The Bible is a glorious gift from our good God. Amazingly, the Creator of the universe has provided his image-bearing creatures with his very word—written and preserved in a book! In this book we learn of God, our sin, and God’s plan of redemption through Christ. The Bible provides the sinner with truth for their salvation, and the believer with all the divine revelation they need to live a life pleasing to God.
It is for these reasons that Satan makes it a top priority to attack, dismiss, question, and otherwise undermine the truthfulness of Scripture at every turn. Indeed, questioning the trustworthiness and authority of God’s Word was Satan’s very first move when he commenced his temptation of Eve (Gen 3:1). If Satan can infuse our thoughts with doubts about God’s Word, he doesn’t need to do much else. We will remain in a state of spiritual weakness and indecision so long as we are unsure about the Bible.
Christians, therefore, are always in need of new resources that explain and defend the nature of Scripture in light of contemporary challenges. Below are twenty-five books that focus on the doctrine of Scripture that will bolster your confidence in the Bible and demonstrate afresh that the Bible is truly God’s inerrant, trustworthy, powerful, authoritative, clear, and sufficient Word. Take up and read.
James K. Hoffmeier and Dennis R. Magary, Do Historical Matters Matter to Faith: A Critical Appraisal of Modern and Postmodern Approaches to Scripture (Wheaton, IL: Crossway, 2012). This is a collection of articles written in response to a book by Kenton Sparks entitled, God’s Word in Human Words. Sparks argues that although much of the Old Testament is not historically accurate, God is still able to speak his word to his people through the Bible. In response, the authors of Do Historical Matters Matter to Faith argue for the historical accuracy of the Old Testament while also demonstrating that Sparks does not understand rightly the nature of Scripture.
G. K. Beale, The Erosion of Inerrancy in Evangelicalism: Responding to New Challenges to Biblical Authority (Wheaton, IL: Crossway, 2008). In this book, Beale evaluates several articles written by professing evangelical, Peter Enns. Enns argues that much of the Old Testament should be classified as myth, and our doctrine of Scripture must be reshaped to include the notion that God accommodated to the biblical writers’ mistaken viewpoints when he inspired Scripture. Beale soundly refutes Enns’ arguments and demonstrates that Enns has departed from an evangelical view of the Bible.
John Frame, The Doctrine of the Word of God (Phillipsburg, NJ: P & R, 2010). This is a full doctrine of Scripture that examines all the major doctrinal concerns including inspiration, inerrancy, authority, canonicity, the transmission and clarity of Scripture, the adequacy of human language, and the Bible’s relationship to historic creeds and confessions. Frame is insightful, biblical, and easy to read. Although this is a long book, chapters are short and accessible. This is a great reference resource but can also be read straight through with much profit.
Peter A. Lillback and Richard B. Gaffin, The Word is Still Truth: Essential Writings on the Doctrine of Scripture from the Reformation to Today (Phillipsburg, NJ: P & R, 2013). This is a massive compilation of contributions on the doctrine Scripture and historic statements of faith—the latter with special attention given to sections that speak specifically about the nature of the Bible. Contributions include writings from Francis Turretin, Jonathan Edwards, Herman Bavinck, B. B. Warfield, J. Gresham Machen, E. J. Young, to mention only a few. Topics include discussions on biblical authority, hermeneutics, harmonization, the question of oral tradition, nature’s relationship to Scripture, and other vital subjects related to the doctrine of Scripture.
Norman L. Geisler and William E. Nix, A General Introduction to the Bible, revised and expanded (Chicago: Moody: 1986). With admirable breadth and detail, Geisler and Nix cover an array of topics related to the Bible including inspiration, inerrancy, preservation, canonicity, and the transmission of Scripture. While some of the material is dated (the discussion of modern Bible versions, for example, does not include some of the most recent translations), this book is an exceptionally useful resource.
D. A. Carson, Collected Writings on Scripture (Wheaton, IL: Crossway, 2010). This work is a compilation of articles and reviews on the doctrine of Scripture penned by D. A. Carson over the past several years. Some articles are more advanced than others, and many require some knowledge of recent controversies and issues. Nevertheless, patient and careful reading of Carson’s work will reward the diligent student and undergird his faith with weighty responses to some of the most common objections to an evangelical doctrine of Scripture.
Paul D. Wegner, The Journey from Texts to Translations (Grand Rapids: Baker, 1999). Wegner traces the development of Scripture from its original writing to its transmission to modern English translations. Although very detailed, this is an accessible and highly readable work that will inform and strengthen believers as they consider the origin and formation of Scripture.
Kevin DeYoung, Taking God at His Word (Wheaton, IL: Crossway, 2014). In this short yet incredibly insightful book, DeYoung lets the Bible speak for itself about its own inspiration, inerrancy, sufficiency, and authority. This is a great book to start with in studying the doctrine of Scripture.
John Hannah, ed., Inerrancy and the Church (Chicago: Moody, 1984). This book is a collection of articles that argues persuasively that the church has always believed that the Bible is an error-free book. Authors include John Hannah, J. I. Packer, and Robert Preus.
Michael Kruger, Canon Revisited: Establishing the Origins and Authority of the New Testament Books (Wheaton, IL: Crossway, 2013). Kruger argues cogently that Christians have solid justification for why they believe that the Protestant canon is the true word of God.
Vern Poythress, Inerrancy and Worldview: Answering Modern Challenges to the Bible (Wheaton, IL: Crossway, 2012). Poythress persuasively demonstrates that one’s rejection of inerrancy has more to do with their presuppositions and their world-view than it does with with the Bible.
Vern Poythress, Inerrancy and the Gospels: A God-Centered Approach to the Challenges of Harmonization (Wheaton, IL: 2012). Poythress deals with some of the harmonization problems in the gospels, offering valid solutions and good reasons why we can still believe that the gospels are a trustworthy account of Jesus’ life.
Herman Bavinck, Reformed Dogmatics, Vol. 1: Prolegomena (Grand Rapids: Baker Academic, 2003).In several sections of Reformed Dogmatics Bavinck provides weighty arguments from the Scriptures themselves why we can believe the Bible is inspired by God, inerrant, and fully authoritative. Many sections have an abundance of biblical references.
J. I. Packer, Fundamentalism and the Word of God (Grand Rapids: Eerdmans, 1992). In this classic book, Packer defends the historical understanding of the inspiration and inerrancy of Scripture against controversies in the 1950s. The material in this book is still very relevant and helpful.
B. B. Warfield, The Inspiration and Authority of Scripture (Philadelphia: Presbyterian and Reformed, 1948). In perhaps his most famous work, Warfield defends with scholarly detail and rigor the doctrines of inspiration, inerrancy, and biblical authority. This book belongs on every Christian’s shelf.
Paul Feinberg, Light in a Dark Place: The Doctrine of Scripture (Wheaton: Crossway, 2018). In this magisterial, nearly 800-page volume, John Feinberg—professor of biblical and systematic theology at Trinity Evangelical Divinity School—offers Christians a comprehensive guide for understanding the theological foundations of an evangelical doctrine of Scripture, as well as effective tools for engaging the contemporary discussion.
John D. Woodbridge, Biblical Authority: A Critique of the Rogers/McKim Proposal. Grand Rapids: Zondervan, 1982. This book is written in response to a massive volume published in 1978 by Jack Rogers and Donald McKim. Rogers and McKim argued that the idea of an error-free Bible was a modern invention. Woodbridge overturned the Rogers/McKim proposal decisively with a thorough reexamination of all the relevant historical material. His work is still regarded as the best historical defense of inerrancy to date.
D. A. Carson and John D. Woodbridge, eds., Scripture and Truth (Grand Rapids: Baker, 1992). This book is a collection of scholarly articles that examine various issues related to the doctrine of Scripture. Included among the topics are Scripture’s self-attestation, philosophical discussions related to the nature of biblical truth, and the unity of the Bible. Also included are a few discussions that trace the doctrine of biblical authority through the history of the church.
Sinclair Ferguson, From the Mouth of God: Trusting, Reading, and Applying the Bible (Edinburgh: Banner of Truth, 2014). This accessible little book is aimed at ordinary Christians who may not have a lot of experience in the doctrine of Scripture or in studying the Bible for themselves. Ferguson takes the reader through basic doctrines like inspiration and inerrancy, while also helping his readers understand how to interpret the Bible.
Matthew Barrett, God’s Word Alone: The Authority of Scripture (Grand Rapids: Zondervan, 2016). In this volume, Barrett defends the Reformation principle of Sola Scriptura historically and theologically. Even at 374 pages, this book is a unique confluence of concision, breadth, and depth. Readable, edifying, and well-researched, this is a book that will reward slow, meditative reading.
Norman L. Geisler, ed. Inerrancy (Grand Rapids: Zondervan, 1980). Although written and compiled forty-five years ago, this books contains essays on the doctrine of inerrancy that have stood the test of time and are highly relevant today. The articles cover the doctrine of inerrancy from historic, theological, biblical, and philosophical perspectives, providing a well-rounded contribution to an evangelical doctrine of Scripture.
John Piper, A Peculiar Glory: How the Christian Scriptures Reveal their Complete Truthfulness (Wheaton, IL: Crossway, 2016). In this volume, Piper argues that the Scriptures possess a self-authenticating glory that is sufficient to convince someone of their divine nature. This is wonderful news because it means that anyone—not just historical scholars or theologians—can know for certain that the Bible is God’s Word.
L. Russ Bush and Tom J. Nettles, Baptists and the Bible, 40th Anniversary Edition (Fort Worth, TX: Seminary Hill, 2020). In this dense and carefully researched volume, Bush and Nettles respond to the claim that Baptists have not historically always held to the doctrine of inerrancy. As the authors clearly demonstrate, Baptists have indeed held to the complete truthfulness of Scripture.
Norman Geisler and Thomas Howe, The Big Book of Bible Difficulties: Clear and Concise Answers from Genesis to Revelation (Grand Rapids: Baker, 2008). This is a very helpful book for defending the doctrine of inerrancy when you face questions about passages that appear to undermine the Bible’s truthfulness. This is a book that will also strengthen your faith as you see how Scripture stands up to the most serious scrutiny.
John MacArthur, ed. The Scripture Cannot Be Broken (Wheaton, IL: Crossway, 2015). This volume conveniently compiles several of the best articles on the doctrine of inerrancy written in the last 100 years. Contributors include J. I. Packer, B. B. Warfield, John Murray, John Frame, Harold Lindsell, and Paul Feinberg.
