Taking God at His Word

Kevin DeYoung

"You do not need another special revelation from God outside the Bible. You can listen to the voice of God every day. Christ still speaks because the Spirit has already spoken. If you want to hear from God, go to the book that records only what he has said.”

Scripture, as God’s special revelation to mankind, is a breathtaking gift. It equips the believer with knowledge about humanity and our need for salvation – and it presents us with knowledge about God and His gracious, merciful and loving provision that rescues us from sin. However, in the 21st century West, trust in the Bible has been undermined by decades, perhaps centuries, of liberal theology, scientific hypothesis and the teaching of other religions.

This book is a wonderfully accessible look at the doctrine of Scripture which examines what the Bible itself says about the credibility and reliability of its contents. Covering the four classic characteristics of Scripture; Sufficiency, Clarity, Authority and Necessity, De Young unpacks each quality against a Biblical framework and builds the reader’s confidence in the whole Bible as a consequence.

There is a handy appendix containing a list of 30 more books on the subject. However, this book reminded me that I don’t have to be a tenured academic to grasp this doctrine in reasonable depth and confirm that my confidence in God’s Word is well-founded. If you can handle the Americanisms, this is a very handy book to read and to pass on.

Taking God at His Word

About the author

Kevin DeYoung is the senior pastor at Christ Covenant Church in Matthews, North Carolina. He serves as a council member at The Gospel Coalition and blogs on TGC’s DeYoung, Restless and Reformed. Kevin is Associate Professor of Systematic Theology at Reformed Theological Seminary (Charlotte) and received a Ph.D. in history from the University of Leicester (UK). He has authored several books, including Just Do Something, The Hole in Our Holiness, Crazy Busy, Taking God at His Word, and The Biggest Story. Kevin and his wife, Trisha, have nine children.