Noel Jesse Heikkinen is a pastor at Riverview Church in the Lansing, Michigan area, and serves as a network director for Acts 29. He is the author of Unchained and blogs at noeljesse.com. Noel and his wife, Grace, have four children.

__"The truth of the gospel of Jesus," Heikkinen writes, "is that I am nothing more than a wretch and so much more than a saint." Have you ever wondered if God could really save you? Have you ever thought grace might not be enough?__ In Wretched Saints, Heikkinen reveals the rough and beautiful side of grace so clearly that readers face up to the scars of sin—and have a renewed, startling realization that God's incredible gospel is true.  
   
Wretched Saints shows how grace is the ridiculously unwarranted posture of God that transforms sinners into saints, gives freedom to lavish grace on others, and stubbornly shapes us all to look like Jesus.

"In Wretched Saints, Noel Jesse Heikkinen does a fine job dispelling the myth that Christianity is chiefly a religion of judgment, scolding, and separation. Instead, he paints a compelling picture of how awareness and admission of sin become a pathway to enjoying the grace and love of God. For Jesus did not come for the healthy but for the sick, He did not come for the righteous but for sinners, and where sin abounds, grace abounds all the more! Take a risk. Read this book and see if perhaps you've misunderstood Christianity all a long."

"In Wretched Saints, my pastor Noel lays out the wonderfully paradoxical truth of the gospel. You are both a sinner, saved by God's relentless grace, and a saint, covered completely by the cross. In the chapters of this game-changing book, you will unearth practical truths to help you stop striving—yet simultaneously keep growing—as you rest in God's love and allow Jesus to do the heavy lifting, making you more like Him."

"It's more than a coincidence that the words wretch and retch are so similar. So much of what Heikkinen covers in this book are the aspects of our own sinful nature and struggles that make us feel like puking. But he does a brilliant, pastoral job of not wallowing in that mess and, instead, giving hope from the depths of God's grace. This book is a great help to people like me, who have been professing Christians for most of our lives and struggle with guilt and inadequacy. And it is a great help to new believers who are figuring out just how hard it is to pursue holiness."

"With refreshing transparency and deeply biblical truth, Pastor Noel Heikkinen will reconstruct the faith you once had when you first believed that Jesus loved you.... It's time to stop listening to the lies that point you toward introspection and the never-ending search for self- approval and to rest, really rest, in Christ's declaration, 'It is finished!' I love this book. Pick it up and let its message liberate your soul."

Pastor Noel Heikkinen exposes the gritty, gnarly, and wonderfully disruptive grace of God.

Noel Jesse Heikkinen

Acknowledgments

Introduction: The Endless Quest to Fix a Nonexistent Problem

1. Wretched Saints Are We: Silencing Satan’s Condemning Jackhammer

2. Faulty Sensors: The Deadly Cost of Believing a Lie

3. Wretched: The Good News Starts with Bad News

4. Just Believe: It’s More Than a Feeling

5. High Stakes Lost and Found: God’s Singular Posture of Love

6. Cherished Whore: A Parable of Betrayal, More Betrayal, and a Love That Transcends It All.

7. Loving the Unlovable: There’s No Such Thing as a Little Bit of Grace

8. Yet, Here We Are: Playing Nice with a Tyrant

9. Grace-Rich Gospel Therapy: Injecting the Gooey Grace of God into Your Deepest Pain

10. Born-Again Nick: A Case Study in Grace

11. Drip. Drip. Drip.: Why Is God’s Love Feeling Leaky Again?

12. Just Chill: Jesus Works So You Can Rest

13. Living with God, Others, and Myself: The Glorious New Life of a Wretched Saint

One Final Thing

Notes

Bible Credits

“The truth of the gospel of Jesus,” Heikkinen writes, “is that I am nothing more than a wretch and so much more than a saint.” Have you ever wondered if God could really save you? Have you ever thought grace might not be enough? In Wretched Saints, Heikkinen reveals the rough and beautiful side of grace so clearly that readers face up to the scars of sin—and have a renewed, startling realization that God’s incredible gospel is true.  
   
Wretched Saints shows how grace is the ridiculously unwarranted posture of God that transforms sinners into saints, gives freedom to lavish grace on others, and stubbornly shapes us all to look like Jesus.

\["Want a no-nonsense book about the Gospel?","Wretched Saints seeks to hep you understand the shape of true transformation","A rekindling read, you'll find an experience of how relentless God's grace is"\]

Acknowledgements

Introduction: The Endless Quest to Fix a Nonexistent Problem

1\. Wretched Saints Are We: Silencing Satan's Condemning Jackhammer

2\. Faulty Sensors: The Deadly Cost of Believing a Lie

3\. Wretched: The Good News Starts with the Bad News

4\. Just Believe: It's More than a Feeling

5\. High Stakes Lost and Found: God's Singular Posture of Love

6\. Cherished Whore: A Parable of Betrayal, More Betrayal, and a Love That Transcends It All

7\. Loving the Unloveable: There's No Such Thing as a Little Bit of Grace

8\. Yet, Here We Are: Playing Nice With a Tyrant

9\. Grace-Rich Gospel Theory: Injecting the Gooey Grace of God into Your Deepest Pain

10\. Born-Again Nick: A Case Study in Grace

11\. Drip, Drip, Drip: Why is God's Love Feeling Leaky Again?

12\. Just Chill: Jesus Works So You Can Rest

13\. Living With God, Others, and Myself: The Glorious New Life of a Wretched Saint

One Final Thing

Notes

Bible Credits

"In Wretched Saints, Noel Jesse Heikkinen does a fine job dispelling the myth that Christianity is chiefly a religion of judgment, scolding, and separation. Instead, he paints a compelling picture of how awareness and admission of sin become a pathway to enjoying the grace and love of God. For Jesus did not come for the healthy but for the sick, He did not come for the righteous but for sinners, and where sin abounds, grace abounds all the more! Take a risk. Read this book and see if perhaps you've misunderstood Christianity all a long." Scott Sauls, senior pastor of Christ Presbyterian Church, Nashville, and author of Befriend and Irresistible Faith--Scott Sauls

"In Wretched Saints, my pastor Noel lays out the wonderfully paradoxical truth of the gospel. You are both a sinner, saved by God's relentless grace, and a saint, covered completely by the cross. In the chapters of this game-changing book, you will unearth practical truths to help you stop striving--yet simultaneously keep growing--as you rest in God's love and allow Jesus to do the heavy lifting, making you more like Him." Karen Ehman, New York Times bestselling author of Keep It Shut, Proverbs 31 Ministries speaker, and Bible teacher--Karen Ehman

"It's more than a coincidence that the words wretch and retch are so similar. So much of what Heikkinen covers in this book are the aspects of our own sinful nature and struggles that make us feel like puking. But he does a brilliant, pastoral job of not wallowing in that mess and, instead, giving hope from the depths of God's grace. This book is a great help to people like me, who have been professing Christians for most of our lives and struggle with guilt and inadequacy. And it is a great help to new believers who are figuring out just how hard it is to pursue holiness." Barnabas Piper, author and podcaster--Barnabas Piper

"With refreshing transparency and deeply biblical truth, Pastor Noel Heikkinen will reconstruct the faith you once had when you first believed that Jesus loved you.... It's time to stop listening to the lies that point you toward introspection and the never-ending search for self- approval and to rest, really rest, in Christ's declaration, 'It is finished!' I love this book. Pick it up and let its message liberate your soul."Elyse Fitzpatrick, author of Finding the Love of Jesus from Genesis to Revelation--Elyse Fitzpatrick

A rough and down-to-earth look at grace and transformation, Wretched Saints shows the powerful effect of the Gospel in stark and unforgettable terms.

Wretched Saints

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