Book picks similar to
The God Who Justifies by James R. White


christian-life
theology
soteriology
christianity

All That Is in God: Evangelical Theology and the Challenge of Classical Christian Theism


James E. Dolezal - 2017
    James E. Dolezal’s All That Is in God provides an exposition of the historic Christian position while engaging with these contemporary deviations. His convincing critique of the newer position he styles “theistic mutualism” is philosophically robust, systematically nuanced, and biblically based. It demonstrates the need to maintain the traditional viewpoint, particularly on divine simplicity, and spotlights the unfortunate implications for other important Christian doctrines—such as divine eternality and the Trinity—if it were to be abandoned. Arguing carefully and cogently that “all that is in God is God Himself,” the work is sure to stimulate debate on the issue in years to come.

Charis: God's Scandalous Grace for Us


Preston Sprinkle - 2014
    We want to domesticate it, calm it down, and stuff it into a blue blazer and a pair of khakis. But biblical grace – or charis – doesn’t like to settle down. Grace is a dangerous topic because the Bible is a dangerous book. Charis flows from the Preston Sprinkle’s half dozen years teaching the Old Testament to college students. You might think that would produce a book about judgment – but no way. He shows how every character, every event, every single page from the Old Testament bleeds with grace. Take a journey into Charis - where harlots are hugged, enemies are enjoyed, and really bad people receive really good things from a Creator who stubbornly delights in undelightful people … like us.

Good News for Those Trying Harder


Alan Kraft - 2008
    Many are driven to just try harder. Others feel a growing sense of failure and distance from God. But for all involved, it's a frustrating cycle. What can we do when trying harder isn't working?Author and pastor Alan Kraft invites us to be still.still enough to hear the twin melodies that comprise the good news of the gospel-brokenness and faith.  These core strains have the power to lift our exhausted heads so we may experience life to the full as Jesus promised. Discover the power of a broken spirit, embrace the wonder of living by faith, and experience the joy found when you just stop trying.

Gray Matters: Navigating the Space between Legalism and Liberty


Brett McCracken - 2013
    Engaging it, embracing it, consuming it, and creating it. Many (younger) evangelicals today are actively cultivating an appreciation for aspects of culture previously stigmatized within the church. Things like alcohol, Hollywood's edgier content, plays, art openings, and concerts have moved from being forbidden to being celebrated by believers. But are evangelicals opening their arms too wide in uncritical embrace of culture? How do they engage with culture in ways that are mature, discerning, and edifying rather than reckless, excessive, and harmful? Can there be a healthy, balanced approach--or is that simply wishful thinking?With the same insight and acuity found in his popular Hipster Christianity, Brett McCracken examines some of the hot-button gray areas of Christian cultural consumption, helping to lead Christians to adopt a more thoughtful approach to consuming culture in the complicated middle ground between legalism and license. Readers will learn how to both enrich their own lives and honor God--refining their ability to discern truth, goodness, beauty, and enjoy his creation.

A Case for Historic Premillennialism: An Alternative to Left Behind Eschatology


Craig L. Blomberg - 2009
    The contributors, all respected scholars in their respective fields, suggest that classic premillennialism offers believers a more coherent and viable approach to understanding eschatology. Their studies, which examine eschatology from biblical, theological, historical, and missiological approaches, provide a broadly accessible argument for returning to the perspectives of historic premillennial eschatology.

Letter to a Christian Nation


Sam Harris - 2006
    Letter to A Christian Nation is his reply. Using rational argument, Harris offers a measured refutation of the beliefs that form the core of fundamentalist Christianity. In the course of his argument, he addresses current topics ranging from intelligent design and stem-cell research to the connections between religion and violence. In Letter to a Christian Nation, Sam Harris boldly challenges the influence that faith has on public life in our nation.

Tell the Truth: The Whole Gospel to the Whole Person by Whole People


Will Metzger - 1981
    The recovery of a God-centered and grace-centered gospel is imperative, says Will Metzger. In the third edition of his critically-acclaimed training manual he expands on the topics of grace and worship. And he emphasizes the centrality of sovereign, saving grace that completely exalts God. In addition, he offers a narrative approach to witnessing with the story "Come Home," training materials for Christians who want to learn God-centered evangelism, and a study guide on evangelism suitable for individuals or groups. More than ever, Tell the Truth is ready to serve the church as a comprehensive, accessible and effective guide to God-centered evangelism.

The Divine Conspiracy: Rediscovering Our Hidden Life in God


Dallas Willard - 1998
    In this classic, one of the most brilliant Christian thinkers of our times and author of the acclaimed The Spirit of Disciplines, Dallas Willard, skillfully weaves together biblical teaching, popular culture, science, scholarship, and spiritual practice, revealing what it means to "apprentice" ourselves to Jesus. Using Jesus’s Sermon of the Mount as his foundation, Willard masterfully explores life-changing ways to experience and be guided by God on a daily basis, resulting in a more authentic and dynamic faith.

The Rewards of Fasting: Experiencing the Power and Affections of God


Mike Bickle - 2005
    We fast to encounter God more and to change the world! Done in the right spirit, fasting increases our receptivity to God's voice and His Word. Jesus called His disciples to fast so as to encounter Him as the Bridegroom God (Mt. 9:15).This book explores the rewards and delights that come to those who fast, and is designed to equip believers to embrace the discipline, grace, and joy of fasting, that they might more fully encounter Jesus as their heavenly Bridegroom.

Discerning Truth


Jason Lisle - 2010
    What do you say when your faith is challenged by those claiming to speak in the name of science or reason? Discerning Truth provides a practical and engaging resource on the use of logic in this critical debate. Filled with anecdotes from both creative examples and real-life illustrations that help clarify logical issues in apologetics. Become skilled at distinguishing sound arguments from emotionally-charged rhetoric. Helps any believer refute evolutionary perspectives. Lisle believes that creationists need to be able to recognize and refute evolutionist arguments, and to do so in a way that both honors God and lines up with the truth of His Word (Eph. 5:1). The role of logic, the study of correct reasoning, is becoming a vanishing skill in our society. Yet it is a vital tool in assisting Christians in assessing the weaknesses in evolutionary thought. Here is the clear and concise guide for every believer in defending your faith in the face of adversity.

Hell Under Fire: Modern Scholarship Reinvents Eternal Punishment


Christopher W. Morgan - 2004
    Rarely mentioned anymore in the pulpit, it has faded through disuse among evangelicals and been attacked by liberal theologians. Hell is no longer only the target of those outside the church. Today, a disturbing number of professing Christians question it as well. Perhaps more than at any other time in history, hell is under fire. The implications of the historic view of hell make the popular alternatives, annihilationism and universalism, seem extremely appealing. But the bottom line is still God’s Word. What does the Old Testament reveal about hell? What does Paul the apostle have to say, or the book of Revelation? Most important, what does Jesus, the ultimate expression of God’s love, teach us about God’s wrath?Upholding the authority of Scripture, the different authors in Hell Under Fire explore a complex topic from various angles. R. Albert Mohler Jr. provides a historical, theological, and cultural overview of “The Disappearance of Hell.” Christopher Morgan draws on the New Testament to offer three pictures of hell as punishment, destruction, and banishment. J. I. Packer compares universalism with the traditional understanding of hell, Morgan does the same with annihilationism, and Sinclair Ferguson considers how the reality of hell ought to influence preaching. These examples offer some idea of this volume’s scope and thoroughness.Hell may be under fire, but its own flames cannot be quenched by popular opinion. This book helps us gain a biblical perspective on what hell is and why we cannot afford to ignore it. And it offers us a better understanding of the One who longs for all people to escape judgment and obtain eternal life through Jesus Christ.

Proper Confidence: Faith, Doubt, and Certainty in Christian Discipleship


Lesslie Newbigin - 1995
    What results is a perspective that allows Christians to confidently affirm the gospel as public truth in our pluralistic world.

A Little Book for New Theologians: Why and How to Study Theology


Kelly M. Kapic - 2012
    Yet theology isn't just a matter of what we think. It affects who we are.In the tradition of Helmut Thielicke's A Little Exercise for Young Theologians, Kelly Kapic offers a concise introduction to the study of theology for newcomers to the field. He highlights the value and importance of theological study and explains its unique nature as a serious discipline.Not only concerned with content and method, Kapic explores the skills, attitudes and spiritual practices needed by those who take up the discipline. This brief, clear and lively primer draws out the relevance of theology for Christian life, worship, mission, witness and more."Theology is about life," writes Kapic. "It is not a conversation our souls can afford to avoid."

The Insanity of God: A True Story of Faith Resurrected


Nik Ripken - 2012
    After spending over six hard years doing relief work in Somalia, and experiencing life where it looked like God had turned away completely and He was clueless about the tragedies of life, the couple had a crisis of faith and left Africa asking God, "Does the gospel work anywhere when it is really a hard place?  It sure didn't work in Somalia. Nik recalls that, “God had always been so real to me, to Ruth, and to our boys. But was He enough, for the utter weariness of soul I experienced at that time, in that place, under those circumstances?” It is a question that many have asked and one that, if answered, can lead us to a whole new world of faith. How does faith survive, let alone flourish in a place like the Middle East? How can good truly overcome such evil? How do you maintain hope when all is darkness around you? How can we say “greater is He that is in me than he that is in the world” when it may not be visibly true in that place at that time? How does anyone live an abundant, victorious Christian life in our world’s toughest places? Can Christianity even work outside of Western, dressed-up, ordered nations? If so, how?The Insanity of God tells a story—a remarkable and unique story to be sure, yet at heart a very human story—of the Ripkens’ own spiritual and emotional odyssey. The gripping, narrative account of a personal pilgrimage into some of the toughest places on earth, combined with sobering and insightful stories of the remarkable people of faith Nik and Ruth encountered on their journeys, will serve as a powerful course of revelation, growth, and challenge for anyone who wants to know whether God truly is enough.

Union with Christ: In Scripture, History, and Theology


Robert Letham - 2011
    The entirety of our relationship with God can be summed up in this doctrine. Yet when people ask what this union actually is, we flounder. The incarnation shows that God has made us to be united with him, and God has given us his Word to enable us to understand the nature of this union. Set out with Robert Letham to explore this doctrine from Scripture using help from the church fathers to modern theologians.