Once again, I’ve compiled my list of best books of 2024. Some of these were published prior to this year, but it was only this year that I finally got around to reading them. I’ll begin with number 10 and work my way to number 1.

(10) Ruined Sinners to Reclaim: Sin and Depravity in Historical, Biblical, Theological, and Pastoral Perspective, Edited by David Gibson & Jonathan Gibson (Crossway: Wheaton, 2024), 998 pp.

The doctrine of Total Depravity (the “T” in the acronym TULIP) is perhaps the most misunderstood of all the five points of Calvinism. In his Foreword to this massive book, Michael Horton comments:

“’Total depravity’ . . . is not a particularly good [term]. Nor is it peculiar to Calvinism. . . . Based on a host of passages unfurled in this volume, it was the common view from the ancient church to Aquinas and the Protestant Reformers that the whole person is good by created nature and also wholly defiled by sin: corrupt not in its intensity (as if there is no good left) but in its extensity. There is no part of us that has not been polluted by the guilt and corruption of sin, no island of neutrality – mind, will, or emotions – to make a safe landing for grace” (xvi).

There have been numerous books on the concept of human nature and sin, but none that are as exhaustive and thoroughly biblical as this one. One more brief citation will suffice:

“The doctrine of total depravity states that, with the exception of the Lord Jesus Christ, all of humanity, from the very moment of conception, share a corrupt human nature which renders us liable to God’s wrath, incapable of any saving good, inclined toward evil, and which leaves us both dead in sin and enslaved to sin. Left to ourselves, we neither want to nor can return to God who made us, and, without the regenerating grace of the Holy Spirit, we cannot know him as our heavenly Father” (1).

(9) The Incarnate Christ and His Critics: A Biblical Defense, Robert M. Bowman Jr. & J. Ed Komoszewski (Grand Rapids: Kregel Academic, 2024), 853 pp.

In their Preface to the book, the authors state:

“The subject of this book is the doctrine of the incarnation: the teaching that Jesus Christ is the eternal Son, God by nature, come in the flesh as a real human being. Our purpose is to provide a rigorous, fact-based defense of this doctrine, popularly called the deity of Christ. We argue both that the deity of Christ is the teaching of the New Testament writings and that it is solidly based in the facts about Jesus” (17).;

I wrote an endorsement of the book, and said this:

“To the question posed by Jesus, ‘Who do people say that the Son of Man is?’ there have been countless, often conflicting, answers given. The response of this remarkable and exhaustive treatment of the biblical evidence is: ‘He is God incarnate, the Second Person of the Holy Trinity in human flesh. He is both God and Man. Putting Jesus in His Place, the authors’ first book on the subject, was itself a rigorous and persuasive defense of the deity of Jesus Christ. This second book provides an even more in-depth answer to that eternally important question. Of the many books that address the identity of Jesus of Nazareth, this one must now be given pride of place at the head of the list. I highly recommend it.”

(8) 40 Questions about Election, Daniel Kirkpatrick (Grand Rapids: Kregel Academic, 2025), page number still to be determined.

Many of you know about the 40 Questions series of books published by Kregel Academic. I recently wrote an endorsement for yet another. Daniel Kirkpatrick has written an excellent book on divine election. Part of what makes this book so good is that he doesn’t dodge difficult issues and strives to respond to all the questions that opponents of unconditional election often raise. The book won’t be released until May of 2025, but I had to include it among the best books I’ve read this year. Here is my endorsement of it.

“I cannot think of another term in Scripture that is the cause of as many seemingly endless arguments as is that of divine ‘election.’ And each time I think that nothing more can be said or written that would contribute positively to helping us understand what it means, I come across yet another volume that does precisely that. Daniel Kirkpatrick’s contribution to the 40 Questions series of books is one of the clearest and most comprehensive treatments of this issue that I’ve read. There is nary a question, issue, objection or problem that he does not address. His defense of unconditional election is rooted in Scripture and sound reasoning. Although many will not be persuaded of his position, none will charge him with avoiding problem texts or misrepresenting those with whom he disagrees. If you’ve never examined election and assessed the many alternative perspectives, this is the book for you.”

(7) 40 Questions about Pentecostalism, Jonathan Black (Grand Rapids: Kregel Academic, 2024), 335 pp.

Another installment in the 40 Questions series of books that is now available is this superb treatment of Pentecostalism by Jonathan Black, a minister in the Apostolic Church and former professor at Continental Theological Seminary (Belgium) and Regents Theological College (UK). I’m not Pentecostal (there is a difference between Pentecostal theology and Charismatic theology), but I thoroughly enjoyed Black’s book.

He not only addresses what he believes are the biblical foundations of classical Pentecostalism but also provides an excellent survey of what others have written in the past 150 years or so. If you are confused about what Pentecostals believe, trust me when I say that they are thoroughly evangelical and orthodox when it comes to the foundational truths of Christianity. Black does a great job of highlighting the distinctives of Pentecostalism. Whether or not you emerge from reading the book convinced of its accuracy, you will profit greatly from Black’s clear exposition.

One more thing. Black insists that Pentecostals are of one mind with the Reformed evangelical position on such matters as penal substitutionary atonement and forensic justification by faith alone in Christ alone. He also points out that not all Pentecostals are fully aligned with the Assemblies of God on the issue of initial physical evidence. The Assemblies believe that Spirit baptism is separate from and subsequent to conversion, the initial physical evidence of which is speaking in tongues. Numerous Pentecostals, especially those in the U.K. and Europe would not always affirm this distinctive theological position.

(6) Why I Am Still Surprised by the Voice of God: How God Speaks Today Through Prophecies, Dreams, and Visions, by Jack Deere (Grand Rapids: Zondervan Reflective, 2022), 337pp.

Yes, I know Jack’s book was published in 2022, but for some reason I failed to list it in my best books for that year. This is, quite simply, the best and most biblical treatment of hearing God’s voice that I’ve ever read. Here is the endorsement I wrote for it.

“In this vastly revised and updated version of his excellent book on hearing the voice of God, my good friend Jack Deere has provided the body of Christ with the most biblical and practical treatment available on this critically important and quite controversial topic. I know of no one else in the church today who is as well-grounded in the Scriptures and skilled in the practical dynamics of prophetic ministry as Jack Deere. If you have ever wondered about whether God speaks outside of, but never contrary to, the inspired written Word of God, this is the book for you. If you have ever been told that the revelatory gifts of the Spirit are a threat to the Bible’s sufficiency for life and godliness, this is the book for you. Simply put, this is the book for all of us! I can’t recommend it too highly.”

To be continued . . .