Unlimited Grace: The Heart Chemistry that Frees from Sin and Fuels the Christian Life
Overview
What if obeying God is not just dreary duty—going through the motions to avoid God’s wrath or earn his favor? What if following Christ is pure joy—living in loving response to a grace so profound that it changes all our motivations and affections? Far from encouraging sin, this biblical understanding of grace fuels and empowers the obedience that God commands.
Explaining why grace is important and giving us tools to discover it in all of Scripture, Unlimited Grace helps us to see how gospel joy transforms our hearts and makes us passionate for Christ’s purposes. Experienced pastor and author Bryan Chapell takes insights from a lifetime of relishing God’s grace and pours them into this highly accessible and engaging book, helping readers see how God’s grace shines through all of Scripture, for all of life.
Part 1: Heart Chemistry for Our Lives
- 1. The King’s Gift
- 2. Who and Do
- 3. Order in the Court
- 4. Care before Commands
- 5. Family Trumps Failure
- 6. Know the Path
- 7. Know Thyself
- 8. Love Controls
- 9. Bread, Not Bribes
- 10. Just between Jesus and Me?
Part 2: Finding Heart Chemistry in the Bible
- 11. Grace Everywhere
- 12. Grace Excavated
Part 3: Answering Heart Chemistry's Key Questions
- 13. How to Find Grace in Every Passage
- 14. How to Avoid Legalism
- 15. How to Balance Grace and Law
- 16. How to Apply Grace to Instruction (Part 1)
- 17. How to Apply Grace to Instruction (Part 2)
- 18. Is Love the Only Biblical Motive?
- 19. What about Fear?
- 20. What about Hell?
- 21. Does Sin Change Anything?
Top Highlights
“If our works are not the basis of our standing before God, does that mean they don’t really matter? And if God is ultimately going to credit us with Christ’s righteousness, why should we bother to battle temptations or obey him?” (Page 19)
“As distasteful as the truth may be, the answer to ‘Why do we sin?’ is ‘Because we love it.’ We sin because we love it. Consider this: if sin did not attract us, it would have absolutely no power over us. We yield to sin because we find it attractive, beneficial, pleasurable, or advantageous (John 3:19; James 1:13–14). Our compulsions, not sin’s power, put it in the driver’s seat. Sin’s fuel resides in our affections.” (Page 75)
“I offer him [i.e., the murderer] my forgiveness because Jesus died to forgive.’ Her heart desired to share mercy that she had received through Christ’s sacrifice. As simple as that may seem, it is the foundation of all Christian mission and ethics. The grace we receive changes our world so that we may be Christ’s instruments of world change for those whom our lives touch.” (Page 93)
“The force the Bible engages to motivate and enable us to serve Christ is the chemistry of the heart: love. Jesus said, ‘If you love me, you will keep my commandments’ (John 14:15).” (Page 20)
“Our obedience does not determine who we are. His grace does.” (Page 50)
In Unlimited Grace, Bryan Chapell draws our attention to the amazing grace of God. Many Christians struggle to understand and apply God’s grace personally. The church often struggles to apply the grace of God corporately. The unbelieving world desperately needs to hear the message of grace. In light of these realities, I am thrilled to see this needed, Christ-centered, and readable book. I wholeheartedly recommend it!
Tony Merida, Pastor for Preaching and Vision, Imago Dei Church, Raleigh, North Carolina; author, The Christ-Centered Expositor
Chapell unpacks how the entire Christian life, from beginning to end, is by grace. The deepest message of the Bible and the ministry of Jesus Christ is the extravagant grace of God to sinners and sufferers. This good news is necessary to avoid the pitfalls of minimizing both the assurance of salvation and sanctification. Unlimited Grace celebrates God’s grace for all of life as it addresses head-on the practical and honest questions about what this looks like in real life.
Justin S. Holcomb, Adjunct Professor of Theology, Reformed Theological Seminary, Orlando; coauthor, Rid of My Disgrace and God Made All of Me; editor, Christian Theologies of Scripture
Bryan Chapell shows how God’s love transforms us from the inside out. The questions he recommends we bring to the biblical text (such as, what does this passage teach me about God the Redeemer?) are ones I recommend for teachers and leaders tasked with delivering God’s Word on a regular basis. Let this book remind you that the power of God’s love is what moves us to obedience!
Trevin Wax, Vice President of Research and Resource Development, The North American Mission Board; Visiting Professor, Cedarville University; author, The Thrill of Orthodoxy; Rethink Your Self; and This Is Our Time
When the prophet speaks for the Lord and proclaims, ‘My ways are not your ways,’ we shake our heads in agreement while assuming that it can’t possibly be true. We assume that we know better, especially regarding the things that will motivate God’s people to desire to live holy lives. We assume that the message of God’s radical grace will make people into radical sinners. That’s because, as Bryan Chapell so wisely states, we don’t understand the ‘chemistry of the heart.’ What makes the heart desire to love? What turns us from ourselves outwardly toward our neighbor? Pastor Chapell has been a gracious voice for years in my own life, and he really does understand that heart chemistry. I’m so thankful for his faithful life and work and that I get to recommend this book to you. I love it. I think you will too.
Elyse Fitzpatrick, coauthor, Worthy: Celebrating the Value of Women
Few books on the subject of God’s grace are as balanced, practical, and clear as this one. Bryan Chapell’s pastoral experience permeates these pages with both a realistic appraisal of the human heart and a compassionate, Christ-centered message of hope. This book is packed with insight into the mysteries of why we do what we do and how to live in the light of God’s grace. Thank you, Bryan—I was helped.
Donald S. Whitney, Professor of Biblical Spirituality and Associate Dean, The Southern Baptist Theological Seminary; author, Spiritual Disciplines for the Christian Life; Praying the Bible; and Family Worship
Once again my brother and friend has done what he does as well as anyone I know, or anyone in print. Bryan Chapell invites us to see and savor the endless riches and transforming implications of God’s grace. There are so many reasons I’m excited about this book. At the top of the list is the invaluable wisdom Bryan offers to those who fear an overemphasis on God’s grace. With the mind of a scholar and the heart of a pastor, Bryan shows us that we never balance grace with anything. Though it’s certainly possible to misuse God’s grace, it’s impossible to make too much about what God has accomplished on our behalf through the life, death, and resurrection of Jesus. God’s grace, and God’s grace alone, gives us the motivation and means for living and loving to God’s glory.
Scotty Smith, Pastor Emeritus, Christ Community Church, Franklin, Tennessee; Teacher in Residence, West End Community Church, Nashville, Tennessee
- Title: Unlimited Grace: The Heart Chemistry that Frees from Sin and Fuels the Christian Life
- Author: Bryan Chapell
- Publisher: Crossway
- Print Publication Date: 2016
- Logos Release Date: 2018
- Language: English
- Resources: 1
- Format: Digital › Logos Research Edition
- Subject: Grace (Theology)
- ISBNs: 9781433552311, 9781433552342, 9781433552328, 9781433552335, 1433552310, 1433552345, 1433552329, 1433552337
- Resource ID: LLS:NLMTDGRCCHRSTLF
- Resource Type: Monograph
- Metadata Last Updated: 2022-09-30T01:52:03Z
Dr. Bryan Chapell is the senior pastor of Grace Presbyterian Church in Peoria, Illinois and president emeritus at Covenant Theological Seminary in St. Louis, Missouri, where he has served in leadership capacities since 1985. Dr. Chapell is an internationally renowned preacher, teacher, and speaker, and the author of many books, including Christ-Centered Worship, Each for the Other, Holiness by Grace, Praying Backwards, The Hardest Sermons You’ll Ever Have to Preach, and Christ-Centered Preaching, a preaching textbook now in multiple editions and many languages that has established him as one of the nation’s foremost teachers of homiletics. He and his wife, Kathy, have four children.
