P124_040725 Book Publishing Appeal

SPEAKER 01 : 0:05

I have something quite different to tell you today and the next few days, and I want to explain it in detail, and I’m not sure I’ll do it very well the first time, but we’ll keep trying until I get it right. But many of you who listen to this program and have listened to it for a long time have known, I think, that I’ve been writing a book manuscript about on the salvation of all humanity, the evidence in Scripture from Genesis to Revelation that God is going to rescue through his Son, Jesus Christ, every human being who ever lived. Now, many of you, of course, will not believe this, but many of you do. and have been very interested in this book that I am writing. Well, I want to tell you that I have finished it. It’s a 450 page manuscript. I’m not sure how many pages that will turn out to be in publishing print. But I finally finished it. It’s called Every Last Sheep and Goat. At least that’s the working title. We’ll see what the publisher decides. I’ve been accepted by a publisher. My proposal has been accepted by WIPF and Stock, and they accepted it. and I’m very pleased and thankful about that. Now, this book, let me tell you a little bit about it. It will not bypass major portions of Scripture in order to make its point. This book is faithful to Scripture, and I’ve determined that I will search through… all the evidence that there is. Now, this is not going to be, mind you, or rather, this is not an academic book. It is not a highly technical exegesis. It’s a book written for the serious Christian and the layman, but also the pastor and possibly professors of seminaries who might use it for classwork with their students. It is going to be, I believe, give a very important contribution to this subject. Now, I don’t talk about this in this book as a possibility. There are a few books out there now on this subject that do talk about the possibility or the hope that God is going to save all humanity. I don’t put that out there. I believe it is a certainty that God, and I believe the evidence in Scripture is clear, that God is going to rescue the whole human race. Well, some people say, well, what about the judgment? Well, yes, I bring that in exactly. Some people say it can’t be true that God’s going to save the whole human race because there’s going to be a judgment. Well, what I say, and what I show you, is that the judgment is precisely some of the evidence for God’s work of saving all humanity. Let me give you some samples of the subject material. First of all, in the introduction, God’s irrevocable oath. in Isaiah 45, that before him every knee shall bow and every tongue shall take an oath that in God alone is their righteousness and strength. Then I look at the evidence in the book of Ephesians and Colossians, where God speaks of his secret plan to reconcile the whole universe in Jesus Christ. And then I look at the issue of the gospel, what the gospel tells us in the book of Romans, that in Adam, as in Adam all die, so in Christ all shall be made alive. Of course, that’s 1 Corinthians, but Romans talks about the first Adam brought sin and death to all mankind, the second Adam, Christ brings life and righteousness to all mankind. I talk about the judgments, the judgments especially, how they demonstrate that God is going to use the judgments to reveal his name, not to destroy people, but to reveal his name. And I go through the book of Ezekiel to show us that. And then we look at issues of election, Romans 9 through 11. What does election say? Does it mean electing a few and not electing the rest, or electing a few to be saved and electing the rest to be lost? Or is it that God has chosen to elect the whole human race for salvation? That we’ll see clearly. Then I look at the witness of Jesus. I look at how Jesus draws people to himself and also divides people and pushes people away from himself. What does that mean? Does it mean that Jesus accepts some and rejects others, or does it mean that Jesus accepts those who have been brought to an end of themselves and are ready for faith, while he takes the others and puts them in a state of hardness while they keep rejecting him until they can’t stand it any longer, and they then turn to him? Then I look at the final judgment, the lake of fire, and what that is all about. And does the lake of fire destroy, or is it a revelation of God’s glory that is so terrifying to the lost in view of their sins that they then bow the knee before him? And so these are some of the chapters that this book deals with, and it will open your eyes to Scripture in a way that probably has never been opened before. Let me tell you, in all the years that this has taken me to write, it has opened my eyes in a way that I never expected. And the core… The core of all this teaching is the sacrifice of Christ, and it is the sacrifice of Christ as revealed so clearly in the book of Romans. Now, why am I telling you all this? Well, as I said, I have a publisher, and that publisher has accepted my proposal. This publisher is a specialized publisher. It deals with… out-of-print books or specially niche books, that is, books that are to a specialized audience like Serious Christians, and it does not publish a book based upon the probability of the largeness of sales, but rather upon the quality of the book, then and it determines that it will print that book and keep it in print even though the sales may not be very high. As long as people demand the book, it will always be in print. Now, this puts a big strain on the publisher, but these are serious Christian men and women who work at Whipf and Stock, and they have published over 1,500, or is it 2,500, I’ve forgotten, titles so far. But this, because of their specialized way of doing it, involves costs to the author. The book must be edited, and the cost of editing is $7.50 per page. And the cost of typesetting is $2.50 per page. Well, you can imagine that this comes out to, I’ve forgotten the exact amount, but $5,000 to $8,000. I must put that money up front for this publisher to be able to produce this book without a loss to them. Now, I don’t have that money. I’ve never been a rich man. I’ve never had savings. And you have been very, very kind to keep this broadcast going by your offerings and donations. And I thank you so much. Some of you have kept this ministry going and broadcast going for decades. This broadcast is now in its 27th year. But for those of you who are serious about wanting the message of God’s salvation to be heard throughout the land in a way that gives them assurance that God is not double-minded. He is the God of love who, through the sacrifice of Christ, has taken the judgment of the world upon himself so that the judgments that come upon human beings are not for damnation but for salvation. For you who believe that kind of message and want other people to hear it, I hope you would be, I wish, I beg of you to help me to launch this publication. If we get the money in, I’m shooting for $8,000 because there are other costs. There’s also the cost of marketing afterwards. The publishing company does part of it and I do part of it, website and various things on advertising on Facebook and other places. I’ve forgotten how I started that sentence. But anyway. If you can do this, and if you are convicted by the Holy Spirit to help, then the time that it will take, the preparation of my manuscript, the manuscript is complete, but it must be made ready for their print format, and that takes a bit of time, and then there’s six to nine months before actual publishing. So it’s going to be a year away once we get the funds. But if you would like to make a donation to this effort, you know where to send it, and you can mark it book or manuscript. to Faith Quest, P.O. Box 366, Littleton, Colorado, 80160. That’s Faith Quest, P.O. Box 366, Littleton, Colorado, 80160. Or you can make your donation online, and you can also earmark it, book or manuscript, at faithquestradio.com. faithquestradio.com. You know, I’ve often wondered whether this ministry, Faith Quest Perspectives, 47 years I think now in existence, 27 years of broadcasting, would end with a fizzle or a blast. And I have a thought that this book may be very significant in the theological world. It’s not, as I say, for esoteric ivory tower theologians in some seminary or university, though I hope it also influences them, but it’s for you. And my appeal to you, therefore, for funds is for your blessing. I usually make funds for this radio, call upon funds for the radio broadcast. I still do. Please don’t deplete the funds for the radio broadcast by sending the same funds for the book. Rather, if you can add or if you have savings that you consider. would be the best place for placement on this project, then please do consider it seriously. This, I believe, is a message that the Lord has inspired me to write. I’m not saying the book is inspired. I’m simply saying I was inspired to write this book. And I pray that it may give enormous help and hope to those who are down and out, to those who are so darkened in their struggles and can have the assurance that no matter how dark the condition is, God will bring you through. Thank you so much. Thanks for listening to my broadcast today. You are listening to Colin Cook and the program here, how it happens, how the gospel happens, how faith happens in our lives, what God does through Jesus Christ to bring us to faith. If you would like to support this program, please do so with your donations. The program is now in its 27th year, all because of God’s grace and his moving upon your hearts to donate to keep it going. You can send your donation to faithquest, P.O. Box 366. Littleton, Colorado, 80160, or make your donation online at faithquestradio.com. Thanks for all your support, your notes, your kind gifts, and it is so much appreciated, and I’ll see you next time. Cheerio and God bless.