In 2001 I began working on a manuscript that would become the first of three books written to date. This first work, entitled The First Institution, addresses the important subjects of marriage and child training. The second, The Epistle of Diotrephes, was written out of my concern over the modern church’s unrelenting appetite to merge with the world’s ever changing culture. Both of these subjects are (I believe) of profound importance to all believers, and yet despite the significance of these issues, I felt compelled to withhold these from distribution for now in order to publish the last of the three works: All Nations Under God (Jan. 2006). To some extent I almost feel like Jude who sought to write on the noble subject of our common salvation, and yet he felt compelled to set this aside in order to write to the church concerning the dangerous doctrines that were being spread by men who turned the grace of God into licentiousness (Jude 3-4). In a similar manner All Nations Under God came into being, and this is why:
In recent years there has been a rise in literature which seeks to attack several truths concerning God’s sovereignty. The foci of such works are many, and yet there is one subject that has received the lion’s share of attention, and that is the precious matter of Christ’s atoning sacrifice. Many of the advocates of Arminian doctrine have turned up the heat on this subject and have slanderously attacked the truths of sovereign grace, calling them a “dreadful doctrine” whose fruit is idolatry and “the false God of Augustinianism and Calvinism.” Many such Arminian publications have infiltrated the church today and have fueled much in the way of disunity, graceless attitudes, church splits and even the ejection of pastors who dared to preach the whole counsel of God. The end result of such warfare is that many believers have become ensnared by this contention, without really understanding the biblical debate at all. It is with this reality in view that I wrote All Nations Under God. This book is designed to offer encouragement and hope to all believers. As well, it will help sovereign grace believers to think about how they can encourage brethren who are of the Arminian persuasion, but without entering into needless contention. Thus, it avoids entering into contests concerning specific theologians – either in the present or from church history. Overall, the focus of this book is a positive one which looks to herald the immutable work of the Lamb of God, and this is the reason for the book’s subtitle, which is – “The Doctrine of Christ’s Victorious Atonement: Defined, Defended and Applied.” The primary text that guides All Nations Under God is found in Revelation chapter 5:
Revelation 5:9-10: 9 And they *sang a new song, saying, “Worthy art Thou to take the book, and to break its seals; for Thou wast slain, and didst purchase for God with Thy blood men from every tribe and tongue and people and nation. 10 “And Thou hast made them to be a kingdom and priests to our God; and they will reign upon the earth.”
This song of the Lamb, in Revelation 5, is not a dirge, nor is it a lament. Instead, it is a victory song which heralds the triumph of Christ (Rev. 5:5) – a triumph that was established for His sheep from before the foundation of the world (Revelation 13:8). Someday in glory, we will sing this song of victory to our precious Savior who shed His blood for our sin, therefore, in a way you can think of All Nations Under God as a form of choir rehearsal for that eternal choral.
The book’s appendix contains a survey of some of the most hotly contested verses that relate to the question of the atonement. These verses are carefully examined, using diagrammatical analysis, so that the reader can graphically see the clear meaning of such texts.
From the book cover: All Nations Under God, The Doctrine of Christ’s Victorious Atonement: Defined, Defended and Applied.
The church of Jesus Christ presently faces many battles and challenges, for the enemies of the Gospel continue relentlessly to oppose and contest the central message of the Scriptures: Christ and Him crucified. But there is another battle that has been gaining momentum – this one is arising from within the ranks of the visible church. It is a battle that is draining the church of her vitality and joy. Worse than that, it is a battle that is robbing Christ of His glory as the victorious Lamb of God. But the church must refute such contention and reclaim the joy, motivation and power of the Gospel ministry by looking intently at the One who calls Himself the eternal Victor: The Lord Jesus Christ. All Nations Under God looks to restore the true hope and joy of the church by reclaiming the Biblical vision of the Lamb of God who was slain for our sin.
