buy the book

Here is a resource book that every pastor ought to have in his or her library. As the title indicates, it contains quotes from the writings of Geerhardus Vos, who has been referred to by some as the “father of Reformed biblical theology.”

Vos taught biblical theology for 39 years at Princeton Seminary. Among some of his better writings are: Redemptive History and Biblical Interpretation (still in print), The Teaching of Jesus Concerning the Kingdom of God and the Church, (available), The Self-Disclosure of Jesus (available), and Eschatology and the Old Testament (available).

I am grateful to Danny Olinger, Executive Secretary of Christian Education in the Orthodox Presbyterian Church, for compiling this present volume. Having recently written Making Kingdom Disciples, I can say that Vos, along with Abraham Kuyper, had profound influence on my understanding of the topic. Though I found his section “Kingdom of God, and the Church” a bit difficult to read, it was well worth the effort. Olinger has drawn from Vos’ books, reviews, articles, sermons and poems. He placed topics in alphabetical order making the hundreds of topics easily accessible.

When I think of those who have worked within the Calvinistic tradition, men such as Kuyper, Herman Bavinck, John Murray, Ned Stonehouse, J. Gresham Machen, and Cornelius Van Til, I cannot leave Geerhardus Vos off this list. Once when asked a question regarding the topics in the Westminster Confession of Faith, I said, “If the WCF had been written after Geerhardus Vos’ works, there would definitely be a chapter on the Kingdom of God.”

If there is one thing addressed by Olinger that stands out about Vos, it would be his belief that “liberal Christianity and historic Christianity could not exist side by side,” and a compromise can not be reached between the two. Like the other men mentioned above, Vos was a true defender of the faith and contributed more than any other to the historic, redemptive understanding of the Bible. As Olinger highlights, Vos was unflinching in maintaining that the Christian life could only stand on communion with Christ. Olinger writes, “He sought to point believers to the Scriptures that they might see their life there in the text and in their God, that God might receive the honor and glory, and they might be built up in the faith.”

Need more be said to convince you to buy this book and use it often in study, teaching, and preaching, as well as devotionally?