The Unconditional Freeness of the Gospel

“Richard Leimbach has done the ongoing theological conversation about the triune God, and the gospel many of us proclaim concerning them, a great service by reintroducing the thought of Thomas Erskine into the conversation. A deeply insightful Christian thinker rooted in Scottish Calvinism, yet profoundly aware of its limitations, Erskine pushed through, alongside his great friend John McLeod Campbell, to a much stronger and more central emphasis on a God who loves us. This is a much-needed tonic to those who thirst for words of real grace.”


—Douglas Campbell, professor of New Testament, Duke Divinity School





“Thomas Erskine was one of the most significant British theologians of the nineteenth century, whose pioneering work is as relevant and revolutionary today as it was in his own time. It is satisfying to have this wonderful, accessible edition of The Unconditional Freeness of the Gospel available to introduce his teaching on divine grace to a new generation.”


—Robin A. Parry, author of A Larger Hope? Universal Salvation from the Reformation to the Nineteenth Century





“In this little book you will find a mine full of gold, silver, and precious stones. Editor Richard Leimbach has taken a classic text of Christian theology, polished the English, and annotated the text—a text which in its time was controversial but now may well have found its time. Its arguments are fluid and convincing. Erskine, as an author, breathes new life into the gospel that God is good, God is light, and in God there is no dark side.”


—Michael Hardin, author of Mimetic Theory and Biblical Interpretation: Reclaiming the Good News of the Gospel