Beginning with a treatment of the sovereignty of God and then examining each petal of the TULIP in turn, Rev. Hanko and Prof. Cammenga provide a consistent and thorough exposition of the beautiful doctrines of grace known as Calvinism. Each point is boldly defended, and objections to the doctrine are faced and refuted. “Difficult passages,” which are often appealed to by Arminians, are faithfully and satisfactorily explained.
The book is written with the “ordinary” Christian in mind. With a view to convincing the unconvinced, the book is saturated with proof texts. “Here is a bold defense of the gospel of grace. The book answers the objections. It exposes and destroys the foes (within the sphere of professing Calvinists as well as without the camp). It flies the banner of full, consistent Calvinism with never a trace of shame … It does not suffer from the confusion, contradiction and compromise that characterize many similar efforts: God elected some but wills to save all; the natural man is totally depraved but performs many good works; Christ died for the elect but ‘is dead’ for everyone who hears the gospel; the actual saving of sinners is by irresistible grace but must take place by a ‘well-meant offer’ made alike to all,” as Prof. David J. Engelsma states in the “Foreword.”
Buy it and learn the glories of God’s sovereign grace or, if you want to introduce a friend to these biblical and Reformed truths, get him or her this powerful book.
This book can also be read on-line.
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“You’ll not find a better book on TULIP than this!” – London
“I used one of your books for my study and preparation—Saved by Grace. This book helped my understanding of Calvinism tremendously and also gave a new light to those in Haiti who never heard of such doctrines! So glory be to God that we can live in such an era that I can have a book that would do so much! – Haiti
“I have read through Saved by Grace and I really like it, very clear and consistent, a great resource. In fact could you please send me two more copies?” – Avon, England
“Saved by Grace, what a book. About to commence reading it through a second time.” – London, England
BOOK REVIEW
Saved By Grace: A Study of the Five Points of Calvinism, by Ronald Cammenga and Ronald Hanko. Grand Rapids, Michigan: The Reformed Free Publishing Association, 1995. [Reviewed by Pastor Arie denHartog.]
The Reformed believer never tires of the study of the doctrines of grace. He feels constrained out of love for God to testify of these great truths before the world. He believes that these glorious doctrines stand at the very heart of the gospel. They are not mere minor truths which if one denies he can still be called a credible Christian. They are foundational truths to the whole of the gospel. For this reason we rejoice at the publication of another treatise on these great doctrines by two of my colleagues in the ministry.
Many books have been written on the doctrines of grace, and one might therefore say that there is no need of yet another. The justification for such a treatise however is first of all what we have stated above. Also, over the years, even in the Reformed and Presbyterian Churches, there have arisen new interpretations of these doctrines that have, we believe, been serious compromises, not the least of these being the propagation of the false teachings of common grace and the well-meant offer of the gospel.
The excellence of this new book Saved By Grace is first of all that it is replete with scriptural quotations. The authors succeed in demonstrating beyond doubt that the doctrines of grace are indeed the teaching of the Scriptures. These doctrines are taught throughout the Scriptures and are central to them. In many instances brief expositions are given to explain specifically what the cited passages have to say about the doctrines of grace. If I would have any criticism of these parts of the book, I would only say that some of the more difficult passages could have received more detailed treatment. I realize however that one is always constrained to be as concise as possible in order not to discourage the average reader.
A second excellent feature of this book is that it begins with a chapter on the sovereignty of God. The authors show in this chapter how the truth of the absolute sovereignty of God underlies all the doctrines of grace. The doctrine of God’s absolute sovereignty divides between true and false religion.
The God Whom we must know is a sovereign God. Knowledge of God begins with the affirmation of faith that God is and that God is sovereign. Since God is, He is Sovereign. If He is God, He must also be a sovereign God. If God is not sovereign, the inescapable implication is that He is not God. This is the great issue that divides true religion from false religion! This is the great issue that separates the true church of Jesus Christ in the world from the false apostate church! This is the issue that distinguishes faith from unbelief: the sovereignty of God!
The excellence of this book in the third place is that it sets forth the doctrines of grace boldly and unashamedly. It makes no compromise of these doctrines at the points where they are offensive to the natural man and even to modern-day Christendom. It boldly maintains double predestination and refutes the commonly defended error of the well-meant offer of the gospel.
Also very helpful is that this book, in connection with each of the five doctrines, answers the commonly-heard objections to the doctrine of the Word of God and the major heresies that over the years have arisen in the church in an attempt to oppose the truth of God. There is a great need always for Christians to remember the heresies of the past in order that we do not fall again into the same errors. The right understanding of the truth comes through its clear distinction from false doctrine. The condemnation of false doctrine, as unpopular as this might be in today’s church world, is absolutely necessary in defense of the truth.
There are three other features of the book that we greatly appreciate. The first is that each chapter gives a statement of how the particular doctrine of grace being treated relates to the other five. This shows how the doctrines of grace form a glorious unity. One cannot deny the one without also denying the others. There have always been those who claim to be “three point” or “four point” Calvinists. This is, however, an impossibility. All the doctrines of grace are aspects of the one central truth of the sovereignty of God in the salvation of men. Each chapter also includes a short section on the practical significance of the doctrine to the life of the Christian. The right confession and defense of the doctrines of God’s Word requires that we see the practical implications of these doctrines for the faith and life of the child of God. The doctrines of grace are the living truth of God, in which we find our solid comfort and joy, and in which we glory day by day. There is a lengthy appendix to the main body of the book which lists statements from the great Reformed Confessions which relate immediately to the doctrines of grace.
Finally this book is accompanied with a short study guide ($3.95) to help promote the study of the doctrines of grace in the church.
We commend Pastors Cammenga and Hanko for writing this book. It is our hope and prayer that it may be greatly blessed of the Lord in the church as an aid for God’s people in a life-long meditation on the wonders of the amazing grace of God. Also we hope that this book will be useful for Reformed believers in fulfilling their calling to defend and to testify of the gospel of Jesus Christ to the glory of God and the salvation of His people.
