A review by shelfreflectionofficial
Chosen for Life: The Case for Divine Election by Sam Storms

challenging hopeful informative medium-paced

5.0

“Election is God’s gracious and loving action to which we contribute nothing and for which, therefore, God receives all the glory.” 

Predestination. Election.

Words that are sure to suck the life out of any room. At least in my circles, these topics tend to be avoided in conversation. Nervous chuckles and nudges to get back to talking about easier things like the fruit of the Spirit.

I think it’s pretty common. For two reasons: either people don’t really know anything about it and it feels like an overwhelming thought to entertain or people don’t want to end up in arguments and cause division. 

I came into this book with a Calvinistic belief already in place. I had done some study of it and most of the avenues of discussion are not new to me. However, I still found this book to be helpful because it turns out I had a skewed view of the Arminian side of the coin. 

Sam Storms does a great job of presenting fairly both sets of beliefs and explaining them as the belief holders would. His hope in writing this book is to dispel the caricatures of both camps and bring clarity. 

 

“Often people proceed to define ‘Calvinism’ as an inflexible, fatalistic system of theology, devoid of life and joy, in which God is portrayed as a celestial bully who takes sadistic glee in sending people to hell whether they deserve it or not… Some argue that Calvinists empty human choices of all moral relevance and reduce men and women to robotic automatons. 

 …Sadly, many Calvinists think of Arminianism as an intellectually flabby, overly sentimental view of the Christian faith that borders on liberalism, if not universalism.”

It’s good to be upfront that though this book is presenting ‘a case’ to persuade readers to believe a certain belief, it is not because believing that belief is essential to salvation. Storms assures us that he has believing Calvinist friends AND believing Arminian friends.


So why even talk about it?

I believe this doctrine is important in terms of how you view God, yourself, others, evangelism, and the Bible. It informs how we preach, how we pray, and how we worship.

To put it plainly, both Calvinists and Arminians believe the Bible teaches election; the question at hand is: “Does God elect people because they believe in the Lord Jesus Christ, or does God elect people in order that they shall believe in Christ?”


Storms gives chapters to each the Arminian and Calvinist view of election and then has chapters discussing freedom of the will, faith and repentance, and grace.

Then he looks at specific Bible passages in the Gospels and Acts, the Epistles and Revelation, and then several chapters on Romans 9 which is one of the most prominent Bible passages in defense of unconditional election.

He briefly covers the ‘order of salvation’ and then addresses crucial questions surrounding this topic like- how can God be just? how can God be loving? why should we preach or pray?

Lastly he provides a defense for the defense of unconditional election.

[Ultra-lastly, there are three appendices regarding: problem passages, who can pray for the lost, and my personal favorite I’ll call ‘big words you can pull out at a dinner party to feel super smart but probably won’t make you a lot of friends— see bonus section.]


To help put things in perspective, Storms sets up an illustration at the beginning of the book: two brothers with the same genetics and familial upbringing— one ends up in heaven and one ends up in hell. Why? How can we explain why Jerry believed and Ed did not?

Is it ultimately God who saves or is it our own choice to believe?


If this is a doctrine you are confused, unsure, or curious about, reading the entire book is the best course of action. But for those who won’t, I’ll try to explain the two views and summarize the main points. Storms wrote a whole book about it, so this review is in now way a complete resource on the topic.

Goodreads has a cap on characters so to get my full review please visit my original blog post HERE because space does not allow for all my words here.


Some quotes in the meantime:

“If any man or woman is ever converted to Christ it is not because the Holy Spirit outwits us or is more skilled in the tactics of religious debate. If we are converted it is because the Holy Spirit sovereignly, which is to say independently of our ideas or efforts, recreates within us a heart willing to believe.”

“To say God ‘denies’ something to one that he ‘gives’ to another implies that God is withholding what he ‘owes.’ Thus for God to ‘deny’ eternal salvation to some suggests he is refusing to give them what they deserve, or what he owes them, or what he as God is obligated to give them… Secondly, the word ‘denies’ suggests that people have asked God, indeed pleaded with him, for eternal life and he ‘denies’ it to them or refuses to grant it to them.”

“To choose people because they believe is an obligation to which God is bound; it is a debt he must pay… How can election be gracious if it is something God must do because justice requires it? Election is gracious precisely because it is the bestowal of life on those who deserve only death.”

“What is it, then, that dictates and determines God’s choice? God… Why that particular choice is more pleasing to God than another, or why neither choice pleases him, is not revealed in Holy Scripture… How can anyone object to the reason God elected Jerry instead of Ed when no one knows what that reason is?”


Recommendation

I would definitely recommend this book. It’s a topic that Christians need to be willing to engage in and Sam Storms does a great job of tackling this divisive issue with clarity and accessibility.

I’m one of the weird ones who enjoys a book on a theologically taboo subject, but even if that’s not you, I think you’ll find the book helpful and insightful.

And I would also recommend J.I. Packer’s book Evangelism and the Sovereignty of God for more on why unconditional election does not take away from the urgency or charge to evangelize.