I recently began reading Steve Lawson’s new 584 page book, Foundations of Grace. It is the first of five volumes in a series called “A Long Line of Godly Men” that intends to track the Doctrines of Grace throughout church history. This first volume covers 1400 BC to AD 100, or in other words, it is a look at Calvinistic teaching through the lens of every author of Scripture in every book of the Bible. As you can imagine, 500+ pages is quite a testimony. R.C. Sproul comments, “When you finish reading this book, I would wonder and worry if you continue to persist in denying the full measure of God’s sovereignty in our salvation.”
I was particularly struck by the obviousness of God’s sovereignty in the book of Genesis. From the beginning, “God’s dazzling display of sovereignty in Creation was a primer on His right to rule in matters of salvation” (p.48). There can be no doubt of God’s supremacy, initiative, power, and authority when it comes to creation. Everything He chose to create or not to create was according to His own good pleasure. Each creative choice was independent, free, good, and right. It had to be this way, because there was nothing or no one but God anyway. He creates and commands and reveals Himself as absolutely sovereign.
And what is true in the physical realm is also true in the spiritual, moral realm. His sovereignty in creation is no different than His preeminence, potency, might, and rule in salvation.
Yet it is also in Genesis that we see the beginning of man’s radical, defiant disobedience and depravity that results in death. The sin of Adam is transmitted to all his offspring, and every human being is corrupt by nature.
Still God initiates reconciliation. He provides atonement. He even promises a Redeemer (Genesis 3:15) for His chosen people.
God’s unconditional choosing is also overt and beyond dispute. He chose Adam, Eve, Abel, Enoch, Noah and his family, Abram, Isaac, Jacob, and Joseph, etc. There is simply no way to explain why some are chosen and others not except for God’s self-determining decision. I thought this was revealed in especially with God’s selection of a total pagan from Ur. S. Lewis Johnson remarked, “Why Abram was chosen, and not Bilduk the Meshite, remains within the inscrutable purposes of God, for He will have mercy upon whom He will have mercy.”
The point is, God’s sovereignty and grace are everywhere in Genesis. For that matter, His sovereign grace is everywhere in all of Scripture. From the first book of the Bible, Calvinism (as a nickname for these truths) is no diminutive, unimportant, indefinite, or obscure message. Let us study it, believe it, be humbled by it, be thankful for it, proclaim it, and exult in God for it!
Guess what… I have that same book sitting next to me on my desk right now. It was part of Erica’s most awesome birthday gift of “every book you would have gotten had you made it to the Shepherds’ Conference this year”. I choose to start reading this one first (even over the end times books! gasp) because it nicely parallels a lesson I’ve been putting together for a while. Now I’m really REALLY looking forward to it!
There is just not enough time in the day to do all the reading I need and want to do. Maybe we could pray and ask the Lord to stop the sun or something.
I am excited to read about God’s Sovereignty throughout the whole bible! Talk about a daunting task! (both reading the book and writing it!) I cannot think of a more worthy subject to study!
So far I’ve only gotten part-way through the first chapter, but wow. I love his description of the cooperation of the three parts of the Trinity in salvation - the Father selecting and ordaining, the Son purchasing and caring for, and the Spirit calling and regenerating. And the foreword is an absolutely indispensable resource of awesome teaching. It’s going to take me forever to get through this book, but the reading of a thousand chapters begins with a single page - and I’ve got enough time for that one page.
This is totally encouraging, especially in light of discussing God and predestination at PSCC on Monday. On a random and banal point, the painting on the cover of your book has GOT to be the most ‘covered’ painting in the world - it’s on everything - Frankenstein, Blake, Wordsworth…sheesh…
I want to thank you for the series on Calvanism that you are doing. It is challenging me in new and great ways and is giving me lots of amo. I may have to look into that book after I finish reading the other 5 I’m reading now…
[…] on Titus. (You can also read an updated and extended account in MacArthur’s forward to A Long Line of Godly Men.) It was normal for me in those days to read a commentary like any other book, so I started on page […]