As my new book is now published and being read, it has been very gratifying to receive feedback from people telling me how helpful the material has been. Obviously an author writes for the purpose of being read and my prayer is that if God so wills, the book will be a useful tool in the Master’s hands to allow many of His precious saints to gain more of an understanding of the depth, riches and power of God’s measureless grace in Christ.

Pastor Earl Crecelius has written the following as a review:

Well this post isn’t from my Nook, but it’s from a book I’ve been reading on my Nook: Twelve What Abouts: Answering Common Objections Concerning God’s Sovereignty in Election, by John Samson. He has many quotes from other authors which are memorable, such as this from Spurgeon: Men will allow God to be everywhere except on His throne. Or this from A. A. Hodge, in response to the objection that if salvation is by God’s election alone, evangelism is useless:

If God has eternally decreed that you should live, what is the use of your breathing? If God has eternally decreed that you should talk, what is the use of your opening your mouth? If God has eternally decreed that you should reap a crop, what is the use of your sowing the seed? If God has eternally decreed that your stomach contain food, what is the use of your eating?

I do enjoy a snappy theologian! But Samson himself has some good stuff to say. Here’s how he characterizes the “pendulum swing” of an over emphasis on the wrath of God to an over emphasis on the love of God:

Though at one stage in Church history, the Church over-emphasized the wrath and judgment of God…yet now the pendulum has fully swung the other way and all that many people have ever heard about is a very shallow and unbiblical presentation of the love of God. I remember some time ago reading through the book of Acts taking special notice of the preaching of the Apostles. What was it that they preached? What did they emphasize? What was the sum and substance of the Apostles’ preaching? I was more than shocked when this process revealed that…now wait for it…the Apostles never mentioned the love of God…not even once. This is not to say that God doesn’t love people. Far from it. But it was quite a shock to my thinking to realize that the love of God was not in view, especially as it is the “only” thing in view of much of the Church world today.

The Twelve Objections Samson deals with are:

1.What about the love of God?
2.What about free will?
3.What about God’s foreknowledge?
4.What about John 3:16?
5.What about 2 Peter 3:9?
6.What about 1 Timothy 2:4?
7.What about Matthew 23:37?
8.What about 1 Timothy 4:10?
9.What about John 12:32?
10.What about Reprobation
11.What about lost loved ones?
12.What about prayer and evangelism?

His answers to these “what abouts” are fairly brief but quite Biblical. Easy to read, it will challenge your mind to think. You can buy it through Amazon or Monergism.

The paperback version of the book can now be preordered at the link to the right hand side of this page, and is due to be published by the end of February.

“Sometimes a single misapprehension or sticky question stands in the way of an honest believer’s examination of the doctrines of grace. John Samson answers those questions with a pastoral heart, yet with biblical fidelity.” – Dr. James White

“My friend John Samson has written a very valuable (and inexpensive) book called Twelve What Abouts: Answering Common Objections Concerning God’s Sovereignty in Election. The title is self explanatory… John answers the objections that many have regarding the Calvinistic doctrine of election such as ‘what about God’s love?’ and various passages that opponents of the doctrine use to attempt to disprove it. I’ve dialoged with John quite a bit and he’s a genuinely kind and gracious man, (even when we disagree) and those attributes come out in the way this book is composed and the arguments are presented. The book is written in an irenic and conversational manner without the heavy and dry attitude and terminology that usually accompanies such volumes. If you’re interested in, or have questions about the doctrines of grace in general and the doctrine of election in particular, I highly commend this book to you.” – Michael Newnham

“Whether you are new to the doctrines of grace or simply seeking greater clarity on the sovereign grace of God in salvation, this book will be beneficial. In ‘Twelve What Abouts’, John tackles common objections regarding the doctrine of election in a concise and biblical way. His charitable spirit coupled with his broad based biblical knowledge make for a joyful learning experience. As someone who teaches the doctrines of grace to the women at our church, I’ve turned to Samson’s teachings multiple times. Do yourself a favor and add this little gem to your library — it will be one of the best investments you’ve ever made!” – Christina Langella

“There is a new book out by a Pastor friend of mine named John Samson called Twelve What Abouts: Answering Common Objections Concerning God’s Sovereignty in Election. Now I don’t review a lot of books here, only the books that I have read and thought others can benefit from. The mature Christian reader who may be a Calvinist or Arminian might be asking themselves, “Why do I need to read another book on this topic when there are many out there that I have already read, and so many that I haven’t”? Likewise there might be others that feel they don’t understand a lot of the deep teachings of the Bible and shy away from what they see as complicated issues. Still others might say that this issue is not important in my walk with God and I will leave topics like this to the Theologians to fight over. Finally, you might just be someone who goes to church on Sunday and takes what is said on issues like these and doesn’t question it, or sadly, maybe you go to church and topics like this are not even brought up. Well if this fits you, or if there are other reason why you think you don’t want to read a book on this topic such as you don’t have time etc. I encourage you to pick this one up and read it. Let me tell you a little about the book…” here. – Larry Londy

Larry Londy at the Christian Thinker blog has written a short review of my new book. You might find it to be an interesting read. He writes:

There is a new book out by a Pastor friend of mine named John Samson called Twelve What Abouts: Answering Common Objections Concerning God’s Sovereignty in Election. Now I don’t review a lot of books here, only the books that I have read and thought others can benefit from. The mature Christian reader who may be a Calvinist or Arminian might be asking themselves, “Why do I need to read another book on this topic when there are many out there that I have already read, and so many that I haven’t”? Likewise there might be others that feel they don’t understand a lot of the deep teachings of the Bible and shy away from what they see as complicated issues. Still others might say that this issue is not important in my walk with God and I will leave topics like this to the Theologians to fight over. Finally, you might just be someone who goes to church on Sunday and takes what is said on issues like these and doesn’t question it, or sadly, maybe you go to church and topics like this are not even brought up. Well if this fits you, or if there are other reason why you think you don’t want to read a book on this topic such as you don’t have time etc. I encourage you to pick this one up and read it.

Let me tell you a little about the book… here.