The Word of God will always be under attack. It has been so since the serpent said to the woman, “Has God really said?” So books like Taking God at His Word are perennially relevant. But it is not just the authority and inerrancy of the Bible which are attacked. In evangelical, Bible-affirming circles the sufficiency and clarity of Scripture are undermined quite openly. 

 
I don’t know Kevin DeYoung. As far as I know I don’t owe him any money. I’m not writing a book so I’m not expecting him to give me a cover blurb. I have never received a free copy of any of Kevin’s books. I have never been to Michigan. I think I have covered all my bases.

With a clear conscience therefore, I am pretty sure that the most important book published this year is Taking God at His Word. I am using the word “important” deliberately and with premeditation. What Kevin DeYoung has given us in his new book is a well-written yet accessible, brief yet thoughtful doctrine of Scripture. What is more, he does this in less than 125 pages.

DeYoung focuses on the Scripture’s authority, inerrancy, sufficiency, necessity, and clarity. Most of the books in my library on the doctrine of Scripture are quite lengthy and/or scholarly. Certainly there are other relatively brief and accessible books on the doctrine of Scripture out there. Some of them are very good. But I cannot think of a book on the doctrine of Scripture which covers so much ground so effectively in such a brief and readable fashion.

My intention here is not to provide a review of Taking God at His Word so much as a plea for you to read it.

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