The second of Kimbro’s book that I have read, this one predates the other (Not As a Thief). Here, as in his other book, Kimbro is articulate and clear. He pursues the central idea by means of two major sub-points; the first, that Premillennialism has falsly (though frequently intentionally) been equated with Dispensationalism and the second, that the true center out of which all other claimed distinctives of Dispensationalism flow is its distinction between Israel and the Church (Kimbro argues that the others are not actually distinctive to Dispensationalism). Both butress his primary argument that Dispensationalism teaches (even must teach) a different soteriology than that of the Reformation and of Scripture.

Kimbro spends a large portion of the book laying out what is the central disagreement between Covenant Theology and Dispensationalism (the Church/Israel distinction) and what it is not. Having shown that two of Ryrie’s claimed three distinctives of Dispensationalism—a literal interpretation and a recognition of the centrality of God’s glory in history—are neither distinct to Dispensationalism nor foreign to Covenant Theology, he then proceeds to demonstrate the biblical case for the unity of the people of God over against the one remaining distinctive—Dispensationalism’s teaching that the Church is a separate entity from Israel.

From there, he turns to consider the doctrine of salvation. Kimbro examines both statements made against Dispensationalism and statements made in defense of it/in denial that it teaches a different soteriology than does Covenant Theology. And he spends much space quoting from Scofield, Chafer, and Ryrie to show that each of these spokesmen of Dispensationalism were forced by their system of theology to make statements regarding salvation in the Old Testament and in the Millennial Kingdom that contradict the biblical doctrine of salvation by grace alone through faith alone in Christ alone. He also demonstrates that Dispensational statements of soteriology were (up to the time of writing) inherently tainted with Arminianism. (It should be noted here that Kimbro’s argument at this point is in no way contradicted by the fact that many early Dispensationalists were “Calvinistic.” Nor is this point basic to his overall argument that Dispensational soteriology is flawed; this is a development of that argument but it is not foundational to it.) Finally, Kimbro concludes by discussing two recent developments within Dispensationalism: the Lordship salvation debate and the rise of Progressive Dispensationalism (in the appendix to this second edition).

This book is truly a gold mine for anyone willing to ask if Dispensationalism truly teaches a proper, consistent soteriology. As Kimbro shows, the answer is not simple but it also must ultimately be answered in the negative. His abundant quotations are invaluable.

However, the book has its faults. From the vantage point of nearly 25 years later, Kimbro’s emphasis on the Lordship salvation debate seems to have partially missed the mark. Many Dispensational churches today follow MacArthur’s lead and reject the overt Arminianism of the past Dispensationalism. And most of the worst errors of Dispensational soteriology have been purged in those churches (errors still remain however and lingering hints of Arminianism are usually evident).

Kimbro’s biggest weakness may be a failure to charitably read some of the quotations he includes. While most do show exactly what he claims, some others, in their own context, appear to be exactly what Ryrie alleged all of them to be—unguarded statements. This will be especially glaring to a Dispensationalist when Kimbro defends Allis’ and Berkhof’s statements against Ryrie; if Kimbro had read Chafer & Scofield as charitably as he read the other two, he would likely have discarded some (though by no means all) of his quotations.

Definitely give this book a read and examine the evidence that Dispensationalism, in its zeal to protect its Church/Israel distinction, has allowed the precious truths of salvation to be compromised.