The Doctrines of Grace: Rediscovering the Evangelical Gospel

By: James Montgomery Boice

While a simple, straightforward title, it could not convey more clearly the point of this wonderful book. More precisely, it is the subtitle that is critical, for the Doctrines of Grace are, indeed, the Evangelical Gospel. Evangelicalism, in fact, “stands or falls with” these doctrines (p. 18), and “their abandonment generally leads to liberalism” (p. 12).

I have studied dozens of books on these doctrines, and God has even been so gracious as to enable me to publish a short one of my own with another more complete one on the way. Boice’s book, however, is the best single volume I have seen that both clearly delineates these truths and convincingly answers the challenges that are leveled against them.

Boice makes a crucial and pivotal point early in the book: “It is perhaps more accurate to describe this theology as ‘Reformational’ rather than ‘Calvinist’” (p. 19). This is critical because those who attack what is commonly (and in a way regrettably) called “Calvinism” are usually ignorant of the Reformation and the understanding of theology that it brought back after 1,000 years of the darkness of Pelaganism and its siblings. It was through the preaching and teaching of the Puritans, in fact,

that England and Scotland experienced some of the greatest and most pervasive national revivals the world has ever seen. Among these Purtians were the heirs of the Scottish Reformer John Knox: Thomas Cartwright, Richard Sibbes, John Owen, John Bunyan, Matthew Henry, Thomas Boston, and many others. In America many thousands were influenced by Jonathan Edwards, Cotton Mather, and George Whitfield. (p. 19)

While these doctrines are often accused of destroying evangelism, no statement could be more contrary to the facts. “the modern missionary movement,” Boice continues,

received its direction and initial impetus from those in the Reformed tradition. The list of those pioneers includes such great missionaries as William Carey, John Ryland, Henry Martyn, Robbert Moffat, David Livingston, John G. Paton, and John R. Mott. For all these men, the doctrines of grace mere not merely an appendage to Christian thought; rather, these were the central doctrines that fueled their evangelistic fires and gave form to their preaching the Gospel. (emphasis added)

Boice follows that statement by rightly pointing out that these doctrines “did not emerge late in church history, but find their origins in the teaching of Jesus, which has been preserved throughout the church in many periods.”

I was thankful that Boice mentions Charles Spurgeon several times, since Arminians often ignore (or at least explain away) the fact that he was “one of [England’s] staunchest defenders of the doctrines of grace.” Boice then quotes Spurgeon:

I have my own private opinion that there is no such thing as preaching Christ and Him crucified, unless we preach what nowadays 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 . . . 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 preach the Gospel unless we base it upon the special and particular redemption of his elect and chosen people which Christians wrought out upon the cross; nor can I comprehend the Gospel which allows saints to fall away after they are called. (p. 24)

All that and more is why Boice’s first chapter in Part One is titled, “Why Evangelicalism Needs Calvinism.” As he outlines in another section of that chapter, “Today’s False Gospel,” a whole plethora of trends have made today’s church weak, including: little emphasis on theology, casual Christian conduct, entertainment, group therapy, political activism, signs and wonders, personal happiness, secularism, humanism, relativism, materialism, pragmatism, and the general “dumbing down” of popular culture. In short, Boice submits, “evangelicalism has become worldly. . . . What has replaced the gospel of grace is a message that is partially biblical but ultimately self-centered” (pp. 20–23).

Also in Part One is the chapter, “What Calvinism Does in History,” which recounts four noteworthy periods in history that underscore how these doctrines have had “a salutary influence on the life of the church” (p. 40). Boice then goes on to demonstrate how setting these doctrines aside led to liberalism and the state of the church today.

In Part Two, Boice then outlines and carefully delineates these doctrines from Scripture. Avoiding the traditional TULIP acronym (which we agree has weaknesses), Boice wisely chooses instead to speak of radical depravity, unconditional election, particular redemption, efficacious grace, and persevering grace.

Finally, in Part Three, Boice puts all this into practical perspective, such as how these doctrines change how we think and serve the Lord. “What is most on the Calvinist’s mind,” Boice insists, “is the glory of God” (p. 180). This principle, in fact, is what most puzzles me about those who get upset (and even angered) by these doctrines. Why get upset when it is God alone who is getting the glory? To alter or weaken these doctrines literally robs God of glory. God alone is to receive glory, and these doctrines of salvation are the only ones that give Him alone that glory. That is why Paul wrote three times in Ephesians 1, “To the praise of His glory” (vv. 6, 12, 14). The one who embraces these great doctrines “has seen this,” Boice writes, “and thus keeps God at the center of everything he does. God is the center of his worship, for in true worship attention is drawn away from earthly things and reverently fixed upon God and His glory. God is also the center of [his] thinking. . . . His vision of sovereign majesty shapes his entire mindset, filling his mind with thoughts of God and His glory, and in this way the God of grace becomes the center of his whole life” (p. 183).

While Philip Graham Ryken is the co-author and finished the book when Dr. Boice was too ill to do so, half the book was already written and the rest outlined with extensive notes (p. 11). This book, in combination with Boice’s Whatever Happened to the Gospel of Grace? (which we reviewed in our previous post), provides today’s Church with one of the best introductions to the historical Christian faith available. We should thank God for these two gems left behind by a true man of God.

Whatever Happened to the Gospel of Grace?

by James Montgomery Boice

Our first review is one previously posted on our website but one that bears repeating. While not all our reviews will be this lengthy, we believe it is justified here.

On June 15, 2000, God took James Montgomery Boice home to glory. He left behind some great books. His final book, however, which was actually published after his promotion, could not have been more appropriate or a more fitting legacy. Titled Whatever Happened to the Gospel of Grace? with the added subtitle Rediscovering the Doctrines That Shook the World, this book well addresses the contemporary church and how it has drifted far from its biblical and historical foundations. (Boice was also working on The Doctrines of Grace: Rediscovering the Evangelical Gospel, which was completed by Philip Ryken and which we will review in our next post.)

In Part 1, Boice outlines the problem in two chapters: “The New Pragmatism” and “The Pattern of this Age.” He masterfully demonstrates how secularism, humanism, relativism, materialism, and pragmatism have not only infiltrated the church but have now inundated it (my words). It is his contention, and I think it impossible to refute him, is that the church as a whole is, in virtually every area, embracing the world’s wisdom, theology, agenda, and methods (his words). That sets the stage for what follows.

Part 2, “The Doctrines That Shook the World,” is the heart of the book. In five chapters, Boice lays out in wonderful detail the five solas of the Reformation. Concerning “Scripture Alone” (sola scriptura), he writes:

The most serious issue [facing the church today], I believe, is the Bible’s sufficiency. Do we believe that God has given us what we need in this book? Or do we suppose that we have to supplement the Bible with human things? Do we need sociological techniques to do evangelism, pop psychology and pop psychiatry for Christian growth, extra-biblical signs or miracles for guidance, or political tools for achieving social progress and reform?” (p. 72)

Concerning “Christ Alone” (Solus Christus), after discussing three essential words for understanding what the Cross was about—satisfaction, sacrifice, and substitution—Boice then concludes:

It has been a popular idea in some theological circles that the Incarnation is the important truth of Christianity . . . and that the Atonement is something like an afterthought. . . . To focus on the birth of Jesus apart from the Cross leads to false sentimentality and neglect of the horror and magnitude of sin. . . . Any “gospel” that talks merely about the Christ-event, meaning the Incarnation without the Atonement, is a false gospel. Any gospel that talks about the love of God without showing that love led him to pay the ultimate price for sin in the person of his Son on the Cross, is a false gospel. The only true gospel is the gospel of the “one mediator” who gave himself for us (1 Tim. 2: 5, 6). If our churches are not preaching this gospel, they are not preaching the gospel at all, and if they are not preaching the gospel, they are not true churches. Evangelicalism desperately needs to rediscover its roots and recover its essential biblical bearing . . . (p. 105)

I was very glad for what I read in “Grace Alone (sola gratia) concerning Jonathan Edwards’ contribution to the “free will” debate in his book The Freedom of the Will, in which he actually proved it is not free. As Boice recounts, while most people think the will is its own entity and therefore free to make a choice, Edwards viewed the will as part of the mind, which means that we choose what the mind thinks is most desirable. Boice goes on to further report that Edwards discussed not only the mind but also motives, which drive the mind to choose the things that are best. The crux again, however, is that man’s mind does not want God or His sovereign rule because he doesn’t think that is better. He wants his sin and invariably chooses it because he thinks that is better.

Of “Faith Alone” (sola fide) Boice addresses today’s abandonment of the very essence of true, biblical faith:

For many evangelicals faith is only mental assent to certain doctrines. It is something we exercise once at the start of our Christian lives, after which we can live more or less in any way we please. It does not matter in terms of our salvation whether or not this “faith” makes a difference. Some evangelicals even teach that a person could be saved and secure if he or she possessed a dead or dying faith or, incredible as this seems, if he or she apostatizes, denying Christ. In contrast to such an eviscerated faith, throughout church history most Bible teachers have insisted that saving, biblical faith has three elements: “knowledge, belief, and trust,” as Spurgeon put it; “awareness, assent, and commitment,” as D. Martyn Lloyd-Jones said (pp. 137–138).

Concerning “Glory to God Alone” (Soli Deo Gloria), Boice writes:

No people ever rise higher than their idea of God. Conversely, the loss of the sense of God’s high and awesome character always leads to the loss of a people’s highest ideals, moral values, and even what we commonly call humanity, not to mention the loss of understanding and appreciation for the most essential Bible doctrines. . . . We deplore the breakdown of moral standards in the church, even among its most visible leaders. But what do we think should happen when we have focused on ourselves and our own, often trivial needs rather than on God, ignoring his holiness and excusing our most blatant sins? To listen to many contemporary sermons one would think man’s chief end is to glorify himself and cruise the malls (pp. 151–152).

Part 3, “The Shape of Renewal,” offers two chapters—“Reforming Our Worship” and “Reforming Our Lives”—that challenge us to renounce the “circus” atmosphere and the “what’s in it for me” attitude that pervades today’s churches and return to true Christian worship. While there are a couple of things in this section that bothered me—such as a praising of Brother Lawrence, for example—these do not diminish the pointed and powerful challenge for reformation. As for the individual Christian, Boice challenges in that last chapter that

the five areas in which the lives of today’s Christians most need renewal are: 1) a fresh awareness of God’s presence, 2) repentance, 3) an ordering of our lives by that which is invisible, 4) Christian community, and 5) Christian service. Significantly, these things will be developed in us as we begin to recover and actually live by the essential doctrines that I have been exploring in this book: [the five solas] (p. 192).

I cannot recommend this book highly enough and strongly encourage every Christian (especially leaders) to read it, heed its warning, and follow its counsel. As Boice writes, “I would like to see the beginning of a new Reformation in our day, and I hope you would like to see it too and are praying for it” (p. 65). Well, our dear brother did not live to see it. Perhaps we will. Are you praying for it?

Tas Membranas: An Encouragement to Read

In the Apostle Paul’s final letter, he writes a fascinating statement: The cloke that I left at Troas with Carpus, when thou comest, bring with thee, and the books, but especially the parchments (2 Tim. 4:13). As he sat in his prison cell, he asked Timothy to bring him three items. The first was his cloak. While some view the Greek word phelonēs as a “book bag,” that seems extremely unlikely since he mentions books later. The evidence (e.g., “winter” is mentioned in v. 21) would indicate that this was an outer garment, a knee-length circular cape, probably made of tough Cilician goat hair with an opening for the head in the center, which would have provided at least some comfort in Paul’s cold, damp Roman cell.

But even more importantly, Paul wanted his books and parchments. The word books, of course, is the common Greek biblion, which refers literally to papyrus rolls and could refer here to several things: portions of the Old Testament, the Gospels, classic writings, books by other Christians, or Paul’s own writings. As many commentators agree, it is simply impossible to know exactly what Paul refers to.

The same is true of parchments, which is the Greek membrana (English “membrane”). Unlike biblion, however, this word is not at all common, occurring only here in the New Testament. It means membrane, skin, or parchment. Our English word parchment, in fact, comes from the Latin pergamena, which literally means “from Pergamum” (cf. Rev. 2:12), the ancient city where the process of using animal skins for writing material was invented. But again, like biblion, we cannot be sure what Paul is referring to. Because of the modifier especially, some think he means Old Testament scrolls. Other conjectures include: a copy of the Septuagint, legal documents (such as proof of Roman citizenship), notebooks for Scripture study, letters from other churches, or Paul’s own letters, notes, journals, and/or blank sheets for writing.

While we might be tempted to frustration at our ignorance of Paul’s exact reference, in the final analysis that is really not the point here. The point is, we submit, that whatever these documents consisted of they were crucial to Paul. Despite the hardships of ministry, the discomfort of his cell, not to mention impending death, study was nonetheless the priority of this aged saint and servant. While he didn’t have a sermon to prepare or a lesson to outline, he didn’t sit and do nothing; his desire was continued reading and studying.

The rebuke to many Christian leaders here is both obvious and pointed. Much preaching and writing today is as shallow as a puddle because reading and study are not the priority. But this also “gives to all believers a recommendation of constant reading, that they may profit by it” (John Calvin, emphasis added). As Paul writes elsewhere, neither he nor anyone else has attained the final goal but should be constantly wanting to know more of Christ and “press[ing] toward the mark for the prize of the high calling of God in Christ Jesus” (Phil. 3:10–14).

Using the term Tas Membranas (“The Parchments”) in a general sense, then, the purpose of this blog is to offer recommendations for good reading. While there are other ministries that do the necessary job of reviewing both good titles for recommendation and bad ones for warning (e.g., Southern View Chapel [http://www.svchapel.org/resources] and Discerning Reader [http://www.discerningreader.com/]), our desire here is to point God’s people solely to what will promote growth and depth.

J. N. Darby was once asked if this verse was not of just temporary value and if anything would have really been lost if Paul had never written it. He promptly replied: “I would certainly have lost something; for this is the verse that saved me from selling my library. Every word, depend upon it, is from the Spirit, and is for eternal service.”

Let us all desire Tas Membranas as much as Paul did and never take for granted the blessing of good books.

[NOTE: Our first review will be posted in about a week.]