The Doctrines of Grace

by John F. MacArthur, John Watson

Genres: Theology

276 pages, Hardcover

Published December 25, 2025

Reviews

[Stephen Zhu · Rating 3 out of 5]

Clear book explaining the "five points of Calvinism" and arguing for their truth. It gave me a better understanding of what they were and what the biblical basis for them was, and I especially appreciated the sections that addressed common objections to them. I did think that sometimes it got overly theoretical and that there wasn't enough practical application of the doctrines (especially in the chapters on actual atonement and the effectual call). The language was also somewhat haughty at times - sometimes MacArthur would claim that the Calvinist stance was obviously the biblical one and express some incredulity or condescension towards people who didn't agree, and there were some lines that felt like uncharitable jabs at people with opposing viewpoints (who are still faithful Christians). Nevertheless, it was still a very helpful book to read.