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9 of 9 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
Pleasant and Helpful Discussion on Election, January 27, 2008
This review is from: Chosen for Life: The Case for Divine Election (Paperback)
This book deals with the first 2 points of Calvinism (Total Depravity and Unconditional Election) directly, but only mentions the other 3 points of Calvinism (Limited Atonement, Irresistible Grace, Perseverance of the Saints) indirectly. That was fine with me, since that was the author was trying to do - talk about Election. Some said this book is only a good introduction to Election. While that may be true, Storms does an excellent job in covering Election, Free Will, Total Depravity, and Unconditional Election. You have to start somewhere, and this is an excellent book to do that. And for $12.23, where are you going to get this good of a start?
I found Storms to be very fair and sensitive to the Arminian views. Some of the Arminian views were new to me. I did not know that John Wesley taught that after the fall that man did not have a Free Will any longer. And, I did not know that they taught prevenient grace. I had never heard of such a thing. That is the grace that they believe that God gives to every person so that the person is able to make a choice to accept or not accept Jesus Christ. So man (according to Arminianism) now has a Free Will. This is the grace that allows them to have a Free Will. That is the Arminian view of Election - they believe it is Conditional on man's choice. That helped me a lot.
Total Depravity - I appreciated Storms teaching on Total Depravity and the Free Will of man. When it comes to Free Will, it depends what you mean by Free. Man is free to sin, he is free to hate God, and man has a darkened and reprobate mind. Man is Free to do a lot of things, but he will never choose to obey and love God. The Calvinist would say that man's will is free, but it is Limited or in Bondage.
Psalm 14
2 The LORD looks down from heaven
on the sons of men
to see if there are any who understand,
any who seek God.
3 All have turned aside,
they have together become corrupt;
there is no one who does good,
not even one.
So I appreciated the discussion on this topic. It is important to know what we mean by Total Depravity and what we mean by Free Will. Many will be surprised to learn that both Calvinsim and Arminianism teach the Free Will of Man. They just disagree what Free Will means.
Unconditional Election - Storms has 5 chapters on the doctrine of Unconditional Election. In these chapters he covers the main verses in the NT that are relevant to this doctrine. This section was easy and fun to read. I liked it because he took the verses and explained why Election is Unconditional. He was also good to show supposedly problem verses and explain how they fit in with Unconditional Election.
In chapter 13 he gives a Good Illustration of a Bad Illustration that others use to argue against Election. I agree with the author, there are a lot of bad illustrations out there that people use to explain their position of Election. The problem is that they are such bad illustrations that they do more harm than good. You find yourself talking about the illustrations more than the Bible. These illustrations make it hard to talk to people about Election because they rely on illustrations more so than on clear teaching of the Bible. Instead of examining the Bible, they get caught in their own illustrations. It is very unfruitful.
Storms also deals with the topic of God's Justice and Fairness as it is relevant to the topic of Election.
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5 of 5 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
Who is sovereign in election: God or us, July 27, 2007
This review is from: Chosen for Life: The Case for Divine Election (Paperback)
Sam Storms does a very good job of laying out the issues regarding the doctrine of election. What I find most appealing about this book is that he does not raise up straw men, or use sarcasm, caricature, or invective in laying out the case for classic Calvinism as opposed to the dominant Arminiansim of modern American theology. The shift from classic Calvinism to Arminianism "free-will" gained dominance through the revivalsim of Finney and has dominated even some Reformed churches since then.
Storms provides a nuanced, theological exegesis of the central texts regarding election. He lays out the position of current Arminians with care, respect, and emphasizes the strenghts of their positions. He devotes his second chapter to the Arminian conception of election. I would think than most in this camp would consider it an accurate, balanced, and fair statement of this position.
One of Storms strongest chapters is on "Amazing Grace." You will be hard pressed to find a more concise, lucid, and helpful definition and explication of grace. He does a fine job of illustrating the distinction between grace and mercry.
As one might expect, the exegesis of Romans 9 is the axis around which the book pivots. In itself, this takes three chapters.
Anyone appreciating the argument of this book might check out Roy Steven's "How Much Does God Foreknow?".
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4 of 4 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
A Helpful Treatment of Divine Election, October 23, 2007
This review is from: Chosen for Life: The Case for Divine Election (Paperback)
Sam Storms' book Chosen for Life: The Case for Divine Election has been considered a classic and a must read by many. I am embarrassed to say that I had not read this `classic' until Crossway released its recently expanded version twenty years after it was first published by Baker.
Storms writes:
"Divine election is certainly one of the more profound and controversial doctrines in Holy Scripture. To some it is an idea conceived in hell, a tool of Satan to thwart the evangelistic zeal of the church and thus responsible for populating hell with those who otherwise would have been reached with the gospel. To others divine election is the heart and soul of Scripture, the most comforting and reassuring of biblical truths, apart from which grace loses its power and God his glory. To the former, then, election is a primary reason why people are in hell. To the latter, it is the only reason why people are in heaven."
Storms tackles the doctrine of election exegetically, theologically, and contextually; within the current predominant views of election. Early on in the book he interacts with the Arminian view of election. This treatment becomes a touchstone throughout the book for interacting with the Arminian position. I was thankful that Storms seemed to keep the punches above the waist when interacting with Arminian theology. From my seat he interacted constructively and fairly with the views while avoiding the oft employed and ever distracting theological strawmen. As a result Storms earns your trust theologically as he labors to be consistent and biblical. This serves the reader well as you interact with his chapters on the Freedom of the Will, Faith and Repentance, and Amazing Grace.
I mentioned the chapter on Amazing Grace above, this chapter is worth the price of the book. I found it to be encouraging, edifying and extremely helpful. Below is a quote from that chapter:
"To say that something is done by grace is simply to say it is done by God. If salvation is from beginning to end a manifestation of God's grace then it is from beginning to end a work of God. To inject any human effort or contribution whatsoever is to reject divine grace. Either election is unconditional and altogether of God and his grace or it is conditional and therefore a cooperative venture in which God and man both contribute."
In the second half of the book Storms strolls through the books of the NT at a helpful yet expeditious pace as he examines the doctrine of election. This section would be most helpful for teachers as the gather their resources in sections such as Romans 9.
I also enjoyed the three appendixes, Three Problem Passages, Who Can and Who Cannot Pray for God to Save the Lost, and The Divine Decrees.
I highly recommend this book for a consistent and helpful look at the doctrine of election. It is not exhaustive but it is nevertheless helpful. The reading level is moderate but his style is refreshing; Storms writes in a clear and passionate way serving to undermine the fallacious view that Calvinists are stuffy and lacking Spirit wrought affections.
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