Rating: 
Summary: Well written, good logic
Review: A great book by a great author on one of the great doctrines of the Bible - and also, alas, one of the most misunderstood. But I would be amazed if anyone could keep to an unbiblical position after reading Sproul on this vital subject. Christopher Catherwood, grandson of Dr. D. Martyn Lloyd-Jones and author of CHRISTIANS MUSLIMS AND ISLAMIC RAGE (Zondervan, 2003)
Rating: 
Summary: Great introduction to Reformed Theology
Review: For the budding theologian, Chosen By God is the best introduction to Reformed Theology that a person can purchase. If you are already knowledgable in this field of theology you probably won't want it because the arguments don't go into much depth philosophically or exegetically. The tone of the book is irenic and the polemics that normally temper the Reformed apologetic are thankfully absent.That said I feel that the beginning theologian should be warned about a few things: 1) Like most Reformed books on predestination, Dr. Sproul heavily promotes Romans 9:1-23 but cuts off St. Paul before he can develop his point completely in chapters 10 and 11. The three chapters form an entire discourse on the status of the Jews and the righteousness of God and shouldn't be understood in a disjointed fashion. The reason the Calvinist has to avoid Romans 11 is simple: if the Jews can be cut off and the Genitles ingrafted in and vice versa, the notion of absolute predestination (especially Perseverence of the Saints) can't stand and makes St. Paul contradict himself. 2) The subtle implication that Catholics are Semi-Pelagian is infuriating to anyone remotely familiar with the historical issue. While reading I kept thinking: "Hey, we condemned Semi-Pelagianism and Pelagianism before Sola Fide was ever invented." 3) On his section on the assurance of salvation. He comes close to addressing one of the greatest problems with Eternal Security: "the people who are not saved, but "know" that they are saved." In other words, how can people who exhibit every aspect of Christian living fall away? The thorn in the side of the Reformed apologetic is that if Perseverence of the saints is true, then no Christian can really know if he or she is saved or not. This is because the superficial (or some people say "professing, but not possessing Christian") has every earmark of real Christianity, for instance, these people were: They are said to have believed (Luke 8:13); been a branch attached to the vine (John 15:2); received the gospel and stood firm in it (1 Cor. 15:1); been reconciled through Christ's body (Col. 1:22); been enlightened; tasted of the heavenly gift; been made partakers of the Holy Spirit (Heb. 6:5); been sanctified by the blood of the covenant (Heb. 10:29); been bought by Jesus (2 Pet. 2:1); and escaped the corruption of the world by knowing our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ (2 Pet. 2:20). Yet these people did not persevere. Calvinists say that the people described in these verses were therefore obviously never true Christians. The problem becomes acute when the Christian compares himself to these people mentioned in Scripture. If the superficial ones can be all of the things listed above and still fall away, what assurance do they have? Unfortunately, Dr. Sproul skirts around the issue by making a distinction between true and false assurance. But I digress, since this is just an introduction, I didn't expect Dr. Sproul to address these issues . However, if you are looking for a great introduction to Reformed theology, you can't do any better than this one
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