Pillars of Grace: Ad 100 - 1564

The doctrines of grace are often known as the five points of Calvinism, but they were not the invention of John Calvin or his reforming cohorts of the sixteenth century. Rather, they are biblical doctrines, as Dr. Steven J. Lawson demonstrated in his book Foundations of Grace (2006). Now, in Pillars of Grace, Dr. Lawson shows that the doctrines of grace have been understood and taught sometimes in embryonic form, sometimes with great clarity throughout church history. From the time of the early church fathers to the years of the Reformers, there have been key men in the church, pillars as it were, who stood on the foundation of Scripture and upheld the truth of God's sovereign role in salvation. In Pillars of Grace, Dr. Lawson walks readers through the ups and downs of church history, profiling these voices for the truth. The inescapable conclusion is that the doctrines of grace are no innovation, but the consistent witness of some of the greatest men of the church.

About the Author :
Dr. Steven J. Lawson is the senior pastor of Christ Fellowship Baptist Church in Mobile, Alabama. He also serves as president of New Reformation, a ministry designed to bring about biblical reformation in the church today, and on the executive board of The Master's Seminary and College. He is a teaching fellow with Ligonier Ministries and a visiting professor at the Ligonier Academy of Biblical and Theological Studies. A noted biblical expositor, Dr. Lawson speaks around the world at churches and conferences. He has written fifteen books, including Foundations of Grace, The Expository Genius of John Calvin, The Unwavering Resolve of Jonathan Edwards, and Famine in the Land. He has contributed to numerous book compilations and evangelical publications. Dr. Lawson and his wife, Anne, have three sons, Andrew, James, and John, and a daughter, Grace Anne.

Review :
This book will ignite and impassion your heart for the gospel and the doctrines of grace that undergird it. Dr. Lawson has done something for which we will forever be grateful- he demonstrates conclusively that the truths of Calvinism and the Reformed faith are rooted in the history of the church, from the apostles to the emergence of Martin Luther in the sixteenth century. We have, of course always suspected this to be true, but few attempts have been made to demonstrate it, and none with such infectious zeal as is to be found in these pages. Few writers can marry church history, exposition, and sound doctrine in such a manner as this. Do not start reading this book unless you are prepared to find that you are unable to put it down. It is that good. --Dr. Derek W. H. Thomas: Professor of systematic and practical theology, Reformed Theological Seminary Minister of teachin, First Presbyterian Church, Jackson, MississippiReading Steven Lawson's Pillars of Grace is like taking a helicopter tour of a mountain range-a breathtaking survey of a series of majestic peaks all pointing upward to heaven. Each chapter offers an informative, fascinating, and accessible look at a significant teacher of God's glorious grace, from Clement to Calvin. Read this book and discover that to be Christian and Reformed is to be rooted in the church through the ages. --Dr. Joel R. Beeke: President, Puritan Reformed Theological Seminary Grand Rapids, MichiganIn this important book, Dr. Lawson has documented the teachings of many of the most important theologians, churchmen, and Christian thinkers of these centuries, showing that these mend did indeed have much to say about God's saving grace- and much that will be of great encouragement to evangelicals today. --Dr. R. Albert Mohler Jr.: President, The Southern Baptist Theological Semminary, Louisville, Kentucky