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God’s Way of Holiness: Growing in Grace by Walking with God by Horatius Bonar 

All links to books that are mentioned will be provided below. 

1. Book info:

   P. #: 154 

2. Author:  

• Life: Born 1808, died 1889 (aged 80). He came from a long line of ministers. He and his fathers served the Church in Scotland for a total of 364 years. In 1843, he married Jane C. Bonar, who, like Horatius, was a hymnwriter and poet. Horatius Bonar published some 100 hymns during his life. Bonar was one of the several extremely influential ministers in Scotland at the time and was able to reach 100s of 1000s even in his day.   

• General info about author: Horatius Bonar was a pastor for over 50 years, seminary professor, author, poet, hymnwriter, husband, and father of nine. 

  3. Overall Summery/review: 

• This is the part 2 of God’s Way of Peace. The first thing that needed to be dealt with in soteriology must be the freedom of anxiety. To have peace with and in God. Now, in this book, Bonar teaches us how in our salvation, we are to have holiness and continually become more holy. As Bonar starts his book, “The way of peace and the way of holiness lie side by side, or rather, they are one. That which bestows the one imparts the other; and he who takes the one takes the other also. The Spirit of peace is the Spirit of holiness. The God of peace is the God of holiness” (p. 15).  

• Forward by Matt Boswell in the last review. He does a wonderful job introducing the book, and offers a brief overview of Bonar’s life and introduces the book very well by saying, “Bonar insists from beginning to end that growth in godliness is intertwined with our continued understanding of the gospel of grace. Avoiding legalism on one hand and lawlessness on the other, Bonar argues and presents a thoroughly biblical vision of sanctification rooted in abiding in Christ” (p. 10). And later, “The divine order then is first pardon, then holiness; first peace with God, and then conformity to the image of that God with whom we have been brought to be at peace” (p. 54). 

• The first chapter deals mostly philosophy, and to me it seemed very Platonic, but I may have also been reading into it too much.  

• Each chapter has a name, but as I was reading it, I found that each chapter dealt with a different doctrine within soteriology.  

• Content: Read Table of Contents.  

1. More in-depth: Personal info relating to book. 

Quotes I really liked from this book:

“The way of peace and the way of holiness lie side by side, or rather, they are one. That which bestows the one imparts the other; and he who takes the one takes the other also. The Spirit of peace is the Spirit of holiness. The God of peace is the God of holiness.” - p. 15 

“It is to a new life that God is calling us; not to some new steps in life, some new habits or ways or motives or prospects, but to a new life.” - p. 17 

“Error injures, truth heals; error is the root of sin, truth is that of purity and perfection.” - p. 20 

“Chosen, called, quickened, washed, sanctified, and justified by God Himself, we are in no sense our own deliverers.” - p. 21 

“He who would know holiness must understand sin; and he who would see sin as God sees it, and think of it as God does, must look at the cross and grave of the Son of God, and must know the meaning of Gethsemane and Golgotha.” - p. 30 

“Our responsibility to be holy is great, but not greater than the means provided for its full attainment.” - p. 46 

“The divine order then is first pardon, then holiness; first peace with God, and then conformity to the image of that God with whom we have been brought to be at peace.” - p. 54 

“If my peace is a delusion, it cannot be a bad one, for it makes me leave off sin, and makes me pray and read my Bible.” - p. 56 

“The more fully that the gospel is preached, in the grand old apostolic way, the more likely is it to accomplish the results which it did in the apostolic days.” - p. 61 

“Of Spiritual health, the cross is the source.” - p. 77 

“Standing by the cross, we become imitators of the crucified One.” - p. 79 

“In all Antinomianism, whether practical or theological, there is some mistake both as to law and gospel.” - p. 102 

“Scripture is wonderfully balanced in all its parts; let our study of it be the same, that we may be well-balanced men.” - p. 125 

“The Word must be studied in all its fulness. Over its whole length and breadth we must spread ourselves. Above all theologies, creeds, catechisms, books and hymns, the Word must be meditated on, that we may grow in the knowledge of all its parts, and assimilation to its models.” - p. 126 

“In living for Christ, we must follow Him fully, not copying a copy, but copying Himself; otherwise ours will be an imperfect testimony, a reflected and feeble religion, devoid of ease, and simplicity, and grace, bearing the marks of imitation and art, if not of forgery.” - p. 137