Taking God at His Word
Hardcover | Paperback | eBook | Audiobook
Book Reviews aim to provide succinct, thoughtful summaries of books I have read. They contain quotes from the book, thoughts from others, and also some thoughts of my own. Typically they will be structured in the following order: author, introduction, message and purpose, remarkable chapter, and conclusion. This review will cover Taking God at His Word, a book about why the Bible is knowable, necessary, and enough, and what that means for you and me.
Author
Kevin DeYoung
Introduction
Can we trust the Bible completely? Is it sufficient for our complicated lives? Can we really know what it teaches? Taking God at His Word helps us understand what the Bible says about itself and encourages us to read and believe what it says—confident that it truly is God's Word.
Message and Purpose
The message and purpose of Taking God at His Word can properly be summarized in DeYoung's attempt to summarize Psalm 119: delight in it, desire it, depend on it. DeYoung continues onward in an eight-chapter elaboration on why God's Word is enough, clear, final, and necessary:
Chapter One: Believing, Feeling, Doing
Chapter Two: Something More Sure
Chapter Three: God's Word Is Enough
Chapter Four: God's Word Is Clear
Chapter Five: God's Word Is Final
Chapter Six: God's Word Is Necessary
Chapter Seven: Christ's Unshakeable Bible
Chapter Eight: Stick With the Scriptures
Taking God at His Word is a wonderful entry point into apologetics, a welcomed starter pack for new Christians, and a cornerstone masterpiece for Christians of all shapes and sizes.
Remarkable Chapter
The middle four chapters (God's Word Is Enough, God's Word Is Clear, God's Word Is Final, and God's Word Is Necessary) are the clear-cut meat and potatoes of the book. And while these four chapters strongly resonated with me, perhaps the strongest resonation was found in Chapter 3: God's Word Is Enough.
This chapter, unlike some of the others, is sure to ruffle some feathers of the reader. DeYoung discusses the first of four essential characteristics of Scripture: sufficiency, clarity, authority, and necessity. While elaborating on traditions found in various denominations, DeYoung makes the case that none should be anywhere close to the importance of God's Word:
"But even with these great creeds, catechisms, and confessions are valuable only as they summarize what is taught in Scripture. No secondary, man-made text can replace or be allowed to subvert our allegiance to and knowledge of the Bible."
He goes on by explaining that the Reformation cry of sola Scriptura ("Scripture alone") should be our guiding light, not supplementary resource:
"We cannot accept doctrinal innovations like papal infallibility, purgatory, the immaculate conception, or the veneration of Mary, because these doctrines cannot be found in the word of God and they contradict what is revealed in Scripture. Although we may respect our Catholic friends and be thankful for many aspects of their faith and social witness, we must not waver in our allegiance to sola Scriptura."
Conclusion
I must echo David Platt's remarks on the back cover of the book: "My trust in God's Word is greater, my submission to God's Word is deeper, and my love for God's Word is sweeter as a result of reading this book." This book is a fantastic overview of the doctrine of Scripture and its unending significance in the life of the Christian; it has my highest recommendation.