2008 Book of the Year
ESV Study Bible
Honorable Mention:
Title: John Calvin's Sermons on Acts 1-7
Publisher: Banner of Truth
Reason for Inclusion: Whenever a work of John Calvin appears in English for the first time it is reason to sit up and take notice. Here we have sermons that Calvin preached to his Geneva congregation from the first seven chapters of the book of Acts. A precious work that no serious expositor of the Bible should be without. If you found Calvin's commentaries valuable, you will discover his sermons to be priceless.
Title: The Reason for God
Publisher: Dutton
Reason for Inclusion: Tim Keller is a Presbyterian Pastor in the heart of upscale New York whose audience is mostly intellectual 20 & 30-somethings. In this work he engages non-believers with the truth claims of Christianity. It is evangelistic yet apologetic, simple yet profound. Keller thinks with the precision of Van Til and speaks the clarity of Whitefield.
Title: Don't Stop Believing
Publisher: Zondervan
Reason for Inclusion: The Emergent/Emerging Movement is either hated or loved, but rarely understood (many times even by those who promote it). In this work Wittmer underscores the strengths of this movement as well as its faith-killing weaknesses. A self described "Postmodern conservative", the work is irenic in tone, sophisticated in analysis, and convincing in presentation. Wittmer offers a way to hold to the historic truth even as the church moves forward into the future.
Title: The Erosion of Inerrancy in Evangelicalism
Publisher: Crossway
Reason for Inclusion: G.K. Beale, professor of New Testament and former president of the Evangelical Theological Society, offers us a lucid defense of the accuracy and inerrancy of Scripture. As the Evangelical community continues to lose its confidence in the trustworthiness and authority of God's Word, Beale defends Scripture and seeks to place it once again at the center of Christian thought and life.
Title: Reformed Confessions of the 16th and 17th Century
Publisher: Reformation Heritage
Reason for Inclusion: This is the only volume listed that I do not yet own (though I did get a chance to look through a copy). The work is part of a planned three-volume series that provides in a single location the various confessions and creeds that came out of the Reformation (focusing particularly on the 16th and 17th centuries). Many of these documents are given here for the first time in English. A work that will undoubtedly become a standard reference.
Title: An Exposition of the Epistles of St. Paul to the Philippians and Colossians
Publisher: Tentmaker
Reason for Inclusion: Though the reader may think this volume somewhat obscure, that is preciously the reason for its inclusion. We have witnessed several smaller publishing companies attempt to bring reformed and puritan writings of prior centuries back into circulation, but sadly most of the Puritan commentaries have been ignored. Tentmaker Publications publishes a wide-range of all-but-forgotten Puritan treasures, including a number of commentaries. This exposition is a rich treasure, as are many of the other expositions from this period. Praise God we can have them in our hands again.
Title: The Courage to Be Protestant
Publisher: Eerdmans
Reason for Inclusion: This book is in essence an update and summary of Wells' 4-volume survey on Evangelicalism. Many consider Wells to be a modern day prophet who is calling upon the Church to return to her historic grounding. He is perhaps one of the most profound Christian thinkers of our time. You cannot read Wells without becoming convicted. Though rigorously intellectual, this book challenges not the mind of Evangelicalism, but rather its very soul.
Title: Concise Reformed Dogmatics
Publisher: P&R
Reason for Inclusion: Carl Trueman, professor at Westminster Theological Seminary, says "This should be on the bookshelf of every pastor and student who wants to read Reformed theology at its best." This is no dry academic tome. Instead, it is stuffed with deep piety and a clearly presented desire for all believers to live to the glory of our sovereign God. If you hate systematic theology volumes, it is because you've never encountered a work like this!
Title: Pierced for our Transgressions
Publisher: Crossway
Reason for Inclusion: Even as the doctrine of penal substition is being openly attacked and abandoned by increasing segments of Christianity, God is rising up influential thinkers who are willing to its defense. The atonement is the very core of Christian theology. The authors of this volume have given us a comprehensive treatment of the subject while simultanesouly underscoring the important pastoral implications involved. Along with In My Place Condemned He Stood (Dever) and The Future of Justification (Piper), this is a "must-read".
Related pages:
2007 Book of the Year Winner
Books that might have been included (but I haven't read them yet)
New Testament Theology - Thomas Schreiner
Spectacular Sins - John Piper
Prodigal God - Tim Keller
Christless Christianity - Michael Horton
Memoirs of an Ordinary Pastor - D.A. Carson
The Works of Thomas Manton (22 Volumes)
Surprised by Hope - N.T. Wright
Crossway Publishers has given the Christian community an amazing resource with the publication of the ESV Study Bible. Perhaps the finest study Bible in the history of printing, the ESV Study Bible (ESVSB) combines the best of scholarship with pastoral aims. Based on the superb English Standard Version, the ESVSB contains over 20,000 notes by lea
ding pastors and biblical scholars. It also includes over 200 charts, 200+ full-color maps, and more than 50 articles dealing with biblical and theological issues. In my opinion, no other book printed in 2008 even came close to competing with the importance of this single-volume Christian resource. I warmly recommend this volume to every single member of my congregation and anyone else who wants to understand God's Word in a deeper way. Although there are many other study bibles on the market, the ESVSB is simply without comparison. Buy it, use it, and make it your companion for life.
ding pastors and biblical scholars. It also includes over 200 charts, 200+ full-color maps, and more than 50 articles dealing with biblical and theological issues. In my opinion, no other book printed in 2008 even came close to competing with the importance of this single-volume Christian resource. I warmly recommend this volume to every single member of my congregation and anyone else who wants to understand God's Word in a deeper way. Although there are many other study bibles on the market, the ESVSB is simply without comparison. Buy it, use it, and make it your companion for life.Honorable Mention:
Title: John Calvin's Sermons on Acts 1-7Publisher: Banner of Truth
Reason for Inclusion: Whenever a work of John Calvin appears in English for the first time it is reason to sit up and take notice. Here we have sermons that Calvin preached to his Geneva congregation from the first seven chapters of the book of Acts. A precious work that no serious expositor of the Bible should be without. If you found Calvin's commentaries valuable, you will discover his sermons to be priceless.
Title: The Reason for God
Publisher: Dutton
Reason for Inclusion: Tim Keller is a Presbyterian Pastor in the heart of upscale New York whose audience is mostly intellectual 20 & 30-somethings. In this work he engages non-believers with the truth claims of Christianity. It is evangelistic yet apologetic, simple yet profound. Keller thinks with the precision of Van Til and speaks the clarity of Whitefield.
Title: Don't Stop BelievingPublisher: Zondervan
Reason for Inclusion: The Emergent/Emerging Movement is either hated or loved, but rarely understood (many times even by those who promote it). In this work Wittmer underscores the strengths of this movement as well as its faith-killing weaknesses. A self described "Postmodern conservative", the work is irenic in tone, sophisticated in analysis, and convincing in presentation. Wittmer offers a way to hold to the historic truth even as the church moves forward into the future.
Title: The Erosion of Inerrancy in EvangelicalismPublisher: Crossway
Reason for Inclusion: G.K. Beale, professor of New Testament and former president of the Evangelical Theological Society, offers us a lucid defense of the accuracy and inerrancy of Scripture. As the Evangelical community continues to lose its confidence in the trustworthiness and authority of God's Word, Beale defends Scripture and seeks to place it once again at the center of Christian thought and life.
Title: Reformed Confessions of the 16th and 17th CenturyPublisher: Reformation Heritage
Reason for Inclusion: This is the only volume listed that I do not yet own (though I did get a chance to look through a copy). The work is part of a planned three-volume series that provides in a single location the various confessions and creeds that came out of the Reformation (focusing particularly on the 16th and 17th centuries). Many of these documents are given here for the first time in English. A work that will undoubtedly become a standard reference.
Title: An Exposition of the Epistles of St. Paul to the Philippians and ColossiansPublisher: Tentmaker
Reason for Inclusion: Though the reader may think this volume somewhat obscure, that is preciously the reason for its inclusion. We have witnessed several smaller publishing companies attempt to bring reformed and puritan writings of prior centuries back into circulation, but sadly most of the Puritan commentaries have been ignored. Tentmaker Publications publishes a wide-range of all-but-forgotten Puritan treasures, including a number of commentaries. This exposition is a rich treasure, as are many of the other expositions from this period. Praise God we can have them in our hands again.
Title: The Courage to Be ProtestantPublisher: Eerdmans
Reason for Inclusion: This book is in essence an update and summary of Wells' 4-volume survey on Evangelicalism. Many consider Wells to be a modern day prophet who is calling upon the Church to return to her historic grounding. He is perhaps one of the most profound Christian thinkers of our time. You cannot read Wells without becoming convicted. Though rigorously intellectual, this book challenges not the mind of Evangelicalism, but rather its very soul.
Title: Concise Reformed DogmaticsPublisher: P&R
Reason for Inclusion: Carl Trueman, professor at Westminster Theological Seminary, says "This should be on the bookshelf of every pastor and student who wants to read Reformed theology at its best." This is no dry academic tome. Instead, it is stuffed with deep piety and a clearly presented desire for all believers to live to the glory of our sovereign God. If you hate systematic theology volumes, it is because you've never encountered a work like this!
Title: Pierced for our TransgressionsPublisher: Crossway
Reason for Inclusion: Even as the doctrine of penal substition is being openly attacked and abandoned by increasing segments of Christianity, God is rising up influential thinkers who are willing to its defense. The atonement is the very core of Christian theology. The authors of this volume have given us a comprehensive treatment of the subject while simultanesouly underscoring the important pastoral implications involved. Along with In My Place Condemned He Stood (Dever) and The Future of Justification (Piper), this is a "must-read".
Related pages:
2007 Book of the Year Winner
Books that might have been included (but I haven't read them yet)
New Testament Theology - Thomas Schreiner
Spectacular Sins - John Piper
Prodigal God - Tim Keller
Christless Christianity - Michael Horton
Memoirs of an Ordinary Pastor - D.A. Carson
The Works of Thomas Manton (22 Volumes)
Surprised by Hope - N.T. Wright
3 comments: