In the Garden of Eden, this was what the serpent called into question—the goodness of God (Gen. 3:4–6). And that question remains today underneath every temptation we face: Do you believe the Lord intends good for you? If only we could see how much God desires our good, then we would never choose against God’s will for our lives.

Therefore, the remedy to our deepest wound and the antidote to Satan’s most venomous lie is a sure and certain confidence in the goodness of God toward us. Only those who believe in his grace will have the power to obey him.

Because we are relentless in trying to justify our lives, because we will use anything, even our virtue, to keep God at a distance, we can’t hear this song of grace too loudly or too often. We always need to hear it at full volume. All the way up. Undiluted. In all of its shocking candor. Grace abounds.

I’m thankful for those writers who, against the fear that such talk of God’s lavish grace will lead to a life of license, dare to keep turning up the volume on grace—all the way to full blast. Amazing grace. This is the song that breaks into our hearts and changes everything. Grace changes everything. Believe the gospel of grace. Come and rest.

Rankin Wilbourne and John Ortberg, Union with Christ: The Way to Know and Enjoy God (Colorado Springs, CO: David C. Cook, 2016).

We have just released a new Bible Study based on the book: Union with Christ, by Rankin Wilbourne

These lessons are available on Amazon, as well as a part of my Good Questions Have Groups Talking Subscription Service. Like Netflix for Bible Lessons, one low subscription gives you access to all our lessons–thousands of them. For a medium-sized church, lessons are as little as $10 per teacher per year.

Lessons include:

Union with Christ, Lesson #1
Chapter #1:
Living in the Gap

Union with Christ, Lesson #2
Chapter #2:
Union with Christ. What Is It?

Union with Christ, Lesson #3
Chapter #3:
Why We Need Two Songs Playing in Our Head

Union with Christ, Lesson #4
Chapters 4 – 6:
Union with Christ in the Bible

Union with Christ, Lesson #5
Chapters 7 – 8:
Who Am I? / Where Am I Headed?

Union with Christ, Lesson #6
Chapters 9 – 10
What Am I Hear For? / What Can I Hope For?

Union with Christ, Lesson #7
Chapters 11 – 15
Abiding in Christ

Each lesson consists of 20 or so ready-to-use questions that get groups talking. Answers are provided in the form of quotes from respected authors such as John Piper, Max Lucado and Beth Moore.

These lessons will save you time as well as provide deep insights from some of the great writers and thinkers from today and generations past. I also include quotes from the same commentaries that your pastor uses in sermon preparation.

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