Whomever He Wills: A Surprising Display of Sovereign Mercy

by Matthew Barrett (Editor), Thomas J. Nettles (Editor)

This book deals with the timeless issues of the ineffable glory of the grace of God and the dependence of sinners on unalloyed mercy. It also addresses a highly contemporary conflict in Southern Baptist life over the character of this very mercy.

Genres: Theology

434 pages, Paperback

First published June 15, 2012

About the author

Matthew Barrett (MDiv, PhD, Southern Baptist Theological Seminary) is associate professor of Christian theology at Midwestern Baptist Theological Seminary and the executive editor of Credo Magazine. He is the author of numerous books, including God's Word Alone, 40 Questions about Salvation, Reformation Theology, John Owen on the Christian Life, and Salvation by Grace. He is also the host of the Credo podcast where he talks with fellow theologians about the most important doctrines of the faith. He lives in Kansas City.

Reviews

[Jeremy Lee · Rating 5 out of 5]

Whomever He Wills from the Founders Ministry attempts "to provide an expanded viewpoint...and corrective" to the book Whosoever Wills, which is a critique of Calvinism.

The first chapter of Whomever He Wills is an exposition of Revelation 5:1-14 entitled "Our Sovereign Savior." It is worth the price of the book. The rest of part one biblically expounds each of the 5 Points of Calvinism (Doctrines of Grace), explains how God's sovereignty is compatible with human freedom, gives an answer to the problem of evil, and surveys history to demonstrate how Calvinism is foundational for evangelism and missions. Part two is a historical survey, which discusses Calvin's view of the death of Christ, the evangelistic preaching of John Bunyan, how Calvinism has shaped the Southern Baptist Convention, and the impact of Calvinism on Baptist ecclesiology.

Personally, I appreciated the chapter on definite atonement because of its biblical thoroughness and because of its focus on a positive exposition of the work of Christ instead of the normal defensive posture. In this chapter, David Schrock argues, "Definite atonement 'undergirds' the preaching of God's Word. How? By esteeming the undiluted success of what Christ accomplished on the cross." Dr. Ware did a superb job demonstrating the theological and philosophical weakness of libertine free will and defending a biblically faithful alternative. Tom Ascol's historical survey of Calvinistic missionaries and Ben Rodger's chapter on Bunyan's evangelistic preaching were inspirational and contradict the stereotype of Calvinists being anti-missional.

[Ronnie Nichols · Rating 5 out of 5]

There is still hope for the SBC! This is a fantastic book on the doctrines of grace from a baptist perspective. The teams of authors do an amazing of job of defending "God's Sovereign mercy" and graciously provide the reader with a biblical and historical defense of these foundational truths.
Bravo! Highly recommend. Top shelf!

[Adam Kareus · Rating 5 out of 5]

A great overview of our Sovereign God sovereignly saving... This work was written with the SBC in mind and responding to the work Whosoever Will, but it stands on its own as it provides good biblical reasoning and work to support the Bible's witness of the sovereign work of the Lord in salvation.