Grace

by Lewis Sperry Chafer

Publisher:

Sunday School Times Company

, 1922

Overview

Chafer’s exposition on the doctrine of grace is a classic definition of this essential element of Christianity. Not an exegesis or a commentary in nature, this is a doctrinal exploration. Chafer goes into great detail about the characteristics of grace in Scripture and in daily life, as well as its place in Christian theology. There is also a section on Jesus as the mediator of grace, the only way believers can understand and accept grace. Chafer also includes valuable practical aspects of grace and what it means for the believer for day to day living.

Key Features

• Careful examination of doctrine by one of the most influential twentieth-century theologians
• Includes detailed table of contents
• Written by one of the key founders of modern dispensationalism

Table of Contents

• The Theme
• Salvation by Grace
• Three Principles which Cannot Co-Exist with Grace
• Safe-Keeping in Grace
• The Life Under Grace
• The Law Done Away
• The Sabbath, A Test Question
• Christ, the Believer’s Sphere in Grace
• Conclusion and Appeal
• Index of Subjects
• Index of Scripture Texts

Top Highlights

“Turning from human speculation to the Scriptures of Truth, we discover one basic fact: The Lamb of God has already ‘taken away’ the sin of the world (John 1:29). The fact that Christ, as Substitute, has already borne the undiminished righteous judgments of God against sin, is the sole ground upon which divine forgiveness is now exercised. The forgiveness of God toward sinners, therefore, is not an immediate act of grace; it is rather a judicial pardon of a debtor in view of the fact that his debt has been fully paid by Another.” (Page 13)

“This is a part of God’s saving grace, and is wrought on the sole condition that they believe; while the regenerate are forgiven and cleansed on the sole condition that they confess.” (Page 17)

“It is equally true, that, those who are spiritually blind are unconscious of their blindness until they are saved by the grace and power of God through Christ.” (Page xii)

“It seems most difficult for the mind to grasp the fact that, as revealed in God’s Word, God does not deal with any sin in mercy, or leniency. The sinner is never forgiven because God is big-hearted enough to remit the penalty, or to waive the righteous judgments. Any presentation of divine forgiveness which represents God as directly exercising clemency toward a sinner is a fatal detraction from the meaning of the cross of Christ, and is a disastrous misrepresentation of the truth contained in the Gospel of His saving grace. Those who dare to preach the Gospel should give to the cross its true place of vital importance as given to it in the Word of God.” (Page 12)

Praise for the Print Edition

No subject was more dear to the heart of Dr. Lewis Sperry Chafer than the teaching of the Scriptures on the spiritual life.

—John F. Walvoord, president of Dallas Theological Seminary

I welcome therefore this present book on these fundamental truths. Having had the privilege of seeing it in manuscript, I bespeak for it the candid attention of all who are concerned for the truth of God.

—C.I. Scofield, in the preface to the 1936 edition of The Kingdom in History and Prophecy

I am glad of the privilege of calling attention to a presentation of the way of salvation which is certain to lead all who read it earnestly to a living faith in Christ, and then to a constant joy because of the abundant and assured provision of God for the Christian life.

—W. H. Griffith Thomas, in the preface to the 1917 edition of Salvation

Product Details

• Title: Grace
• Author: Lewis Sperry Chafer
• Publisher: The Sunday School Times Company
• Publication Date: 1922
• Pages: 373

About Lewis Sperry Chafer

Lewis Sperry Chafer (1871–1952) was a Presbyterian clergyman, an educator, and the founder of Dallas Theological Seminary (originally Evangelical Theological College) in 1924, where he served as president and professor of theology until his death in 1952. Chafer was ordained in 1900 and traveled as an evangelist for 14 years before becoming a Bible lecturer from 1914–1924. Some of his most notable students include C. C. Ryrie, J. Vernon McGee, John Walvoord, and many others.

Chafer authored the eight-volume Systematic Theology, which was the first dispensational, premillennial systematic theology ever published. Several of Chafer’s other writings, such as Dispensationalism, Satan, and The Kingdom in History and Prophecy, can be found in the Lewis Sperry Chafer Collection (9 vols.). He also served as the editor of Bibliotheca Sacra, which was acquired by Dallas Theological Seminary in 1933.