Top 20 Christian Books

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King. Here's our host, Pastor Mike Abendroth. Welcome to No Compromise Radio, a ministry. My name is

Mike Abendroth, and it is, in real time, February 9th, Wednesday, but we're one week in advance in Star Trek space -time continuum.

For years, I think I've said Star Track, but it's Star Trek, right? You don't want to be a tracker.

You want to be a trekker. You want to be a trekkie, not a trackie. You can always write me,

Mike, at NoCompromiseRadio .com. Thanks for praying for me. My health is pretty good.

I think I've got quite a ways to go, but I'm able to ride the bicycle, the exercise bike.

I was riding it today at resistance 12 for about 15 minutes, resistance 10 for about half an hour, resistance 6 to warm up, and actually sweat, broke a sweat today.

I don't think my voice is fully recovered yet, but I'm hopeful it will, and I just have a lot of ...

I mean, I heard even today, and who knows what'll happen by the time you hear this, but Michael Horton, the author and professor at Westminster Seminary, is in the hospital for COVID pneumonia, so it is difficult.

It's a long haul. Don't feel normal at all, but I feel alive and out of the hospital.

Thankful for that. I already got my Valentine's deal done, even though it's the 9th. Kim and I went up to New Hampshire.

This is like to brag a little bit, but she planned most of it. I just did some. Went up to New Hampshire and had a sleigh ride, five o 'clock at night.

The lights are lower, you're through the woods, and a real sleigh with a real, some kind of Belgian horse, but it was fun.

It was romantic. No kids to be found, just Kim and I, private. I said,

Kim, do we have a private sleigh ride or with a group? She said, I'm not going with a group. I said, okay.

A while ago, one of our deacons named Chuck emailed me and he said something like, give me your top 20 books,

Christian books or important books to read if you're a Christian. I can't remember if he wanted to help his own library, he wanted to teach his kids, he needed to teach a class.

Chuck, I can't remember exactly why you wanted the list, but I just sat down and I quickly wrote out a list.

It was just like a knee -jerk thing. Spur of the moment, I didn't do a lot of research, I didn't walk around my library and look and I've got certain sections of my library, these books mean more to me than other sections.

I have Genesis commentaries, Exodus commentaries, Christology sections, I also have a little section where these are valuable to me.

They might not be valuable books, but they're valuable to me. That's kind of what this show is about, which

Christian books are valuable to me. I think 10 years ago, I would have had a different list, 20 years ago,

I had a different list, and maybe 10 years from today, I might have a different list. Who knows if I'm even here 10 years from now, but you can always listen to the show anyway in the rerun fashion.

I think I'm going to be like J. Verne McGee, just always, no codes, just always on. Just kidding. Book list, suggested book list that you might read in addition to reading the

Bible. In addition to creeds and confessions, I did not put a creed or confession on here.

In my mind, that's different than a book, right? If you want to read the

Nicene Creed and believe it, I want you to do that. I want you to especially read the

Belgic Confession, Heidelberg Catechism, Westminster Confession slash

London Baptist Confession 1689 slash Savoy Confession, read the 39 articles,

Anglican. I like those. I like the app that I have on my phone about Christian creeds and confessions, and you can just get whatever you want,

Goat Yard Confessions and Catechisms. They've got it all. Great little app.

But short of creeds and confessions, Heidelberg, Belgic, these are the books.

No particular order. These are not alphabetical. These are just books that I think you should get, and I've got 20 minutes to talk about 20 books, so that means

Eben Droth needs to stay on target. If I talk about one book for one minute, another book for two minutes, that means

I only have zero for the next. I'm going to have to really balance this out. What that means is I talk about the books at the front of the list in more depth than I do at the end of the list, but I'm going to give you all 20 today.

If you want to email me, Mike at NoCompromiseRadio .com, I'll send you the list, or maybe

Spencer can put it in the show notes. Again, not ranked.

This is just my list. Machin, J. Gresham Machin, Christianity and Liberalism.

You can read that book online for free. You can listen to it. This is a book, if memory serves, and I don't remember all the publishers and dates, but I think it's 1923,

Eerdmans. If you understand that book, you're going to understand Christianity, and you'll easily see anything that calls itself by a certain name but is, in fact, liberalism.

You either are a supernaturalist or a naturalist. You're either a Christian or a liberal, and the book starts off a little slow.

I always have to try to make sure I get people to keep reading a little bit past the first few pages. Once you get his writing style, and we get in the doctrine of God and salvation, it is a book that you have to read.

It is so good. Christianity and Liberalism by Machin, M -A -C -H -E -N.

Number two, I don't even know if I can write on here, number two, I just have to read it here.

Let's see, can I write? I don't think I can write. Louis Burkoff, Systematic Theology. There are many systematic theologies that are written.

I have a section of systematic theologies. For many people in the last ten years, maybe fifteen,

I don't know when it was written, they like Wayne Grudem, and Wayne Grudem's Systematic Theology, I think you can have it, and it's a resource, and it has some things that are true, but when it comes to prophecy and time stuff and eternal subordination, you don't need to read it.

I don't need to have a bunch of charismatics because they read that. Get Burkoff instead, you can get a free

PDF, and it has just been reissued by Banner of Truth with Burkoff's concise summary of the

Christian faith, or summary of the Christian faith at the end, and that's a book that is exactly that.

It's just a little summary, and lots of times in the morning, I will, during my Bible reading time, then

I'll read that next section for Burkoff about sanctification or of good works or something like that. Excellent.

If you want to learn about justification, sanctification, other things, read Burkoff's Systematic Theology. Everybody needs

Burkoff's Systematic Theology. Number three, Calvin's Institutes. Calvin's Institutes were updated several times, just kept getting bigger and bigger, and you ought to just buy

Calvin's Institutes. McNeil Battle is what I have, the two -volume, I think that's the best English translation, and you should just, if you've never read

Calvin, read the section on justification. I think my friend Nick Pickwitz did the justification book by Calvin.

He pulled it out and then reissued it as a standalone. You can get that if you want. The Institutes contain all kinds of things that will be good for your soul, good for your mind.

Read the section on prayer, and you will say to yourself, my thoughts of Calvin as cold, stern, stoic, icy, are completely wrong, and we understand his desire to honor the

Lord even in prayer. Peter Petrus Dathanus, Pearl of Christian Comfort.

We live in a society today that bombards, a Christian society that bombards assurance.

Of course, the Catholics think it's a sin of presumption, and a lot of lordship teachers, they don't seem to maximize assurance like they should, and it is

Rome that takes away assurance, and if you're living with your girlfriend, I don't think you should have assurance. You can call yourself a

Christian, but 1 Corinthians 6, verses 9 and 10, it's in the Bible, and it's true, there are false professors.

But Christians can struggle with sin, they do struggle with sin, they are simultaneously just and sinful, and this is written in dialogue with a pastor and a lady in a church that's struggling with assurance.

Short little book, I think you can get at Reformation Press, Reformation Heritage, excuse me, The Pearl of Christian Comfort.

You ought to get that book and just hand it out to people. Easy to read, simple, short, dealing with the doctrine of assurance.

Richard Sibbes, The Bruised Reed. This is a Puritan paperback, and I just picked up the

Sibbes, seven volumes, I think, Banner of Truth. It's out of print, but I just, from seven different places, bought seven different volumes, so now

I have all of his works. And Sibbes is known, I think, I have no notes in front of me except this list,

I think he was known as the sweet dropper, because he regularly taught things about the

Lord Jesus and his compassion and kindness, and come unto me, all you who are weary and heavy laden, and I'll give you rest,

I'll give you refreshment, I think the King James might say. This book is good for a similar reason to The Pearl of Christian Comfort, it's good for assurance.

What about what the Lord Jesus does with a bruised reed, with a struggling Christian? What do you think his attitude toward that struggling

Christian might be? And I think you're going to be encouraged, especially if you live in a Paul Washer beat down world.

I'm not saying that's only what Paul does, but it seems like that's what's published a lot on social media, in my opinion.

Next, Sinclair Ferguson, The Whole Christ, W -H -O -L -E, The Whole Christ.

This is a book written, I don't know, 10 years ago, maybe now, maybe a little less, by Sinclair Ferguson.

Sinclair Buchanan Ferguson. You know, one day Sinclair Ferguson wrote me a poem, sent me a poem, and it's true.

I still have it. That was good.

I said to the kids, Sinclair sent me a poem, and they're like, what? I said, it's true. The Scotman came through.

We have different Sinclair stories, but that's one I'll just let you know right now. This is his retelling of the

Merrill Controversy with the Octa -Arta Creed, and do you have to forsake sin in order to come to Christ?

Is there something antecedent to faith? Fruit of faith is repentance, et cetera.

Which one comes first, faith, repentance, or is it a synecdoche? If I say faith, am I also including repentance, and vice versa?

What about the law? What role does the law have? What about assurance? Really, it's revolutionary.

The next book, which is closely related, is The Marrow of Modern Divinity by E. Fisher, Edward Fisher, and you can get the,

I can't remember, Evangelical Press maybe does the new ones, kind of brown and black, and it's got Thomas Boston's notes.

That's the one that you should get, the one that has Thomas Boston's notes, kind of a big circle on the front, orangish,

I think, and this was the book that was written in the 1600s that the

Marrowmen, or the representers, or the representatives used in that big debate in the

Octorard or Presbyterian controversy of the 17, like 17s to the 26th,

Thomas Boston, Ralph Erskine, Ebenezer Erskine, and you get to see Boston's notes in there.

This is making sure that the gospel is a free offer, and that the gospel does not require you to amend your ways in order to come to Christ.

And that's what Ferguson writes about in The Whole Christ. He's got theology in the book, but also gives you an update of what happened in that Presbyterian gathering.

I don't know if it was the Senate or not, but whatever. The next book is Michael Horton, Christ the

Lord. This subtitle of Christ the Lord, I can't remember, but it's something like a reformed response to Lordship Salvation.

I think that maybe is what it says. You have to get that book, especially if you grew up with reading

Ryrie and reading Zane Hodges, reading Chuck Swindoll. Who else would be big in the

Dallas camp? Let's see, it was Ryrie, Hodges, Swindoll, not as much.

There's another author, but I'm forgetting. And then on the other side of the intramural debate was

MacArthur with the Gospel According to Jesus. And what Horton does is Horton says, okay, this is where each group kind of got it right, and MacArthur, he would think, was more right than Zane Hodges with the lordship, non -lordship, anti -lordship position, probably would be a better way to say it.

But was MacArthur, when he wrote the book, necessarily reformed? Does the Reformation deal with this?

And I think at a high level, this is an important book because it's made me think of, oh, church history has probably much to instruct, can instruct me on this because I've already had a battle.

There's already been a sanctification battle. There's already been a justification battle. There's already been a simplicity battle and a deity of Christ battle.

And what have these other minds, what have they said? Has the Reformation helped us understand justification, sanctification?

Are they commingled? When does one start? What if there's no sanctification? Is sanctification monergistic, synergistic?

Does God sanctify? Do we have a role in sanctification? Do we respond in sanctification? Is sanctification by faith alone?

There's all kinds of questions like that, and I really like what Horton did. He's the general editor, so there's other people who write sections in there.

Rod Rosenblatt, I think, has a chapter on Christ died for the sins of believers, too. You ought to read that book, especially if you've been living in the evangelical world for the last 30 years or so.

I think the debate was really big in the 1980s, late 80s, if memory serves. Next book,

R .C. Sproul, Chosen by God. Super easy to read, yet deep truths, devotional truths.

If you already know the topic, you can still be refreshed and rekindled in your heart that God would choose you unconditionally, not because you were holy and blameless, but to make you holy and blameless, as Ephesians 1, verses 3 and 4 talk about.

He talks about symmetrical and asymmetrical issues in both election and reprobation.

Is reprobation symmetrical or asymmetrical? And you think, well, what does that have to do with anything? And I'm going to let you read the book, because I think that little appendix, if my memory serves me, it's in an appendix.

I think that's good. Rich, devotional. You could give this to somebody who comes out of a

Calvary Chapel background that doesn't really understand election or maybe a charismatic background,

Pentecostal. This is a good intro for that. And I think even if you've been around the block theologically, you could read it and then it would help you as you teach other people this important doctrine.

J .V. Fesco is on my list. His book on justification. I think it's in cursive in a kind of an interesting font.

He's got chapters on justification. He's got chapters on new perspective on Paul and federal vision, things that are in modern day, basically papish diversions from the doctrine of sola fide.

I think every seminary student, every Bible teacher, every pastor should read Fesco's book.

Why is this chair slinking down? When I was slinking down, slinking down.

Banton, Here I Stand, is the biography of Martin Luther. I forgot his first name.

Harold Banton. Harry Banton. I don't really remember. Roland. Roland Banton. Roland the

Headless Thompson Gunnar Banton. And Here I Stand, Luther. I wanted to put at least one biography on this list.

I think maybe I have two. And anyway, that was such a good book that will give you history, some good theology written from a perspective that would fit in with the no -co theology.

John Murray, Redemption Accomplished and Applied. Jesus actually redeemed and then the

Spirit of God applied that redemptive death to every believer. This will help you with limited, unlimited atonement.

That is definite or indefinite atonement, particular redemption, that type of stuff.

While Murray may not have believed in the covenant of works and probably opened the door for Norman Shepard and others, this book stands the test of time and is excellent.

You won't go wrong when you want to study Christ's death by reading John Murray, Redemption Accomplished and Applied.

Short little book by B .B. Warfield called The Plan of Salvation is my next entry on top 20 books that you should read.

It's got sections on self -salvation called autosotirism, autoself, sotir, salvation.

What about sacraments? What about non -Calvinistic views of salvation?

Just easy to read. You say, B .B. Warfield, easy to read? Yeah, in particular, this one is

The Plan of Salvation. If you'd like to know about God's plan of salvation, this would be a good book for you.

Anderson, I forgot his first name. What is Anderson's first name?

I'm looking over to my books now and I think it's Courtney. But I don't remember.

Courtney Anderson, To the Golden Shore, The Life of Adoniram Judson. This is another one of those that I put on that was a biography.

And Adoniram Judson left here in Massachusetts, Salem, Massachusetts, I think before we were, were we a country yet?

I think maybe it was post 1776. Of course, Evan Burns would know.

He's got an excellent book on Adoniram Judson as well. Judson as well. But this is, this is an amazing book.

Fast pace. He's like, how can this ever happen to one person? The stories, the trials, the triumphs,

Adoniram Judson. Next, John Stott, The Cross of Christ. This is similar to John Murray's book on the atonement.

Here's what Jesus did, looking at it from different angles. Think about a prism and, you know, the light hits a prism and there's all the different things that you can study when it comes to the cross of Christ.

You will be encouraged. John Bunyan, Pilgrim's Progress, the allegory of Christian and his burden and meeting vainglory and meeting the evangelist and all the different people, worldly wise men, you need to read

Pilgrim's Progress. You might differ slightly here or there, even when it comes to the Merrill Controversy book by Sinclair Ferguson, where he talks a little bit about Bunyan and do you have to go through the

Wicked Gate to look at the cross first or whatever, but you're going to relate. You need to read this, that book, Pilgrim's Progress by not

Paul Bunyan and his ox babe, but John Bunyan. Brown and Keele, Michael Brown and Zach Keele, I believe,

The Sacred Bond, Covenant Theology Explained. I put this on the list because I think this is something that people need to read, especially in typical evangelicalism would be very often dispensational and maybe there are caricatures on both sides.

Left Behind is a dispensationalist and covenant theologians spiritualize everything.

Back and forth, we go and try to fight and debate, but I am a covenant theologian. I'm not a dispensationalist and this book has helped me and I think it would help you.

Even if you don't believe in covenant theology as a kind of a structure or an architectonic scaffolding to see scripture through, you'd like this book because it will at least help you without caricaturization.

There we go. Marshall, Walter Marshall, The Definitive Book on Divine Mystery of Sanctification.

I meant to say The Definitive Book on Sanctification, but here The Divine Mystery of Sanctification. God is the sanctifier.

There is a response to sanctification. How that works out is kind of a mystery and so Walter Marshall will try to help you with that.

But this is a book John Murray said was the most important book on sanctification. Very, very helpful. Most people do not believe that sanctification is anything but our holy living.

And I think we need to be careful even if you read any of the confessions, just baptistic or congregational or Presbyterian or Anglican, you're going to realize that God is a sanctifier.

God saves, justifies by grace alone through faith alone. He sanctifies by grace alone through faith alone.

God sanctify me is a good prayer because God sanctifies. And of course we do respond and we want to live a holy life, but who really is the sanctifier?

Walter Martian. Martian. It's Martian to think that sanctification is synergistic.

A .W. Pink, The Attributes of God. You can read it online for free. Excellent book.

We can argue about should they be called perfections? Are there real attributes?

What about simplicity? But this is just good. It'll just have a section of holiness. It'll have a quote or two by a

Puritan. A bunch of Bible verses and you'll just have an appreciation for how great

God is as you go through Attributes of God by Pink. We're not going to have to argue is wrath an attribute even though he's got it in there or is only holiness an attribute and the exercise of his holiness is wrath.

I'm not going to get bogged down in that. Just read the book. I think you'll be encouraged. And lastly, but certainly not leastly,

R. Scott Clark, Covenant, Justification, and Pastoral Ministry. That's the book that with Ferguson and a few others really did a number on me to take me out of kind of one theological world and camp and move me into another theological world and camp that really helped me with active obedience of the

Lord Jesus Christ. Why that's so important. It helped me with thinking about things in covenantal terms.

I think the book is out of print. Maybe you can get a Kindle or maybe you can look for it online someplace, but it is harder to get.

And I think different authors are in the book that Scott edits and also writes in. Covenant, Justification, and Pastoral Ministry.

And you don't have to be a pastor to like the book. I think any person who would listen to No Compromise, I'm not the most sophisticated teacher, but we talk about some pretty heady things here.

And if you like No Compromise Radio, you could easily read R. Scott Clark, Covenant, Justification, and Pastoral Ministry.

And just go pick chapters that you like and go ahead and read those. Really, really like the books. That's my top 20. At least today,

February 9th, 2022. If you'd like to get a copy of these top 20, you can send me an email, mikeatnocompromiseradio .com.

Lots to learn about the Lord Jesus. No Compromise Radio with Pastor Mike Abendroth is a production of Bethlehem Bible Church in West Boylston.

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