Still Sovereign: Contemporary Perspectives on Election, Foreknowledge, and Grace

by Bruce Ware; Thomas Schreiner

Publisher:

Baker Academic

, 2000

Overview

The relationship between divine sovereignty and the human will is a topic of perennial theological dispute and one that is gaining increased attention among contemporary evangelicals.

In Still Sovereign, thirteen scholars write to defend the classical view of God’s sovereignty. According to the editors, "Ours is a culture in which the tendency is to exalt what is human and diminish what is divine. Even in evangelical circles, we find increasingly attractive a view of God in which God is one of us, as it were, a partner in the unfolding drama of life. . . . In contrast, the vision of God affirmed in these pages is of one who reigns supreme over all, whose purposes are accomplished without fail, and who directs the course of human affairs, including the central drama of saving a people for the honor of his name, all with perfect holiness and matchless grace.

The fourteen chapters of Still Sovereign (originally part of the two-volume, The Grace of God, The Bondage of the Will) are divided into three parts. Part 1 offers fresh exegesis of the biblical texts that bear most directly on the doctrines of election, foreknowledge, and perseverance of the saints. Part 2 explores theological and philosophical issues related to effectual calling, prevenient grace, assurance of salvation, and the nature of God’s love. The final section applies the doctrines of election and divine sovereignty to Christian living, prayers, evangelism, and preaching.

Key Features

• Offers a fresh exegesis of the biblical texts that bear most directly on the doctrines of election, foreknowledge, and perseverance of the saints
• Explores theological and philosophical issues related to effectual calling, previnient grace, assurance of salvation, and the nature of God
• Applies the doctrines of election and divine soverignty to Christian living, prayer, evangelism, and preaching

Contents

Part 1: Biblical Analyses

• The Sovereignty of God: Case Studies in the Old Testament - Raymond C. Ortlund Jr.
• Divine Election in the Gospel of John - Robert W. Yarbrough
• Divine Election in the Pauline Literature - Donald J. Westblade
• Does Romans 9 Teach Individual Election unto Salvation? - Thomas R. Schreiner
• Are There Two Wills in God? - John Piper
• Perseverance of the Saints: A Case Study from the Warning Passages in Hebrews - Wayne Gruden
• The Meaning of Foreknowledge - S.M. Baugh

Part 2: Theological Issues

• Effectual Calling and Grace - Bruce A. Ware
• Does Scripture Teach Prevenient Grace in the Wesleyan Sense? - Thoms R. Schreiner
• Reflections on Assurance - D.A. Carson
• The Love of God: Universal and Particular - J.I. Packer

Part 3: Pastoral Reflection

• Does Divine Sovereignty Make a Difference in Everyday Life? - Jerry Bridges
• Prayer and Evangelism under God’s Sovereignty - C. Samuel Storms
• Preaching and the Sovereignty of God - Edmund P. Clowney

Praise for Still Sovereign

This is a valuable series of essays concerning contemporary perspectives on election, foreknowledge, and grace. These are written by some of the most respected scholars representing mainline Calvinism. They should be very effective in countering a very damaging tendency among some authors to minimize God's sovereignty and deny his omniscience. I wholeheartedly support these essayists in their presentation.

--Roger Nicole, Visiting Professor of Theology, Reformed Theological Seminary

An important restatement of the orthodox understanding of God’s sovereignty in the face of serious challenges to that doctrine in the contemporary church.

--Douglas Moo, Professor of New Testament, Trinity Evangelical Divinity School

American evangelicals often resort to polemics, power-plays, and politics to deal with dissenting opinions in their midst rather than using polite but convincing refutation from scholars. This volume is a pleasant exception to this trend, bringing back into print a number of outstanding essays reflecting a biblical and Calvinist approach to the sovereignty, omnipotence, and omniscience of God. The ball is now clearly in the court of the “openness of God” movement to show that their perspectives are better grounded in Scripture.

--Craig L. Blomberg, Professor of New Testament, Denver Seminary

Product Details

• Title: Still Sovereign: Contemporary Perspectives on Election, Foreknowledge, and Grace
• Authors: Bruce Ware, Thomas Schreiner
• Publisher: Baker Academic
• Print Publication Date: 2000
• Pages: 356
• Language: English
• Resources: 1
• Format: Digital › Logos Reader Edition
• Resource ID: LLS:STILLSOVEREIGN
• Resource Type: Monograph
• Metadata Last Updated: 2024-07-25T00:05:38Z