# Favorite Books about the Sovereignty of God



## danmpem (Dec 28, 2007)

What is your favorite extra-biblical book on the Sovereignty of God? I'm speaking more about introductory material for my friends or the guys in my Bible study.

Most people will probably vote "other", so I will update the poll options as needed.


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## ANT (Dec 28, 2007)

The Sovereignty of God
By: A.W. Pink

By far the best extra-biblical book I have read on this subject!


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## Pergamum (Dec 28, 2007)

The Potter's Freedom


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## Blueridge Believer (Dec 28, 2007)

ANT said:


> The Sovereignty of God
> By: A.W. Pink
> 
> By far the best extra-biblical book I have read on this subject!


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## MeanieCalvinist (Dec 28, 2007)

ANT said:


> The Sovereignty of God
> By: A.W. Pink
> 
> By far the best extra-biblical book I have read on this subject!



 It has pleased the Lord to use this book to bring many Arminians to a proper understanding of God's Sovereignty. EXCELLENT WORK FOR BEGINNERS!


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## KMK (Dec 28, 2007)

ANT said:


> The Sovereignty of God
> By: A.W. Pink
> 
> By far the best extra-biblical book I have read on this subject!





Also: Boettner's "The Reformed Doctrine of Predestination"


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## BobVigneault (Dec 28, 2007)

Yup, you need to redo the list and add Pink. He's the Ron Paul of expositors. 

{Moderator warning: I understand that throwing RP's name into this thread was done for humor alone yet it is both off topic and boarders on spam. This kind of thing will not be tolerated in the future. In fact, I'm seriously thinking of giving myself an infraction.}




ANT said:


> The Sovereignty of God
> By: A.W. Pink
> 
> By far the best extra-biblical book I have read on this subject!


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## VirginiaHuguenot (Dec 28, 2007)

Boettner and Elisha Coles, _A Practical Discourse of God's Sovereignty_ (also available online here).


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## Greg (Dec 28, 2007)

Blueridge Baptist said:


> ANT said:
> 
> 
> > The Sovereignty of God
> ...


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## Theogenes (Dec 28, 2007)

Pink and Boettner are my choices. Also, Jerome Zanchius's treatise is excellent: A Treatise on Absolute Predestination Which according to this site may have been added to by Augustus Toplady. So, no matter who wrote it, it's a great read.


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## A5pointer (Dec 28, 2007)

The first one you read is the best. It was Boettner for me. Actually given to me by a charismatic pastor.


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## Dr Mike Kear (Dec 28, 2007)

A5pointer said:


> The first one you read is the best. It was Boettner for me. Actually given to me by a charismatic pastor.



True that. I read Pink and Boettner almost simultaneously about 15 years ago - and both came recommended by a Charismatic. So I must vote "other" in favor of Pink and Boettner.


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## etexas (Dec 28, 2007)

Chosen By God was one of the first books I read on this matter, and Sproul was one of the first Reformed writers I started reading, so it holds a special place for me.


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## PresReformed (Dec 28, 2007)

The Baker edition of Pink's _Sovereignty of God_, not the butchered Banner of Truth edition.


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## Reformed Covenanter (Dec 28, 2007)

KMK said:


> ANT said:
> 
> 
> > The Sovereignty of God
> ...




Lorraine Boettner's is the best in my opinion.


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## RamistThomist (Dec 28, 2007)

Pleasures of God


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## Stephen (Dec 28, 2007)

I came to the Reformed faith in a Church of Christ (Campbellite) college by reading Lorarine Boettner's book The Reformed Doctrine of Predestination. It is in my opinion the best book on the subject.


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## danmpem (Dec 28, 2007)

GAH! I made the post really late at night and FORGOT Pink and Boettner. How do I change a poll's choices? Or can I?


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## JM (Dec 28, 2007)

ANT said:


> The Sovereignty of God
> By: A.W. Pink
> 
> By far the best extra-biblical book I have read on this subject!


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## Thomas2007 (Dec 28, 2007)

I really enjoyed Rushdoony's "Sovereignty" recently published, probably because it is so relevant to present problems contrasted against man's various attempts to posit humanistic or statist sovereignty. Many years ago, when I was first "assaulted" by Calvinists they bantered about the term "sovereignty" so much that I likened it to parrots squalking. I think it's somewhat still that case today as so many people use the term but don't seem to fully comprehend the vast, and necessarily comprehensive, meaning of it to our daily lives and the way in which the doctrine of God's Sovereignty must totally permeate every facet of our lives to have real meaning for us and be more than just a theological term that we give assent to regarding soteriology.


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## Pilgrim's Progeny (Dec 28, 2007)

"A Journey in Grace" a theological novel by Richard Belcher. It is not the best, but it was my first. Wow, it kindled a fire under me. I remember those first days when I embraced the D.o.G. with much gladness, thanks Richard. I would not hesitate to recommend the book to any young Arminian preacher or laymen as an introduction to the D.o.G..


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## Contra Marcion (Dec 28, 2007)

I became convinced of the Reformed position after first hearing James White on the Hank Hanegraaf show, then reading _The Potter's Freedom_. That book turned my Campbellite worldview on it's head!


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## matthew11v25 (Dec 29, 2007)

Blueridge Baptist said:


> ANT said:
> 
> 
> > The Sovereignty of God
> ...



 First book I read on God's sovereignty.


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## bookslover (Dec 29, 2007)

ANT said:


> The Sovereignty of God
> By: A.W. Pink
> 
> By far the best extra-biblical book I have read on this subject!



I agree - provided you're using the Baker Books edition, NOT the Banner of Truth re-write. The Baker Books edition is the book Pink wrote; the Banner of Truth edition is the book Iain H. Murray thought Pink should have written.


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## ANT (Dec 29, 2007)

Contra Marcion said:


> I became convinced of the Reformed position after first hearing James White on the Hank Hanegraaf show, then reading _The Potter's Freedom_. That book turned my Campbellite worldview on it's head!



The Potter's Freedom IS a really good book ... But it must be kept in mind that it is a rebuttal to another book (Chosen But Free).

James White did an excellent job in correcting Geisler's views and writings, but I would not recommend this book to a beginner ... unless the person you are recommending it to has already read Geisler's book and is familiar with why James White has put forth this rebuttal.

I did enjoy it very much (Potter's Freedom) and would not hesitate to recommend it to others ... although I do think it is important when reading a rebuttal to also have read the book he is responding to (Chosen But Free) ... (Even though I do not think that *CBF* is profitable or worth the time to read ... I know, I could've lived without it).


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## Stephen (Dec 29, 2007)

QUOTE=danmpem;338516]GAH! I made the post really late at night and FORGOT Pink and Boettner. How do I change a poll's choices? Or can I?[/QUOTE]

Sorry, brother it is already predestined.


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## Stephen (Dec 29, 2007)

Contra Marcion said:


> I became convinced of the Reformed position after first hearing James White on the Hank Hanegraaf show, then reading _The Potter's Freedom_. That book turned my Campbellite worldview on it's head!



It is wonderful to see another Campbellite snatched from its clutuches. I pastored in Campbellite circles for about 10 years. I am seeing more of them come to the Reformed faith, and it is exciting. A good friend of mine, who was a Campbellite minister, is now Reformed and has affiliated with the Founder's Ministry in the SBC.


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## KMK (Dec 29, 2007)

BTW, if Morecraft III was a member of this board he would vote Pink and Boettner also. It was through a sermon of his that I initially heard of them.


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## caddy (Dec 29, 2007)

The Potter's Freedom

I don't read a whole lot of books twice. That is one I've read more than twice and keep coming back to for reference.

Boettner's _Predestination _is another one that ties a lot of thoughts and concepts together well. I have not read anything else by Boettner, however.


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## Barnpreacher (Dec 29, 2007)

For me it was: _Future Grace _by Piper followed by _The Sovereignty of God_, _The Reformed Doctrine of Predestination_, _Chosen by God_, _Desiring God _and _The Pleasures of God_.

Those six brought me from semi-pelagianism to Calvinism. If I only had to recommend one to a beginner when it comes to sovereignty I think I would recommend _Chosen by God_. Then I would tell them to read _The Sovereignty of God_ and/or _The Reformed Doctrine of Predestination_.


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## danmpem (Dec 30, 2007)

Barnpreacher said:


> For me it was: _Future Grace _by Piper followed by _The Sovereignty of God_, _The Reformed Doctrine of Predestination_, _Chosen by God_, _Desiring God _and _The Pleasures of God_.
> 
> Those six brought me from semi-pelagianism to Calvinism. If I only had to recommend one to a beginner when it comes to sovereignty I think I would recommend _Chosen by God_. Then I would tell them to read _The Sovereignty of God_ and/or _The Reformed Doctrine of Predestination_.



Except for Boettner (I haven't read that one yet), that list matches mine as well. Those three Piper books were truely what did it for me as well. And they are all at the top of my very favorite contemporary Christian books on _anything_.

It amazes me how many devout Calvinists I know have never read anything by Piper (they are also very young and illiterate in Christian literature), and they views the five-points as a five-part checklist.


Something occured to me the other day when I was listening to Frank A. James' Seminar talk "The Calvin I Never Knew" (found at RTS on iTunes U). He mentioned that in Calvin's time there was a very different kind of language used in relation to Calvinism, as we think about it. Someone asked "Did Calvin believe in limited atonement?" James said that although Calvin never explicitly wrote about that topic, there was evidence by things he wrote that he did. Some of the very best literature I have read regarding the sovereignty of God, does not list out all five points of Calvinism (i.e. Future Grace, The Pleasures of God, and Desiring God), although they do cross paths with several, or if not, all the points. It's very probable that if the students of Augustine, Calvin, and Luther were asked if they believed in the following five statements (of Calvinism), they would say "well, of course!" But when asked if they had ever heard a sermon explicitly for each one respectively, or if they had every given one like that, they would say "no", at least to the L.A.. This reminds me of my theology in my first year as a Christian. Heck, I had never even heard the word justification! But I really did understand a lot of what I heard in youth group and what I read in the Bible, and my theology was very monergistic and very similar to that of people like John Calvin.


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