3 Books to Deepen Your Delight in Jesus
I have a new book coming out in early 2017 titled God among Sages: Why Jesus Is Not Just Another Religious Leader (Baker Books). In this new volume, I compare Jesus with Buddha, Krishna, Confucius, and Muhammad. In preparation for writing my new book, I read close to 100 books about the life and ministry of Jesus Christ and about the sages of the world’s religions. In light of all that reading, I want to highlight three books that stand out in terms of revealing great insights about the person of Jesus Christ. All three of these books differ in reading level and touch on topics such as Jesus’s identity, deity, and historicity.
1. Who Is This Jesus? by Michael Green
Michael Green, an insightful Christian theologian and apologist, addresses all the basic issues and questions concerning Jesus. Green discusses Jesus’s unique self-identity, his healing and teaching ministry, as well as the major events of his life, including his atoning death and bodily resurrection from the dead. Written for the layman, this book does a great job of introducing the extraordinary person of Jesus Christ for all who yearn to learn more about him. Who Is This Jesus? is the perfect book to give to someone who is just beginning their faith journey as a Christian or to the believer who wants to learn more about Christ’s mission, message, and identity.
2. Putting Jesus in His Place: The Case for the Deity of Christ by Robert M. Bowman Jr. and J. Ed Komoszewski
This book does a wonderful job of presenting the biblical case for the deity of Jesus Christ. The work illustrates how Jesus uniquely possessed the honors, attributes, names, deeds, and seat of God. The authors also present the material using an engaging memory technique to help readers recall key points. Written as an introductory to intermediate level text, this book would be ideal for church study groups that want to focus on Jesus’s identity. I would also recommend this book to people who want to share their faith with individuals who deny the deity of Christ—such as the Jehovah’s Witnesses who knock on their door.
3. Jesus under Fire: Modern Scholarship Reinvents the Historical Jesus, edited by Michael J. Wilkins and J. P. Moreland
Jesus under Fire discusses key issues surrounding Jesus’s life and ministry in eight scholarly essays written by leading evangelical academics in such fields as New Testament scholarship, Jesus studies, and Christian apologetics. The essays address the historicity of Jesus, his miracles, his resurrection, and his exclusive claims as Lord and Savior. This is an excellent book for someone who wants to learn how to address common skeptical challenges concerning the person of Jesus Christ. This book is also well suited for skeptics who have questions and objections concerning the traditional understanding of Jesus’s identity and mission.
These three helpful books have something significant to offer Christians no matter where they are in their knowledge and understanding of Jesus Christ and historic Christianity. Reading these books about Jesus will help his followers grow intellectually and spiritually.
Reflections: Your Turn
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Subjects: Life of the Mind, Christian Life
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