Recommended Reading

This page is devoted to helping brothers and sisters narrow down their search for books that are faithful to biblical exposition, evangelical, and contain good Christian scholarship that is committed to a God-centered and Christ-exalting aim. (Note: We are only making people aware of books that we [or our wives] have actually read. This way, we know the contents of what we are recommending to people. As the days move along, the list will grow.)

Old Testament Commentaries (in order of canonical books)

• Hess, Richard. Joshua: An Introduction and Commentary. Tyndale Old Testament Commentaries. Downers Grove: InterVarsity, 1996.
• Howard, David M., Jr. Joshua. New American Commentary. Vol 5. Edited by E. Ray Clendenen, et al. Nashville: Broadman & Holman, 1998.
• Block, Daniel I. Judges, Ruth. New American Commentary. Vol 6. Edited by E. Ray Clendenen, et al. Nashville: Broadman & Holman, 1999.
• Oswalt, John N. Isaiah 1-39. New International Commentary on the Old Testament. Grand Rapids: Eerdmans, 1986.

New Testament Commentaries (in order of canonical books)

• Carson, D. A. Matthew. The Expositor’s Bible Commentary. Grand Rapids: Zondervan, 1984.
• Lane, William. The Gospel According to Mark. New International Commentary on the New Testament. Grand Rapids: Eerdmans, 1974.
• Carson, D. A. The Gospel According to John. Pillar New Testament Commentary. Grand Rapids: Eerdmans, 1991. 
• Morris, Leon. The Gospel According to John. New International Commentary on the New Testament. Grand Rapids: Eerdmans, 1971.
• Cranfield, C. E. B. Romans 1-8. International Critical Commentary. London: T & T Clark, 1975.
• Cranfield, C. E. B. Romans 9-16. International Critical Commentary. London: T & T Clark, 1979. 
• Murray, John. The Epistle to the Romans. New International Commentary on the New Testament. Grand Rapids: Eerdmans, 1959 [vol. 1]; 1965 [vol. 2].
• Schreiner, Thomas R. Romans. Baker Exegetical Commentary on the New Testament. Edited by Moises Silva. Grand Rapids: Baker Academic, 1998.
• Fee, Gordon. The First Epistle to the Corinthians. New International Commentary on the New Testament. Grand Rapids: Eerdmans, 1987.
• Longenecker, Richard N. Galatians. Word Biblical Commentary, vol. 41. Edited by Bruce Metzger, et al. Nashville: Thomas Nelson Publishers, 1990.
• O’Brien, Peter T. The Letter to the Ephesians. Pillar New Testament Commentary. Edited by D. A. Carson. Grand Rapids: Eerdmans, 1999.
• O’Brien, Peter T. Colossians-Philemon. Word Biblical Commentary. Vol 44. Nashville: Thomas Nelson, 1982.
• Mounce, William D. Pastoral Epistles. Word Biblical Commentary. Vol 46. Nashville: Thomas Nelson Publishers, 2000.
• Bruce, F. F. The Epistle to the Hebrews. New International Commentary on the New Testament. Grand Rapids: Eerdmans, 1964.
• Schreiner, Thomas R. 1, 2 Peter, Jude. New American Commentary. Vol 37. Nashville: Broadman & Holman, 1999.
• Beale, Gregory K. The Book of Revelation. New International Greek Testament. Grand Rapids: Eerdmans, 1998.

Old Testament Theology & Interpretation

• Dumbrell, William J. The Faith of Israel: A Theological Survey of the Old Testament, 2nd ed. Grand Rapids: Baker Books, 2002.
• Garrett, Duane. Rethinking Genesis. Ross-Shire: Christian Focus, 2003.
• Howard, David M., Jr. “History as History: The Search for Meaning.” In Giving the Sense: Understanding and Using Old Testament Historical Texts, ed. David M. Howard, Jr. and Michael A. Grisanti, 25-53. Grand Rapids: Kregel, 2003.
• Sailhamer, John H. Introduction to Old Testament Theology: A Canonical Approach. Grand Rapids: Zondervan, 1995.
• Seitz, Christopher R. Prophecy and Hermeneutics: Toward a New Introduction to the Prophets. Studies in Theological Interpretation. Edited by Craig Bartholomew, et al. Grand Rapids: Baker Academic, 2007.
• Waltke, Bruke K. “A Canonical Process Approach to the Psalms.” In Tradition and Testament, eds. John S. Feinberg and P. D. Feinberg, 3-18. Chicago: Moody Press, 1981.
• Waltke, Bruce K. An Old Testament Theology: A Exegetical, Canonical, and Thematic Approach. Grand Rapids: Zondervan, 2007.

New Testament Theology & Interpretation

• Bauckham, Richard. Jesus and the Eyewitnesses: The Gospels as Eyewitness Testimony. Grand Rapids: Eerdmans, 2006.  
• Bockmuehl, Markus. Seeing the Word: Refocusing New Testament Study. Studies in Theological Interpretation. Edited by Craig Bartholomew, et al. Grand Rapids: Baker Academic, 2006. 
• Carson, D. A., Peter T. O’Brien, and Mark A. Seifrid. Justification and Variegated Nomism: The Paradoxes of Paul. Grand Rapids: Baker, 2004.
• Hall, David R. The Seven Pillories of Wisdom. Macon: Mercer University Press, 1990.
• Humphrey, Edith. And I Turned to See the Voice: The Rhetoric of Vision in the New Testament. Studies in Theological Interpretation. Grand Rapids: Baker, 2007.
• Ladd, George Eldon. A Theology of the New Testament, rev. ed. Edited by Donald A. Hagner. Grand Rapids: Eerdmans, 1993. 
• Schlatter, Adolf. The History of the Christ: The Foundation of New Testament Theology. Translated by Andreas Köstenberger. Grand Rapids: Baker, 1997.
• Schlatter, Adolf. The Theology of the Apostles: The Development of New Testament Theology. Translated by Andreas Köstenberger. Grand Rapids: Baker, 1999.
• Schreiner, Thomas R. New Testament Theology: Magnifying God in Christ. Grand Rapids: Baker Academic, 2008.
• Thielman, Frank. Paul and the Law: A Contextual Approach. Downers Grove: InterVarsity, 1994.
• Thielman, Frank. Theology of the New Testament. Grand Rapids: Zondervan, 2005.

Scripture & Hermeneutics

• Brown, Jeannine K. Scripture as Communication: Introducing Biblical Hermeneutics. Grand Rapids: Baker Academic, 2007.
• Carson, D. A., and John D. Woodbridge. Hermeneutics, Authority and Canon. Eugene: Wipf & Stock, 1986.
• Goldsworthy, Graeme. Gospel-Centered Hermeneutics: Foundations and Principles of Evangelical Biblical Interpretation. Downers Grove: IVP, 2006.
• Linnemann, Eta. Historical Criticism of the Bible, Methodology or Ideology?: Reflections of a Bultmannian Turned Evangelical. Grand Rapids: Kregal, 1990.
• Woodbridge, John D. Biblical Authority: A Critique of the Rogers/McKim Proposal. Grand Rapids: Zondervan, 1982.

Biblical Theology & Interpretation

• Bray, Gerald. Biblical Interpretation: Past & Present. Downers Grove: IVP, 1996.
• Bruce, F. F. Paul, Apostle of the Heart Set Free. Grand Rapids: Eerdmans, 1977. 
• Carson, D. A., Douglas Moo, and Leon Morris. An Introduction to the New Testament. Grand Rapids: Zondervan, 1992.
• Childs, Brevard C. Biblical Theology of the Old and New Testaments. Minneapolis: Fortress, 1992.
• Fuller, Daniel. The Unity of the Bible: Unfolding God’s Plan for Humanity. Grand Rapids: Zondervan, 1992.
• Köstenberger, Andreas J. and Peter T. O’Brien. Salvation to the Ends of the Earth: A Biblical Theology of Mission. New Studies in Biblical Theology. Edited by D. A. Carson. Downers Grove: InterVarsity Press, 2001.
• Piper, John. The Justification of God: An Exegetical and Theological Study of Romans 9:1-23. Grand Rapids: Baker Books, 1993.
• Schreiner, Thomas R. Paul Apostle of God’s Glory in Christ: A Pauline Theology. Downers Grove: InterVarsity Press, 2001. 
• Seifrid, Mark. Christ, Our Righteousness: Paul’s Theology of Justification. New Studies in Biblical Theology. Edited by D. A. Carson. Downers Grove: InterVarsity Press, 2000.
• Wenham, David. Paul, Follower of Jesus or Founder of Christianity? Grand Rapids: Eerdmans, 1995.

Systematic Theology & Related Subjects

• Bock, Darrell L, ed. [Craig Blaising, Kenneth L. Gentry Jr., and Robert Strimple]. Three Views on the Milliennium and Beyond. Grand Rapids: Zondervan, 1999.
• Calvin, John. Institutes of the Christian Religion. Vol 1. Library of Christian Classics, 20. Translated by John T. McNeill. Philadelphia: Westminster Press, 1960.
• Erickson, Millard J. Christian Theology, 2nd ed. Grand Rapids: Baker Academic, 1998.  
• Frame, John M. The Doctrine of God: A Theology of Lordship. Philipsburg: Presbyterian & Reformed, 2002. 
• Grudem, Wayne. Systematic Theology: An Introduction to Biblical Doctrine. Grand Rapids: Zondervan, 1994.
• Hoekema, Anthony A. Created in God’s Image. Grand Rapids: Eerdmans, 1986.
• Morgan, Christopher W. and Robert A. Peterson, eds. Hell Under Fire: Modern Scholarship Reinvents Eternal Punishment. Grand Rapids: Zondervan, 2004.
• Piper, John, Justin Taylor and Paul Kjoss Helseth. Beyond the Bounds: Open Theism and the Undermining of Biblical Christianity. Wheaton: Crossway Books, 2003.
• Tozer, A. W. The Knowledge of the Holy. San Francisco: HarperCollins, 1961.
• Ware, Bruce A. God’s Greater Glory: The Exalted God of Scripture and the Christian Faith. Wheaton: Crossway Books, 2004.

Exegesis

• Carson, D. A. Exegetical Fallacies. Grand Rapids: Baker Books, 1984. 
• Chisholm, Robert B., Jr. Interpreting the Historical Books: An Exegetical Handbook. Handbooks for Old Testament Exegesis. Edited by David M. Howard, Jr. Grand Rapids: Kregel, 2006. 
• Fee, Gordon. New Testament Exegesis: A Handbook for Students and Pastors, 3rd ed. Louisville: Westminster John Knox Press, 2002.
• Stuart, Douglas. Old Testament Exegesis: A Handbook for Students and Pastors, 3rd ed. Louisville: Westminster John Knox Press, 2001. 

Christian Living & Spiritual Growth

• Boice, James Montgomery. The Sovereign God. Foundations of the Christian Faith. vol. 1. Downers Grove: InterVarsity Press, 1978.
• Elliot, Elizabeth. Keep a Quiet Heart. Grand Rapids: Revell, 1995.
• Lloyd-Jones, D. Martyn. Studies in the Sermon on the Mount. London: Intervarsity Fellowship, 1959.
• Mahaney, C. J. Humility: True Greatness. Sisters: Multnomah, 2005.
• Murray, Andrew. Absolute Surrender: How to Walk in Perfect Peace. New Kensington: Whitaker House, 1982.
• Murray, Andrew. Humility. Pure Gold Classic. Gainesville: Bridge-Logos, 2000.
• Packer, J. I. Knowing God. Downers Grove: InterVarsity Press, 1973.
• Piper, John. Desiring God: Meditations of a Christian Hedonist. Sisters: Multnomah, 1986 [1996, 2003].
• Piper, John. Don’t Waste Your Life. Wheaton: Crossway Books, 2003.
• Piper, John. God is the Gospel: Meditations on God’s Love as the Gift of Himself. Wheaton: Crossway Books, 2005.
• Piper, John. The Pleasures of God: Meditations on God’s Delight in Being God. Sisters: Multnomah, 2000.
• Piper, John. Seeing and Savoring Jesus Christ. Wheaton: Crossway Books, 2004.
• Sproul, R. C. Pleasing God: Overcoming the Obstacles that Keep You from Honoring God. Wheaton: Tyndale House Publishers, 1988.
• Tozer, A. W. The Knowledge of the Holy: The Attributes of God, Their Meaning in the Christian Life. New York: HarperCollins, 1961.
• Welch, Edward T. When People are Big and God is Small: Overcoming Peer Pressure, Codependency, and the Fear of Man. Philipsburg: Presbyterian & Reformed, 1997. 

Christian History & Biography

• Augustine, Saint. Confessions. Penguin Classics. Translated by R. S. Pine-Coffin. New York: Penguine Books, 1961. 
• Bainton, Roland H. Here I Stand: A Life of Martin Luther. New York: Meridian, 1995.
• Ferguson, Everett. Church History: From Christ to Pre-Reformation-The Rise and Growth of the Church in its Cultural, Intellectual, and Political Context. Grand Rapids: Zondervan, 2005.
• Leith, John H. Creeds of the Churches: A Reader in Christian Doctrine from the Bible to the Present, 3rd ed. Louisville: WJK, 1982.
• Lumpkin, William L. Baptist Confessions of Faith. Valley Forge: Judson Press, 1969.

Biblical Manhood & Womanhood

• Duncan, J. Ligon and Susan Hunt. Women’s Ministry in the Local Church. Wheaton: Crossway Books, 2006.
• Köstenburger, Andreas J. and David W. Jones. God, Marriage, and Family: Rebuilding the Biblical Foundation. Wheaton: Crossway Books, 2004. 
• Piper, John and Wayne Grudem, eds. Recovering Biblical Manhood & Womanhood: A Response to Evangelical Feminism. Wheaton: Crossway Books, 1991.
• Mahaney, Carolyn. Feminine Appeal: Seven Virtues of a Godly Wife and Mother. Wheaton: Crossway Books, 2004.
• Mahaney, C. J. Sex, Romance, and the Glory of God: What Every Christian Husband Should Know. Wheaton: Crossway, 2004.
• McCulley, Carolyn. Radical Womanhood: Feminine Faith in a Feminist World. Chicago: Moody, 2008.
• Wilson, Nancy. The Fruit of Her Hands: Respect and the Christian Woman. Moscow: Canon Press, 1997. 

The Church & The Gospel

• Nettles, Tom. Ready for Reformation? Bringing Authentic Reform to Southern Baptist Churches. Nashville: Broadman & Holman Publishers, 2005.
• Stott, John. Evangelical Truth: A Personal Plea for Unity, Integrity & Faithfulness. Downers Gorve: InterVarsity Press, 1999.

Church Polity & Related Issues

• Dever, Mark E. and Paul Alexander. The Deliberate Church: Building Your Ministry on the Gospel. Wheaton: Crossway Books, 2005.
• Dever, Mark E. A Display of God’s Glory: Basics of Church Structure—Deacons, Elders, Congregationalism & Membership, 3rd ed. Washington D. C.: Nine Marks, 2001.
• Dever, Mark E., ed. Polity: Biblical Arguments on How to Conduct Church Life. Washington D. C.: Nine Marks Ministries, 2001.
• Wills, Gregory A. Democratic Religion: Freedom, Authority, and Church Discipline in the Baptist South 1785-1900. Oxford: University Press, 1997.

Missions & Evangelism

• Coleman, Robert. The Master Plan of Evangelism. Grand Rapids: Fleming H. Revell, 1963 [1964, 1993].
• Kostenberger, Andreas J. and Peter T. O’Brien. Salvation to the Ends of the Earth: A Biblical Theology of Mission. New Studies in Biblical Theology. Edited by D. A. Carson. Downers Grove: InterVarsity Press, 2001.
• Packer, J. I. Evangelism and the Sovereignty of God. Downers Grove: IVP, 1961.
• Piper, John. Let the Nations Be Glad: The Supremacy of God in Missions, 2nd ed. Grand Rapids: Baker Books, 2003.

Prayer

• Murray, Andrew. With Christ in the School of Prayer. Pure Gold Classic. Revised by Harold J. Chadwick. North Brunswick: Bridge-Logos Publishers, 1999.
• Piper, John. A Hunger for God: Desiring God Through Fasting and Prayer. Wheaton: Crossway Books, 1997.

Devotion & Meditation

• Owen, John. Meditations on the Glory of Christ: His Office and Grace. Ross-Shire: Christian Focus, 2004 [orig. 1684].
• Piper, John. Life as a Vapor: Thirty-One Meditations for Your Faith. Sisters: Multnomah, 2004.
• Piper, John. Pierced by the Word: Thirty-One Meditations for Your Soul. Sisters: Multnomah, 2003.

Preaching & Pastoral Ministry

• Doriani, Daniel M. Putting the Truth to Work: The Theory and Practice of Biblical Application. Phillipsburg: Presbyterian and Reformed, 2001. 
• Piper, John. Brothers, We are NOT Professionals: A Plea to Pastors for Radical Ministry. Nashville: Broadman & Holman Publishers, 2002.
• Piper, John. The Supremacy of God in Preaching. Grand Rapids: Baker Books, 1990.

[Here is a great list of books that is a bit more comprehensive]