Book Review: By Grace Alone by Sinclair Ferguson

I have heard Sinclair Ferguson speak before and I have admired his preaching. He is a sound preacher and when I saw this book written by him, I knew I wanted to read it.

As a Christian, I often find myself getting caught up in this world and its struggles and sorrows. I allow these things to overwhelm me and I forget the truths of God's Word. Instead, I listen to the lies of the enemy and lose the joy of my salvation.

That is why Mr. Ferguson wrote this book. Some may think that when a person becomes a Christian, he no longer needs the gospel, that the gospel is necessary only for salvation. The truth is, we need the gospel every moment of our lives. The fact that Jesus came and died and rose again to pay for our sins and grant us his righteousness is something we need to be reminded of constantly. Otherwise, we tend to forget and let the noise of this world drown out the voice of God.

"Sometimes we imagine that our greatest need is to move on to the 'higher' or 'deeper' teaching of the gospel. But in fact, our real need is to get a deeper and firmer grasp of the main truths of the gospel."

I like how the author brings forth the truths of God in this book. He uses a song written by an African pastor named Emmanuel T. Sibomana, who, in 1946, wrote a hymn entitled "Umbuntu Bg Imana." The hymn was translated by an English missionary as "O How the Grace of God Amazes Me." Mr. Ferguson breaks this song down into seven parts and writes a chapter on each. He covers the various struggles we encounter as Christians as we face temptations and attacks and how we need to have a better understanding of God's amazing grace to help us have answers for the lies we hear and encouragement for the journey we are on. This then, leads to praise to our Lord and joy in the salvation we have recieved.

As I read this book, I became more aware of how truly amazing God's grace is. I was confronted with my lack of trust in God and with the greatness of His love for me. Mr. Ferguson writes in a completely understandable manner, yet conveys deep truths for us to grasp and to praise God for the great things he has done for us in Jesus: "We have been united to Jesus Christ in His death to sin and His resurrection to new life. We have been raised into a new order of reality altogether - where sin no longer reigns because grace reigns."

I highly recommend this book for any believer in Christ as well as for anyone who is searching to know God and his ways. It will comfort and strengthen the former while enlightening the latter. This book would also make a great gift for anyone you know who needs to hear the gospel. And I think that includes everyone!

(I will recieve a free copy of this book from the publisher, Reformation Trust, as compensaton for this review. I receive no monetary compensation. All opinions in this post are strictly my own.)