Rating: 
Summary: This an awesome review of God's sovereignty.
Review: A.W. Pink does an excellent job of portraying God's sovereignty from a Biblical perspective. This book is packed with Scripture, and will impact any serious Christian reader with a view of God that demands his/her whole-hearted reverence, adoration, love, and worship. Realizing the sovereignty of our God will accomplish peace in the hearts of His people like nothing else can bring. Knowing that God is sovereign will allow the Christian to truly walk by faith - Biblical faith in a God who loves him and sovereignly works all things according to His good pleasure. A sovereign God is truly the only kind of God who could ever carry through on a promise to work out everything for the good of those who love Him, and are called according to His purpose. It is this doctrine that will give God's children faith and motivation to pray - after all, there is no point in praying to God if He can't do whatever He wishes. Pink does a marvelous job of expositing both the Scriptures that teach this wonderful faith, as well as those Scriptures which seem to contradict. I very much recommend this book to anyone seeking to know God more accurately and intimately
Rating:
Summary: Satisfied with Sovereignty!
Review: A.W. Pink's excellent work on the sovereignty of God is one of the best twentieth-century treatments of the subject. It is a carefully reasoned, Scripture-saturated, heart-probing, man-abasing, God-exalting book. It is theology with a view to doxology. This exposition will lead you to exaltation!Pink begins by defining God's sovereignty. Then he applies this understanding of God's sovereignty to creation, administration (providence), salvation, reprobation, operation, the human will, human responsibility, and prayer. He ends by looking at what our attitude towards God's sovereignty should be, answering objections, and emphasizing the value of the doctrine. There are four appendices dealing with the will of God, the fall of Adam, the meaning of "world" in John 3:16, and the meaning of I John 2:2. This book is a supralapsarian Calvinistic look at the doctrine of God's sovereignty. I do not agree with Pink in every point, but I commend this book. I know for a fact that God has used this for the conversion of sinners. And regardless of whether you will accept all of Pink's interpretation of Scripture, you cannot help but walk away from this book with a higher view of God than you had before. I count this as one of the most important books I have read. Read this book. Study this book. And adore the God of this book. Be satisfied with sovereignty!
Rating:
Summary: The Truth revealed.....the Scriptures handled accurately
Review: God talks about "handling accurately the word of truth" in 2nd Timothy. This book does just that. Unfortunately, most churches worship a different god. But don't let Arthur Pink change your mind... Diligently study the Scriptures for yourself, and you'll arrive at the same conclusions that he did (provided that God opens your eyes to His truth). This book is a "must read." You'll be glad you did.
Rating: 
Summary: A Fine Work
Review: I greatly enjoyed this book. Pink uses persuasive arguments and scriptural foundations to establish his points on an issue that has been neglected in American Christianity. He is a bit extreme, however (by comparing some writings of John Calvin to this work, I've noticed that Pink is more Calvinistic than Calvin). Nevertheless, the book is a great help not only in doctrinal but also in practical matters. Most readers should be prepared to have their traditional views of God shaken a bit.
Rating: 
Summary: What "Balance of Truth?"
Review: I ran across this book while searching for material relating to Free will and Predestination and their interplay (or lack thereof) which each other. It came highly recommeded so I bought it and read.
It is very apparent that Mr. Pink has a deep passion for the pursuit of God and is a herald for what he believes to be the truth. His committment to Christ is above reproach. That said, however, he presents his arguments with less tact that I would expect from a person so intent on persuading people to subscribe to a certain doctrine. Instead of building a case and leading the reader to draw the intended conclusion desired (as C.S. Lewis wonderfully does) Pink seems to drag you across the dividing line between the two camps of thought and prevent from crossing over to the other side. There is little respect or empathy for arminianism in any form - it is treated instead like a disdained and sinful idea with the power only to corrupt and denigrate the minds of those who hear it.
Specifically, he insists on maintaining the "Balance of Truth" between the ideas that God is both sovereign and man is responsible for his behavior but gives little real credence to the latter. His argument in the end boils down to merely asserting that man must be responsible even though it is logically inconsistent with his argumentation. Most disappointing of all, however, is his treatment of the problem of evil. If God is completely sovereign in the manner that Pink maintains then His control of evil is congruent to that sovereignty. It would have been understandable and even acceptable to merely say that God is both good and sovereign because Scripture maintains both but he goes on to attempt a solution and ends up destroying the little credibility the reader has left at that point.
Finally, his insistence on avoiding the label "hyper-Calvinist" is a bit like someone downplaying the title "fundamentalist" merely because he does not like it - in both cases the vast majority of people would agree to the label despite personal opposition. In the end, Pink left me not so much a picture of a completely sovereign God but a God who operates only in the most carefully constructed of boxes.
Rating:
Summary: What "Balance of Truth?"
Review: I ran across this book while searching for material relating to Free will and Predestination and their interplay (or lack thereof) which each other. It came highly recommeded so I bought it and read. It is very apparent that Mr. Pink has a deep passion for the pursuit of God and is a herald for what he believes to be the truth. His committment to Christ is above reproach. That said, however, he presents his arguments with less tact that I would expect from a person so intent on persuading people to subscribe to a certain doctrine. Instead of building a case and leading the reader to draw the intended conclusion desired (as C.S. Lewis wonderfully does) Pink seems to drag you across the dividing line between the two camps of thought and prevent from crossing over to the other side. There is little respect or empathy for arminianism in any form - it is treated instead like a disdained and sinful idea with the power only to corrupt and denigrate the minds of those who hear it. Specifically, he insists on maintaining the "Balance of Truth" between the ideas that God is both sovereign and man is responsible for his behavior but gives little real credence to the latter. His argument in the end boils down to merely asserting that man must be responsible even though it is logically inconsistent with his argumentation. Most disappointing of all, however, is his treatment of the problem of evil. If God is completely sovereign in the manner that Pink maintains then His control of evil is congruent to that sovereignty. It would have been understandable and even acceptable to merely say that God is both good and sovereign because Scripture maintains both but he goes on to attempt a solution and ends up destroying the little credibility the reader has left at that point. Finally, his insistence on avoiding the label "hyper-Calvinist" is a bit like me downplaying the label "fundamentalist" merely because I do not like it - in both cases the vast majority of people would agree to the label despite personal opposition. In the end, Pink left me not so much a picture of a completely sovereign God but a God who operates only in the most carefully constructed of boxes.
Rating:
Summary: Excellent book on God's election in salvation.
Review: I would like to purchase The Sovereignty of God by Arthur W. Pink which includes the chapter on Reprobation. I notice the newer books in print leaves out this chapter.
Rating:
Summary: A Sovereign God - What Does That Really Mean
Review: If you have not studied this topic, be prepared for positive adjustments in your view of our Sovereign God. While this book was written quite some time ago, no one has developed a better introduction to the real meaning of God's Sovereignty. This book covers topics like sovereignty in creation; sovereignty in administration; sovereignty in salvation; sovereignty in reprobation; sovereignty in operation; sovereignty and human responsibility; our attitude toward God's sovereignty. Mr. Pink discusses those problem passages that many of us stumble over.
Rating:
Summary: Read with caution
Review: In many ways this book comes as a refreshing antidote to much of the slush that is being published for the Christian reader. We live in a day when, because evil abounds, the love of many has grown cold. Frighteningly large numbers of church folk no longer want to hear of discipleship, discipline, long suffering, brotherly love, self control and denial of self. Instead, God becomes a kind of mentor to help you become "whole" - whatever that is meant to mean! This aim, which is just another fixation with self, makes God simply an accessory to our selfish ambition. A W Pink's book redresses the balance and has God on the throne, where He truly is. That of course must be good. However, if you are going to buy this book let me offer a brotherly warning. Firstly, this book represents a refined doctrine. By that I mean that, just as the uranium the Curies extracted from natural elements became, in its concentrated form, a highly dangerous substance, so, this focus on God's Sovereignty, though a wonderful and necessary subject for meditation, can also lead into many dangerous and off balanced positions. Though there are many good things in this book, it is not the complete picture of God. It is not irrelevant to state that this book tends to be championed by those who believe that if we lived in the 17th Century - or at least adopted the doctrines and life styles of 17th Century Puritans, we, the church, would be doing very well today. In reality, these people have brought little refreshment to the church. OK, then, the short of it is this: Yes, read the Banner of Truth version (even they cut out some of the original material because they thought it was extreme - and later in life A W Pink himself thought he'd gone too far as well). Get excited over the Great God who Rules in the Heavens just as Isaiah did. But remember that God is not remote and He really does answer prayer. Indeed, some things will not happen unless we pray. Furthermore, balance this vision with another - for instance Frances Roberts devotional "Come Away My Beloved" (also available at Amazon). There you will get a Sovereign God and a God of intimacy. Although in many Christian camps God has been depicted as standing pathetically by seeking to beg sinners to come to Him in a way that is not worthy of Him, do not allow strongly worded descriptions of this tendency to block out what may be true here. Many times the Sacred Writings picture God as pleading with His people, and sinners, to come to Him. "All day long I have held out my hands to a rebellious people but YOU WOULD NOT" is just one example. Mr Pink is one of those writers who digs channels for you to go down. You aren't supposed to climb out of the channel and look around but simply to follow his line of thought until you are convinced that there is no other way of viewing the truths he deals with. For instance, I think he takes the illustration of being dead in trespasses and sins too far. The same figure of death is used for the Christian also ("dead to sin") but if Mr Pink were to press that application as far as the other he would be forced to conclude sinless perfection. Indeed, this sort of reasoning forces many, from his camp, to make saving faith a total gift of God in order to avoid the slightest involvement of man in salvation (which involvement they term synergism). In order to do this a teaching is developed which puts regeneration before faith. This flies in the face of the true Reformers who taught the biblical doctrine that a man is justified, by faith, while he is still a sinner. These unbalanced types, however, believe that we are justified by regeneration - it is an inescapable conclusion. Since regeneration is a kind of washing or cleansing, it follows, if regeneration came first (which it doesn't), that men are justified because they are justifiable rather than justified by the death of Christ. Voila, the first step toward Rome! The Biblical Christian need merely point out (from Romans 4) that the reason God chose faith as the door to salvation is that it is not reckoned a work of man (synergism).
Rating:
Summary: Read with caution
Review: In many ways this book comes as a refreshing antidote to much of the slush that is being published for the Christian reader. We live in a day when, because evil abounds, the love of many has grown cold. Frighteningly large numbers of church folk no longer want to hear of discipleship, discipline, long suffering, brotherly love, self control and denial of self. Instead, God becomes a kind of mentor to help you become "whole" - whatever that is meant to mean! This aim, which is just another fixation with self, makes God simply an accessory to our selfish ambition. A W Pink's book redresses the balance and has God on the throne, where He truly is. That of course must be good. However, if you are going to buy this book let me offer a brotherly warning. Firstly, this book represents a refined doctrine. By that I mean that, just as the uranium the Curies extracted from natural elements became, in its concentrated form, a highly dangerous substance, so, this focus on God's Sovereignty, though a wonderful and necessary subject for meditation, can also lead into many dangerous and off balanced positions. Though there are many good things in this book, it is not the complete picture of God. It is not irrelevant to state that this book tends to be championed by those who believe that if we lived in the 17th Century - or at least adopted the doctrines and life styles of 17th Century Puritans, we, the church, would be doing very well today. In reality, these people have brought little refreshment to the church. OK, then, the short of it is this: Yes, read the Banner of Truth version (even they cut out some of the original material because they thought it was extreme - and later in life A W Pink himself thought he'd gone too far as well). Get excited over the Great God who Rules in the Heavens just as Isaiah did. But remember that God is not remote and He really does answer prayer. Indeed, some things will not happen unless we pray. Furthermore, balance this vision with another - for instance Frances Roberts devotional "Come Away My Beloved" (also available at Amazon). There you will get a Sovereign God and a God of intimacy. Although in many Christian camps God has been depicted as standing pathetically by seeking to beg sinners to come to Him in a way that is not worthy of Him, do not allow strongly worded descriptions of this tendency to block out what may be true here. Many times the Sacred Writings picture God as pleading with His people, and sinners, to come to Him. "All day long I have held out my hands to a rebellious people but YOU WOULD NOT" is just one example. Mr Pink is one of those writers who digs channels for you to go down. You aren't supposed to climb out of the channel and look around but simply to follow his line of thought until you are convinced that there is no other way of viewing the truths he deals with. For instance, I think he takes the illustration of being dead in trespasses and sins too far. The same figure of death is used for the Christian also ("dead to sin") but if Mr Pink were to press that application as far as the other he would be forced to conclude sinless perfection. Indeed, this sort of reasoning forces many, from his camp, to make saving faith a total gift of God in order to avoid the slightest involvement of man in salvation (which involvement they term synergism). In order to do this a teaching is developed which puts regeneration before faith. This flies in the face of the true Reformers who taught the biblical doctrine that a man is justified, by faith, while he is still a sinner. These unbalanced types, however, believe that we are justified by regeneration - it is an inescapable conclusion. Since regeneration is a kind of washing or cleansing, it follows, if regeneration came first (which it doesn't), that men are justified because they are justifiable rather than justified by the death of Christ. Voila, the first step toward Rome! The Biblical Christian need merely point out (from Romans 4) that the reason God chose faith as the door to salvation is that it is not reckoned a work of man (synergism).
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