Saturday, October 3, 2015

The Doctrines of Grace by James Montgomery Boice



“The doctrines of grace [a.k.a. TULIP] stand or fall together, and together they point to one central truth: salvation is all of grace because it is all of God; and because it is all of God, it is all for his glory.”

“To fully appreciate the glory of God in the doctrines of grace, it helps to recognize the role of each person of the Trinity in the Five Points of Calvinism.  Election is the choice of God the Father.  The atonement is the sacrifice of God the Son.  The grace that draws us to Christ and enables us to persevere to the very end is the work of God the Holy Spirit.  Thus salvation is all God’s work from beginning to end – the coordinated work of the triune God – as it must be, if we are to be saved.”

“Consider: if we are actually dead in ours sins (radical depravity), then only God could choose us in Christ (unconditional election), only Christ could atone for our sins (particular redemption), and only the Spirit could draw us to Christ (efficacious grace) and preserve us in him (persevering grace).  Therefore, all praise and glory belong to God alone: ‘For from him and through him and to him are all things.  To him be the glory forever!’ (Rom. 11:36).

- James Montgomery Boice
James M. Boice and Phillip Graham Ryken, The Doctrines of Grace (Wheaton: Crossway 2009), pages 32-33.



No comments:

Post a Comment