Books

Christianity is a lot bigger than us. Thanks to the faithful work of other believers throughout history and around the world, there is a vast landscape of great Christian books just waiting to be explored. Take a look at our recommended reading list for a great start.

We think you should begin with some historic confessions and catechisms, if you've never read them. Take a look at The Second London Baptist Confession and The Baptist Catechism.

GOD

• The Holiness of God by R. C. Sproul
• Chosen by God by R.C. Sproul
• The Existence and Attributes of God by Stephen Charnock
• God Without Passions by Samuel Renihan
• Confessing the Impassible God edited by Rich Barcellos and others

JESUS

• Through the Looking Glass by Kris Lundgaard
• The Person of Christ by Donald MacLeod
• The Atonement by Hugh Martin
• The Shadow of Calvary by Hugh Martin
• The Glory of Christ by Peter Lewis

HOLY SPIRIT

• The Holy Spirit by Edwin Palmer
• The Holy Spirit by Sinclair Ferguson
• The Holy Spirit by John Owen

THE TRINITY

• The Trinity: An Introduction by Scott R. Swain
• Simply Trinity: The Unmanipulated Father, Son, and Spirit by Matthew Barrett
• Delighting in the Trinity by Michael Reeves
• The Triune God by Fred Sanders
• Trinity and Creation: A Scriptural and Confessional Account by Richard C. Barcellos
• The Son Who Learned Obedience: A Theological Case Against the Eternal Submission of the Son by D. Glenn Butner Jr

THEOLOGY

• Systematic Theology by Louis Berkhof
• Abstract of Systematic Theology by James P. Boyce
• Essential Truths of the Christian Faith by R. C. Sproul
• Reformed Dogmatics (4 vols) by Herman Bavinck

THE BIBLE

• Scripture: Its Power, Authority, and Relevance by Robert Saucy
• The Origin of the Bible by F.F. Bruce
• The Canon of Scripture by F.F. Bruce
• The New Testament Documents: Are They Reliable? by F.F. Bruce
• The Inspiration and Authority of the Bible by B.B. Warfield
• The Missing Gospels: Unearthing the Truth Behind Alternative Christianities by Darrell L. Bock
• Explaining Inerrancy by R.C. Sproul

INTERPRETING THE BIBLE

• Principles of Biblical Interpretation by Louis Berkhof
• Knowing Scripture by R.C. Sproul
• God’s Big Picture: Tracing the Story-Line of the Bible by Vaughan Roberts
• From Eden to the New Jerusalem by Alexander Desmond
• According to Plan: The Unfolding Revelation of God in the Bible by Graeme Goldsworthy

LAW AND GOSPEL

• True Bounds of Christian Freedom by Samuel Bolton
• A Treatise on the Law and the Gospel by John Colquhoun
• Lectures on the Law and the Gospel by Stephen Tyng
• The Grace of Law by Ernest Kevan
• From the Finger of God by Philip Ross
• The Ten Commandments by Thomas Watson
• Written in Stone by Philip Ryken
• The Rule of Love by J.V. Fesko
• Whatever Happened to the Ten Commandments? by Ernest Reisinger

CHRIST'S DEATH ON THE CROSS

• Pierced for Our Transgressions by Steve Jeffery, Michael Ovey, and Andrew Sach
• In My Place Condemned He Stood by J.I. Packer and Mark Dever
• In Christ Alone: Reflections on the Heart of the Gospel by Sinclair Ferguson
• The Gospel for Real Life by Jerry Bridges
• Mission Accomplished by Michael Scott Horton
• The Truth of the Cross by R.C. Sproul
• The Death of Death in the Death of Christ by John Owen

HEAVEN AND HELL

• Hell on Trial: The Case for Eternal Punishment by Robert A. Peterson
• Biblical Teaching on the Doctrines of Heaven and Hell by Edward Donnelly
• A Taste of Heaven by R.C. Sproul

TRUSTING GOD IN TRIALS AND DIFFICULTIES

• Is God Really in Control? by Jerry Bridges
• Trusting God by Jerry Bridges
• The Invisible Hand by R.C. Sproul

DEALING WITH DEPRESSION AND ANXIETY

• Spiritual Depression by Martyn Lloyd-Jones
• Depression A Stubborn Darkness by Ed Welch
• Running Scared by Ed Welch

GROWTH IN CHRIST

• Holiness by J.C. Ryle
• The Discipline of Grace by Jerry Bridges
• The Pursuit of Holiness by Jerry Bridges
• The Enemy Within by Kris Lundgaard
• God’s Way of Holiness by Horatius Bonar
• The Gospel Mystery of Sanctification by Walter Marshall
• Humility by Wayne Mack

MARRIAGE

• Strengthening Your Marriage by Wayne Mack
• Living in a Godly Marriage by Joel Beeke and James A. La Belle
• When Sinners Say I Do by Dave Harvey
• Sexual Intimacy in Marriage by William Cutrer and Sandra Glahn

FAMILY

• Your Family God’s Way by Wayne Mack
• Disciplines of a Godly Family by Kent and Barbara Hughes
• Family Worship by Donald Whitney

PARENTING

• Don’t Make Me Count to Three: A Mom’s Look at Heart-Oriented Discipline by Ginger Plowman
• Withhold Not Correction by Bruce A Ray
• Age of Opportunity by Paul Tripp (for parents of teens)
• Everyday Talk by John A. Younts
• Truth Made Simple by John Todd

THE CHURCH

• The Baptism of Disciples Alone by Fred Malone
• The Deliberate Church by Dever and Alexander
• Life in the Body of Christ by Curtis Thomas
• How to Behave in Church by Peter Jeffery
• Principles and Practices for Baptist Churches by Edward Hiscox
• Biblical Foundations for Baptist Churches by John Hammett
• The Lords Supper as a Means of Grace by Richard Barcellos
• Polity: A Collection of Historic Baptist Documents by Mark Dever
• The Church: The Gospel Made Visible by Mark Dever
• The Courage to be Protestant by David F. Wells

BAPTIST COVENANT THEOLOGY

• The Mystery of Christ by Sam Renihan
• The Distinctiveness of Baptist Covenant Theology by Pascal Denault
• Recovering a Covenantal Heritage edited by Richard Barcellos

VOCATION AND WORK

• God at Work: Your Christian Vocation in All of Life by Gene Edward Veith
• The Callings: The Gospel in the World by Paul Helm
• Redeeming the Time: A Christian Approach to Work and Leisure by Leland Ryken
• The Call: Finding and Fulfilling the Central Purpose of Your Life by Os Guiness

EVANGELISM AND MISSIONS

• A Vision for Missions by Tom Wells
• Evangelism and the Sovereignty of God by J.I. Packer
• Today’s Evangelism by Ernest Reisinger
• God-Centered Evangelism by R.B. Kuyper
• The Gospel and Personal Evangelism by Mark Dever
• Tell the Truth by Will Metzger
• Christian Mission by John Stott

BIOGRAPHY

• C.H. Spurgeon Autobiography by Charles Haddon Spurgeon
• Martin Lloyd-Jones by Iain Murray (2 vols)
• Spurgeon: Prince of Preachers by Lewis Drummond
• Here I Stand (on Martin Luther) by Roland Bainton
• Jonathan Edwards: A New Biography by Iain Murray
• A Life of John Calvin by Alistair McGrath
• Life and Letters of John A Broadus by A. T. Robertson
• William Tyndale by David Daniell
• The Life and Diary of David Brainerd edited by Jonathan Edwards
• Faithful Witness (William Carey) by Timothy George
• Shadow of the Almighty by Elizabeth Elliot
• Through the Gates of Splendor by Elizabeth Elliot

IN DEFENSE OF THE FAITH

• Who Made God? by Edgar Andrews
• If You Could Ask God One Question by Paul Williams and Barry Cooper
• Every Thought Captive by Richard Pratt
• Always Ready by Greg Bahnsen
• Apologetics for the Glory of God by John Frame
• Defending Your Faith by R.C. Sproul
• God in the Dock by C.S. Lewis
• Darwin on Trial by Phil Johnson
• Darwin’s Black Box by Michael Behe
• More Than Meets the Eye by Richard A. Swenson
• Trilogy by Francis Schaeffer

CULTS AND WORLD RELIGIONS

• A Guide to New Religious Movements edited by Ronald Enroth
• The Compact Guide to World Religions edited by Dean C. Halverson
• The Kingdom of the Cults by Walter Martin
• Encyclopedic Dictionary of Cults, Sects, and World Religions edited by Nichols, George, Mather, and Schmidt
• The Challenge of the Cults and New Religions by Ron Rhodes
• Scripture Twisting: Twenty Ways Cults Misread the Bible by James W. Sire
• Christianity at the Religious Roundtable: Evangelicalism in Conversation with Hinduism, Buddhism, and Islam by Timothy C. Tennent

CHURCH HISTORY

• Church History in Plain Language by Bruce Shelley
• Sketches From Church History by S.M. Houghton
• Turning Points by Mark Noll
• Our Legacy by John Hannah
• The History of Christian Doctrines by Louis Berkhof
• By His Grace and for His Glory: A Historical, Theological, and Practical Study of the Doctrines of Grace in Baptist Life by Tom Nettles
• Theology of the Reformers by Timothy George
• The Story of Christianity (Volume 1) (Volume 2) by Justo L. Gonzalez
• Exploring Church History by James Eckman
• A History of Christianity (Volume 1) (Volume 2) by Kenneth Scott Latofurette

IMPORTANT CLASSICS

• Institutes of the Christian Religion by John Calvin (2 Vols)
• The Christian’s Great Interest (on assurance) by William Guthrie
• The True Bounds of Christian Freedom (on law, gospel, covenants) by Samuel Bolton
• Preaching and Preachers (on preaching) by D. Martin Lloyd-Jones
• The Christian Ministry (on pastoral ministry) by Charles Bridges
• The Religious Affections (on genuine conversion) by Jonathan Edwards
• The Works of John Bunyan by John Bunyan (3 Vols)
• The Works of Andrew Fuller by Andrew Fuller
• A Body of Doctrinal Divinity by John Gil
• A Body of Practical Divinity by John Gill
• The Cause of God and Truth by John Gill
• Morning and Evening by Charles Spurgeon (devotional)
• The Valley of Vision by Authur Bennett (devotional)
• Mere Christianity by C.S. Lewis
• God, Revelation, and Authority by Carl F.H. Henry (5 Vols)

REFORMED CONFESSIONS

• The Theology of the Westminster Standards by JV Fesko
• A Dictionary of Latin and Greek Theological Terms by Richard Muller
• An Exposition of the Westminster Confession of Faith by Robert Shaw
• A Modern Exposition of the 1689 Baptist Confession of Faith by Samuel Waldron