Piper makes the case that we know the Scriptures are true because in them we behold the wonder and the glory of Christ himself. He states in the introduction: “Thus, at the end of all human means, the simplest pre-literate person and the most educated scholar come to a saving knowledge of the truth of Scripture in the same way: by a sight of its glory.”

We certainly have no shortage of books defending and upholding the authority of Scripture. In fact, I recently posted my list of top ten books on this subject.

And the reason we have so many of these books is not hard to find.  The world continues to attack the Bible. And many Christians continue to doubt the Bible.

But one thing we do have a shortage of is certain kinds of books on the authority of Scripture.  Most books on the authority of Scripture are either providing a theological explanation of our doctrine of Scripture, or are providing historical evidence for how the Bible was put together. Or maybe both.

But, what tends to be lacking in most discussions is how the Bible witnesses to its own divine authority. Or, put another way, how the internal characteristics of Scripture point toward its divine origins.  I’ve tried to address this important issue myself in various ways (for instance, see my book Canon Revisited, and my recent post: What Do We Mean When We Say the Bible is ‘Self-Authenticating’?), but more on the subject is needed.

For this reason, I was thankful to see John Piper’s new book, A Peculiar Glory: How the Christian Scriptures Reveal Their Complete Truthfulness on the cover of Crossway’s 2016 catalog. Piper argues for what is essentially a self-authenticating view of the Bible.

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