I have stated before that I’m not a big fan of John Piper. After reading another of his books, I can state with even more certainty that I’m not a big fan of John Piper.

I recently received a copy of Piper’s book, Five Points, to read and review. This is Piper’s attempt at a simple explanation of Calvinism’s five major tenets: total depravity, unconditional election, limited atonement, irresistible grace, and perseverance of the saints.

Knowing what it was, I really wasn’t thrilled with the prospect of reading it, but after some thought, I decided to look it over.

I found both pros and cons. First the positive aspects.

Piper does a good job of simplifying the five main principles of Calvinism so that most people can understand them. This would have come in handy in college, during church history. Most of the material available when I took that class didn’t do a very good job of making Calvinism understandable.

And now, the negative aspects.

I find Calvinism to be a faulty theology and do not accept it to be authoritative. While it does a masterful job of elevating the sovereignty of God, it falls short in depicting the free will of man. I am in no way suggesting that we marginalize the sovereignty of God. What I am saying is that Calvinism swings the pendulum too far in one direction, and does not take a fair and balanced approach to Scripture.

Unless you are studying the differences between Calvinistic theology and other denominations, I really don’t recommend reading Piper’s Five Points. Granted, it does explain the main premises of Calvinism succinctly. But those five premises are faulty at their foundations. You’d be better off to simply research and read what the Bible itself has to say about God’s love and grace for his creation.

You’ll grow your faith more from that endeavor than you will from reading Five Points.

What is your favorite passage on the topic of God’s grace? You can leave your thoughts in the comments section below.

This post is simply a book review of John Piper’s book, Five Points. It is not intended to launch a debate about the merits of Calvinism, or the lack thereof. Please keep that in mind when leaving any comments. All comments will be moderated, and any remarks that are argumentative in nature will be removed. Thanks!

Disclosure of Material Connection:
I received this book free from Cross Focused Media as part of their Cross Focused Reviews blogger review program. I was not required to write a positive review. The opinions I have expressed are my own. I am disclosing this in accordance with the Federal Trade Commission’s 16 CFR, Part 255: “Guides Concerning the Use of Endorsements and Testimonials in Advertising.“