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Calvin on Sovereignty, Providence, and Predestination
"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
— 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
70 pages, Paperback
Published January 1, 2020
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117 people want to read
About the author
Joel R. Beeke
445 books346 followersDr. Joel R. Beeke serves as President and Professor of Systematic Theology, Church History, and Homiletics at Puritan Reformed Theological Seminary. He has been in the ministry since 1978 and has served as a pastor of his current church, Heritage Reformed Congregation, since 1986. He is also editor of the Banner of Sovereign Grace Truth, editorial director of Reformation Heritage Books, president of Inheritance Publishers, and vice-president of the Dutch Reformed Translation Society. He has written, co-authored, or edited fifty books and contributed over fifteen hundred articles to Reformed books, journals, periodicals, and encyclopedias. His Ph.D. (1988) from Westminster Theological Seminary is in Reformation and Post-Reformation Theology. He is frequently called upon to lecture at Reformed seminaries and to speak at conferences around the world. He and his wife, Mary, have three children: Calvin, Esther, and Lydia.
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 36 reviews
August 11, 2022
It is always encouraging to read the wonderful news that God saves sinners as an act of His glorious grace.
This is also an excellent book for those wanting to understand what “Calvinism” means.
I listened to this audiobook in the Canon+ app (highly recommended).
This is also an excellent book for those wanting to understand what “Calvinism” means.
I listened to this audiobook in the Canon+ app (highly recommended).
January 24, 2023
This lil book is an informative read on the doctrine of predestination. I literally cannot read OG Calvin because it goes way over my head, but Beeke does a great job of explaining the main points of these doctrines in a way that is much easier for the modern reader to understand! I am excited to use this book as a supplemental resource as we study Ephesians this semester!
My favorite quote comes from the conclusion of the book: “Our names are engraved on the palms of the Jehovah’s hands. They are carried in the heart of the Savior, the Lord Jesus, who whispers our blood-bought names into the ears of His Father in heaven.”
My favorite quote comes from the conclusion of the book: “Our names are engraved on the palms of the Jehovah’s hands. They are carried in the heart of the Savior, the Lord Jesus, who whispers our blood-bought names into the ears of His Father in heaven.”
August 9, 2023
Short little book, but very good.
May 2, 2022
Quick, clear overview of Calvin's views on what is often a sticking point of reformed theology. Would be a good resource for someone new to the subject, to seasoned reformed veterans not much here that you would have heard elsewhere.
December 16, 2021
Mercifully short and written with great clarity. Beeke presents Calvin's view on sovereignty, providence, predestination, and reprobation. Very helpful!
April 12, 2025
This little book is an informative, concise, and clear read on Calvin's doctrine of predestination. For complex and dense abstract theological topics such as God's sovereignty, predestination, election, and reprobation, this book handles them with ease and brevity.
Certainly when making assertions such as Calvin's on a theological stage, a clearly definable understanding of terms is vital to supporting one's claims-- and Beeke really does a great job at this. In instances such as arguing the coexistence of God's sovereignty and human free will, Beeke takes the time to clarify differences between "God's law" and "God's decree"— the nuance of which makes digesting the metaphysics of sovereignty and free will much easier for the reader.
As Calvin himself does, Beeke does a great job at directly grabbing supporting scripture for these claims; obviously as this is a summary read of Calvin's views, these scriptural supports are predominantly routed by Calvin's own arguments and explanations— however it is always important in Christian theology, apologetics, and exegesis to return to scripture for anchorage and foundational framework ( especially when the foundation of this doctrinal assertion is founded on sola scriptura!).
Further to this, Beeke has some rather interesting but well-argued 'inversions' of assertions which I found to be incredibly strong arguments to his points. For example, when looking at election & reprobation in predestination, Beeke challenges the reader instead of starting from "Heaven is the standard and God predestines certain souls to reprobation" to rather consider a starting point of "Hell is the standard and God predestines certain souls to be saved to election". Regardless of personal perspective or belief, Beeke's reframe and pitch of arguments in this way was very firmly logically founded and served to be a great re-laying of foundation when it came to establishing a cohesive argument.
Now, onto a few points of contention/places I would caution an approaching reader.
Firstly, (in my opinion) there isn't enough exploration dedicated towards the rebuttal of any of these points. Now, seeing as this is a short read simply denoting Calvin's views on these ideas, it can be argued that rebuttal doesn't really need to be addressed throughout this. However, considering the general argumentative voice throughout this (as well as Beeke's very clear bias of agreement to Calvin's points), exploring the rebuttal would have been an excellent opportunity to create an air-tight lock on these assertions.
Following, as I just mentioned, is Beeke's very clear bias throughout this. Bias, of course, is not inherently wrong nor does it make any of the arguments less reliable (there are of course many times where bias enhances certain assertions), however I am simply listing it here as a point for readers to be aware of prior to picking this up. If one is looking for an equally balanced explanation for and against Calvinistic views, this might not be the best resource.
As for my main qualm with this read— not all the argued points necessarily follow from their previous assertions. Some assertions and reasoned conclusions throughout this are truncated by assuming that the readers will grant certain presuppositions. This was admittedly quite frustrating, because this then painted what appeared to be a firmly-founded logical argument, but one which actually was only built on an existing presupposition that is neither addressed nor actually universally accepted (ex. "If God has sovereignly determined all things, won't that lead to human passivity in missionary endeavors?").
The final qualm I'll mention in this review is Beeke's absence of acknowledging Calvin's role within the Reformation period. Specifically acknowledging both sides of the coin in terms of positive and negative influence. Of course, this is not a historical account of the Reformation. And likewise, it is likely that a majority of readers picking up this read will likely have at least some foundational understanding of the Reformation.
However, lines such as, "The Huguenots in France, the Gueux in the Netherlands, the Puritans in Scotland, England, and America, were profoundly mindful in their right to be free and were wiling to shed their blood in order to safeguard that right" on a surface-level sound incredibly righteous and noble, but does not actually acknowledge important Reformation history such as the fact that Calvin used biblical scripture as a means to justify violence towards perceived heretics. As I have said, this is not a historical read but a theological one, however this would have been a significantly worthwhile acknowledgement to address within this book.
Overall, I was quite satisfied with this read -- I certainly did have a lot of takeaways and overall I was very satisfied with Beeke's ability to handle and pitch dense abstract concepts to the reader in an easy-to-digest manner.
Certainly when making assertions such as Calvin's on a theological stage, a clearly definable understanding of terms is vital to supporting one's claims-- and Beeke really does a great job at this. In instances such as arguing the coexistence of God's sovereignty and human free will, Beeke takes the time to clarify differences between "God's law" and "God's decree"— the nuance of which makes digesting the metaphysics of sovereignty and free will much easier for the reader.
As Calvin himself does, Beeke does a great job at directly grabbing supporting scripture for these claims; obviously as this is a summary read of Calvin's views, these scriptural supports are predominantly routed by Calvin's own arguments and explanations— however it is always important in Christian theology, apologetics, and exegesis to return to scripture for anchorage and foundational framework ( especially when the foundation of this doctrinal assertion is founded on sola scriptura!).
Further to this, Beeke has some rather interesting but well-argued 'inversions' of assertions which I found to be incredibly strong arguments to his points. For example, when looking at election & reprobation in predestination, Beeke challenges the reader instead of starting from "Heaven is the standard and God predestines certain souls to reprobation" to rather consider a starting point of "Hell is the standard and God predestines certain souls to be saved to election". Regardless of personal perspective or belief, Beeke's reframe and pitch of arguments in this way was very firmly logically founded and served to be a great re-laying of foundation when it came to establishing a cohesive argument.
Now, onto a few points of contention/places I would caution an approaching reader.
Firstly, (in my opinion) there isn't enough exploration dedicated towards the rebuttal of any of these points. Now, seeing as this is a short read simply denoting Calvin's views on these ideas, it can be argued that rebuttal doesn't really need to be addressed throughout this. However, considering the general argumentative voice throughout this (as well as Beeke's very clear bias of agreement to Calvin's points), exploring the rebuttal would have been an excellent opportunity to create an air-tight lock on these assertions.
Following, as I just mentioned, is Beeke's very clear bias throughout this. Bias, of course, is not inherently wrong nor does it make any of the arguments less reliable (there are of course many times where bias enhances certain assertions), however I am simply listing it here as a point for readers to be aware of prior to picking this up. If one is looking for an equally balanced explanation for and against Calvinistic views, this might not be the best resource.
As for my main qualm with this read— not all the argued points necessarily follow from their previous assertions. Some assertions and reasoned conclusions throughout this are truncated by assuming that the readers will grant certain presuppositions. This was admittedly quite frustrating, because this then painted what appeared to be a firmly-founded logical argument, but one which actually was only built on an existing presupposition that is neither addressed nor actually universally accepted (ex. "If God has sovereignly determined all things, won't that lead to human passivity in missionary endeavors?").
The final qualm I'll mention in this review is Beeke's absence of acknowledging Calvin's role within the Reformation period. Specifically acknowledging both sides of the coin in terms of positive and negative influence. Of course, this is not a historical account of the Reformation. And likewise, it is likely that a majority of readers picking up this read will likely have at least some foundational understanding of the Reformation.
However, lines such as, "The Huguenots in France, the Gueux in the Netherlands, the Puritans in Scotland, England, and America, were profoundly mindful in their right to be free and were wiling to shed their blood in order to safeguard that right" on a surface-level sound incredibly righteous and noble, but does not actually acknowledge important Reformation history such as the fact that Calvin used biblical scripture as a means to justify violence towards perceived heretics. As I have said, this is not a historical read but a theological one, however this would have been a significantly worthwhile acknowledgement to address within this book.
Overall, I was quite satisfied with this read -- I certainly did have a lot of takeaways and overall I was very satisfied with Beeke's ability to handle and pitch dense abstract concepts to the reader in an easy-to-digest manner.
February 28, 2023
Helpful little book that stirs us to joy and peace in God’s sovereignty, providence, and predestination.
August 2, 2022
Solid intro into Calvin's teaching. I personally haven't dived into any Calvin yet but clearly he was a God centered teacher and theologian.
February 17, 2023
Short, clear, to the point.
February 17, 2024
Was really surprised how good and helpful this book was. Especially on a topic I thought I knew so well. 100% recommend.
December 6, 2025
Short n sweet. Worth the read.
December 23, 2025
Nice little book for those who are curious about John Calvin and reformed theology.
November 30, 2021
Concise, Biblical truth. Simply great.
September 29, 2024
Honestly not bad. I was just a nice reminder of seeing biblical principles of predestination and all of this. It would be really nice to be able to save this information and be able to present it in the future.
It was nice just seeing the things that Calvin wrote about the specific topics that I often so equated with him. It's really nothing new or shocking but it's just an exploration of these topics
It was nice just seeing the things that Calvin wrote about the specific topics that I often so equated with him. It's really nothing new or shocking but it's just an exploration of these topics
April 27, 2022
A powerfully small book. It packs a huge punch of reformed theology. It centers around 3 tenets, namely, God's sovereignty, God's providence, and God's predestination. Predestination gets special treatment around the 2 sided doctrine in the form of election and reprobation. I recommend this short 70 page book as a solid Saturday read.
May 17, 2024
Interesting concepts that invoked some serious thought. The concept of predestination is something I can’t wrap my head around and I have moral objections about it, but Calvin is saying we cannot understand it because we cannot understand God’s designs. Nonetheless, this had made me think. I love studying different religions theologies
January 26, 2022
This book does a fairly good job (in such brevity) of addressing both Reformed thoughts on the totality of election and serious objections raised against it.
With more length, I’m sure it could have tackled it even more. Piper’s Providence would be a good supplement.
With more length, I’m sure it could have tackled it even more. Piper’s Providence would be a good supplement.
October 11, 2022
Very Good
As the book says I pray to God that you now understand how Calvin was biblical and got it right when he addressed the doctrines of God’s sovereignty, providence, and predestination (both election and reprobation).
As the book says I pray to God that you now understand how Calvin was biblical and got it right when he addressed the doctrines of God’s sovereignty, providence, and predestination (both election and reprobation).
January 29, 2023
A powerful primer on Calvin and Calvinism
A powerful and faith-filled primer on sovereignty, providence, and predestination. Read this to discotheque heart of Calvin’s faith and Reformed Theology!
A powerful and faith-filled primer on sovereignty, providence, and predestination. Read this to discotheque heart of Calvin’s faith and Reformed Theology!
June 9, 2023
Calvinism explained simply
This could probably be called “Calvinism for dummies” in that it gives a quick look into what Calvinism is regarding God’s plan of salvation for the elect.
This could probably be called “Calvinism for dummies” in that it gives a quick look into what Calvinism is regarding God’s plan of salvation for the elect.
July 22, 2025
Joel Beeke works through question by question that so many put forward when Calvinism is the topic of discussion. Even if you don’t agree with the answers in this book, you will at the very least leave with a better understanding of what calvinists historically taught and believed
October 1, 2021
(I listened to this on audiobook.)
March 14, 2022
An excellent, well-written read explaining the doctrines of grace.
March 18, 2022
Very short read, very good little essay on these topics by Calvin from someone who is very learned on Calvin and his contemporaries.
January 6, 2023
Very good news
Great information on sovereignty, providence, and predestination. This is a short book, and I wish it was longer. God bless
Great information on sovereignty, providence, and predestination. This is a short book, and I wish it was longer. God bless
January 7, 2023
Helpful!!!!
April 5, 2023
Uma excelente exposição de Joel Beeke acerca dos ensino de Calvino sobre Soberania, Providencia e Predestinação. Leitura de fácil entendimento e muito didática.
November 17, 2023
May become my go to suggestion for those wondering about the doctrines of grace
June 14, 2024
A quick read and excellent resource!
June 20, 2024
A good, short introduction to these topics. Beeke characteristically combines precise theology and experiential application.
Displaying 1 - 30 of 36 reviews