What the Thunder Said...

A few quick recommendations on books you should read about Pauline theology

Richard B. Gaffin Resurrection and Redemption P&R 197

Why doesn't the resurrection play a greater part in our preaching and thinking nowadays? Was it important to Paul? How does it function in our dogmatics and practical theology, especially - what comfort should it bring believers in daily living? All these and more are addressed in this phenomenal study.






Herman Ridderbos Paul: An Outline of His Theology Eerdmans 1997

Probably the place to start. A systematic approach to all of Paul's thinking, outlined by redemptive historical thought. Ridderbos is heavily influenced by G. Vos and the continental Reformed tradition. Terrific reading on anything you wanted to know about Paul. Though terrific in its own right, I would recommend Ridderbos over the otherwise-outstanding Paul, Apostle of God's Glory in Christ by T. Schreiner; definitely over J.D.G. Dunn's The Theology of the Apostle Paul. I cannot say enough about this book. More people and seminaries need to institutionalize it.



John Piper The Justification of God Baker 1993

An exegetical discourse of Romans 9:1 - 23. While I have other reasons to appreciate Pastor Piper and his ministry at Desiring God, I highly doubt that this book will ever be improved upon - ever. He has thoroughly dealt with all of the scholarship on this area, and comes away deftly proving a Calvinistic interpretation of Romans 9. Any Arminian or heterodox challenge to the sovereignty of God in salvation will have to engage the battle on this work, and the textual clarity, cohesiveness, and skill needed to gain ground against Piper's work is inconceivable. This work is one of his earliest, and one of his best. It remains completely impervious to New Perspective(s) work, as well as Emergent theology.




G. Vos The Pauline Eschatology P&R 1930
Go check out this site: Biblical Theology by G. Vos.

The first two books listed could not have been written without Geerhardus Vos. The man single-handedly created the discipline of "biblical theology" and forced it into contemporary scholarship. Standing on the shoulders of the Swiss and French reformers, Vos' sight into the biblical text is outstanding. While this monograph recommended here is good, his work on the whole Bible is even better. If you have to start somewhere to break into Vos' corpus, I recommend either his Biblical Theology (beware: heavy reading!), or Redemptive History and Biblical Interpretation, compiled by Dennison and Gaffin.


Those aren't in a particular order, but they are phenomenal.