With this post, we begin to look at the best commentaries on the Old Testament Prophetic Books. For a good introductory overview of these books, I would recommend O. Palmer Robertson's The Christ of the Prophets.Of all the eighth century prophetic books, none matches the sheer scope of the book...

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The book of Galatians is sometimes referred to as "the charter of Christian liberty." In it, Paul fights tooth and nail for the doctrine of justification by faith alone in Christ alone. There are a number of helpful commentaries on this epistle, and the following are five of the best....

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I was recently skimming a book about Cambridge University and ran across a picture of the new Divinity Faculty building completed in 2000. Having looked at page after page of pictures of the centuries-old buildings of Cambridge, I was taken aback by the design chosen for this new structure. I...

Continue Reading When an Architect Should "Take a Mulligan"...

It is somewhat difficult to recommend a "Top 5" list on the Song of Songs because one's inclusion of commentaries in the list will largely depend on whether one takes an allegorical or non-allegorical approach to the book. The list below is based on my own non-allegorical approach to the...

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What happens when church marketing meets church history? Citizens of the German city of Wittenberg may soon find out. In honor of the 500th anniversary of Martin Luther's arrival in Wittenberg as a student and a monk, the leaders of the Evangelical Church in Germany (EKD) have declared a "Luther...

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For the last several years, I have been hearing rumors of a book project that was being developed by Dr. James T. Dennison. According to the "word on the street," Dennison was working on a multi-volume work that would include most or all of the Reformed confessions of the sixteenth...

Continue Reading A New "Must Read" for Reformed Christians...

Vanity of vanities! All is vanity. So begins the book of Ecclesiastes, one of the more difficult books of Scripture to interpret and apply. The book deals with questions of despair, suffering, and folly -- in other words, life in a fallen world. Ecclesiastes teaches us that life without God...

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As a result of a report from Titus, Paul wrote the letter we know as 2 Corinthians sometime in A.D. 56. He wrote the letter to express his thanksgiving for the church's renewed repentance (2 Cor. 7:15-16), to encourage them to complete their collection for the poor in Jerusalem (2...

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The book of Proverbs is the central wisdom book of the Old Testament. Like the book of Psalms, it is a "collection of collections." The individual proverbs were composed by different authors (e.g., Solomon, Agur, Lemuel) over a period of time and finally collected into a single book. The Proverbs...

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The Book of Psalms is one of the most beloved portions of Holy Scripture. Its contents are read and sung by millions every day. The book is actually a collection of 150 individual songs composed over a period of approximately 1000 years, from the time of Moses (Psalm 90) to...

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With this post, we begin to look at the best commentaries on the Old Testament Wisdom Books and Psalms. For a good introductory overview of these books, I would recommend Daniel Estes' Handbook on the Wisdom Books and Psalms and Derek Kidner's The Wisdom of Proverbs, Job and Ecclesiastes. Estes'...

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The letter titled First Corinthians in our Bibles was written by the Apostle Paul from Ephesus during his third missionary journey sometime around AD 55. The letter was written to address a number of problems and questions that had arisen in the church at Corinth, including sexual immorality, marriage and...

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In the Hebrew Bible, the book of Esther is found in the third section of the canon, the Writings.  It is the last of the five "scrolls" (Ruth, Song of Songs, Ecclesiastes, Lamentations, and Esther), and is read at the Feast of Purim. It is a deeply profound and moving...

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With the books of Ezra and Nehemiah, the continuous historical narrative of the Old Testament comes to a close. These two books were originally a single work, and most commentaries treat them together. Ezra and Nehemiah cover an historical period of approximately 100 years, from the decree of Cyrus permitting...

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If you randomly select 100 Christians and ask them to name their five favorite books of the Bible, it is unlikely that the books of 1 & 2 Chronicles will be found on many lists. These books are largely neglected by Christians today. They are, however, part of God's inspired...

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There are a handful of biblical books for which there is no shortage of commentaries. One thinks immediately of books such as Genesis, Psalms, the Gospel of Matthew, and the Book of Revelation. Paul's Epistle to the Romans, however, may very well be the one book of the Bible that...

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The books of 1 and 2 Kings recount events that cover a period of just over four hundred years, from the death of David to the release of Jehoiachin from prison in Babylon. The books of Genesis through Samuel describe the progressive and gradual fulfillment of God's promises to give...

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The books of Samuel deal in the broadest sense with the establishment of the monarchy in Israel in fulfillment of promises found within the Pentateuch. Within this larger context, these books focus primarily on the stories of three important individuals in the history of Israel: Samuel, Saul, and David. The...

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The book of Acts is Luke's sequel to his Gospel. It traces the first decades in the history of the church after the resurrection of Christ, focusing in particular on the work of Peter and Paul. A helpful work that places Acts in the larger redemptive historical context of Scripture...

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After reading the story of Israel in the Book of Judges, one can be left wondering whether all is lost for Israel and for mankind. It's a terrible downward spiral of sin and judgment. The Book of Ruth reminds us that it wasn't all bad news. The Book of Ruth...

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The events described in the book of Judges cover a period of approximately 350 years, from the death of Joshua to the rise of the monarchy under Samuel. Unlike Joshua, however, which recounted a period of Israel's history largely marked by faithfulness to God, Judges recounts a period of history...

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The Gospel of John is one of the most popular and beloved books in the Bible, and this fact is reflected in the sheer number of available commentaries on the book. John is so theologically rich that I have found help and insight in a large number of commentaries. Choosing...

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With this post, we begin to look at the best commentaries on the Old Testament Historical Books. For a good introductory overview of these books, I would recommend Victor P. Hamilton's Handbook on the Historical Books and David M. Howard's An Introduction to the Old Testament Historical Books. The two...

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The book of Deuteronomy is one of the most frequently cited Old Testament books in the New Testament. Only Psalms and Isaiah are quoted more. Containing Moses' final messages to the people of Israel before their entrance into the Promised Land, the book is rich in theological significance. The following...

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Of the four Gospels, Luke is R.C. Sproul's personal favorite. It is the longest of the four Gospels and the only one whose author wrote a sequel (Acts). His Gospel is addressed to one Theophilus, but it appears to have a larger and predominantly Gentile audience in mind as well....

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Although the fourth book of the Pentateuch is titled "Numbers" in English, its Hebrew name bemidbar ("in the wilderness") is a more accurate description of its contents.  It is largely concerned with Israel's forty years in the wilderness as they slowly made their way from Mount Sinai to the plains...

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Although the Gospel of Matthew precedes the Gospel of Mark in the New Testament canon, there is strong evidence that Mark was the first of the four Gospels to be written. It is a fast-moving narrative that seeks to reveal who Jesus is. The following are five of the most...

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How many Christians have resolved to read through the entire Bible and made good progress through Genesis and Exodus only to hit a wall and give up when they reach Leviticus? With all of it's different laws regarding the Old Covenant priesthood and various sacrifices, it can be quite difficult...

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In a 1996 guide to the best commentaries, Derek Thomas wrote: "There is a famine of really good commentaries on Exodus."  Dr. Thomas' commentary guide has since been updated, but at that time, the best contemporary commentary one could recommend on the book of Exodus was by Brevard Childs, and...

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The first five books of the Old Testament, the Hebrew Torah, are often called the Pentateuch.  A helpful introduction to this part of Holy Scripture is the book From Paradise to the Promised Land by T. D. Alexander.  The first book of the Pentateuch is one of the most well-known...

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The last twenty years have witnessed a dramatic increase in the number and quality of biblical commentaries being published. With such a large number being published, it can be difficult to choose among them, but with the prices involved, it may also be necessary. Ligonier Ministries provides a Recommended Reading...

Continue Reading Top 5 Commentaries on The Gospel of Matthew...

A Body of Divinity.  By Archbishop James Ussher.  Solid Ground Christian Books, 2007.  467pp.  $50.00.A Foundational Text of Reformed OrthodoxyThe last several decades have witnessed the publication of a wealth of classic theological treasures.  Some of these, such as Francis Turretin's Institutes of Elenctic Theology and Herman Bavinck's Reformed Dogmatics,...

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The Holy Trinity: In Scripture, History, Theology, and Worship by Robert Letham. P&R Publishing, 2004.  551 pp.  $24.99. Our Triune GodAs Robert Letham observes in his new book, "For the vast majority of Christians, including most ministers and theological students, the Trinity is still a mathematical conundrum, full of imposing...

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Charles Spurgeon referred to it as a "mountain of sound theology," and now Solid Ground Christian Books is bringing the complete works of Thomas Manton back into print in 22 volumes. The list price for this set is $1,000, but until May 31, SGCB is taking pre-publication orders at the...

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Skeptics often point to the existence of variants within the biblical manuscripts as evidence that the doctrine of inerrancy is false. Sometimes Christians who notice the effects of these variants when they compare different Bible translations can have their faith shaken. It is important that Christians have an informed understanding...

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The recent release of the movie Expelled has made the question of intelligent design a topic of water cooler conversation once again. But what exactly is "intelligent design," and why is it so upsetting to advocates of Neo-Darwinism? Since the publication in 1991 of Phillip Johnson's Darwin on Trial, a...

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Dr. O. Palmer Robertson has been a stalwart Reformed scholar for decades, and his writings have benefited countless pastors, students, and laymen. From his classic Christ of the Covenants to his recent Christ of the Prophets, he has helped many to understand the Word of God more fully.This June, P&R...

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It's been fifteen years since the publication of David Wells' No Place For Truth.  This outstanding volume was followed by God in the Wasteland, Losing Our Virtue, and Above All Earthly Pow'rs.  The fifth and final volume in this series was published on April 14, 2008 by Eerdmans Publishing Company. ...

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In a recent interview with World magazine, Ben Stein says that he does not expect any Oscar nominations for his new film Expelled: No Intelligence Allowed.  Instead, he says, "I think we will be mocked and belittled for this production."  This may be the understatement of the year.  The reviews...

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Seeking a Better Country: 300 Years of American Presbyterianism.  By D. G. Hart and John Muether.  P&R Publishing Company, 2007.  304 pp.  $24.99.The year 2006 marked the 300th anniversary of Presbyterianism in America.  In honor of this tercentenary, D. G. Hart and John Muether have written a critical history of...

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In 2006, four mutual friends who are also pastors with a passion for the Gospel gathered together for a conference entitled Together for the Gospel. These four pastors, Mark Dever, Ligon Duncan, Albert Mohler, and C.J. Mahaney, were joined by R.C. Sproul, John Piper, and John MacArthur. Together they exhorted...

Continue Reading Preaching the Cross (T4G'06)...

If you are a reader of contemporary theological works and you have not already encountered the name "N.T. Wright," you will. Wright is the Anglican Bishop of Durham, and he is one of the most prolific biblical scholars of our day. I first encountered Wright's name years ago while doing...

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Augustine of Hippo: A Biography.  New Edition.  By Peter Brown.  University of California Press, 2000.  548 pp.  $19.95.St. Augustine was born in A.D. 354 in the town of Thagaste in North Africa to a pagan father and a Christian mother.  From these inauspicious beginnings, he would eventually become one...

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Is God a "delusion"? Is Christianity dangerous? Are science and faith incompatible? Although these questions are not new, they are being asked more often since the publication of Richard Dawkins' bestselling book The God Delusion.In October 2007, Richard Dawkins and fellow Oxford professor Dr. John Lennox were invited to Birmingham,...

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I place the books I've read into several categories.  Aside from Scripture, which of course falls into a unique category, the top category consists of great books that I read again and again.  There are a number of books I would place in this category, one of which is Neil...

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Embryo: A Defense of Human Life.  By Robert P. George and Christopher Tollefsen.  Doubleday, 2008.  242pp.  $23.95.The Least of TheseSince the 1973 Supreme Court decision in the case of Roe v. Wade, the question of the status of the human embryo (and fetus) has been at the center of heated...

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John Newton is best known for his classic hymn "Amazing Grace," but he wrote much more.  One of the most helpful things he ever wrote is found among his collected letters. A fellow minister had written to Newton informing him of his intention to write an article criticizing another minister...

Continue Reading John Newton "On Controversy"...