Reformed Reading Guide · 15 books
The Best Books on the Doctrine of Scripture
The doctrine of Scripture is the church's confession about the nature, origin, and authority of the Bible. It affirms that the sixty-six books of the Old and New Testaments were breathed out by God through human authors, making them inspired, inerrant, and the final authority for Christian faith and life. It also addresses how these books were recognized as canon and why they remain clear and sufficient for everything God requires his people to believe and do.
Few doctrines matter more than what we believe about the Bible, because every other conviction rests on it. The books below gather the finest confessional Reformed and evangelical writing on inspiration, inerrancy, authority, canon, and the sufficiency of Scripture. They are sorted into basic, intermediate, and advanced tiers so you can start where you are and go as deep as you like. Each recommendation is currently in print and verified by title, edition, and ISBN.
Basic
5 books
Taking God at His Word: Why the Bible Is Knowable, Necessary, and Enough, and What That Means for You and Me
Kevin DeYoung · 2016
A short, warm, and clear introduction that walks through what the Bible teaches about its own authority, clarity, necessity, and sufficiency.
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Why Trust the Bible?
Greg Gilbert · 2015
A calm, accessible case for the reliability and trustworthiness of Scripture aimed at both skeptics and new believers.
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Can I Trust the Bible?
R.C. Sproul · 2017
A brief primer that unpacks inerrancy and the Chicago Statement in plain language for ordinary readers.
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Can We Trust the Gospels?
Peter J. Williams · 2018
A compact, evidence-driven defense of the historical reliability of the four Gospels.
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A Peculiar Glory: How the Christian Scriptures Reveal Their Complete Truthfulness
John Piper · 2016
A readable, worship-filled argument that Scripture reveals its own truthfulness through the self-authenticating glory of God.
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5 books
God's Word Alone: The Authority of Scripture
Matthew Barrett · 2016
A rich study of sola Scriptura that traces the doctrine of biblical authority through the Reformation and into today's debates.
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The Doctrine of the Word of God
John M. Frame · 2010
The most thorough modern Reformed treatment of how God's personal speech comes to us with full divine authority.
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Words of Life: Scripture as the Living and Active Word of God
Timothy Ward · 2009
A concise but substantial account tying the nature of Scripture to God's own speech acts and covenant faithfulness.
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Canon Revisited: Establishing the Origins and Authority of the New Testament Books
Michael J. Kruger · 2012
A careful defense of a self-authenticating model for how the church came to recognize the New Testament canon.
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The Question of Canon: Challenging the Status Quo in the New Testament Debate
Michael J. Kruger · 2013
A focused challenge to the assumption that the canon was a late, arbitrary imposition on the early church.
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5 books
The Inspiration and Authority of the Bible (Revised and Enhanced)
B.B. Warfield, edited by John J. Hughes · 2020
The classic collection of essays that set the terms for the modern confessional defense of inspiration and inerrancy.
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Reformed Dogmatics, Volume 1: Prolegomena
Herman Bavinck · 2003
The prolegomena volume of a landmark Reformed dogmatics, grounding Scripture in the doctrine of revelation.
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Holy Scripture: A Dogmatic Sketch
John Webster · 2003
A rigorous dogmatic account that locates the authority of Scripture within the doctrines of God, revelation, and sanctification.
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The Enduring Authority of the Christian Scriptures
D.A. Carson (editor) · 2016
A massive, multi-author reference gathering thirty-seven scholars on every major question of biblical authority.
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Thy Word Is Still Truth: Essential Writings on the Doctrine of Scripture from the Reformation to Today
Peter A. Lillback and Richard B. Gaffin Jr. (editors) · 2013
A vast anthology of primary sources on inerrancy from the Reformation to the present, ideal for serious study.
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