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Simple Gospel, Simply Grace

Simple Gospel, Simply Grace

Last updated on: October 9, 2017 at 10:18 am by Frank Viola

Simple Gospel, Simply Grace 2017-10-09T10:18:19-04:00 Frank Viola

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Bob Christopher is a friend of mine. He was kind to invite me to be one of the keynote speakers at the 220 Conference in 2013 — the recordings of which have been downloaded by over 13,000 people — and we’ve maintained a friendship ever since.

Bob just released his new book, Simple Gospel, Simply Grace.

Recently, I caught up with Bob to interview him about the book.

Enjoy!

Simple Gospel, Simply Grace: How Your Christian Life Is Really Supposed to Work

Instead of asking, “what is your book about,” I’m going to ask the question that’s behind that question. And that unspoken question is, “how are readers going to benefit from reading your book?”

As you know, Frank, I host Basic Gospel, a call-in radio broadcast. Our listeners ask a broad range of questions about the Christian life. Underneath those questions lies an uncertainty about how the Christian life is really supposed to work. This is why I start the book with this quote from Martyn Lloyd Jones: “The Christian life starts with grace, it must continue with grace, it ends with grace. Grace wondrous grace.”

As readers see this “way of grace” unwrapped, many will breathe a huge sigh of relief as they realize the root cause of their frustrations concerning the Christian life. Readers will take away renewed hope. Many will let go of their fear, guilt and shame. They will learn the real purpose of the Gospel – the “why” of Jesus’s death, burial and resurrection – and gain a deeper, personal connection with God. And I hope many readers will use Simply Gospel, Simply Grace as a tool to help them share the Good News with those they love and know.

Tell us a bit about the experiences that shaped the insights in the book.

I share many of these experiences in the book. Four stand out. The first was my first “grace encounter” as a twelve year old. It took place at a church youth camp and it was totally unexpected. The camp pastor portrayed the crucifixion of Jesus. That was the night the story became real to me. I wrote it this way in the book, “Christ’s death…pushed its way into my heart and soul and brought to life my need for Christ.”

The second was what happened from that point forward. I tried to figure out the “how” of the Christian life on my own. I missed God’s simple plan of “by grace through faith” by miles. My futile attempts frustrated me to no end. But I kept trying and failing. Here’s what I learned — my human effort was no match for the temptations of the world. When I finally gave up trying, God’s grace broke through in new and fresh ways. This part of my journey really opened my eyes to the truth that salvation is life – that by grace, God had made me alive together with Jesus Christ. This truth still boggles my mind.

Two other experiences were my dad’s death and a journey with my wife, Jeanna, to Calvary and the empty tomb in Jerusalem. Both of these experiences brought the reality of the resurrection into clear focus and compelled me to ask this question: “If the resurrection of Jesus Christ is the centerpiece of the Christian faith, how can we make it the centerpiece of our Christian lives?”

You divided the book into three parts – Life, Forgiveness and Freedom. Tell us the reasoning behind this.

Life, forgiveness and freedom are the ways the Gospel works itself out in our lives today. It starts with life. As Jesus said, “I have come that you might have life…” Christianity is not a self-improvement program. God isn’t interested in making us better people. His goal is to make us fully alive in Christ. The process is life first, and then change. This is what I missed for many years.

Forgiveness is the gift of grace that enables us to take hold of the new life we have in Christ. It is vitally important to understand the “once for all” sacrifice of Jesus and to rest in His finished work. Jesus’s words to the paralytic, “Son, your sins are forgiven,” are the same words He speaks to us. In Christ, we have forgiveness of sins. This truth opens the door to experiencing Christ’s life to the full.

This new life God has given us is a life of freedom – freedom from the penalty and power of sin and freedom to grow in our relationship with Jesus and to share His love with others.

How do you define grace?

When defining grace, I think it is very important to start with John 1:14. Jesus Christ is the one who is full of grace and truth. To know anything about grace, we must look to Jesus. Because it is attached to Jesus, it is a big word, bigger than I ever dreamed or imagined.

The short definition that most of us know is unmerited favor as given to us in Christ. It is this, but so much more.

Grace is where we stand, live, and breathe. It is the realm of our existence. It is Christ in us and us in him.Far too often, Christians think of grace as merely a covering for their past sins. Grace is a word that is active in our present, and is a word that moves us into our future. I’ve defined it as God’s work in Jesus Christ to make us spiritually alive and to empower us to live in this world as his children.

Here’s the good news. Grace is not only the means of salvation; it is the way of the Christian life. It’s not only the door that grants us entry into God’s house; it’s the way we live once we are in. Once grace starts in a person’s life, it never quits.

What has the response been to the book so far?

Thus far, the response has been very positive. People are buying multiple copies to share with their friends. This is deeply encouraging to me. The idea that Christianity is not a self-improvement program is resonating with readers, as well as, many of the personal stories and illustrations. What puts the biggest smile on my face is when readers tell me they are getting a handle on what “by grace through faith” looks like in their daily lives.

What else do you want readers to know about your book?

My hope and prayer is that readers will see that grace is not a doctrine to be learned, but a life to be lived.

Also, they can find out more about the book at simplegospelsimplygrace.com.

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