Jesus Is by Judah Smith
Our life group is finishing a discussion on Judah Smith’s recent book Jesus Is ________. It is a great introduction to the incredibly engaging Jesus we find in the Bible. I’ve posted about a sermon of Judah’s before and mentioned how much I admire his unique delivery and style. While different from me in a number of ways, I enjoy his outlook on faith and his understanding of Jesus.
Below are some of my favorite quotes from the book. What I can’t capture is how well Judah’s humor seeps through the content.
In reality, for many people, the greatest hindrance to receiving the grace of God is not their scandalous sins—it’s their empty good deeds. When we realize that grace is a person, not a principle, abusing grace is no longer an option. It’s easy to abuse a principle, to manipulate a system, or to excuse away a doctrine. But it’s much harder to abuse a person or violate a relationship. Please don’t tell me Jesus was beaten and mutilated and tortured so we could try to save ourselves through our paltry good deeds. Jesus said, “It is finished.†The more I think about this potent little phrase, the more convinced I am that we need a bigger estimation of God and a smaller estimation of sin. Loving Jesus, not avoiding sin, is the focal point of our lives. It’s human nature to mistrust what seems too good to be true. Let’s settle in our hearts once and for all that Jesus is too good to be true. Salvation is too good to be true. Grace is too good to be true. Heaven is too good to be true.
Do You Want to Read the Bible Without Falling Behind?
Sign up your email and I’ll send you a PDF to download and use my custom-made reading plan system. There’s no way to fall behind on this system and every day will be different no matter how long you use it!
I’ll send future content directly to your inbox AND you can dive into the Bible like never before.
Download Your Free Copy
