Calvin on Sovereignty, Providence and Predestination (Joel R. Beeke)

Calvin on Sovereignty, Providence and Predestination

Perhaps in your past you’ve heard a fair bit about John Calvin (1509-1564) and his teaching on the sovereignty of God and predestination, but you’ve never quite understood his supporters or his detractors. You know that both Calvin’s theology and these doctrines are important, but you are not entirely sure how to get your mind and arms around them. In this little book, Joel Beeke shows us why Calvin’s teaching on God’s sovereignty and predestination is crucial indeed. This is an extended version of an address Dr. Beeke originally gave at the Skogheim Conference in South Africa on June 28, 2009.

“The doctrine of God has subordinate truths that are easily appreciated by all God’s people and other truths that seem to graduate you into the higher echelons of God’s self-disclosure and its attendant spiritual benefits. God’s sovereignty is in the latter category, and John Calvin, the Swiss Reformer, did a lot to help the church appreciate this truth from Scripture. Joel Beeke does a great service by helping us to understand some of Calvin’s teachings on God’s sovereignty, especially in providence and in predestination. Trust me, this little book is worth every moment you will spend reading it!” – Conrad Mbewe

“Few subjects in the Bible are most important than the doctrine of divine sovereignty and predestination. It is a monumental truth so extensive and far-reaching that it affects every other doctrine we believe. To be right here is to be correct in a myriad of other places. Joel Beeke has done an outstanding job for us, summarizing the teaching of the greatest theologian of the Reformation age, and perhaps of any age – the indomitable John Calvin. Read, learn from, and live the message of this book.” – Steven J. Lawson

“For decades Joel Beeke has read, preached, written, defended, worshiped, and prayed in the light of the power of these truths. In this highly accessible book he gives a condensed yet clear and highly pertinent explanation of the context and biblical foundation of Calvin’s doctrinal exposition of divine sovereignty in the issue of election and reprobation.” – Tom J. Nettles