How God's Goodness Frees Us from Everything that Plagues Us

I have several other Eldredge books and love them all. Maybe its just me, but I couldnt connect with this one. It started out great, discussing holiness and the purpose of Christianity. Unfortunately, John then seemed to go off down a rabbit trail discussing Jesus' attributes which I found to be a serious overlap of material covered in Beautiful Outlaw.

In The Utter Relief of Holiness, John Eldredge shares about how we have come to believe that holiness is out of our reach. That most people feel that it is impossible. But he reminds us that it isn't about following a list of rules, but instead it is more about our hearts. That we don't need to strive to please Him as He is already pleased with us. It is about encountering Jesus and how He calls us to live a life of holiness out of that experience.

This is one of those books that I will read multiple times and get something more out of it each time.

Well bestselling author John Eldredge is back with his latest book, The Utter Relief of Holiness: How God's Goodness Frees Us From Everything That Plagues Us. The essencse of Eldredge's latest work is that in a world that is increasingly success and work driven, God offers us a place of rest. God offers us a rest from all our toil to please Him, because He is already pleased with us. Accepting Christ's invitation to rest in His holiness then leads us to more holiness, because Christ's goodness has an infectious nature about. One of the main examples Eldredge uses is that of Zacchaeus.
Zacchaeus' story can be found in Luke 19:1-9, but I'll give you the cliff notes. Jesus is passing through, Zacchaeus hears about this, and decides he must see this man. Now the point that Eldredge so clearly brings into view is that Jesus never condemned Zacchaeus, who was a corrupt tax collector. The perfect and all knowing Christ never points out Zacchaeus' glaring character flaws. Even still, Zacchaeus fesses up to all of it, and not only that. Zacchaeus vows to repay all that he has stolen. All this because Zacchaeus encounters the holiness of Christ and is both comforted and challenged to live up to this standard. In the Utter Relief of Holiness, John Eldredge invites us to do the same.
You can learn more about John and his Ministry, Ransomed Hearts here, [...]
I received this book from Faith Words Publishers for the purpose of an honest review.

One of the more incredible things about the recent 21 Day fast is it allowed me to focus on a stack of books I needed to review. Each of the books seemed to speak directly to things I either have been or should be wrestling with. One such book was "The Utter Relief of Holiness - How God's Goodness Frees Us from Everything that Plagues Us" by John Eldredge. Released on January 8th, I actually had the opportunity to review it earlier but was fasting social media (which included this blog) too. Now that I'm back I can report that this book gave me spiritual nourishment and much to ponder as the 21 Days moved along.

If I'm honest, I have not read any of the books that John Eldredge has released since I read "Wild At Heart." Don't misunderstand, it's not because I had a problem with "Wild At Heart" or John Eldredge. It's actually just the opposite. Reading "The Utter Relief of Holiness" reminded me how much I really enjoy his writing and crafting of words. "Wild At Heart" pretty much wrecked me in many ways and those were all things that very much needed to happen. What you find in this book is a reminder that the work of Christ has already been done. We can rest knowing we don't earn our holiness. In doing so, we actually begin a journey towards understanding an entirely different level of holiness.

This is a journey to the healing of our humanity. Through this journey you will find that in the healing is an entirely new concept of what it means to be holy. I enjoyed the book and am actually thinking about going back to read some of the works of John Eldredge between "Wild At Heart" and this book. I also plan to revisit this book often as I don't know that finishing achieves the goal. Learning to heal our humanity and becoming holy are processes which take constant refining. "Utter Relief of Holiness" is a great companion for just that purpose.

I found Utter Relief a slight departure for John in his writing, though his recorded teachings contain much of this sorts. Good to see that audio teaching more and more finding itself to new media forms.

Another of my favorite authors is Brennan Manning, and I found my soul astir much like reading Manning than Eldredge. You recognize the truth of what is being said, but disturbed by the impacts it makes to one's life and "exposure" of one's inner self. With Manning and with Utter Relief, I feel vulnerable - in a good way.

Dangerous? yes. During reading it, I felt vicious spiritual attacks. John, you could have warned me better ...

Excellent little book which gives a great starting place on the journey of holiness - to see ourselves as God sees us, and to claim that reality. It is not all through our own strength and hard work that we can achieve holiness, rather it is by reminding ourselves of who we already are in Christ, through his power and sacrifice. This is a book that bears re-reading regularly.

John Eldredge makes profound concepts easy to understand by using every day analogies and funny stories to illustrate the points. I can't say enough about how good this book is. If we could only get the simple concepts in our hearts, we could ive much better lives here on the earth!

John Eldredge has a unique and fresh perspective on Jesus the man and his "outlaw" approach to living the holy life. The religious elites were appalled by his rebellious and disrespectful lack of regard for their traditions and oppressive rules. The idea of a holy life takes on an entirely new meaning and is encouraging to all of us who find ourselves falling short of the mark. Jay Schaefer

I often read both the best and the worst rankings of an author I'm not familiar with. I did this today, in anticipation of reading this book, having seen John and his wife as a tv guest today. So I'm definitely buying this book and can't wait to read it. If you read the one -star ratings, think for yourself!!

Here is what I had to say to the one-star holy-men wanna-bees who pick apart this book ( because you don't even have to read the book to interpret their mind-set): " You guys giving this kind of criticism are nit-picking, self -righteous theologians. The author is trying to appeal to those hungry for God (Jesus. the Holy Spirit), for hope and a new life. It's a great place to start. Did you all forget that when two or more are gathered.....???
Negative, close mindedness is precisely what drives believers AWAY from organized religions. I'm buying this book and look forward to reading it."

This book changed alot of misconceptions that I had about Holiness. It made me think a lot about the things that we Chose to do,but yet we complain that it's so hard to attain to be Holy.But we all have a choice and in this book he shows us it's not so hard to do if we are willing and want to change for the better.

Eldredge does it again. This progresses in to some pretty deep water. He does a great job if diving in to the deeper heart/soul issues and how we can find freedom, restoration and healing down deep in our truest selves.

This book is very well written and often inspiring.

The reason I gave it such a low rating is because I think the author indulges in dangerously selective morality. I will provide a couple of examples and let the readers judge for themselves:

(1) On pages 70-71, in a discussion about following the spirit and not letter of the law, appears this disturbing comment:

"On the other hand, let's say you are cruising down some lost highway in the Nevada desert. It is a glorious afternoon. No one ahead, no one behind. Do you have to follow the speed limit? Nope. Everything is protected, nothing's at stake; you can fulfill the spirit of the law without observing the letter, just as you can break the spirit of the law even though you keep the letter. Technical rule keeping is not holiness."

This comment scares me, because it appears that Eldredge is willing to reserve for himself the right to evaluate each and every law as it suits him. Although I understand why he writes this, it just gives me a creepy feeling of distrust. I think it is a good habit to observe the speed limit and any other law regardless of whether or not we think they are justified, so long as no one is unrighteously hurt by doing so.

In another comment, the author writes that one would be justified to speed if transporting an accident victim to the hospital for example, and that seems sensible enough. But his comment about the Nevada highway leaves me very uneasy.

(2) On page 73 Eldredge comments on a friend who was fired from his job as a teacher at a Christian school because he was caught smoking, against the regulations. Eldredge writes: "Now, first off, the Bible does not prohibit smoking." It doesn't? What about warnings to safeguard our bodies as temples of the Lord? And anyway cigarettes hadn't even been invented in biblical times, so Eldredge's claim is a total red herring. I am certain that the author does not himself smoke and does not recommend it, and I can understand his sense that this firing was excessively retributive, especially since apparently the person in question was "the best teacher they had." But still, again Eldredge seems cavalier in his judgements.

So let the buyer beware of Mr. Eldredge's sometimes reckless attitude to obedience to rules and regulations.

In The Utter Relief of Holiness, John Eldredge attempts to convince Christians of the necessity of holiness and aid them in the practice of holiness. His goal is to "recover a vision of what holiness actually is," trusting that a true vision would "absolutely captivate" Christians and be "an utter relief" (18-19). Why an utter relief? Because when we are holy, we will live the way we were made to live.

The book's greatest strength is the focus on motive and heart idols. Holiness is not about faking it; legalism isn't the road to holiness (50). "Holiness...is a matter of the heart" (52). Repentance is a key to holiness, and Eldredge says we must not focus on external repentance, but on what our heart desires (63). For example, at the end of a long day, the box of donuts calls your name. You long for comfort, and that is a good desire. Donuts aren't the problem; the direction of your heart is. Holiness is recognizing your need to repent that you long for a false comfort rather than Christ, the only one who can really comfort you (121). In the end, to be holy we must honestly ask if we are looking to something for comfort, assurance, validation, pleasure, etc. over and above what God is for us (173).

Eldredge also rightly tells us that before conversion, the Christian had no choice but to sin. Because of the cross, however, we now can fight in the battle against sin. "Without the cross, sin would simply rule in us and over us unchallenged" (104). Christ purchased holiness for us: "Because of the work of Christ for us and in us, we now have the possibility of living a life filled with the captivating goodness of Jesus" (104). The cross must be the springboard for personal holiness, and Eldredge leaps off of this foundation well.

Finally, I commend Eldredge because he makes it clear that we can actually advance in holiness. Meditating on what Christ has accomplished in the gospel should lead to Spirit-empowered work and transformation. In other words, we need to put forth some effort in pursuing holiness and we should see progress. We need to work out our salvation with fear and trembling, and we can do so because it is God who works in us (112).

The shortcomings, however, severely outweigh these positives. In order to keep this review of manageable length, I'll mention three of them.

First, Eldredge ignores imputed righteousness as the foundation for holiness in favor of imparted righteousness. In chapter 8, "What God Did for You in Jesus," Eldredge rightly states that "in order to begin experience [holiness]...we need a basic understanding of what has been accomplished on our behalf" (99). After listing five truths of what Christ purchased for us in his death and resurrection, he then writes that the greatest news in heaven or on earth is that "the life of Jesus Christ has been imparted into your being" (103). Earlier in the book, Eldredge said, "The hope of Christianity is that we get to live life like Jesus...The way he does this is to give us his goodness; impart it to us" (42-43). Again, "His beautiful goodness can be ours...He does this by giving us his goodness; he imparts it to us" (179). Imparted righteousness (a Wesleyan doctrine) states that when God regenerates people, there is a righteous principle given to them to strive for holiness. Peter does state that Christians have partaken of the divine nature (2 Pet. 1:4). Christ is in believers by the Spirit who empowers Christians to progressively grow in holiness.

Yet Eldredge unhelpfully ignores the biblical and true foundation for holiness: the imputed righteousness of Christ. If a believer's hope is in the fact that he gets to live the life of Jesus, he will be severely frustrated and disappointed. Biblically, however, the Christian's hope is on the grace of God supremely revealed in the gospel, namely that God no longer counts his sins against him but has "made [Jesus] to be sin" so that sinners might "become the righteousness of God" (2 Cor. 5:21). This is not a righteousness we must to "live" each day. It is a righteousness revealed by faith---which is our only true hope Rom. 1:17). Imputed righteousness is not a righteousness that fluctuates in daily practice. It is one that is given as a gift and received by faith and cannot be taken away. It is a perfect righteousness and one that hides the believer with Christ before the Father (Col. 3:3). This must be the foundation and fuel for holiness.

Second, Eldredge ignores the cosmic scope of holiness. He rightly emphasizes that God is restoring all of creation (17), but incredibly he neglects the fact that at the center of God's cosmic restoration program is the church: God's community of people called to live together and love each other. Holiness is a community project: the local church must be essential if holiness is to be a reality in an individual's life. Eldredge ignores the church's role and plugs his Wild at Heart retreats multiple times (53, 133, 158, 167). He fails to mention any corporate means of grace (public worship, preaching, the Lord's Supper, small group fellowship/accountability, etc), and actually equates "the Church" with the religious leaders of Jesus' day (154).

Third, the picture Eldredge paints of holiness is almost entirely drawn from Jesus' life as presented in the Gospels. Of course, this is a fine place to examine holiness par excellence! Yet Eldredge fails to expound on the majestic and glorious pictures of God's holiness in the Old Testament. At best, Eldredge limits the revelation of God's holiness, implying that the picture of God in the Old Testament is not as compelling as Jesus in the New Testament. Indeed, this could insinuate that the Old Testament is irrelevant or even unnecessary as we seek to understand God's holiness.

Eldredge does many good things in this book. He paints a compelling picture of holiness. He emphasizes the importance of motive, walking the tight line of legalism and license. He is also clear that holiness means making God our treasure (see 171). When I analyze a book, though, I try to ask, "Would I hand this book to another person who's dealing with this issue?" Unfortunately, Eldredge is unclear, unhelpful, or incomplete in too many areas for me to give this book to another Christian, particularly one who is a recent convert.

My church has been doing a series called "Accidental Pharisee" wherein we explore how we can easily slip into the trap of just "following the rules" without actually embodying what Jesus was all about. The Utter Relief of Holiness is actually the perfect accompaniment to that sermon series because Eldredge spends several chapters talking about exactly this.

The little blurb on the back of the book says that "most folks don't think of holiness as an utter relief," but maybe more of a burden or something that is impossible to achieve. While the impossibility of holiness is real, it doesn't mean that we shouldn't still strive towards it. Can you imagine never struggling with your deepest demons again?

Not only conquering your fears, but simply never having fear. I can't even imagine what a relief it would be if money, jealousy, greed, gluttony, etc were not even on the table of issues. It truly would be an utter relief!

John Eldredge writes this book in such a way that it's not overly wordy and certainly not hypocritical. He admits his own humanity over and over again. However, he uses scripture to remind us that God can restore us. Eldredge really does this in a way that spoke right to my heart without getting lost somewhere in my brain. Quite an accomplishment, really.