Pillars of Grace

By Dr. Steven J. Lawson

[NOTE: This title is on sale for only $.99 in ePub and Kindle until Reformation Day (10/31) at : http://www.ligonier.org/blog/pillars-grace-99-ebook-sale/]

In our last post, we reviewed the first of five projected volumes in Dr. Steven J. Lawson’s series, A Long Line of Godly Men. That first volume, Foundations of Grace, masterfully traces the Doctrines of Grace from Genesis to Revelation. “The teaching of sovereign grace,” Lawson writes, “literally stretches from cover to cover in the Bible” (p. 36). Beginning with Moses, moving on to the historical writers and prophets, and then marching on to the Apostles, early Church Fathers and their descendants throughout Church History, and finally up to modern defenders of the faith, the doctrines of sovereign grace are shown to be biblical and historical beyond the slightest shadow of a doubt. As I also recently wrote (Issue 67), this is on my “Top Ten” list and is an absolute must.

Well, in the long-awaited Volume 2, Pillars of Grace (Reformation Trust), Lawson does what he did in the first volume, this time covering the 2nd- through 16th-centuries, noting such “pillars” as: Clement of Rome, Irenaeus, Jerome, Augustine, Luther, Zwingli, and Calvin.

As does the first book, this one demonstrates that any notion that “sovereign grace” was the novel creation of John Calvin (“in an ivory tower in Western Europe,” p. 19) is ludicrous. It is rather rooted in Scripture and historic theology. In fact, “concerning the doctrines of grace,” Lawson contends, “virtually nothing new was taught during the Reformation era. No teaching of divine sovereignty was proclaimed during the sixteenth century that had not already been developed and taught in previous centuries, to some degree, by the Church Fathers, Monastics, Scholastics, and Pre-Reformers. The renowned Scottish church historian William Cunningham notes, ‘There was nothing new in substance in the Calvinism of Calvin.’” (p. 20). As Calvin believed (and I am convinced correctly so), the medieval Roman Catholic Church had abandoned the true Gospel. To him the Reformation was simply a return to biblical theology, which included the Doctrines of Grace as the core of the faith.

Chapter 1, “Pillars of Sovereign Grace,” is in itself a gem. It is a complete nine-page (plus end notes) overview from the Church Fathers (AD 100–500), through the Medieval Leaders (500–1500), and finally the Protestant Reformers (1483–1575), encapsulating the faithful men who embraced the biblical truth of the sovereign grace of God in salvation. Chapters 2 through 24 then detail each of these: Clement of Rome, Ignatius of Antioch, Justin Martyr, Irenaeus of Lyons, Tertullian of Carthage, Cyprian of Carthage, Athanasius of Alexandria, Basil of Caeserea, Gregory of Nazianzus, Ambrose of Milan, Augustine of Hippo, Isidore of Seville, Gottschalk of Orbais, Anselm of Canterbury, Bernard of Clairvaux, Thomas Bradwardine, John Wycliffe, John Hus, Martin Luther, Ulrich Zwingli, William Tyndale, Heinrich Bullinger, and finally John Calvin. Each modest length chapter also provides study questions, and there are Scripture and Subject indices.

“From Clement of Rome in the first century to Calvin of Geneva in the sixteenth,” Lawson writes, “there is a progression in the church’s understanding of the doctrines of grace, a gradual maturation in the comprehension of these glorious truths. What began as mere restatements of Scripture grew into fuller descriptions of God’s sovereign grace in salvation.” While Lawson makes clear that “these  stalwarts  had  feet  of  clay” and “were capable of holding views that contradicted their own teachings”—such as baptismal regeneration that was held by several of the Church Fathers—they nonetheless “helped bring great clarity to the church regarding many essential truths” (p. 37).

Some readers might feel a little repetition at times, while others will simply view this as consistency. There is the occasional omission, such as Bernard of Clairvaux’s devotion to the Virgin Mary, but as noted above, Lawson admits the “clay feet” problem upfront. For my taste, there could have been a little more detail of each person’s theology and overall contribution—then again, the book is already 530 pages.

In short, as with Volume 1, I cannot recommend this book highly enough. It is absolutely essential reading for students in training for ministry and pastors who are already there. In a day when we are running away from history and biblical doctrine, these volumes remind us that we are giving up the ship.

(To comply with Federal Trade Commission rules, I would note that I will receive a free copy of this book as compensation for my review. Such, however, in no way effects my honest review.)