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What Are Some Good Systematic Theology Books to Help Believers Grow in Their Faith?
Thu, 17 Oct 2024
What systematic theology books should Christians read to strengthen their faith? Today, Sinclair Ferguson offers several recommendations for those looking to grow in their knowledge and understanding of God's Word. Read the transcript: https://ligonier.org/podcasts/ask-ligonier/what-are-some-good-systematic-theology-books-to-help-believers-grow-in-their-faith/ Submit a biblical or theological question of your own by calling 1-800-607-9386 or by emailing an audio recording of your question to [email protected]. You can also receive real-time answers through our online chat service at https://ask.ligonier.org/. A donor-supported outreach of Ligonier Ministries. Donate: https://donate.ligonier.org/ Explore all of our podcasts: https://www.ligonier.org/podcasts
Full Episode
What are some good systematic theology books to help believers grow in their faith? This week we're joined by the vice chairman of Ligonier Ministries, Dr. Sinclair Ferguson. He's also a Ligonier Ministries teaching fellow. Dr. Ferguson, what systematic theologies would you recommend to a Christian to help them grow in their faith?
Well, asking questions about books today is asking to select out of probably thousands and thousands of good books that are available to us. But when people ask particularly about theology books and systematic theology books,
I think we can start from what I would recommend to somebody who was beginning right through to what I might recommend to somebody who had already studied a lot of Christian doctrine and theology. So the book I recommend to people who are beginning is Dr. Sproul's book, Everyone's a Theologian. for a couple of reasons. One is because the title takes people by surprise.
And by the title, he's echoing Martin Luther actually in the title, but by the title, he is helping people to realize that it's not just some people who are to think theologically, but that we all think theologically. It's just that we either think well theologically or bad theologically. And it's written for ordinary Christians. It's superbly well written. R.C.
Sproul was a fantastically clear communicator. And for all his intellectual ability, he gave his life to communicating Christian theology to ordinary Christians who had never been to seminary. So that, I think, is where I would begin.
Another book I might recommend, which is a much older book, but a very attractive book, is a book by a man called Thomas Watson, who was a minister in London in the 17th century. And I think he must have been a fantastic minister to have. He had a tremendous reputation.
ability to express Christian theology in ways that are digestible and also with a great warmth and with some wonderful illustrations and even some great Latin phrases. Even if you don't know any Latin, you know, it's kind of attractive to read and to think about. And I think they're translated in the modern version. So everyone's a theologian and body of divinity.
Then the next stage, there is a book that I think is really a very beautiful exposition of Christian theology written by the Dutch theologian Herman Bavinck. It was translated into English, I think, in the 1950s and published then as Our Reasonable Faith. And it's been more recently republished in a much more attractive edition called
with the original title of Magnalia Dei, The Great Works of God. And Bavinck was a theologian of the first rank, a wonderful theologian. And this is a quite separate book that he wrote for Christians in general. It's, I think, probably more challenging than either Dr. Sproul or Thomas Watson, But it's a very engaging book. He just writes with a lovely warmth.
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