Defiant Grace (2011) by Dane Ortlund is a short little book exploring the message of amazing grace through the four gospel accounts. In Matthew, he explored "disobedient obedience"; in Mark, "the king as a criminal"; in Luke, "outsiders as insiders"; and in John, "the Creator as creature." For those familiar with the gospel accounts, you are no doubt aware of some of the differences between them, but Ortlund gives us a fresh look at the differences with a specific focus on grace. In his conclusion, he wrote, "The Bible scholars sometimes try to drive a wedge between the Christianity presented in the Gospels and the Christianity presented in the letters of Paul. The Gospels, so the allegation goes, give us moral teaching; the letters give us the gospel of grace" (page 118). He then goes on to show the graciousness of Christ, evident in the words of the gospel.
All the chapters were beneficial and unique, but his discussion of disobedient obedience was particularly appreciated. He shows how Jesus firmly dealt with the legalists, moralists, rule keepers, and Pharisees, suggesting that in their obedience, they were actually disobeying. As a recovering Pharisee, I had much to gain from this chapter.
I would recommend this book if you want to see afresh the amazing grace of Jesus Christ seen in the story of the four gospel accounts.
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