Wretched Saints: Transformed by the Relentless Grace of God

by Noel Jesse Heikkinen

Overview

“The truth of the gospel of Jesus,” Heikkinen writes, “is that I am nothing more than a wretch and so much more than a saint.” Have you ever wondered if God could really save you? Have you ever thought grace might not be enough? In Wretched Saints, Heikkinen reveals the rough and beautiful side of grace so clearly that readers face up to the scars of sin—and have a renewed, startling realization that God’s incredible gospel is true.
 
Wretched Saints shows how grace is the ridiculously unwarranted posture of God that transforms sinners into saints, gives freedom to lavish grace on others, and stubbornly shapes us all to look like Jesus.
 

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9781434709967
Publisher:	David C Cook
Publication date:	02/01/2019
Pages:	208
Product dimensions:	5.40(w) x 8.10(h) x 0.70(d)

About the Author

Noel Jesse Heikkinen is a pastor at Riverview Church in the Lansing, Michigan area, and serves as a network director for Acts 29. He is the author of Unchained and blogs at noeljesse.com. Noel and his wife, Grace, have four children.
 

Table of Contents

Acknowledgments 13

Introduction: The Endless Quest To Fix A Nonexistent Problem 15

1 Wretched Saints Are We: silencing Satan's Condemning Jackhammer 25

2 Faulty Sensors: The Deadly Cost Of Believing A Lie 35

3 Wretched: The Good News Starts With Sad News 47

4 Just Believe: IT'S More Than A Feeling 63

5 High Stakes Lost And Found: God's Singular Posture of Love 77

6 Cherished Whore: A Parable Of Betrayal, More Betrayal, And A Love That Transcends It All 89

7 Loving The Unlovable: THERE'S No Such Thing As A Little Bit of Grace 105

8 Yet, Here We Are: Playing Nice with a Tyrant 117

9 Grace-Rich Gospel Therapy: Injecting the Gooey Grace of Goo into Your Deepest Pain 133

10 Born-Again Nick: A Case Study In Grace 147

11 Drip. Drip. Drip: Why Is God's Love Feeling Leaky Again? 163

12 Just Chill: Jesus Works So You Can Rest 177

13 Living With God, Others, And Myself: The Glorious New Life of A Wretched Saint 187

One Final Thing 199

Notes 201

Bible Credits 205

Editorial Reviews

In Wretched Saints, Noel Jesse Heikkinen does a fine job dispelling the myth that Christianity is chiefly a religion of judgment, scolding, and separation. Instead, he paints a compelling picture of how awareness and admission of sin become a pathway to enjoying the grace and love of God. For Jesus did not come for the healthy but for the sick, He did not come for the righteous but for sinners, and where sin abounds, grace abounds all the more! Take a risk. Read this book and see if perhaps you’ve misunderstood Christianity all a long.”
 

Scott Sauls

In Wretched Saints, my pastor Noel lays out the wonderfully paradoxical truth of the gospel. You are both a sinner, saved by God’s relentless grace, and a saint, covered completely by the cross. In the chapters of this game-changing book, you will unearth practical truths to help you stop striving—yet simultaneously keep growing—as you rest in God’s love and allow Jesus to do the heavy lifting, making you more like Him.”
 

Karen Ehman

It’s more than a coincidence that the words wretch and retch are so similar. So much of what Heikkinen covers in this book are the aspects of our own sinful nature and struggles that make us feel like puking. But he does a brilliant, pastoral job of not wallowing in that mess and, instead, giving hope from the depths of God’s grace. This book is a great help to people like me, who have been professing Christians for most of our lives and struggle with guilt and inadequacy. And it is a great help to new believers who are figuring out just how hard it is to pursue holiness.”
 

Barnabas Piper

With refreshing transparency and deeply biblical truth, Pastor Noel Heikkinen will reconstruct the faith you once had when you first believed that Jesus loved you.... It’s time to stop listening to the lies that point you toward introspection and the never-ending search for self- approval and to rest, really rest, in Christ’s declaration, ‘It is finished!’ I love this book. Pick it up and let its message liberate your soul.”
 

Elyse Fitzpatrick