The crowning achievement of a lifetime of thought and reflection, Anthony Hoekema’s Saved by Grace is a comprehensive, dynamic, and eminently practical presentation of the biblical teaching on salvation.
Hoekema begins by recognizing the sovereignty of God in all things, including our salvation. One of the Bible’s central themes, he maintains, is that we are saved wholly by God’s grace, through the powerful working of the Holy Spirit, on the basis of the all-sufficient work of Jesus Christ. However, we are saved not as puppets but as persons who must actively respond to God’s call. In a deeply mysterious and paradoxical way, Hoekema notes, the Bible combines God’s sovereignty and our responsibility in the matter of salvation.
In discussing all the facets related to the working out of salvation — the role of the Spirit, union with Christ, the gospel call, regeneration, conversion, repentance, faith, justification, sanctification, and perseverance — Hoekema takes a unique approach. For one thing, he does away with the classical order of salvation (“ordo salutis”) by viewing these facets largely as simultaneous aspects in’the process of salvation rather than sequential steps
on the way to salvation. Moreover, Hoekema links many of these aspects with the word new: regeneration is new life, conversion a new direction, justification a new status, and so on.
Hoekema’s seventh book and the third volume in an expository series on central topics of Reformed theology, Saved by Grace exhibits all the qualities for which Hoekema is already known and appreciated: clear style, careful exegesis, sure-footed reasoning, a fair-minded spirit, confessional orthodoxy, and creative freshness. This book will serve as a valuable resource for ministers, college and seminary students, Bible teachers, and laypersons.