Best Classic Theology Books: 13 Christian Classics to Read Free
TheologyBible StudyChurch History
If you have never read theology before, start with F. B. Meyer's The Creed of Creeds. It takes the Apostles' Creed a phrase at a time in fifty-two short chapters, one for each week of the year. Then read Thomas Watson's sermons on the Shorter Catechism, known as A Body of Divinity. Watson is the friendliest of the Puritans, and he makes doctrine warm. When you are ready for a full system, go to A. A. Hodge's Outlines of Theology.
Theology just means what the Bible teaches about God, gathered and set in order. The old writers did not think it was only for scholars. They wrote catechisms for children and servants, and preached doctrine every Sunday, because they believed right thinking about God leads to right living before Him. The Shorter Catechism puts the aim in one sentence.
Man's chief end is to glorify God, and to enjoy Him for ever.
The Select Works of Thomas Watson, A Body of Divinity
The writers below come from different traditions: Reformed, Anglican, Methodist and others. They agree on the great truths of the creeds, and they differ on some questions, which we note as we go. Here are thirteen of the best classic theology books in TheWay Library, ordered from short and simple to long and deep.
Start here
1. The Creed of Creeds, by F. B. Meyer
Short, devotional expositions of the Apostles' Creed: God the Father, Jesus Christ His only Son, the virgin birth, the cross, the resurrection and ascension, the Holy Ghost, the church, forgiveness, the resurrection of the body and the life everlasting. Meyer reminds you that doctrine is about a Person.
And it should be borne in mind that Christianity is not primarily a system of Philosophy or Theology.
The Creed of Creeds, chapter 21
Read The Creed of Creeds. See F. B. Meyer's books.
2. A Body of Divinity, in The Select Works of Thomas Watson
Watson preached through the Westminster Shorter Catechism, question by question, and these sermons became one of the most loved theology books in English. They are full of short, memorable lines and homely pictures. They fill the first part of The Select Works of Thomas Watson, followed by his sermons on the Ten Commandments and the Lord's Prayer.
To glorify God, is to set God highest in our thoughts, — to have a venerable esteem of him.
The Select Works of Thomas Watson, A Body of Divinity
See also our guide to the best Puritan books.
Catechisms: theology in questions and answers
3. A Commentary on the Shorter Catechism, by Alexander Whyte
Whyte goes through all 107 answers of the Shorter Catechism, giving each with its proof texts and a chain of comment from theologians and saints. It grew out of his Bible classes in Edinburgh, so it is meant for ordinary church members. Read Whyte on the Shorter Catechism, and see Alexander Whyte's books.
The great systems
4. Outlines of Theology, by A. A. Hodge
A full manual of Reformed theology set out as numbered questions and answers, from Scripture and God through sin, Christ and salvation to the last things and the sacraments. Hodge often states other views before answering them, which makes it a useful reference even for readers who don't share his conclusions. Read Outlines of Theology, and see A. A. Hodge's books.
5. A Compendious View of Natural and Revealed Religion, by John Brown of Haddington
Brown taught himself Greek as a shepherd boy and became a much-loved teacher of ministers in Scotland. This is the system of theology he wrote for his students, in seven books from natural religion and Scripture to the covenants, Christ, salvation, the sacraments and the church.
Real religion doth not chiefly consist in external performances, but in the proper frame, and exercise of the heart.
A Compendious View of Natural and Revealed Religion, Book I, Chapter I
6. Christian Theology, by Adam Clarke
For the Wesleyan side, read this body of doctrine gathered from the writings of Adam Clarke, the great Methodist Bible scholar. It covers Scripture, God and the Trinity, Christ, repentance, faith, justification, regeneration and entire sanctification, the sacraments and Christian duties. On election and on Christian perfection it differs from Hodge and Brown, and it states the Methodist view warmly.
Christ dwells in the heart only by faith, and faith lives only by love, and love continues only by obedience; he who believes loves, and he who loves obeys.
Christian Theology, chapter 8
Read Christian Theology. For how these traditions differ on one key question, see our guide to the best books on election.
Theology of God and history
7. The City of God, by Augustine of Hippo
Written after the Goths sacked Rome in 410, when pagans blamed the Christians. Augustine answers them and then tells the story of two cities, the city of God and the city of this world, from creation to their final ends. It shaped Christian thinking about history for a thousand years.
In God's eternity is its life; in God's truth its light; in God's goodness its joy.
The City of God, Book XI
Read Volume I and Volume II. See who Augustine was.
8. A History of the Work of Redemption, by Jonathan Edwards
Edwards preached this series to show that all of history is one story: God's work of redeeming a people, from the fall, through Christ's coming and cross, to the end of the world. It is theology told as a story, and it is one of the best ways to see the Bible whole. Read A History of the Work of Redemption, and see Jonathan Edwards' books.
9. The Existence and Attributes of God, by Stephen Charnock
The great Puritan work on who God is. In long discourses, each on a single text, Charnock proves God exists and then sets out His spirituality, eternity, unchangeableness, presence everywhere, knowledge, wisdom, power, holiness, goodness, dominion and patience. Read one attribute at a time.
He is not only holy, but holiness; holiness in the highest degree, is his sole prerogative.
The Existence and Attributes of God, Discourse XI
Read The Existence and Attributes of God. For more on this theme, see the best books on the sovereignty of God.
The Trinity and the Holy Spirit
10. An Unpublished Essay on the Trinity, by Jonathan Edwards
A short, deep essay first printed in 1903 from Edwards' manuscript. He suggests that the Son is God's perfect idea of Himself and the Holy Spirit is God's infinite love and delight in Himself. It is demanding, but it shows a great mind at worship.
The Holy Ghost is the Deity subsisting in act, or the divine essence flowing out and Breathed forth in God's Infinite love and delight in himself.
An Unpublished Essay of Edwards on the Trinity
11. Veni Creator, by H. C. G. Moule
Plain, devotional chapters on the Person and work of the Holy Spirit: His personality and deity, His relation to Christ, union with Christ, the Scriptures and the new birth, and then His work through John's Gospel and Paul's letters. Read Veni Creator, and see Handley Moule's books.
12. The Holy Spirit of God, by W. H. Griffith Thomas
The fuller study, grown from lectures at Princeton. Griffith Thomas surveys what the Bible teaches book by book, traces the doctrine through church history, states it as theology and applies it to the questions of his day.
Reason is not the origin but the organ of truth.
The Holy Spirit of God, chapter 29
Read The Holy Spirit of God. See also the best books on the Holy Spirit.
Defending the faith
13. The Fundamentals, Volume 1
The famous essays of the 1910s, by writers such as James Orr and Sir Robert Anderson, defending the Bible and the deity of Christ against the new theology of the day. See our guides to what The Fundamentals are and their full contents. Read The Fundamentals, Volume 1.
Going further by subject
TheWay Library has guides on single doctrines too: the person of Christ, the atonement, justification, the inspiration of Scripture, election and baptism.
How to read theology
Go slowly. Read with a Bible open and look up the texts. Read a chapter, then pray about what it told you of God. Start with Meyer or Watson, then a catechism, and only then a full system. As Watson's catechism says at the start, the point of it all is to know God, glorify Him and enjoy Him.