Without a proper understanding of sin, there can never be a proper understanding of the gospel. Sin is opposed both to God’s will and to nature, leaving us in need of God’s grace and redemption. This comprehensive exploration of the doctrine of sin looks at what the Bible teaches about sin's origin, nature, and consequences, engaging with historical … Read more…
Often the most misunderstood, and therefore ignored, member of the Trinity, the Holy Spirit deserves our attention and understanding. God the Father and God the Son rightfully garner much explanation and exploration, and God the Holy Spirit ought to be given the same studiousness, curiosity, and scholarship. In this addition to Crossway's Foundations of … Read more…
What we believe about the Bible is foundational to every part of life. Scripture is the very Word of God, the final authority for all of theology, the governing source of all other doctrines. In the latest volume of the Foundations of Evangelical Theology series, theology professor John S. Feinberg has written a landmark work on the doctrine of Scripture, of… Read more…
Nothing is more important than what a person believes about Jesus Christ. To understand Christ correctly is to understand the very heart of God, Scripture, and the gospel. To get to the core of this belief, this latest volume in the Foundations of Evangelical Theology series lays out a systematic summary of Christology from philosophical, biblical, and histo… Read more…
Many contemporary theologians claim that the classical picture of God painted by Augustine and Aquinas is both outmoded and unbiblical. But rather than abandoning the traditional view completely, John Feinberg seeks a reconstructed model—one that reflects the ongoing advances in human understanding of God's revelation while recognizing the unchanging n… Read more…
What is a church? This can be a difficult question to answer and Christians have offered a variety of perspectives. Gregg Allison thus explores and synthesizes all that Scripture affirms about the new covenant people of God, capturing a full picture of the biblical church. He covers the topics of the church’s identity and characteristics; its growth throu… Read more…
What is authentic faith?The Gospel According to Jesus challenges Christians to re-evaluate their commitment to Christ by examining their fruits. MacArthur asks, "What does it really mean to be saved?" He urges readers to understand that their conversion was more than a mere point in time, that, by definition, it includes a lifetime of obedience.John MacArthu… Read more…
For whom did Christ die? Who may be saved? are questions of perennial interest and importance for the Christian faith. In a familiar Counterpoints format, this book explores the question of the extent of Christ's atonement, going beyond simple Reformed vs. non-Reformed understandings. This volume elevates the conversation to a broader plane, including co… Read more…
Read the Old Testament from a biblical-theological perspective.
Featuring contributions from thirteen respected evangelical scholars, this gospel-centered introduction to the Old Testament will help anyone who teaches or studies Scripture to better see the initial outworking of God’s plan to redeem the world through Jesus Christ.
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In this reader-friendly guide, Markus Bockmuehl offers a sympathetic account of the ancient apocryphal Gospel writings, showing their place within the reception history and formation of what was to become the canonical fourfold Gospel.
Bockmuehl begins by helping readers understand the early history behind these noncanonical Gospels before… Read more…
Many Christians share the assumption that preaching the word of God is at the heart of God's plans for the gospel in our age, that it is vital for the church's health, and that it is the central task of the pastor-teacher. Many helpful books on preaching are available. The vast majority are concerned with "how-to," but relatively few focus primarily … Read more…
We live in a world shot through with evil. The twentieth century has witnessed suffering and human cruelty on a scale never before imagined. Yet, paradoxically, in recent years the doctrine of original sin has suffered neglect and ridicule.
In this philosophically sophisticated treatment of the biblical evidence for original sin, Henri Blo… Read more…
At the heart of the Christian faith stands a man, Jesus of Nazareth.
Few people seriously question whether Jesus existed in history. But many, influenced by the more skeptical scholars, doubt that the Christ of orthodox Christianity is the same as the Jesus of history.
In this New Studies in Biblical Theology volume, his… Read more…
One of Desiring God's Top 15 Books of 2015
"So God created man in his own image, in the image of God he created him; male and female he created them." (Genesis 1:27)
Genesis 1:26-27 has served as the locus of most theological anthropologies in the central Christian tradition. However, Richard Lints observes that too … Read more…
Preaching's Preacher's Guide to the Best Bible Reference for 2014 (Theology)
Seeking an answer to Anselm's timeless question, "Why did God become man?" Graham Cole follows Old Testament themes of preparation, theophany and messianic hope through to the New Testament witness to the divinely foretold event. This New Stud… Read more…
Even a cursory reading of the book of Proverbs reveals that it is dominated by the subject of education, or personal formation. The voice of the teacher addressing his pupils resounds from its pages. A wide array of topics is presented, and frequent exhortations challenge the learner to hear and heed the teacher's instruction. This material, however, com… Read more…
These five Old Testament books, traditionally known simply as "the Scrolls," are among the most neglected parts of the Christian Bible. In Judaism, the Song of Songs, Ruth, Lamentations, Ecclesiastes and Esther were eventually adopted as lectionary readings for five of the major festivals. In Christian tradition, however, no consensus has emerged about their… Read more…
From a close study of key Old and New Testament texts and interaction with historical and contemporary theologians, Bradley Green shows how different aspects of the Christian life are each God-elicited, real and necessary. Reaffirming the best Reformed voices, this New Studies in Biblical Theology volume provides a biblical theology of the nature, role and p… Read more…
In gospel proclamation today, the critical New Testament element of repentance can be far too often ignored, minimalized, or dismissed. Yet John the Baptist, Jesus himself, and those he commissioned to spread his gospel all spoke of the urgent need to repent.
Michael Ovey was convinced that a gospel without repentance quickly distorts our … Read more…
"They brought Jesus to the place called Golgotha. . . . And they crucified him. . . . Some women were watching from a distance." (Mark 15:22, 24, 40).
At the climax of Mark's Gospel, Jesus of Nazareth is put to death on a Roman cross. The text tells us that, in that lonely hour, a group of women were watching the crucifixion "from a di… Read more…
"Be thankful" (Colossians 3:15) is a recurring exhortation in the letters of the apostle Paul. No other New Testament writer gives such a sustained emphasis on thanksgiving—and yet, major modern studies of Paul fail to wrestle with it.
David Pao aims to rehabilitate this theme in this comprehensive and accessible study, a New Studies in … Read more…
In this New Studies in Biblical Theology volume, David Peterson challenges the common assumption that the New Testament views sanctification as primarily a process.
He argues that its emphasis falls upon sanctification as a definitive event, "God's way of taking possession of us in Christ, setting us apart to belong to him and to fulfi… Read more…
'Now my eyes have seen you." (Job 42:5)
Few biblical texts are more daunting, and yet more fascinating, than the book of Job—and few have been the subject of such diverse interpretation.
For Robert Fyall, the mystery of God's ways and the appalling evil and suffering in the world are at the heart of Job's s… Read more…
Though written thousands of years ago, the book of Deuteronomy is unmatched in its relevance for the affluent Western church of today. Moses' words were meant to equip God's people for living godly lives in a prosperous, pluralistic world. The cultural changes now taking place in our own social setting make the parallel between Israel and the churchâ… Read more…
The biblical theme of spiritual adultery stands in all its bluntness for a deeply offensive sin—the unfaithfulness of God's covenant people in departing from Yahweh, their husband, and going after false gods.
Raymond C. Ortlund Jr. begins by showing how the Genesis vision of human marriage provides the logic and coherent network of m… Read more…
The Old Testament book of Ruth is understandably a firm favorite in the church for small-group study and preaching: a heart-warming story of loyalty and love, a satisfying tale of a journey from famine to fullness. In the academy, the book has been a testing ground for a variety of hermeneutical approaches, and many different ways of interpreting it have bee… Read more…
The Lord's commitment to make himself known throughout the nations is the overarching missionary theme of the Bible and the central theological concern of Exodus.
Countering scholarly tendencies to fragment the text over theological difficulties, Ross Blackburn contends that Exodus should be read as a unified whole, and that an appreci… Read more…
The book of Isaiah has nourished the church throughout the centuries. However, its massive size can be intimidating; its historical setting can seem distant, opaque, varied; its organization and composition can seem disjointed and fragmented; its abundance of terse, poetic language can make its message seem veiled—and where are those explicit prophecies ab… Read more…
The New Testament finds many ways to depict the relationship of Christians and their Lord. They are his disciples, sons, daughters and friends. But it is perhaps too little recognized that they are also his slaves.
In this New Studies in Biblical Theology volume, Murray J. Harris sets out to uncover what it means to be a slave of Christ. H… Read more…
Paul R. Williamson looks at the role of the covenant concept in Scripture and the meaning of this terminology. He then sets the idea of covenant in the context of God's universal purpose, and traces the idea through Noah and the patriarchs, the nation of Israel and the kingship of David. Lastly, he shows how the new covenant is anticipated in the Old Tes… Read more…
Many discussions of Christian spirituality draw on a range of traditions and "disciplines." Little attention, however, appears to have been given to the Bible itself for its teaching on this theme or as a source of spirituality. Similarly, it is commonly assumed that, when it comes to spirituality, the evangelical tradition has little to offer.
… Read more…
There are many investigations of the Old Testament priests and the New Testament’s appropriation of such imagery for Jesus Christ. There are also studies of Israel’s corporate priesthood and what this means for the priesthood of God’s new covenant people. However, such studies are less frequently connected with each other: key interrelations are missed… Read more…
There has been an explosion of interest in wisdom literature, and many studies are now available. There is every opportunity for people to "get wisdom, get insight" (Prov. 4:5). However, in today's world it seems the practical sensibilities that come from wisdom are found in very few places. Wisdom literature is needed now more than ever. By walking in t… Read more…
Christians usually focus on what Jesus has done (his life, death and resurrection) and what he will do (his second coming and eternal reign). While there has been something of a revival of interest in his ascension, studies of Jesus in his exalted state are relatively rare. However, the Christ that Christians trust in, relate to and love is not only the one … Read more…
Honored in 2006 as a "Year's Best Book for Preachers" by Preaching magazine.
One of humanity's most basic and common practices—eating meals—was transformed by Jesus into an occasion of divine encounter. In sharing food and drink with his companions, he invited them to share in the grace of God. He revealed his redempti… Read more…
Just as the Old Testament book of Genesis begins with creation, where humans live in the presence of their Lord, so the New Testament book of Revelation ends with an even more glorious new creation where all of the redeemed dwell with the Lord and his Christ.
The historical development between the beginning and the end is crucial, for the … Read more…
When the book of Acts is mentioned, a cluster of issues spring to mind, including speaking in tongues and baptism with the Holy Spirit, church government and practice, and missionary methods and strategies. At the popular level, Acts is more often mined for answers to contemporary debates than heard for its natural inflections.
Instead of … Read more…
"Return to me, says the LORD of hosts, and I will return to you," (Zech 1:3 ESV).
Repentance concerns the repair of a relationship with God disrupted by human sin. All the major phases of church history have seen diversity and controversy over the doctrine. The first of Luther?s famous ninety-five theses nailed to the church door in Wittenburg in 15… Read more…
What does God intend for his broken creation?
In this New Studies in Biblical Theology volume, Graham A. Cole seeks to answer this question by setting the atoning work of the cross in the broad framework of God's grand plan to restore the created order, and places the story of Jesus, his cross and empty tomb within it. Since we have be… Read more…
"After this I looked and there before me was a great multitude that no one could count, from every nation, tribe, people and language . . ." (Revelation 7:9).
The visions in the book of Revelation give a glimpse of the people of God at the consummation of history—a multiethnic congregation gathered together in worship around God's th… Read more…