“Pillars of Grace” by S. Lawson | Book Review

Lawson, Steven. Pillars of Grace. Orlando, FL: Reformation Trust, 2010.

Steven Lawson continues to impress with this second volume, following after his first volume Foundations of Grace. This series is called “A Long Line of Godly Men.” According to Lawson this series purpose is as follows,

It is designed to demonstrate that those figures who were most used in the early and medieval church, to one degree or another, held to the truths of sovereign grace that were later taught in the Reformation. From the first century through the sixteenth, the dominant figures in the church were strong men committed to this strong teaching. That is the witness of history and the central premise of this book.

I have yet to see any work from Reformation Trust that has been disappointing. At the core of this book Lawson is taking a survey through church history showing that the doctrine of God’s sovereignty in salvation is not merely the idea of a one man, but that these doctrines have long been taught through the church.  This book covers a period of history from AD 100 to 1564, when Calvin went to be with his Lord.

Lawson’s first book in this series, Foundations of Grace, was a tour through the Bible looking at the sovereignty of God in salvation. In this newer work, Pillars of Grace, he surveys twenty-three different people starting with Clement of Rome all the way up to Calvin himself. The church fathers, and church history in general, are frequently ignored in todays contemporary discussions. I continue to find greater appreciation for church history, especially volumes like Lawson’s—who makes it so easy to step through history with a biblical theme.

The book moves in this order through church history laying out how each of these men embraced the biblical truth of the sovereignty of God in salvation. The men that you will read about are: Clement of Rome, Ignatius of Antioch, Justin Martyr, Irenaeus of Lyons, Tertullian of Carthage, Cyprian of Carthage, Athanasius of Alexandria, Basil of Caeserea, Gregory of Nazianzus, Ambrose of Milan, Augustine of Hippo, Isidore of Seville, Gottschalk of Orbais, Anselm of Canterbury, Bernard of Clairvaux, Thomas Bradwardine, John Wycliffe, John Hus, Martin Luther, Ulrich Zwingli, William Tyndale, Heinrich Bullinger, and last but certainly not least, John Calvin.

Overall the book has the feel of individual essays in a festschrift. They are easily read, highly educating, and distinctly biblical. I would not hesitate to recommend this book to anyone wanting to dig deeper into church history or into the doctrines of grace. Steven Lawson has served the church well by taking the time to study, compile, and ultimately write such a great volume.

FTC Rhetoric: I do not receive payment for my book reviews. I do sometimes receive free review and giveaway copies from authors, publishers, and publicists. My first responsibility is to my readers, therefore, I am committed to honest reviews.