BOOK REVIEW: THE FIVE POINTS OF CALVINISM

The Five Points of Calvinism Defined, Defended and Documented by D.N. Steele and others

Last Sunday I had a fascinating conversation with two Muslims who came to church. Very quickly we got to the nub of the matter – how can you be confident of salvation? For my new friends it was a matter of works righteousness, seeking to obey the Koran and hadith as closely as possible. “How then,” I asked them, “can you ever be sure that you have obeyed sufficiently for a righteous God to accept you?” They seemed to agree that I had a point.

In the end, the distinction between all true and false religion is this – How can you be accepted by God? True religion answers, “In Christ and his righteousness alone! It is not my works that save me, but his.” The sad thing is how often what would label itself as “Christian” in reality holds no better promise than the claims of Islam. Too often the answer given to the question, How can you be accepted by God? is, “By being good.”

The point is, you can never be good enough. Only Jesus is.

The Five Points of Calvinism is a classic. First published in 1963 it was updated in 2004 and sets out the true gospel of salvation by the grace of God alone. For those who think of Calvinism as a narrow, disputatious, and unpleasant creed, this book describes a kinder, gentler Calvinism. It explains how Calvinism predates John Calvin himself, and how it represents the good news of Jesus Christ – a gospel that means we can be accepted by God despite our failings, and never by our efforts, but only by the saving work of Christ.

The first section of the book sets out to define what Calvinism is, and how it differs from the great competing theology of Arminianism.

The second section moves from definition to defence, explaining the ‘five points of Calvinism’. The explanation given for each point is very brief, but accompanied by copious examples from scripture.

The third section is a wonderful annotated biography of recommended reading on the subject of Calvinism.

These three sections are very helpful as reference material. The first two are worth reading word for word (which won’t take long) and the third is a great starting point if you want to investigate these truths more thoroughly.

In many ways the Appendices at the back of the book are its most useful feature. These set out some of the practical implications of Calvinism, and would all repay study. One of the appendices is an excerpt from Spurgeons biography, which displays good Calvinist humour:

I recollect an Arminian brother telling me that that he had read the Scriptures through a score or more times, and could never find the doctrine of election in them. He added that he was sure he would have done so had it been there, for he read the word on his knees. I said to him, “I think you read the Bible in a very uncomfortable posture, and if you had read it in your easy chair, you would have been more likely to understand it.”

If you have never read anything about Calvin or Calvinism, in this year, the 500th anniversary of Calvin’s birth, you could do a lot worse than start with this book. And if you already convinced of the doctrines of grace, The Five Points is an essential reference tool for your shelves.