Book Review of Defiant Grace: The Surprising Message and Mission of Jesus

• Author:  Dane Ortlund
• Publication Date: 2012
• Publisher: EP Books (Evangelical Press)
• Retail Price: $11.99
• Page Count: 139 

Gospel-centeredness: Coherent or just cool

The gospel is all the rage these days in Christian circles. It’s trendy to frequently drop the phrase ‘gospel-centeredness’ in our conversations as we sip on our skinny no-foam latte while peering over our cool glasses that we don’t really need to wear. There are many great books surfacing on the gospel and its efficacy in the lives of believers, stimulating fruitful conversations on the blogosphere regarding the gospel and sanctification. While the average Christian understands the bare facts of the incarnation, death, burial, and resurrection of Christ for sin, many of us do not know how to articulate the implications of the gospel of grace for our own lives.  Dane Ortlund’s book, Defiant Grace: The Surprising Message and Mission of Jesus, written for “fellow everyday believers” may be the means of refreshing grace that they are seeking.  Ortlund states boldly, “It’s time to enjoy grace anew- not the decaffeinated grace that pats us on the hand, ignores our deepest rebellions and doesn’t change us, but the high-octance grace that takes our conscience by the scruff of the neck and breathes new life into us with a pardon so scandalous that we cannot help but be changed.” (page 13) Ortlund’s  creative and seemingly effortless use of vivid, metaphorical language alone makes the book a pleasurable read.

Surprised by Grace
Ortlund presumes that our understanding of who Jesus is needs repeated tweaking, so he takes us on a journey through the four gospels in search of the surprising message and mission of Jesus.  His premise is that Jesus is surprising and grace is shocking. The surprises he shares may seem scandalous and counterintuitive to our law-addicted hearts, so Ortlund anchors his summary statements for each gospel narrative in portions of Scripture from that same gospel. He adeptly uses these anchors to give evidence for the unanticipated, astounding message or mission of Jesus as well as show its thematic continuity within the book as a whole.

Chapter 1 begins with Matthew where we see the surprise of disobedient obedience.  The main point of this chapter answers the question of qualification for the Kingdom of God. Using Matthew 18-20, Ortlund shows that Peter, the Pharisees and the rich young ruler all ask the same question that many others have asked through the ages, “What is the least that I must do to get God off my back?” Treating obedience as something that earns points and qualifies us for the Kingdom, we deny the “inadequacy of our own moral resources (as a result of our sin) and the adequacy of God’s divine provision (on account of Christ’s work).” As a result of these false beliefs, our rule-keeping can be evil, our obedience disobedience. In the end, only those who realize their disqualification, manifested in rule-breaking and rule-keeping, are truly qualified to receive Christ’s grace.  

In Mark, we see the surprise of the King undergoing the fate of a criminal, underscoring triumphant brokenness. Christ the King came to die. Masterfully using Jesus’ dealings with James and John and blind Bartimaeus from Mark 8-10, Ortlund unpacks our spiritual and moral blindness, evidenced in our natural, prideful grasping for glory in ourselves. We, like blind Bartimaeus, need mercy from the King who died the death of a criminal to secure mercy and glory for those who admit their blindness and cling to Christ.

In Luke, we see the surprise of the insiders becoming outsiders and the outsiders becoming insiders as Jesus reveals the stunning reality of those included in his community. Luke highlights the radical social inversion of the gospel call: Jesus came for sinners and social outcasts. Those who believed themselves to be on the outside were welcomed, and those who believed themselves to be on the inside were excluded.  “Hell is filled with people who believe they deserve to be outside hell and inside heaven. Heaven is filled with people who believe they deserve to be outside heaven and inside hell. Such grace defies our sense of fair play.” (page 92) Those invited into community with Christ are those who grasp the truth that the ultimate insider became the outcast to secure inclusion for outsiders to be brought in.

In John, we see the surprise of the Creator of the universe becoming one of his own creatures, emphasizing the shocking identity of Jesus. Through consideration of the magnitude of the incarnation account in John 1, Ortlund draws attention to the uniqueness of Christianity in the weighty reality that the transcendent, holy God came to us, as us. Scandalous to the deeply held beliefs of both Jews and Greeks regarding the nature of God is this notion that God became man. “This is the surprise of John. The Creator became a creature so that we creatures can be restored to our Creator. Such grace defies our categories.” (page 105)

Wonder to Worship
By the end of the book, the reader is left freshly stunned by Jesus and his radical grace, marveling at his counter-intuitive message, amazed at his counter-cultural mission. These surprising realities make quick application for the reader, forcing us to think about the motivations of our obedience and giving insight into the desires of our heart and our need for mercy. They navigate us towards the broken and marginalized, reminding us of the beauty and grandeur of the welcome and acceptance of gospel grace. Dane Ortlund invites and impels worship of the Giver of grace, gratitude because of the receiving of it, and a deep desire to be transformed into the image of this One who would come to give such radical, defiant grace!  The only weakness found in Ortlund’s book is its brevity. 119 pages whets the appetite for grace and leaves you wanting more!

Crockpot Sanctification

Crockpots can be an exercise in impatience! They take time and require maintaining a low, steady heat to cook. Pulling the top off of a crockpot to check progress just delays the prolonged process of cooking even more. Unfortunately, my doubts and impatience with the claims and promises of my crockpot tempt me to check under the lid often. I confess, I do not always trust my crockpot!


Crockpots can be similar to sanctification, the long, ongoing process whereby God changes us into the image of Christ starting at conversion and culminating in glory. Though faithfully steady, this course of change in both crockpots and sanctification can seem painfully sluggish. 2 Cointhians 2:18 ensures us that God is transforming us into the likeness of Christ from one degree (crockpot pun intended) of glory to the next. The indwelling Holy Spirit guarantees change in the child of God. Nevertheless, how often are we impatient with slow change in ourselves, our spouse, our children, or our friends? How often are we irritated by the transformation that is yet lacking? How frequently do we mistrust the claims and promises of our God concerning sanctification? Akin to checking a crockpot’s progress only an hour after the cooking has started, we have doubts about the process of transformation through sanctification as well. We are frustrated by the slow rate of change. We prefer quick results, microwave speed.

Emotions Reveal our Heart

Our impatience may seem righteous at first glance, and in fact could have been righteous at the start. The basis of our impatience may have began as a loving desire for those we love to be passionate about Christ, evidenced by holy words and deeds that reflect their zeal. Assuming our desires are righteous and motivated by love, what do you suppose the fruit of this “love of neighbor” would look like? Engaging encouragement? Unwearied support? The existence of impatience and irritation may indicate that our once loving desires may have gone off the tracks. These disordered emotions are useful gifts that enable us to understand our hearts.

Questions to Probe the Heart

Interrogating, self-directed questions may aid in exposing our true motives, false beliefs and misdirected trust.  Why am I impatient? Whom am I impatient with? How does this person’s growth or lack of growth affect me? Do they make me look bad? Am I comparing this person to someone else? If so, who? Am I afraid of the outcome of their faith? What do my fears suggest? According to my theology, who has the ultimate control over a person’s growth in holiness? What do I believe about the nature, efficacy and rate of sanctification?

Impatience with God

These questions and more like them help us to slow down and think clearly about what our emotions may be revealing  about our hearts. Frustration and impatience often reveal an anger over the lack of control that we have over any given situation. These disordered emotions may help us see that we are grasping for that control and not getting it. And who would we be wrestling with? If God has ultimate control, are we frustrated and impatient with Him? Do we doubt His wisdom and methods?  Assuming we could  take the reins, what exactly would we do differently?  Would transforming gospel grace be the principal means by which we would ensure transformation?  Would grace seem too slow? Too risky and unpredictable? Would we be tempted to revert back to a few good, firm laws with built-in consequences? Wouldn’t that be more effective and manageable? Laws give the illusion that we have taken back control.  Grace simmers away at crockpot speed while law turns the oven up to 450 degrees, forcing quick external changes on the outside yet remaining cold at the core.  

Judgementalism or Gracious Love

Notwithstanding the prideful stance of attempting to wrestle control away from God and possibly enacting a different method of change, there is yet another facet of the heart that may need exposure.  While love of neighbor encourages us to speak the truth in love as a means of growth and change, our impatience about another’s process may expose a prideful judgmentalism. When we look upon another in censorious judgment rather than in love and compassion, we are undoubtedly comparing them to someone else. Who might that be? Very often, we are comparing their growth to our own.

Our pride deceives and blinds us. We lose sight of the truest standard of holiness and acceptability before a Holy God, namely perfection. Stacking our performance up against the demand for perfection ought us leave us shaking at Mt. Sinai, like Moses of old who said, “I tremble with fear.” (Hebrews 12:18-21)  If we understood our own sin, brokenness, and failures to worship and live out faith as we ought, then we would inevitably look upon others with compassion that deeply identifies with weakness. We may begin to come alongside another not as a critic of their lack of progress, but as a supporter and encourager of their growth. Instead of only noticing the lack of change, we may begin to discern the movements and evidences of grace from God, who alone has the power to inflame a heart of worship.  There may still be a lament or a sadness over what is still lacking in ourselves and others, but it will likely be a lament of faith that trusts God to complete what He started.  


If we are failing to give grace, we are likely not apprehending our desperate need of grace for ourselves. We are more sinful than we understand. Yet, the wonder of the gospel reveals a Savior and Redeemer who gives grace!  Grace- unearned, unfathomable, never-running-out grace which covers all of our sin and grants us Christ’s very righteousness! Apprehending the enormity and the beauty of the grace of God toward sinners warms our hearts and gives way to our own rise of faith, obedience and worship. And this will, in turn, allow us to extend this grace to others in their process of change.

Elijah of old understood this struggle. Romans 11 :2-6 says that when Elijah “appealed to God against Israel, he said, ‘Lord, they have killed your prophets, they have demolished your altars, and I alone am left, and they seek my life.’ What is God’s reply to him? ‘I have kept for myself seven thousand that have not bowed the knee to Baal.’ So too at the present time there is a remnant, chosen by grace. But if it is by grace, it is no longer on the basis of works; otherwise grace would no longer be grace.” Elijah was looking at the people of Israel with frustration over the outcome of faith in their lives. But God answers by saying that he has chosen his people by grace, and that grace has enabled them to not bow the knee to Baal in idolatry. Grace is bearing the fruit of faith, obedience and worship. Grace is producing worshippers. Elijah needed to trust in God for His work that He alone could produce in the lives of His people. Trust may cause our frustration to give way to praise. 

Trusting God and Our Call to Love

Trusting God and His grace does not negate our responsibility and privilege to love our neighbor with grace and truth. We may still need to speak the hard truth, but speaking truth with faith in God may alter our motives to that of authentic, others-focused love for the benefit and blessing of our neighbor, expressed in compassionate care and sympathetic graciousness instead of impatient judgment.  

Where is your trust?

Like a crockpot, grace powered sanctification slowly but very effectively transforms and permeates to our core, making tender and warming our hearts by mercy. It produces over time  a passionate zeal to become more like our Savior, who is full of grace and truth (John 1:14).  Grace does not leave us cold on the inside, or cold toward others.  Grace is powerful and effective.  Where are you placing your trust?

Post-Merriment Moodiness and the Gospel

The Christmas tree is a fire hazard now.  The wrapping paper and boxes are strewn about.  What remains of the special Christmas morning breakfast is littered throughout the kitchen.  The kids are still half-dazed and crazed from the morning merriment.  Dad is relaxing with his iPad, catching up on the news.  And mom….well, this mom, looks around in dread.  It happens to some degree every year for me.  I begin a slow, but sure descent into resentfulness.  I begin to think about what it will mean to clean up this disaster called Christmas.  If I don’t start now, it will only get worse.  And so I begin.  I start with the paper and boxes.  I ask the kids to help.  Thankfully, they help a little.  I move over to the kitchen and begin to clean up what remains of sticky cinnamon rolls and egg nog.  I look over at my happy family and still the gratefulness of the morning is keeping resentfulness at bay.

But then a few days later, the time comes to do the major clean up.  I begin to de-Christmas my home.  I dread this multi-hour event.  I try to get the kids to help out.  And this time, I am met with resistance.  My descent begins.  With each passing hour, it builds.  The voices from my heart begin to speak to myself their complaints.  Why do I bother decorating?  Christmas is too much work for moms!  We spin our wheels and run ourselves ragged to make the day special for everyone, and then we have all the work of clean up too on the tail end!  Shopping, decorating, stringing lights, baking, cooking, gingerbread house making, wrapping, taping, more shopping, more cooking, cleaning, bow making, more wrapping, deal finding, hanging and filling stockings, shipping, and now cleaning too!  Bah humbug!!  The resentfulness is thick now!  I am afraid that I may even launch on my family into a string of guilt-inducing, manipulative comments that I will later regret.  I have done it before.  What feels like a blessed release of anger erodes into guilt and shame.  And this year, I do not want to go there!  What is my resentful heart to do?

I find a quiet hiding place in my home, and fall into a posture of prayer.  I want to cry.  I am exhausted and I am angry.  But I am also fighting my desire to allow my heart to spill out on my family, whom I deeply love.  I know that I need to apply the gospel, but where do I start?  I counsel others in gospel application, but applying the gospel to myself is always a foggier road to travel.  Think, Keri, think!  Start with your anger.  What is underneath it?  Why are you really upset?  Hmmm.  Fog begins to clear as I make my way into the ugliness of my heart.  I am angry because I have to do the work while my family enjoys all the benefits and it is just not fair!  I don’t want to do all of this work alone!  I want to sit around and be free to enjoy the benefits of Christmas too!  What is underneath all of this mess?  Self-righteousness to be sure!  Idolatrous desires for comfort are present as well.  I want to be served, rather than serve.  Lots of ugliness is surfacing now, and I am slowly humbled by my sin.  My anger is subsiding as  I see my own sin.  But gospel application does not end with the sight of our sin.  We also have a Savior.  I want to apply the gospel to myself in a way that causes true repentance and joy.  I want to love Christ more as a result of this little transaction with Him on this December morning. 

Gospel application is not easy.  Again, I must think hard to clear the haze.  How do I apply the gospel to a heart that is mad that I have done all of the work, while my family is free to enjoy all of the benefits.  How does Christ enter into this picture?  Light floods in in an almost immediate and blinding way.  Work and freedom are the themes of my grumbling heart.  Work and freedom are inherent themes within the gospel.  My Jesus did all of the work too so that I could freely enjoy all of the benefits!  I enjoy all of the free-grace benefits of the grueling, wrath-bearing work that He alone accomplished at the cross.  He did not ask me to share in the crushing weight and work of bearing my sin.  No, He did it all!  Because of Him, I get to cease from my work.  I am free to simply enjoy the benefits of all that He accomplished.  And that is NOT FAIR!  The great exchange of His work for my freedom is the epitome of injustice!  I now don’t want fair in my situation; I want grace!  And it is grace that I have received…then, at the great exchange, and now.  And I am humbled!  I am thankful!  I am freshly astounded at the lavish beauty of Christ’s work on my behalf!  I thank God for his grace towards me and I want to extend that same grace to my family!  I want to be like my Jesus who willingly served me!  I want to serve in joy because I understand that the ultimate injustice took place 2000 years for my most ultimate freedom and joy. 

My heart is changed by gospel grace.  I can get up now and finish the clean up with a new heart.  I can serve my family with a grateful heart.  My heart has moved from the heat of anger to the warmth of grace, and it has motivated me to love and serve from joy.  Ironically and yet beautifully, my husband finds me later after noticing all of my work.  He says, “I wish you would have told me you were cleaning.  I would have loved to help you.”  I can authentically smile back and enjoy the rest of the day with my family because… "There is therefore now no condemnation for those who are in Christ Jesus. For the law of the Spirit of life has set you free from the law of sin and death. For God has done what the law, weakened by the flesh, could not do. By sending his own Son in the likeness of sinful flesh and for sin, he condemned sin in the flesh, in order that the righteous requirement of the law might be fulfilled in us, who walk not according to the flesh but according to the Spirit." Romans 8:1-4