"When I get a little money I buy books; and if any is left I buy food and clothes."
-Desiderius Erasmus of Rotterdam

Desiderious Erasmus was a noted scholar and Roman Catholic priest who lived between October 27, 1466 and July 12, 1536. Besides having a very famous, and theologically important debate with Martin Luther over the freedom of the human Will, Erasmus was also responsible for translating the New Testament Scriptures out of Latin back to the original Greek language. This was an important contribution because Erasmus' work was later used by Martin Luther to translate the Scriptures into German and then, in early 1600's, English translators used his work to produce the King James version of the Bible. As you can see from the quote above, books were very important to Erasmus!

I almost hated reading books when I was younger. Now I find myself becoming more like Erasmus in that I'd rather spend my money books than almost anything else. I'm fairly sure that I already spend more money on books than clothes! My wife would probably agree that Erasmus' quote above sounds just like something I would say! Before I was a Christian, I doubt I read a dozen books total, now it seems I read well over a dozen per year. Because I mainly like to read books pertaining to theology, it is really helping me to understand more about the Bible and about the Lord Himself.

Both today and throughout the history of the church, God has raised up teachers and leaders whom he has gifted to have a great deal of incite about the Holy Scriptures and the nature of God. Through the volumes of books they have written, I can virtually "sit at their feet" and learn the great truths that they were taught by the Holy Spirit*. With these thoughts in mind, I want to give a list of books and authors that (in addition to the Bible) I have found to be particularly helpful to my theology, Christian walk, and ministry:

Systematic Theology, by Wayne Grudem

Fool's Gold, edited by John MacArthur

What is Reformed Theology?, by R.C. Sproul

Holy Spirit Power, by C.H. Spurgeon

Chosen by God, by R.C. Sproul

Concise Theology, by J.I. Packer

The King James Only Controversy, by James R. White

Institutes of the Christian Religion, by John Calvin

Why I am Not an Arminian, by Peterson and Williams

The Second Coming, by John MacArthur

God Chose to Save, by Joseph Bianchi

Counted Righteous in Christ, by John Piper

The Sovereignty of God, by A.W. Pink

Evangelistic Calvinism, by John Benton

The School of Biblical Evangelism (textbook), by Ray Comfort and Kirk Cameron

The Cross Centered Life, by C.J. Mahaney

Calvinism, Hyper-Calvinism, and Arminianism (workbook) by K. Talbot and G. Crampton

Have a blessed Weekend!

*Please note: I do do not study these men's writings blindly or without discernment, but in the spirit of the Berean believers of Acts 17, I study the Scriptures to see if their words are so. We must remember that no man is inerrant or infallable!