Beat God to the Punch: Because Jesus Demands Your Life

by Eric Mason

Jesus demands your entire life . In  Beat God to the Because Jesus Demands Your Life , Author Eric Mason succinctly articulates God's call of discipleship on every person. In a winsome, persuasive tone, Mason calls people into a posture of submission to the gospel.

Eric Mason masterfully roots out the areas of life where we try to tell God, "Do not enter." In light of Jesus' free offer of the good news, Pastor Mason challenges readers to turn our affections away from those things that hold hostage our hearts and consider what it means to be an authentic follower of the Messiah. 

God desires to transform every area of your life. Yet, most often, transformation seems to come when we willingly submit ourselves to the lordship of Jesus Christ. Why not  beat God to the punch  and seize a grace-filled life?

Beat God to the Punch  is for anyone who has ever asked, "What does it mean to follow Jesus?" Believers and unbelievers alike will find both comfort and challenge on the pages of Mason's work.

Genres: Christian Living, Theology

128 pages, Hardcover

First published September 15, 2014

About the author

DR. ERIC MASON is the founder and pastor of Epiphany Fellowship in Philadelphia, PA. He and his wife, Yvette, have four children. After more than two decades of gospel ministry, Dr. Mason has become known for his passion to see the glory of Jesus Christ robustly and relevantly engaged in broken cities with the comprehensive gospel. He helps coach and train families to plant churches locally, nationally, and internationally. He is the founder and president of Thriving, an urban resource organization committed to developing leaders for ministry in the urban context, and is the author of three books, Manhood Restored, Beat God to the Punch, and Unleashed. He is the recipient of multiple earned degrees, including a BS in Psychology from Bowie State University, a Master of Theology from Dallas Theological Seminary, and a Doctoral degree from Gordon-Conwell Theological Seminary.

Reviews

[Josh · Rating 3 out of 5]

A short read that expounds greatly on grace and the workings of God's grace in our lives. I'm a huge fan of Mason but felt like the structure of this book left me wanting more. Mason does a great job speaking to the grace of God through the atoning work of Christ Jesus and how we might grab hold of that in salvation to truly live the free and abundant life that God has called us to.

[Nora Dye · Rating 4 out of 5]

We all deserve grace. We all need to learn how to extend grace to others. This book explains how often the Bible talks about grace. We use the word in daily language. Let's practice it daily as well.

[Joe Debenedictis · Rating 5 out of 5]

Great book. Short but a lot to process. Good for new believers and a good reminder for those who have been in the faith for a while.

[Christy Bower · Rating 4 out of 5]

Beat God to the Punch is based on the premise that someday every knee will bow to Christ (Philippians 2:9-11), so author Eric Mason suggests we beat God to the punch by submitting our lives to Him in humility so God’s grace can work in and through our lives. We will either bow to Christ willingly now, or we will bow to Christ by force when He returns. Rather than facing judgment, Mason argues it’s more desirable to beat God to the punch and bow to Christ willingly.

Chapter One: Crossing Paths with Grace describes grace as a person—God made flesh in Jesus Christ. Chapter Two: Experiencing Grace explains five definitions or facets of grace. Chapter Three: How Grace Works offers an explanation of how the names of Christ are sufficient for our every need. Chapter Four: Grace Recovered describes the great moves of God throughout history and how grace was the underlying force driving them forward. And Chapter Five: Completing Work of Grace looks at future grace and how God’s grace will lead us home. It explores the “Already, but not yet” of our position in Christ and our sanctification over time as a work of grace in our lives.

The message of this short book is excellent. I thought there were too many “fillers” such as an excessive number of long quotes, long lists, etc. But otherwise, this is an important message about living a grace-filled life and has a lot of simple explanations about salvation that would be helpful to unbelievers or new Christians.

This review, along with additional book quotes, first appeared on my blog, ChristyBower.com.

[Michael Newton · Rating 3 out of 5]

This book was a nice short read focusing mainly on the topic of God’s grace. What it is, how do we see it, how is it experienced, etc. This book I would give three stars it was a nice book but overall there was only one section I really enjoyed reading. I really enjoyed Grace Recovered which was chapter four where Eric Mason dug into the church’s history and how Grace has played a major part. I would recommend this book to someone who wants a short book to understand the topic of grace.

Quotes:

“The role of grace is not to eliminate suffering, but to sustain us through the valley. Goodness and mech following us all the days of our life in the context of the psalm displays God’s loyalty, not just to us, but to His name.” – Chapter 3: How Grace Works, Pg 62

“As the Spirit of God dwells in the believer, so is the constant presence of the grace of God at work in us.” – Chapter 4: Grace Recoverd, Pg 74

[Chris · Rating 3 out of 5]

I really like Eric Mason and I think he is a fantastic preacher. He is able to take deep Biblical truths and relate them in a modern context with ease.

However, I think he missed it in this book. I found it very difficult to read. I am not a fan of his writing style. He is repetitive and unclear in the main point that he is trying to drive home in each chapter.

While I think Rev. Mason has a great ministry and a gift at preaching and communication, writing is sadly not his forte.

[Wade Stotts · Rating 2 out of 5]

I probably would've enjoyed this book more if it wasn't so poorly written. I think Mason is right on the big ideas and I love books about grace, but I was distracted by the handful of historical misrepresentations and numerous, basic grammatical errors.

[Andy · Rating 4 out of 5]

A short, readable book on the concept of grace that contains many helpful ideas and doesn't sugar-coat things.

[Maxine · Rating 3 out of 5]

It's a quick, thought provoking read.