Doctoral dissertation that compares and contrasts the doctrine of common grace as discussed by Abraham Kuyper, Klaas Schilder, and John Calvin. Although generally thought of as a doctrine developed and promoted by Kuyper, Calvin also discussed common grace in some detail. Schilder made critical comments about some aspects of Kuyper's teachings.
In Common Grace Abraham Kuyper presents a constructive public theology of cultural engagement rooted in the humanity Christians share with the rest of the world. He addresses a gap in the development of Reformed teaching on divine grace, and he articulates a Reformed understanding of God's gifts that are common to all people after the fall into sin. This first volume contains Kuyper's demonstration of common grace in its origin and operation. This new translation of Common Grace, created in partnership with the Kuyper Translation Society and the Acton Institute, is part of a major series of new translations of Kuyper's most important writings. The Abraham Kuyper Collected Works in Public Theology marks a historic moment in Kuyper studies, aimed at deepening and enriching the church's development of public theology.
Christians trying to model their lives after Jesus may find that He gets buried under lists, rules, and formulas. Now bestselling author Randy Alcorn offers a simple two-point checklist for Christlikeness based on John 1:14. The test consists of balancing grace and truth, equally and unapologetically. Grace without truth deceives people, and ceases to be grace. Truth without grace crushes people, and ceases to be truth. Alcorn shows the reader how to show the world Jesus -- offering grace instead of the world's apathy and tolerance, offering truth instead of the world's relativism and deception. Grace or Truth…or Both? Truth without grace breeds self-righteousness and crushing legalism. Grace without truth breeds deception and moral compromise. Is it possible to embrace both in balance? Jesus did. Randy Alcorn offers a simple yet profound two-point checklist of Christlikeness. “In the end,” says Alcorn, “we don’t need grace or truth. We need grace and truth. And for people to see Jesus in us, they must see both.”
How do Christians account for the widespread presence of goodness in a fallen world? Richard Mouw, one of the most influential evangelical voices in America, presents his mature thought on the topic of common grace. Addressing a range of issues relevant to engaging common grace in the 21st century, Mouw shows how God takes delight in all things that glorify him--even those that happen beyond the boundaries of the church--and defends the doctrine of common grace from its detractors.
God's Gifts for a Fallen World Common Grace is often considered Abraham Kuyper's crowning work, an exploration of how God expresses grace even to the unsaved. Kuyper firmly believed that though many people in the world will remain unconverted, God's grace is still shown to the world as a whole. In this third and final volume of Common Grace, Kuyper brings his argument to its logical completion by turning to practical implications. With detailed explorations on matters of church and state, family, upbringing, and society, Kuyper provides practical guidance for all who desire to flourish within the created order, a world in which God's grace is generously given to all.
This 50th-anniversary edition, with a new foreword by the distinguished historian Martin E. Marty, who regards this book as one of the most vital books of our time, as well as an introduction by the author never before included in the book, and a new preface by James Gustafson, the premier Christian ethicist who is considered Niebuhr’s contemporary successor, poses the challenge of being true to Christ in a materialistic age to an entirely new generation of Christian readers.
What Point of Contact does the Christian have with the world in order to bring the biblical message to the nonbeliever? How can the doctrines of election and total depravity be reconciled with human responsibility and the universal offer of the gospel? Does our Lord show favor to saint and sinner alike? Restoring and retypesetting the full text of the original 1972 edition, this collection of annotated essays addresses these questions and more on common grace and its relevance to the gospel. A pioneer in presuppositional apologetics, Van Til sets forth a Christian philosophy of history; examines the views of Abraham Kuyper, Herman Hoeksema, and others; and replies to criticism. A foreword and explanatory notes by K. Scott Oliphint further illuminate his work. Book jacket.
An inspiring guide for developing the Christian mind extols the crucial roll of Christian higher education in the intellectual and spiritual formation of believers.
The unparalleled and incomprehensible love of God to sinful man, displayed in the wonderful affair of his redemption and salvation, is the great thing celebrated throughout the Scriptures. This work is found in the covenant between the Father and the Son, called in theology, “The Covenant of Redemption.” Willard clearly and biblically explains the Covenant of Redemption dividing the entire treatise into two general heads in order to explain the glorious mystery of this covenant. 1) The provision which God made for our deliverance before time in eternity, and 2) The things which are done in time for its actual accomplishment. From these two main points he covers a right understanding of what a covenant is, how the covenant is found clearly in Scripture, how this covenant was necessary in relationship to man’s salvation, and lastly, what the influence is which the covenant of redemption has to the covenant of grace, which is made with us. His final two chapters cover application by way of exhortation and consolation. This work is not a scan or facsimile, has been carefully transcribed by hand being made easy to read in modern English, and has an active table of contents for electronic versions.