'The Death of Death in the Death of Christ is a polemical work,
designed to show, among other things, that the doctrine of
universal redemption is unscriptural and destructive of the
gospel. Those who see no need for doctrinal exactness and
have not time for theological debates which show up divisions
between Evangelicals may well regret its reappearance. Some
may find the very sound of Owen's thesis so shocking that they
will refuse to read his book at all. But there are signs today of a
new upsurge of interest in the theology of the Bible: a new
readiness to test tradition, to search the Scriptures and to think
through the faith. It is to those who share this rhess that
Owen's treatise is offered, in the belief that it will help us in one
of the most urgent tasks facing Evangelical Christendom
today-the recovery of the gospel.
'It is safe to say that no comparable exposition of the work of
redemption as planned and executed by the Triune Jehovah
has ever been done since Owen published his in 1684. None
has been needed.
'Owen's interpretation of the texts is sure; his power of theo-
logical construction is superb; nothing thateeds discussing
is omitted, and no arguments for or against is position have
been used since his day which he has not himself noted and
dealt with. Owen's work is a constructive broad-based biblical
analysis of the heart of the gospel, and must be taken seriously
as such. Nobody has a right to dismiss the doctrine of the
limitedness of the atonement as a monstrosity of Calvinistic
logic until he has refuted Owen's proof that it is part of the
uniform biblical presentation of redemption, clearly taught