Broken Down House by Paul David Tripp (Book Notes)

This morning I received a review copy of Paul David Tripp’s new book Broken-Down House: Living Productively in a World Gone Bad. After reading the first fourth of this book, I feel compelled to share a few quotes and whet your appetite for more.

This is a wise, grace-filled book. It is practical and lyrical. With beautiful simplicity, Tripp’s words arrested my affections with his gospel-rich reflection on what it means to live under the care of our divine Redeemer and Restorer.

Here are a few excerpts:

The sights and sounds of the Bible are familiar. They are the sights and sounds of the very same broken world you and I wake up to every day. Dirt and smoke are on every page. You can’t read very far without your nostrils and eyes being assailed by the acrid air of a world gone bad. Let’s be straight here, the world of the Bible stinks in many ways. (p. 26-27)

Grace is the most transformational word in Scripture. The entire Bible is a narrative of God’s grace, a story of undeserved redemption. By the transformational power of his grace, God unilaterally reaches into the muck of this fallen world, through the presence of his Son, and radically transforms his children from what we are (sinners) into what we are becoming by his power (Christ-like). The famous Newton hymn uses the best word possible for that grace, amazing.

So grace is a story and grace is a gift. It is God’s character and it is your hope. Grace is a transforming tool and a state of relationship. Grace is a theology and an invitation. Grace is an experience and a calling. Grace will turn your life upside down while giving you a rest you have never known. Grace will convince you of your unworthiness without ever making you feel unloved.

Grace will make you acknowledge that you cannot earn God’s favor, and it will remove your fear of not measuring up to his standards. Grace will confront you with the fact that you are much less than you thought you were, even as it assures you that you can be far more than you had ever imagined. Grace will put you in your place without ever putting you down.

Grace will enable you to face truths about yourself that you have hesitated to consider, while freeing you from being self-consciously introspective. Grace will confront yo0u with profound weaknesses, and at the same time introduce you to new-found strength. Grace will tell you what you aren’t, while welcoming you to what you can now be. Grace will make you as uncomfortable as you have ever been, while offering you more comfort than you have ever known. Grace will drive you to the end of yourself, while it invites you to fresh starts and new beginnings. Grace will dash your hopes, but never leave you hopeless. Grace will decimate your kingdom as it introduces you to a better King. Grace will expose your blindness as it gives you eyes to see. Grace will make you sadder than you have ever been, while it gives you greater cause for celebration than you have ever known.

Grace enters your life in a moment and will occupy you for eternity. You simply cannot live a productive life in this broken-down world unless you have a practical grasp of the grace you have been given. (p. 42-43)

You are loved by a dissatisfied Redeemer. He will not rest from his work of grace until every last microbe of sin has been completely eradicated from every last cell of every last one of his children . . . He is absolutely resolute in his determination that every one of his children will experience the complete spoils of the victory he gained over sin and death through his crucifixion and resurrection. (p. 46-47)

There will be a day when you will attend the funeral of sin. Sin will die and you will live forever, permanently freed from the tyranny of sin. (p. 47)
I hope you will purchase and read this book. You can read the introduction online for free, and purchase it following the link above.