I finished with the sequence of publishing my book last week, and as I type this, I’m waiting for some hard copies to be shipped to me. That’s always a nervous anticipation. Will the book look like the proofs I was shown? Will the artwork line up properly on the spine of the book?

This one was a labor of love, with the emphasis on labor. When I published my first book, Take Root Bear Fruit, in February 2021, I immediately began to think about my next project. The subject wasn’t long in coming, but I really thought it wouldn’t take nearly 2 1/2 years to complete. After (semi-) retiring in April 2022, I figured I could knock it out by the end of summer.

As it turns out, life has a way of intruding on our best laid plans. A trip to Tanzania last summer, followed by working with two elder teams on the merger of our churches (successfully, I might add), and additional working days for the last quarter of 2022 all added up to slowing the process of writing.

But nothing elongated the task as much as the amount of research that the project required. While my first book was mostly a matter of putting long-marinated thoughts to paper, with a relative minimum of inquiry, this one seemed to open a can of worms at every step.

“Oh, this chapter on saving faith should be simple. Justification by faith alone, right?” Not so simple. This happened often.

In most of the chapters, after describing the biblical meaning of the various elements of the order of salvation, I tried to highlight one of the critical points of theological disagreement concerning that doctrine. Something as clear-cut as salvation by faith alone should have been easy.

But there are old controversies (which still resonate) in the debate between so-called “Lordship Salvation” and “Free Grace” thinking. I’d personally had my own discussions with others back in the ’70s when it first began percolating, when I was beginning to form my own thoughts on soteriology.

As I resurrected these old debates, it just got to be a deeper and deeper excursion. Quotations in one book or article led me to additional sources. At times I could hardly believe some of the material I was reading.

[For what it’s worth, my own take on this particular issue is that while I admire the commitment of Free Grace writers to justification by faith alone, they miss the mark by stripping faith of biblical repentance. The thought that one could have a simple “faith” in Jesus and remain in rebellion to God the Savior is beyond comprehension. I don’t like some of the terminology of Lordship Salvation, including that very term, but as I argue in the book, the salvation by God of a sinner is wholly the work of God, and such a work will produce growing, persevering Christians.]

I’ll post more on that particular issue in the weeks to come.

Or, you could buy the book.

My own experience is that the more I’ve learned from the Bible about the great salvation we have in common, the more I love and cherish my Savior Jesus Christ. That is my hope and prayer for anyone who reads this blog or buys my book. Salvation is a treasure of great worth. We sometimes take the grace and mercy of our Lord for granted. I encourage you to pursue the joy in being one of the saved.