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The Potter's Freedom: A Defense of the Reformation and the Rebuttal of Norman Geisler's Chosen But Free, by James R. White
PDF Ebook The Potter's Freedom: A Defense of the Reformation and the Rebuttal of Norman Geisler's Chosen But Free, by James R. White
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About the Author
James White is the director of Alpha and Omega Ministries, a Christian apologetics organization based in Phoenix, Arizona. He is a professor, having taught Greek, Systematic Theology, and various topics in the field of apologetics. He has authored or contributed to more than twenty four books, including The King James Only Controversy, The Forgotten Trinity, The Potter’s Freedom, and The God Who Justifies. He is an accomplished debater, having engaged in more than one-hundred forty moderated, public debates around the world with leading proponents of Roman Catholicism, Islam, Jehovah’s Witnesses, and Mormonism, as well as critics such as Bart Ehrman, John Dominic Crossan, Marcus Borg, and John Shelby Spong. In recent years James has debated in such locations as Sydney, Australia, as well as mosques in Toronto, London, and South Africa. He is an elder of the Phoenix Reformed Baptist Church, has been married to Kelli for more than thirty two years, and has two children, and one grandchild, Clementine.
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Product details
Paperback: 358 pages
Publisher: Calvary Press; Revised edition (May 15, 2000)
Language: English
ISBN-10: 1879737434
ISBN-13: 978-1879737433
Product Dimensions:
5.2 x 0.8 x 8.5 inches
Shipping Weight: 13.6 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
Average Customer Review:
4.7 out of 5 stars
150 customer reviews
Amazon Best Sellers Rank:
#106,189 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)
Getting a typical Evangelical Christian to be interested in reading "The Potter's Freedom" is an uphill battle because from the outset, in today's climate, it has two strikes against it. First, it is Calvinist in orientation. And second, it is polemical in its subject matter. The book that it interacts with ("Chosen but Free") is by a well-known and well-respected Christian (Norman Geisler), some of whose books I myself have on my own shelves. Even if "Chosen but Free" is not his best effort, perhaps the thing to do would have been, as one reviewer puts it, "to simply let Chosen But Free pass in an embarrassed silence, but in this book James White has assumed the role of a biblical friend to Dr. Geisler." Indeed, there is no acrimony or disrespect here. It's just that the issue is of such importance and Dr. Geisler has such influence, that a response is required. The issue is the freedom of God, what Dr. White calls "the free and proper kingship of God," the belief that "God truly can do as He pleases without getting permission from anyone, including man." Specifically, in the matter of salvation, is God, referred to in Scripture as the Potter, free to have mercy on whom He will have mercy, or is His freedom subject to the autonomous free will of the creature, man? Who's in charge when it comes to our eternal destiny? Now if the question elicits something of a yawn because the whole debate seems somewhat arcane - a secondary issue that we don't have the luxury of indulging in when there are bigger issues facing us - believe me, I understand, because I used to feel that way too. Election, I thought, was vaguely interesting because I perceived, vaguely, that the Bible taught it. But I was intent on focussing on the primary issue, the firestorm of the Reformation, and that, I thought, was the doctrine of justification by faith alone. Well, I wasn't wrong, exactly. But after reading the following from J.I. Packer and O.R. Johnston's introduction to their translation of Martin Luther's "The Bondage of the Will" (part of which is quoted by Dr. White in the book), I came to see that I was missing something important: "The doctrine of justification by faith was important to them [the Reformers] because it safeguarded the principle of sovereign grace; but it actually expressed for them only one aspect of this principle, and that not to its deepest aspect. The sovereignty of grace found expression in their thinking at a profounder level still, in the doctrine of monergistic regeneration - the doctrine, that is, that the faith that receives Christ for justification is itself the free gift of a sovereign God..... To the Reformers, the crucial question was not simply, whether God justifies believers without works of the law. It was the broader question, whether sinners are wholly helpless in their sin, and whether God is to be thought of as saving them by free, unconditional, invincible grace, not only justifying them for Christ's sake when they come to faith, but also raising them from the death of sin by His quickening Spirit in order to bring them to faith. .... [Thus] the principle of sola fide [justification by faith alone] is not rightly understood till it is seen as anchored in the broader principle of sola gratia." Sola gratia is theological shorthand for the Reformation slogan "justification is by grace alone, through faith alone, and because of Christ alone." The issue then, and the issue now, is not the necessity of grace, but the sufficiency of grace. The heart of the Reformers' theology was "centred upon the contention of Paul....that the sinner's entire salvation is by free and sovereign grace only." Sola gratia points to the reality that there are only two religions in the world: divine accomplishment and human achievement. Christianity is absolutely unique because it proclaims divine accomplishment, which is another way of saying that it proclaims sola gratia, that salvation is one hundred percent of God, from start to finish. The Reformers regarded Rome as guilty of not only obscuring the gospel, but of creating an entirely different gospel, and crossing the line to the religion of "human achievement" because they taught (and still do teach) that God has created a system with which human beings must cooperate in order to be saved. God can't do it on His own. This is why later Reformed theology condemned Arminianism as being in principle a return to Rome because it in effect turned faith into a meritorious work. They saw it as a betrayal of the Reformation because it denied the sovereignty of God in saving sinners. Let me hasten to add that I don't believe that modern Arminianism is outside of biblical Christianity, but only because of a happy inconsistency in its thinking. The doctrine of substitutionary atonement is, I believe, a non-negotiable part of biblical Christianity. Classical Arminianism denied this doctrine, but, happily today most Arminians hold to it because there has been, according to Arminian theologian J. Kenneth Grider, "a spillover from Calvinism to Arminianism." Nevertheless, happy or not, it is an inconsistency, and serves only to confuse matters when the modern Arminian has one foot on either side of what was, at the time of the Reformation, the dividing line between what the Reformers argued was the monergistic, God-centered, divine accomplishment religion of biblical Christianity on the one side, and the synergistic, man-centered, human achievement religion of Rome (and all other religions for that matter) on the other side. On the other side of the dividing line, grace may be necessary, but it is not sufficient to save anyone, for man's "free will" is the determining factor. The creature is ultimately in charge of his own salvation. As Rome believes this too, the modern Arminian may well have greater sympathies with Catholicism than with Calvinism. This seems to be evidenced in the harsh words Dr. Geisler has for Calvinism (he refers to it as "morally repugnant" and involving "hideous error"). As far as I know, such strong language is entirely missing from his book on Roman Catholicism. No wonder there is such confusion today over just what is the gospel, and what the big deal is regarding the Roman Catholic Church. The dividing line which once clearly distinguished Protestant and Catholic has now moved to within Protestantism itself. To quote once again from Packer and Johnston, "we are forced to ask whether Protestant Christendom has not tragically sold its birthright between Luther's day and our own." The birthright they referred to was the recovery of the biblical reality that salvation must be by grace alone (sola gratia) or there is no salvation. Grace by definition must be freely given; as soon as one says that God must give grace to each person indiscriminately, or if one says that grace is necessary but not sufficient for salvation, then one is no longer talking about grace. And if one is no longer talking about grace, one is no longer talking about Christianity. Thus to say that we are "saved by grace" is almost meaningless. Everybody believes that. The issue is whether grace is sufficient. For grace to be sufficient, salvation must be wholly of God. For salvation to be wholly of God, it must be monergistic. If it is monergistic, we must recognize the reality that we are dead in sin and utterly helpless and that God is absolutely free. We are saved by grace "alone." "The Potter's Freedom" is a sorely needed corrective to the common ethos in Evangelicalism that regards salvation as synergistic, a cooperative effort in which both God and man are regarded almost on equal terms, each doing their part in order to make salvation a reality. The issue is clear: does God actually save anyone, or does He just set up a system whereby we are saveable and the outcome is ultimately up to the autonomous creature? Is salvation monergistic or synergistic? If one will put aside presuppositions of supposed human "free will" and let the Scriptures speak for themselves, the answer to that question is not hard to determine. The Potter is indeed free to make from the same lump, some vessels for honour, and some for dishonour. And those of us who know Him as Lord and Saviour are eternally grateful because we know firsthand the meaning of "sola gratia." Without it, we would still be dead in trespasses and sins, unwilling, and indeed incapable of exercising saving faith in God. R.C. Sproul, Jr. has some enlightening remarks in the foreword to this book: "It seems that while we are all born Pelagians, most of us are reborn as semi-Pelagians. That is, we come into the kingdom as Arminians. Dr. White will, God willing, help many progress to what Spurgeon said was but a nickname for biblical Christianity: Calvinism."
The "Potter's Freedom" by James R. White is by far the best defense I've ever read in the debate for the biblical truth of the sovereignty of God. When it comes to this subject, White is a superb grandmaster. The book is a pouring out of truth with no moves wasted. Ever word is like pure gold! In addition to White's masterful presentation of biblical truth, it creates the compelling desire to highlight many more Bible verses (such as the ones I've listed below), that speak to God's meticulous sovereignty.It seems that an serious student of the Bible would have to be "mentally blind" to disregard God's cumulative evidence, much of which is presented in not only "The Potter's Freedom", but also in "Drawn By The Father" by Dr. White.1. John 6:44...No man can come to me, except the Father which has sent me draw him: and I will raise him up at the last day.2. Proverbs 16:4...The Lord hath made all things for himself: yea, even the wicked for the day of evil.3. Proverbs 16:9...A man’s heart deviseth his way: but the Lord directeth his steps.4. Proverbs 19:21...There are many devices in a man’s heart; nevertheless the counsel of the Lord, that shall stand.5. Proverbs 20:24...Man’s goings are of the Lord; how can a man then understand his own way?6. Proverbs 21:1...The king’s heart is in the hand of the Lord, as the rivers of water: he turneth it whithersoever he will.7. Job 42:2...I know that thou canst do every thing, and that no thought can be withholden from thee.8. Isaiah 14:24...The Lord of host hath sworn, saying, Surely as I have thought, so shall it come to pass; and as I have purposed, so shall it stand:9. Isaiah 14:27...For the Lord of hosts hath purposed, and who shall disannul it? and his hand is stretched out, and who shall turn it back?10. Isaiah 46:9-10...Remember the former things of old: for I am God, and there is none else; I am God, and there is none like me,Declaring the end from the beginning, and from ancient times the things that are not yet done, saying, My counsel shall stand, and I will do all my pleasure:11. Isaiah 48:3...I have declared the former things from the beginning; and they went forth out of my mouth, and I shewed them; I did them suddenly, and they came to pass.12. Jeremiah 1:5...Before I formed thee in the belly I knew thee; and before thou camest forth out of the womb I sanctified thee, and I ordained thee a prophet unto the nations.13. Psalms 139:16...Thine eyes did see my substance, yet being unperfect; and in thy book all my members were written, which in continuance were fashioned, when as yet there was none of them.14. John 3:3...Jesus answered and said unto him, Verily, verily, I say unto thee, Except a man be born again, he cannot see the kingdom of God.15. John 3:5...Jesus answered, Verily, verily, I say unto thee, Except a man be born of water and of the Spirit, he cannot enter into the kingdom of God.16. John 3:27...John answered and said, A man can receive nothing, except it be given him from heaven.17. John 6:39...And this is the Father’s will which hath sent me, that of all which he hath given me I should lose nothing, but should raise it up again at the last day.18. John 6:45...It is written in the prophets, And they shall be all taught of God. Every man therefore that hath heard, and hath learned of the Father, cometh unto me.19. John 6:64-65...But there are some of you that believe not. For Jesus knew from the beginning who they were that believed not, and who should betray him.And he said, Therefore said I unto you, that no man can come unto me, except it were given unto him of my Father.20. John 8:47...He that is of God heareth God’s words: ye therefore hear them not, because ye are not of God.21. John 10:14...I am the good shepherd, and know my sheep, and am known of mine.22. John 10:16...And other sheep I have, which are not of this fold: them also I must bring, and they shall hear my voice; and there shall be one fold, and one shepherd.23. John 10:26-29...But ye believe not, because ye are not of my sheep, as I said unto you.My sheep hear my voice, and I know them, and they follow me:And I give unto them eternal life; and they shall never perish, neither shall any man pluck them out of my hand.24. John 13:18...I speak not of you all: I know whom I have chosen: but that the scripture may be fulfilled, He that eateth bread with me hath lifted up his heel against me.25. John 14:6...Jesus saith unto him, I am the way, the truth, and the life: no man cometh unto the Father, but by me.26. John 15:16...Ye have not chosen me, but I have chosen you, and ordained you, that ye should go and bring forth fruit, and that your fruit should remain: that whatsoever ye shall ask of the Father in my name, he may give it to you.27. John 15:19...If ye were of the world, the world would love his own: but because ye are not of the world, but I have chosen you out of the world, therefore the world hateth you.28. John 17:2-3...As thou hast given him power over all flesh, that he should give eternal life to as many as thou hast given him.And this is eternal life, that they might know thee only true God, and Jesus Christ, whom thou hast sent.29. John 17:6...I have manifested thy name unto the men which thou gavest me out of the world: thine they were, and thou gavest them me; and they have kept thy word.30. John 17:9-12...I pray for them: I pray not for the world, but for them which thou hast given me; for they are thine.And all mine are thine, and thine are mine; and I am glorified in them.And now I am no more in the world, but these are in the world, and I come to thee. Holy Father, keep through thine own name those whom thou hast given me, that they may be one, as we are.While I was with them in the world, I kept them in thy name; those that thou hast given me I have kept, and none of them is lost, but the son of perdition; that the scripture might be fulfilled.31. John 17:16...They are not of this world, even as I am not of this world.32. Acts 13:48...And when the Gentiles heard this, they were glad, and glorified the word of the Lord: and as many as were ordained to eternal life believed.33. Romans 8:28-30...And we know all things work together for good to them that love God, to them who are the called according to his purpose.For whom he did foreknow, he also did predestinate to be conformed to the image of his Son, that he might be the firstborn among many brethren.Moreover whom he did predestinate, them he also called: and whom he called, them he also justified: and whom he justified, them he also glorified.34. 1 Corinthians 12:3...Wherefore I give you to understand, that no man speaking by the Spirit of God calleth Jesus accursed: and that no man can say that Jesus is Lord, but by the Holy Ghost.35. Galatians 1:15-16...But when it pleased God, who separated me from my mother’s womb, and called me by his grace,To reveal his Son in me, that I might preach him among the heathen; immediately I conferred not with flesh and blood:36. Ephesians 1:4-5...According as he hath chosen us in him before the foundation of the world, that we should be holy and without blame before him in love:Having predestinated us unto the adoption of children by Jesus Christ to himself, according to the good pleasure of his will,37. Ephesians 1:11...In whom also we have obtained an inheritance, being predestinated according to the purpose of him who worketh all things after the counsel of his own will:38. Ephesians 2:8-9...For by grace are ye saved through faith, and that not of yourselves: it is the gift of God:Not of works, lest any man should boast.39. 2 Thessalonians 2:13-14...But we are bound to give thanks alway to God for you, brethren beloved of the Lord, because God hath from the beginning chosen you to salvation through sanctification of the Spirit and belief of the truth:Whereunto he called you by our gospel, to the obtaining of the glory of our Lord Jesus Christ.40. 2 Timothy 1:9....Who hath saved us, and called us with an holy calling, not according to our works, but according to his own purpose and grace, which was given us in Christ Jesus before the world began,41. 1 Peter 1:20-21...Who verily was foreordained before the foundation of the world, but was manifest in these last times for you,Who by him do believe in God, that raised him up from the dead, and gave him glory; that your faith and hope might be in God.42. 1 Peter 2:2...Elect according to the foreknowledge of God the Father, through sanctification of the Spirit, unto obedience and sprinkling of the blood of Jesus Christ: Grace unto you, and peace, be multiplied.43. 1 Peter 2:1-5...Wherefore laying aside all malice, and all guile, and hypocrisies, and envies, and all evil speakings,As newborn babes, desire the sincere milk of the word, that ye may grow thereby:If so be ye have tasted that the Lord is gracious.To whom coming, as unto a living stone, disallowed indeed of men, but chosen of God, and precious,Ye also, as lively stones, are built up a spiritual house, an holy priesthood, to offer up spiritual sacrifices, acceptable to God by Jesus Christ.44. Revelation 17:8...The beast that thou sawest was, and is not; and shall ascend out of the bottomless pit, and go into perdition: and they that dwell on the earth shall wonder, whose names were not written in the book of life from the foundation of the world, when they behold the beast that was, and is not, and yet is.45. Job 37:16...Dost thou know the balancings of the clouds, the wondrous works of him which is perfect in knowledge?46. Psalm 147:5...Great is our Lord, and of great power: his understanding is infinite.47. 1 Corinthians 3:6-7...I have planted, Apollos watered; but God gave the increase.So then neither is he that planteth any thing, neither he that watereth; but God that giveth the increase.48. Proverbs 16:33...The lot is cast into the lap; but the whole disposing thereof is of the Lord.49. Isaiah 45:7...I form the light, and create darkness: I make peace, and create evil: I the Lord do all these things.50. Genesis 6:5...And God saw that the wickedness of man was great in the earth, and that every imagination of the thoughts of his heart was only evil continually.Mark A. Smith, B.A., M.S.M., author of "God of our flat Earth"
James White does a thorough job of explaining the problems with Arminian doctrine and even clarifies that what Chosen But Free presents as Arminian doctrine is actually process theology and open theism. The main point of the book is who is sovereign, namely over salvation. While one might easily say God is, the explanation of how that works reveals that the Arminian view truly places man as the final sovereign over his salvation. I sympathize since I started in that camp being a philosophical thinker but biblical points forced me towards Calvinistic doctrine.I read this book with a group in my church. I thought the book is clear but many people had trouble following the arguments of the book. One of the main reasons for this was that the book often switched from Geisler's view to White's view. This was necessary and I thought the flow was good but people (especially less studious people) tended to have trouble keeping up with the shifts. Overall though, after several readings through a chapter and a small group lesson, it seemed that people were challenged on their personal views and had growth in their understanding of this topic.
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