Introduction

A young man who lived in Northern Africa near Alexandria had grown up in a pagan nation with a Christian mother named Monica. Every day Monica would pray for her son. She would pray that God would save His soul and that he would do great things for the Kingdom of God. At a very young age, however, he ran away from home. He lived a wild, debauched life, taking part in drunkenness, orgies, pagan rituals, and many other immoral behaviors.

Eventually, his journey led him to join a cult of people who punished their bodies, despising the physical and embracing the non-material. In this cult, he became a bold leader, bringing many others to the faith. He would later regard this act of leading others into this deception as one of his greatest sins.

One day after one of his parties, he stumbled in a drunken stupor through a garden behind a children’s’ playground. As he walked along through this garden, he felt the hand of God upon his heart, but in his confusion, did not know what to do about it.

Suddenly, he heard the children singing a line from a children’s game. The repeated one after another, “Tole Lege! Tole Lege!” “Take up and Read!” At this, he looked down and saw, lying in the garden, a copy of the New Testament. He picked it up and turned it randomly to the following passage:

And do this, knowing the time, that now it is high time to awake out of sleep; for now our salvation is nearer than when we first believed. The night is far spent, the day is at hand. Therefore, let us cast off the works of darkness, and let us put on the armor of light. Let us walk properly, as in the day, not in revelry and drunkenness, not in lewdness and lust, not in strife and envy. But put on the Lord Jesus Christ, and make no provision for the flesh, to fulfill its lusts.

Romans 13:11-14

This passage had so much meaning to the young man and the debauched life he led, that he was nearly converted on the spot. Aside from that of Paul, this was probably the single most important conversion in the history of the church. That young man’s name was Aurelius Augustine.

Augustine was arguably the greatest theologian in the first 1000 years of the Christian church. His writings drove back the Pelagian who said that man carried no inborn sin. His debates with numerous others defended such crucial concepts as the deity of Christ and the nature of the soul.

Probably his most important contribution to Christendom today is the fact that his theology would fuel the thought of Martin Luther (who quoted Augustine the most, second only to the scriptures themselves) who sent the reformation spinning into motion with his 95 theses.

Augustine is also known as the father of a modern day theology named after John Calvin. This is because Luther and Calvin were heavily influenced by Augustine’s own views on the freedom of the will, the election of the Saints, and God’s preservation of a man’s salvation. Actually, it is ironic that Luther wrote volumes more with reference to predestination than Calvin did, yet Calvin is credited with popularizing it. Probably the greatest aspect of Augustine’s writings that influenced the reformation the most, however, was Augustine’s recognition of the sovereignty of God. These views that the three shared will later be elaborated on, but for now it is crucial to understand that the views of Augustine were to begin the great reformation which would occur over a thousand years after his own death.

During a discussion, I told my college professor Larry Anderson, “You know, we do stand on the shoulders of giants.” He looked back at me with a wry grin and said, “You know that’s not true. It’s really just a bunch of midgets stacked up really high.” Although it was just meant as a lighthearted joke, his comments speak volumes. Augustine was no more than a man. Neither was Calvin nor Luther. But with their insight we have much to learn from the great reformers.

According to Shakespeare, brevity is the soul of wit. Fortunately for me, I’m not trying to be funny. Thus, these writings have expanded and evolved much farther and in much more detailed terms than I first imagined when I originally dreamed up this idea. It should be noted by the reader that I am in no way saying anything new in these pages. Solomon says that there is never anything new under the sun. I wholeheartedly agree. There is nothing written in these pages which you cannot find in the writings of other more brilliant men or even in the scriptures themselves. I can only hope that the things stated in here and expounded upon in each chapter can present a general overview of true Calvinistic theology, the reasonableness of such views, the scripturality and logicality of these doctrines, and most importantly, what these things mean for our personal relationship to the glorious Creator. May these writings bring God’s glorious grace to the forefront, for we do not have a God who simply is content to make life possible, but our King is One who is wholly the Author of our salvation from first to last! Amen.