Falling into Grace: Exploring Our Inner Life with God

by John Newton

Jesus was quite clear that we must lose our life before we find it. This book gives a hopeful and realistic look at what losing our life entails, articulating how “growth” in the Christian life is not our ascent to God but the process by which our eyes are opened to the beauty God has already given to us. It is a book about descending into God, and into our own inner depths, about the deep waters of the Christian faith. “Put out into the deep and let your nets down for a catch.” (Luke 5:4)

We live in a world that values productivity and success, and we vainly imagine that God expects us to be spiritually productive and successful, too. It doesn’t matter how much we talk about grace, our conversation is often narrowly focused on what we need to do for God―so much so that we often block the work God longs to do in us. This book does not articulate God’s work as a process by which we become spiritually strong, but rather as the process by which we embrace our weakness as the place where we most fully experience God’s perfect strength (2 Corinthians 12:9).

Genres: Religion

160 pages, Paperback

Published April 10, 2016

About the author

Librarian Note: There is more than one author in the Goodreads database with this name.
Please see: John Newton


John Newton is a native Texan and an Episcopal priest. He holds degrees from the University of Texas at Austin and Virginia Theological Seminary. John is passionate about Christian formation and enjoys a ministry of preaching and teaching throughout the Diocese of Texas. In 2012 John married his best friend Emily and the two of them reside in Houston with their golden retriever "Scout."

Reviews

[Tim Curby · Rating 3 out of 5]

Thought provoking, but uneven

Great book for a book study, but some chapters (first, last) are way better than others. Psychological ideas are very outdated which undercuts some of his arguments.

[Cathie · Rating 3 out of 5]

I enjoyed his ideas about grace. I didn't always understand them but it gave me something to think about.

[Marcos Ruiz · Rating 5 out of 5]

This is a book I will read again and again. I highly recommend it.

[Marty Troyer · Rating 5 out of 5]

This is a really helpful "map of the soul" that gives insight into what it means to be, feel, act, and think like a human; from a theological perspective.

[Jenny · Rating 5 out of 5]

Transformational. Newton tells you what you don’t want to hear about losing your ego and finding your true self with loving humor

[Kyle Dupic · Rating 5 out of 5]

I've became a bit of junkie for grace in the past few years, and have tried to gobble up resource after resource. Admittedly, sometimes they can get redundant, as if I've read the same ideas about it over and over. Falling Into Grace is NOT one of those books. Chapter 1 blew me away. I felt a freshness to the gospel message like I experienced a few years ago when God first help me see it afresh. The rest of the book seems to lean more towards an application of that gospel message. I really appreciated it, as I come from a more evangelical background and have learned so much from the Episcopalian church.

I had also just finished A.W. Tozer's The Pursuit of God, which sort of had the same "ring" to it. That is, "Exploring Our Inner Life with God." With all due respect to Tozer's classic work, I came out of it a little more exhausted at all I wasn't doing. Newton's work, just seemed far lighter of an experience to me.

[Bob Koo · Rating 5 out of 5]

Oh man, this is a gem of a book that joins the likes of Capon and Eclov as my go-tos. I will re-read certain parts often to remind myself of who I am in Christ, what he's done for me, and what the resurrection life (now!) is all about. Thank you, John Newton for writing the book that perfectly distills my beloved treasures of the Christian faith.