Christ Freely Offered is written by Ken Stebbins and published by Tulip Publishing. This third edition was published in 2020.
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Christ Freely Offered
I want to begin by saying that I found this book to be absolutely fascinating! Ken Stebbins originally wrote this book in 1975, but it is just as fresh today as it was back then. He writes about the general offer of salvation and its relationship to particular redemption (or limited atonement if you want to keep the TULIP acronym in place). This book answers questions that I’ve thought through before but have yet to receive good answers until now.
Stebbins’ work is masterful! He examines both Scripture and historical-theological points in this discussion, and he shows himself to be competent in teaching on this topic. Everyone should love Calvinism, but hyper-Calvinism is not to be loved. Stebbins shows how a good Calvinist can love particular redemption and the general offer of salvation to all people.
He begins in the introduction by summing up the implications of the free offer of the gospel with these three questions:
- Does God desire the salvation of everyone?
- Does God offer the gospel to all because He loves all? Does He love all?
- Does God offer Christ and salvation to everyone in the preaching of the Gospel?
This book is literally Stebbins’ answer to those questions. He writes this book in such a clear and concise way that can be understood by any Christian that wants to look further into these questions (in other words, this book isn’t just for pastors and theologians). It’s a rather short read (just over 120 pages), but it is filled with wisdom and encouragement! I personally enjoyed Stebbins’ survey of historical figures (i.e. Reformers, Puritans, systematic theologians, etc.) and how they answered such questions about this topic. It is clear that Stebbins has done much work to produce this book.
I hope that many will read this excellent book! It’s certainly worth it. Tolle lege, take up and read!
Disclaimer: My thanks to Tulip Publishing for providing me with a complimentary copy of this book in exchange for an unbiased review. The opinions expressed are my own.
Matt became a joyful follower of Jesus at the age of 21. He is very grateful to be a husband to Lindsey, and a father to four boys. He is an ordained minister (teaching elder) in the PCA. He previously served as a pastor of biblical counseling and is currently a corporate chaplain in southern Delaware. Matt received his Master of Divinity degree in Biblical Counseling from Southeastern Baptist Theological Seminary and holds an advanced certification in biblical counseling from the Association of Biblical Counselors. In his free time, he loves playing with his boys, traveling with his wife, and reading (and buying!) books.
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