You Know What Else Is Amazing?

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IF YANCEY IS WRONG, THEN WHY IS IT SO HARD TO TELL?

(A review by Brother Jonathan Burke)

When I first opened What's so amazing about Grace?, I approached it rather skeptically, concerned that I may be confronted with complete error right from the start. It was much to my surprise, and even to my concern, to find myself agreeing with Yancey on a number of points. As I continued to read, I felt increasingly puzzled - I agreed with some of his arguments, but could never agree with his conclusions.

The question which many of us may be asking ourselves is 'If Yancey is wrong, then why is it so hard to tell?'.

THE PROBLEM IS A DOCTRINAL ONE

Andrew has rightly said that Yancey's book is a subtle combination of truth and error 1, but it is not until his work is compared with sound Scriptural principles that some of these subtleties are revealed. The key principles at stake are:

The process of forgiveness

The meaning and purpose of grace

The character of God

The process of salvation

The atoning work of Christ

The doctrine of God manifestation

It is obvious that these principles comprise the very foundations of our faith. Any error in one of these principles will fracture the entire gospel message. Inevitably, and ultimately most seriously, it will lead to a way of life which is a complete departure from God. This is no overstatement. If we acknowledge that the principles listed above are of utmost importance to our relationship with God, and our eternal salvation, then we will be rightly alarmed when we realise that in Yancey's book these fundamental principles are either distorted or else omitted completely. Such an inadequate and inaccurate presentation of these principles, will have a serious destructive influence not only on our understanding of God, but also on our very way of life.

So how does Yancey present these principles, and to what extent is he accurate to their Scriptural definition? It is an unalterable fact that we become what we worship. If we truly believe the doctrines we profess, our lives will be shaped by them. These doctrines determine our understanding of our relationship with God, and determine the life we lead as a result of that relationship. Philip Yancey has grasped the truth of the fact that our doctrine determines our way of life in this way. The doctrinal position of Philip Yancey results in a certain way of life, and that way of life is unjustifiable without that doctrinal position.