming Grace" exposes the latent legalism that still afflicts the Evangelical church at large, especially legalism in the area of on-going sanctification and the Christian's daily walk. But neither is antinomianism spared.

Both legalism and antinomianism share the same basic fundamental flaw. Both are the result of an insufficient view of what the Gospel is, and what the grace of God in the Gospel does. It is a focus on the grace of God in the Gospel that will keep our life in Biblical balance, and is the basis of all true Biblical spirituality.

Spiritual abusers need a clearer understanding of Biblical grace in order to see their abuse for what it is. Gaining a clearer understanding of what Biblical grace is will help bring healing and restoration to those spiritually abused. I recommend "Transforming Grace" to both alike.