The Christian Path

That fellowship is a gift the Father extends to all people and is made possible by the sacrifice Jesus gave on the cross, His life. The offer is a gift of God, was made possible by a gift of God, and is accepted through faith, which is also a gift of God. All three levels making this fellowship possible are outright gifts, or in the Greek, charis: grace. How Swindoll describes grace is much more than something said over food before eating.

In his preface, Swindoll discusses joy as a result of grace. The fact is, God doesn't leave his church at the point of salvation, but continues with each member on a personal basis. He wants each of His people to have His joy, which Swindoll points out is a result of living by grace (xi). The mystery, which Swindoll expresses wonder at throughout the book, is that so few members of Christ's church have that joy, and in fact, are angry when they see it in others, a response that one might think is were it not that the same joy is available to all.

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lso goes into detailed Biblical support for grace being God's intent for every one of His people. The New Testament writers, inspired by God, were certainly aware of the risks, so one may assume God is also. Yet, this is how God wants to run His church. Swindoll quotes Romans 5:1, "we have peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ." One may wonder why the objecting legalist does not seem to have that peace, but to help explain that paradox he provides a list of characteristics that accept grace (303) and list of characteristics that resist grace (306). The common element of the former is humility, both before God and before man. The common element summarizing the latter is pride, both before man and, whether one realizes it or not, before God. Swindoll thus provides two more important definitions, cheap and true grace. "'Cheap grace' justifies the sin rather than the sinner. True grace, on the other hand, justifies the sinner, not the sin" (46). Unfortunately, too many "grace killers," as Swindoll repeatedly calls them, do not seem interested in justifying sinners but in leaving them condemned along with sin. Indeed, God condemns sin. But He justifies sinners, regardless of what others think. Swindoll then elaborates on four
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Approximate Word count = 1710
Approximate Pages = 7 (250 words per page)

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