Which are the best Reformed books?

[ReformedChapin]

If you're looking for an overview of theology from a Reformed Baptist viewpoint, Wayne Grudem's Systematic Theology is great. It's easy to read, but in depth, and gives a lot of suggestions for further reading.

ReformedChapin,
The best credo-baptist argument I know of offhand is that all of those baptized in the scriptures were mentioned as having done so after believing, and that it is a symbol of beginning the Christian life, so should be restricted to those old enough to make a genuine profession of faith. We see baptism as a way to identify with the burial & resurrection of Christ, which we share as believers, rather than baptizing our children into the covenant before they are old enough to believe.

I have that book already.

Argumentation about infant baptism starts in the OT and Covenant Theology.I know that the baptists understanding is different than the reformed understanding of it. I want to explore it a little more in depth from the baptists perspective.

 

[kenrapoza]

I have that book already.

Argumentation about infant baptism starts in the OT and Covenant Theology.I know that the baptists understanding is different than the reformed understanding of it. I want to explore it a little more in depth from the baptists perspective.

I would think that the book edited by Tom Shreiner would be one of the most comprehensive - I think I'm going to pick it up. From what I understand, it is intended to be a response to The Case for Covenantal Infant Baptism.

 

[kenrapoza]

Baptists can also use Confessional as a prefix. I believe would make it clear to the Reformed church that "this Baptist knows his stuff." lol

Haha - yes that's probably true!

 

[student ad x]

I have that book already.

Argumentation about infant baptism starts in the OT and Covenant Theology.I know that the baptists understanding is different than the reformed understanding of it. I want to explore it a little more in depth from the baptists perspective.

ETA: I thought I did give a link http://www.amazon.com/Covenant-Theo...=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&s=books&qid=1294367606&sr=8-1

A historical Particular Baptist account of the position

Richard Barcellos addresses N.C.T in the appendixes btw.

 

[awakened777]

Institutes of The Christian Religion by Calvin.

Systematic Theology by Wayne Grudem.

 

[JM]

Particular (and often peculiar) Baptist Books:

The Divine Covenants by A.W. Pink is the best treatment of the covenants I've read.

Baptism in the Early Church by Stander and Louw. Both of these guys are paedobaptists who argue that credo was the position of the early church. They "baptize" babies because of the authority of the church, it's tradition and latter practice. Not early practice and scripture. Good read.

Believer's Baptism: Sign of the New Covenant in Christ by Schreiner and Wright. This is a great read because it deals with the logic of paedobaptists and the covenantal arguments often given.

A Scriptural Exposition of the Baptist Catechism by Beddome. Nothing but scriptural answers, all the answers are direct quotes from the Bible.

Enought polemics...

The Work of the Holy Spirit by Kupyer...nuff said.

The Work of the Holy Spirit by Winslow...again, nuff said.

 

[GrinningDwarf]

I don't know what kind of reading level you're looking for, but a lot of those books mentioned are kinda 'thick'. If you're not used to reading theology on that kind of level, you might be better of starting with some more 'user friendly' books. I like to keep this list handy to give to people...

Basic Reformed Annotated Reading List​

Putting Amazing Back into Grace: Who Does What in Salvation? By Michael Horton; 1991; Baker Books: This is a good entry-level layman’s introduction to Reformed theology. Horton’s book is very ‘reader friendly’. Horton examines such basic Reformed positions as the 5-points of Calvinism, the effect of the fall upon man, and free will. Horton also explains the Reformed views of baptism and the Lord’s Supper. One drawback is that Horton does not really examine covenant theology in this book.


What is Reformed Theology? Understanding the Basics by RC Sproul; 1997; Baker Books: This book, as indicated by the title, covers the basics of Reformed theology. Sproul’s book is a little more technical than Horton’s book, in that Sproul sprinkles Latin theological terms throughout; however, he always explains them and includes a glossary of foreign terms at the back of the book. This is a solid book that sketches covenant theology and the 5-points of Calvinism.


The Doctrines of Grace: Rediscovering the Evangelical Gospel by James Montgomery Boice and Philip Graham Ryken; 2002; Crossway Books: A very reader friendly presentation of the 5-points of Calvinism. The opening chapter is titled ‘Why Evangelicalism Needs Calvinism’, and the final two chapters are titled ‘The True Calvinist’ and ‘Calvinism at Work’. I believe that Boice makes a compelling case for the relevance of Calvinism to modern Christianity. If someone were to choose one book on Reformed theology, this would be a good one.


Chosen by God by RC Sproul; 1986; Tyndale: This book deals specifically with the Reformed views of predestination, free will, and foreknowledge, and how they operate in our salvation. This was the book that convinced me that Reformed theology actually handles the scriptures more accurately than any other viewpoint I have encountered in Christianity.


Willing to Believe: The Controversy Over Free Will by RC Sproul; 1997; Baker Books: A detailed look at the views of free will over the centuries of Christianity. Sproul covers the views of Pelagius, Augustine, Semi-Pelagians, Martin Luther, John Calvin, James Arminius, Jonathan Edwards, Charles Finney, and Lewis Sperry Chafer. If you are a Christian, you will find your position on free will described in this book, and compared to all of the other views.

God of Promise: Introducing Covenant Theology by Michael Horton; 2006; Baker Books: This book is an excellent primer on covenant theology. What is covenant theology? It is an opposing view to the omnipresent dispensational view. Dispensationalism breaks human history down into seven different time periods in which God worked using different methods with different peoples, and is largely responsible for the prevalent end-times view of premillenial, pre-tribulation rapture. Covenant theology interprets scripture to say that God basically only works in two ways…the covenant of works and the covenant of grace.


Debating Calvinism: Five points, Two Views by Dave Hunt and James White; 2004; Multnomah Publishers: From the back cover: “Calvinism has been a topic of intense discussion for centuries. In this lively debate, two passionate thinkers take opposing sides, providing valuable responses to the most frequently asked questions about Calvinism.” Hunt actually verbalizes many of the objections raised by those reading the above books. It is useful to read White’s responses to those objections.

 

[student ad x]

Wow - it's really nice to hear a Baptist actually make that distinction. In the recent past it's seemed as though nobody actually understood this. Historically, Reformed refers to a specific confessional tradition whereas the Calvinistic Baptists usually identified themselves as strict and particular.

And while this may be a rudimentary work, let's add Boettner's Reformed Doctrine of Predestination to the list.

 

[kenrapoza]

And while this may be a rudimentary work, let's add Boettner's Reformed Doctrine of Predestination to the list.

Good one! It may be rudimentary, but it's fairly comprehensive for the lay person who wants to get a good grasp of Reformed soteriology. I was surprised by the book actually - before I read it I assumed that it was going to be a difficult and highly academic theological tome. I was struck by how accessible Boettner's writing is, the material is clear and straightforward.

 

[JM]

Become a Better You by Osteen is way up there.









































lol

 

[kenrapoza]

True, but I don't think it was up to the standard of his first book Your Best Life Now...

 

[JM]

Wow - it's really nice to hear a Baptist actually make that distinction. In the recent past it's seemed as though nobody actually understood this. Historically, Reformed refers to a specific confessional tradition whereas the Calvinistic Baptists usually identified themselves as strict and particular.

I don't know how much longer I can get away with using Particular Baptist instead of Reformed Baptist...I might have to just go with the flow and the current trend is to use Reformed in front of Baptist.

 

[All Souls]

I'd suggest The Christian Faith by Michael S. Horton, The Doctrine of the Knowledge of God by John Frame, and Concise Reformed Dogmatics by W. H. Velema J. Van Genderen.

 

[Iosias]

Or that you would consider a must-read for every Reformed believer?

The work of Wright.

 

[drjean]

I agree to these also: A W Pink , The Sovereignty of God (strong work)

A w Pink , Eternal Security (the best work on this subject)

A W Pink , Studies in The Scriptures

Be careful about other things he writes though, not all of his work is as good.

I agree also with books by RC Sproul.... he has a website to peruse as well.

Thanks for the thread!

 

[Apologetic_Warrior]

I've always liked these types of threads, it's like a resource party! There are so many great Reformed authors, and books. One could swim in the sea of Puritan works alone!

I think all Calvinists owe it to themselves to at least partially read:

To say that it's nice to have a copy on hand when responding to people who think they already know John Calvin's position on "free will" is an understatement.

 

[AmericanSamurai]

Nobody mentioned Max Lucado? I jest, I jest.

 

[hedrick]

I don't think anything can replace Calvin's Institutes. It was originally written as an introduction to the Reformed faith, to give a framework within which one could then start looking at specific scripture passages.

If you're looking for something introductory, and you want the conservative version of Reformed thought, just about anything by Tim Keller is good.

The responses here, except for the recommendation of Wright (which I suspect may have been tongue in cheek) are all for historical or current conservative Reformed writers. If you're open to modern theology, there's a completely different set of modern writers, probably starting with Karl Barth (though Barth is so wordy that finding a decent introduction to him is hard). I'm not as familiar with them, but I could try to find a bibliography I guess.

 

[Jack Hectorman]

Many useful works listed in this thread. I don't think anyone mentioned the The Five Points Of Calvinism: Defined, Defended, and Documented by David N. Steele and Curtis C. Thomas.

The Defined and Defended sections are well worth a careful read, but the Documented section is a huge warehouse of works recommended for the study of Calvinism and the Reformed Faith. Its a true gold mine.

There is a new edition of this work out now, with a third writer, S. Lance Quinn, added to the authorship list.

Cheers.

 

[Osage Bluestem]

Lorraine Boettner The Reformed Doctrine of Predestination is up there.