It is a fact of life: everyone loves free stuff. And a great benefit of the internet is that today we have an unprecedented database of excellent resources within our reach. We at Baptist21 wanted to take an opportunity to compile for our readers a list of 10 great ebooks that are free online for download.
These first three are through The Gospel Project‘s site and require basic information to download:
1) J.I. Packer’s “Keeping the Ten Commandments”
This is an excellent little book laying out a gospel-centered approach that fights against the legalism so prevalent with the 10 Commandments and presents them instead as an extension of God’s goodness to us.
2) “Christ-Centered Preaching and Teaching” Edited by Ed Stetzer
This book is a conversation between different perspectives on the topic of Christ-centered preaching and teaching. All contributors are respected scholars and pastors–Daniel Block (Wheaton College), David Murray (Puritan Reformed Theological Seminary), Walt Kaiser (Gordon-Conwell Theological Seminary), Bryan Chapell (Grace Presbyterian Church in Peoria, IL). This book will prove a useful tool as we all individually think through this very important issue.
You can also listen to the audio of a panel discussion here on gospel-centered interpretation, especially of preaching and teaching Samson and David and Goliath. The panelists included B21’s very own Jon Akin (Pastor of Fairview Church, Lebanon TN), Trevin Wax (Managing Editor, The Gospel Project), and Eric Hankins (Pastor of First Baptist Church, Oxford MS).
3) W.A. Criswell “The Scarlet Thread”
While we may be tempted to think the Christ-centered debate is a recent phenomenon, in this book Dr. Criswell, one of the foremost expositors of the last generation, provides a masterful trace of redemption throughout the entirety of Scripture.
4) J. Gresham Machen “Christianity and Liberalism” brought to you by ReformedAudio.org
This is Machen’s classic defense of orthodox Christianity against the rise of liberal thought. Machen clearly showed that liberalism is not another version of Christianity, but a different religion altogether. His insights speak prophetically to the attempts to retool Christianity in our day. One of the most important books for pastors and church leaders alike.
5) G. K. Chesterton “Orthodoxy”
Integral in C.S. Lewis’ salvation, this work faithfully defends orthodoxy against the concerns of Chesterton’s contemporaries. Yet, as Matthew Lee Anderson notes in his foreword, “It comes nearer timelessness than anything we have today. Though Orthodoxy was written near the start of the 20th century, I have dubbed it the most important book for the 21st. There are few claims I have made in my life that I am more sure of than that one.”
6) A.W. Tozer “The Pursuit of God”
This classic from Tozer challenges every believer into a more intimate and passionate personal relationship with the living God and proves to be an extension of his own hunger and thirst for the same.
7) “God and the Gay Christian” Edited by R. Albert Mohler Jr.
“In the new SBTS Press e-book, God and the Gay Christian? A Response to Matthew Vines, Southern Seminary president R. Albert Mohler Jr. and four other seminary faculty members refute the claims of Matthew Vines in his controversial book. In it Vines argues that homosexual orientation and committed same-sex relationships are consistent with a “high view” of the Bible and evangelical Christianity.
Each chapter refutes Vines’s claims from six specific Scriptural references to homosexuality. Mohler’s chapter provides an overview critique of Vines’s book. James M. Hamilton Jr., professor of biblical theology, addresses the Old Testament claims; Denny Burk, professor of biblical studies, addresses New Testament claims; Owen Strachan, assistant professor of Christian theology looks at the church history assertions; and Heath Lambert, assistant professor of biblical counseling, answers whether there is such a thing as a “gay Christian.”
8) R. Albert Mohler Jr. “The Pastor as Theologian”
This short ebook from Southern Seminary’s president is an excellent reminder that every pastor is a theologian. The question regarding a pastor’s ministry isn’t “Are you preaching theologically?” Rather,“Are you preaching well or poor theologically?”
“Every pastor is called to be a theologian. This may come as a surprise to some pastors, who see theology as an academic discipline taken during seminary rather than as an ongoing and central part of the pastoral calling. Nevertheless, the health of the church depends upon its pastors functioning as faithful theologians — teaching, preaching, defending and applying the great doctrines of the faith.”
9) John Piper “Seeing and Savoring Jesus Christ”
Piper gives this fantastic devotional-length book to move every believer to awe, exaltation, and glory of our Lord and Christ, Jesus. We trust this book will become a regular in your personal devotion time.
“Seeing and savoring Jesus Christ is the most important seeing and savoring you will ever do. Eternity hangs on it. So my aim is that you see him as solid truth and savor him with great joy” (p. 9).
10) Augustine “On Christian Doctrine” What free ebook post would be complete without a true classic. CCEL, an impressive database of free christian classics, offers this work by Augustine. In it Augustine offers an impressive wealth of practical wisdom and insight into both the interpretation and teaching of Scripture. Authoritative for nearly two thousand years, this work would serve any contemporary pastor and theologian well. Ad fontes, friends!