12 Books To Read When You're A Young Christian! // Where Do I Start? // List by Kevin DeYoung

[@ursschroder1278]

Hey Joe, thank you for your effort of making and uploading these videos! A true blessing and definitely helpful and edifying. Connected through the Lord Jesus Christ, Urs

[@tylermrolfe]

Knowing God was one of the only books I finished and immediately wanted to start it again. 10/10!

[@daeheo4901]

Thanks. I am a Korean preparing for an online seminary in the United States. Your book introduction was very helpful. As an international student, Bible commentaries are not easy to understand. So... Can you recommend some more Bible commentaries or Christian books that are written in an easier way? I'm aiming for something like the NIGTC series of commentaries in English that I can read at my own pace.

[@epistleofdude]

Confessions (Augustine). I read this at a time when I was utterly restless in life, i.e., when I was in college. As such, it spoke deeply to me, beginning with, “our heart is restless until it rests in you”. I read Henry Chadwick’s translation, but these days I hear Thomas Williams’ translation is the one to read. Chadwick's makes Augustine sound a bit like an Oxford don. Among its other virtues, Williams'translation best captures Augustine's philosophical sophistication, which no other English translation does, at least not as far as I'm aware. See my weblog for a comparison of most the English translations of Confessions.

[@epistleofdude]

10/12. I've not read the Brooks or Bavinck books. I'd add: * All of Grace (Charles Spurgeon). Shortest and one of the best presentations of the gospel I've ever read. It was instrumental in my salvation. * A Backward Providence (Steve Hays). An edifying and beautiful memoir from a Reformed brother. I wish it was more widely known. It can be read in a single sitting. * Letters Along the Way (Don Carson & John Woodbridge). Practical advice from a seasoned Christian to a new believer in an epistolary format and style. Edifying. * The Letters of Samuel Rutherford (Samuel Rutherford). Rutherford’s life was a life of constant turmoil in a tumultuous period of history. He suffered the death of his wife at an early age as well as the loss of all save one of his children. He was perpetually hounded and persecuted by established state churchmen; he would have been tried for treason and executed had he not died. Yet through it all Rutherford was a devoted pastor who dearly loved his flock. Ironically, the bulk of his letters (approximately 220 out of 365 letters) were written while Rutherford was in exile away from his flock. His flock lived in and around the little town of Anwoth in southwest Scotland near the English border. However, Rutherford was forced to move away from Anwoth by the ecclesiastical powers-that-be of the day. They forced Rutherford to live far north in Aberdeen where they thought he’d be silenced. Yet thanks to God’s providence, thanks to God who can bring good out of evil, Rutherford’s exile did the opposite of silencing him inasmuch as his exile led him to pen his letters. And his letters still benefit us today so that we can say: “though he died, he still speaks” (Heb 11:4). * Memories of Sandfields (Bethan Lloyd-Jones). God’s wonderful work in the lives of his saints. I never fail to be encouraged to hear how God rescued people from themselves. That’s in part because I know how often I need to be rescued. * Spiritual Depression (Martyn Lloyd-Jones). The good doctor brings light to bear on our soul’s darkness. If only I could constantly remember and apply its many lessons! * The Temple (George Herbert). Lyrical, devotional. Good to dip into once in a while. I could say similar things regarding a lot of Christina Rossetti’s poetry and letters. * Theology of My Life (John Frame). An autobiography and an apologetic for the Christian faith from arguably the foremost living theologian today. I have likewise enjoyed and benefited from several of Frame’s other books (e.g. Nature’s Case for God, Christianity Considered, some of the essays in his 3-volume collection of shorter writings, his film criticisms, his Lordship series). * To Be Near Unto God (Abraham Kuyper). Our soul’s thirst for the living God. I would write a devotional like this is if God had graced me with the talent to write such reflective and edifying words for others.

[@BMB125]

So far I’m only 2/12, but I plan to read Holiness by Ryle this summer!

[@davidsutter1846]

You left off DISPENSATIONALISM TODAY by Dr. Charles C. Ryrie! A Must if we're to make sense of the Bible!

[@Back2theWord]

Thanks for sharing! Totally need to check that one out!

[@stevenhuang3635]

Why am I supposed to read a bunch of Christian stuff?

[@Back2theWord]

If you read my description I share that this list is for Christian young people. If you aren’t a Christian, carry on and choose a different list. You are welcome to read them, but a non Christian is not the target for this list.

[@stevenhuang3635]

@@Back2theWord Ok, thanks for clarification.