SAVED BY GRACE
By Brian A. Russell
Grace Publications. 240 pages. £5.99
ISBN 978 0 946 462 858
Subtitled ‘An explanation of the sovereignty of God and our experience of his saving grace’, this is a most helpful book, similar to the much older, and greatly appreciated Redemption Accomplished and Applied by John Murray.
The author divides this book into two. In part one, he takes five chapters to explain each of the five points of Calvinism, showing us clearly how ‘the doctrines of grace’ lie at the very heart of the biblical gospel. His introductory chapter is a much-needed corrective, reminding us of the historical context which led to a need to define ‘the five points of Calvinism’. As Brian Russell points out in the opening introduction, this came only in response to ‘the five articles’ being put forward by the Arminian Remonstrants.
But then, in part two, he very carefully shows what this means, in terms of our experience of God’s saving grace. Sometimes referred to as ‘the order of salvation’, or Ordo Salutis, there are seven chapters covering man’s experience of saving grace, from regeneration to glorification.
The author writes with warmth, highlighting the importance of the free offer of the gospel and the consequent danger of hyper-Calvinism. But as he carefully shows, an understanding of God’s sovereignty in our salvation should uphold and strengthen our personal assurance of salvation. So this is not some dry-as-dust theology, but truth to warm the heart and motivate us to preach the gospel to all men everywhere.
He writes simply and clearly. For example, in the chapter on unconditional election, he says: ‘God’s appeals and invitations to all men to be saved are serious and sincere. To suggest otherwise would be blasphemous’.
Similarly, bearing in mind the number of children who have died in infancy, he quotes Charles Hodge, the Princeton theologian, as writing: ‘The number of the saved shall doubtless greatly exceed the number of the lost... We have reason to believe that the lost shall bear to the saved no greater proportion than the inmates of a prison do to the mass of the community’.
To lend weight to what he is writing, there are plenty of illustrations and examples from history. An excellent book in every respect. Warmly commended.
Paul Williams,
pastor, Swindon Evangelical Church, Wiltshire
