Book Review: Beat God To The Punch by Eric Mason

I have said it once and I will say it again, never judge a book by it's title unless the author is a well known prosperity false gospel teacher. When I heard Eric Mason had a new book being released I was excited because I was blessed by his last one, Manhood Restored. The title of Mason's new book, Beat God To The Punch, really threw me off because it almost sounded like some weird teaching. What does it mean to beat God to the punch?

Another thing that is threw me off is that Paul Tripp and his mustache (if you know who I am talking about, you get the joke) wrote the foreword to the book which I know Tripp will never put his name with a book with some hokey theology. The subtitle to the book says, "Because Jesus Demands Your Life." So the question remains, what is Mason's new book all about? After reading the book I can tell you that Beat God To The Punch is not some weird theological 180 Mason nor Tripp have taken. This is book is about grace and it is also about discipleship.

Mason wrote that beating God to the punch "involves willingly bending one's life to Jesus now, and forever. Practice begins by trusting in the finished work of Jesus Christ on the cross and His resurrection from the dead as a substitutionary atonement for your sins. Upon the return of Jesus, all will acknowledge His Lordship. On that day, those who are forced to bow will experience the punch of God's wrath. Those who willingly bow at the appointed time of salvation will be missed by God's wrathful punch because God hit Jesus on their behalf" (pg. 2). Beating God to the punch is about missing the full wrath of God to those who deserve judgment. All true believers stand in grace and will miss the wrathful punch. Those who experience grace will give Jesus everything in their lives which is discipleship.

As I mentioned, this book is about discipleship, however, it is more about grace than discipleship even though Mason ties both of them in his teachings. Mason wrote that Jesus is the embodiment of grace so when we follow Jesus we also follow the grace of God. Without the grace of God there is no hope as we follow Jesus. Grace does not keep us from suffering but help us through the valley as we go through suffering.

Every year there seems to be at least one book that surprises me. Mason's book happens to be one of them. Maybe because the title is very catchy. The title of the book might come across someone's eye in a Christian bookstore and pick it up. He/she would read it then realize they need God's grace more than they ever thought they did. I highly recommend this book. It is well written and easy to read. This book is a strong contender for my top five books of the year.

Thanks Broadman & Holman for letting me review this book.