There is no question that we live in an age of weak theology and casual Christianity. We have substituted intuition for truth, feeling for belief and immediate gratification for enduring hope. Evangelicalism desperately needs to return to the doctrines that once before reformed the world: radical depravity, unconditional election, particular redemption, efficacious grace and persevering grace. James Boice and Philip Ryken not only provide a compelling exposition on these doctrines of grace, but also look briefly at their historical impact. The authors leave no doubt that the church suffers when these foundational truths are neglected and that she must return to a Christianity that is practical-minded, kind-hearted, and most importantly, biblically based.

In What's So Great About the Doctrines of Grace?, the Rev. Richard D. "Rick" Phillips shows that "the doctrines of grace," those theological tenets more popularly known as "the five points of Calvinism," are comforting, faith-strengthening, and humbling teachings. In six short chapters, Rev. Phillips demonstrates conclusively from Scripture that this view of salvation exalts God and makes plain His great love for man, which drove Him to do all that was necessary to redeem a people for Himself. - Publisher.

Does God sovereignly elect some individuals for salvation while passing others by? Do human beings possess free will to embrace or reject the gospel? Did Christ die equally for all people or only for some? These questions have long been debated in the history of the Christian church. Answers typically fall into one of two main categories, popularly known as Calvinism and Arminianism. The focus of this book is to establish how one nineteenth-century evangelical group, the Brethren, responded to these and other related questions. The Brethren produced a number of colorful leaders whose influence was felt throughout the evangelical world. Although many critics have assumed the movement's theology was Arminian, this book argues that the Brethren, with few exceptions, advocated Calvinistic positions. Yet there were some twists along the way! The movement's radical biblicism, passionate evangelism, and strong aversion to systematic theology and creeds meant they refused to label themselves as Calvinists even though they affirmed Calvinism's soteriological principles--the so-called doctrines of grace.

My own private opinion is that there is no such thing as preaching Christ and him crucified, unless you preach what now-a-days is called Calvinism. It is a nickname to call it Calvinism; Calvinism is the gospel, and nothing else. I do not believe we can preach the gospel, if we do not preach justification by faith, without works; nor unless we preach the sovereignty of God in his dispensation of grace; nor unless we exalt the electing, unchangeable, eternal, immutable, conquering, love of Jehovah: nor do I think we can preach the gospel, unless we base it upon the peculiar redemption which Christ made for his elect and chosen people; nor can I comprehend a gospel which lets saints fall away after they are called, and suffers the children of God to be burned in the fires of damnation after having believed. Such a gospel I abhor. The gospel of the Bible is not such a gospel. We preach Christ crucified in a different fashion, and to all gainsayers we reply. "We have not so learned Christ." (Charles Spurgeon)

Aurelius Augustine (354-430) is one of the most prominently known figures in the history of the Christian church. He was a philosopher and theologian of the highest order, and steadfastly preached on the grace of God. He preached and wrote on the grace of God so extensively to preserve the truth of the gospel (especially against the heretic Pelagius) that he was deemed “the Doctor of Grace.” Many today hold to what has become known as the Five Points of Calvinism, or the doctrines of grace. They comprise the five points of Total Depravity, Unconditional Election, Limited Atonement, Irresistible Grace and the Perseverance of the Saints. But did Augustine believe these same “Calvinistic” doctrines? Is Augustine’s theological view of sin, election, the death of Christ, regeneration and sanctification the same as the Reformers, the Puritans, or even those who hold to the Gospel of Grace today? This work is a survey of that question and demonstrates from Augustine’s works that he was, undoubtedly, a Calvinist. This is not a scan or facsimile, and contains an active table of contents for electronic versions.

Understanding the doctrines of grace provides a clearer picture of Gods sovereignty, mercy, and majesty. From the lawgiver Moses to the Apostle John, and from the early church fathers to modern defenders of the faith, there has marched onto the stage of human history a long line of godly men, a triumphant parade of spiritual stalwarts who have upheld the doctrines of grace. In this book, Dr. Steven J. Lawson takes readers on a heart-stirring survey of the Scriptures and their teaching on Gods way of salvation. Lawson demonstrates that far from being a sixteenth century invention, the doctrines of grace are the clear teaching of the Bible in its entirety. From Genesis to Revelation, the Scriptures declare the message of Gods sovereign grace in salvation.

T.F. Torrance aims in this book to discover how and why there came about in the early history of the Christian Church the enormous difference that exists between the faith of the New Testament and that of the second and third centuries. He explores how the concept of grace is distinctively characteristic of every doctrine of the New Testament, and yet at the same time is the most sensitive to change.