It pleased the Father that Christ would not only be our righteousness but also our sanctification. When we come to know that without sanctification no one will see God we are forced to flee to Christ and experience Him as our merciful and faithful High Priest. We find not only mercy but also grace(the ability to obey and please Him), as we walk in this grace we give Him glory and grow in our love for Him.

I agree with that. Most teachers I hear and read simply give us a moral code to keep. They have an inadequate view of how sinful man is, and how evil sin is.

This comes from both the Legalistic side, and the free-grace cheap grace side.

I know church people who live in sin, and say that’s just the way I am. they get divorced, and it’s no big deal, and they disregard all the spiritual disciplines,and they live a moral life, and count on their “sinners prayer” they said one day back in middle-school, and the dozen or so church things they do to make them feel good about themselves.
And if you ever mention the law, and obeying God, they always cry loud and clear, “I’m under grace, and I hate legalism”.

Tough group to handle. And then there are the legalists who live a very religious life, and they are quite the keepers of the 10 commandments, and will tell you so. These are a hard group to contend with as well.

I been in both groups, and have been both groups, and still struggle. But I thank God that I am now under a fine pastor and in a fine balanced church, where I can learn how grace and sanctification work in harmony.

Thanks for the book review. Sounds like a book worth reading.

“The anger God expresses over his children’s wrongdoing is more concern for the damage we do to ourselves than for our crossing him” (p. 195).

This seems more man-centered than God-centered. When it comes to our sin, God’s primary concern is over us trampling His holiness. Every time we sin, we’re saying we’d rather serve our self than God. So that, His anger is always more a concern of guarding His own perfect righteousness and the upholding of His perfect law. His glory is primary in all things. Our transgressions only serve to prove that holiness only comes by His grace alone.