Dr. James White: Sola Gratia & Sovereign Grace

Just a few weeks ago, Dr. James White of Alpha and Omega Ministries in Phoenix, Arizona was in town for the Signet Ring Ministries “Chosen” conference. The evening before the conference, I had the pleasure of sitting down with him to discuss Sola Gratia, as well as the topic of the conference: God's Sovereign Grace.

During the course of conversation, Dr. White explains Sola Gratia as a doctrine of the Reformation which was brought about to counter the Roman Catholic doctrine of Prevenient Grace. He then went on to describe Sovereign Grace from a Reformed perspective and contrasted it with “Free Grace.” He gave his primary texts for support of the Sovereign Grace point of view: Titus 2, and 1 John. We discussed “moderate Calvinism”, how it's a misnomer, as well as hyper-Calvinism. Dr. White then described some of the practical implications of coming to an understanding of Sovereign Grace. He also talked about works that he recommends on Election and Sovereign Grace. My favorite question was to ask how to explain these things to a three-year-old.

Books that Dr. White mentioned (though didn't necessarily recommend all of them), include The Institutes of the Christian Religion, by John Calvin, Dissertation Concerning the End for which God Created the World, by Jonathan Edwards, Chosen by God and The Holiness of God, both by R.C. Sproul, The Justification of God, by John Piper, The Potter's Freedom, by James White, and Debating Calvinism, by Dave Hunt & James White. Finally, Charles Spurgeon's Children's Catechism.

The “Chosen” conference hosted by Signet Ring Ministries and mentioned several times on the show is available on DVD at the Signet Ring website.