Top 6 Books on Holiness

The following was originally posted on our church blog in 2018.  I have revised and updated the list.  Two books from the previous list have been replaced.

I have offered more than once a list of favourite books and in doing so I have tried to confine my selection to just a very few.   More recently I have concentrated on books that I would want to feed upon if shut up alone with just a few books other than my Bible.   

I have done a number of posts recommending what I consider to be the top 6 books on a variety of themes (see bottom for more).  This time I am recommending books on the subject of Christian living or the Christian's progress in holiness (ie. sanctification).  

I have come up with a list of 6 books dealing very generally with the Christian's progress in holiness and Christian living.  On this subject there are almost endless options and many many excellent books, but I committed from the beginning to limit myself.  

So here are the 6:

1. Holiness by J.C. Ryle.  This work is a well known classic that has helped many.  I learned of it reading Helen Roseveare's book on the same subject.  In the introduction she spoke of the tremendous impact of a particular book on a number of the missionaries years earlier.  The impact was such that it she could describe it as revival.  That book was Ryle's Holiness.  It is a book that every Christian should read.    

2. Vital Godliness: A Treatise on Experimental and Practical Piety by William Plumer.  If I had to pick one book to recommend on holiness/godliness I would pick this one.  It is without peer.  

3. The Christian Man's Calling by George Swinnock (vol, 1, 2 and 3 of his works).  Here is a work that is truly comprehensive.  He seems to cover everything and in a way that profoundly practical.  I found it immensely helpful though it takes some time.  For something simpler and shorter consider Scudder (below).

4. The Christian's Daily Walk by Henry Scudder.  This book was one of John Owen's favourites.  That alone speaks volumes (and not just because Owen wrote so many volumes)!  It is a very practical treatment of a great subject and one that will leave you at once impressed with the gravity of your calling and then trembling as you consider what it means to be a Christian.  There are few books like this anymore.  Few men think this way anymore.  If you are not in earnest about holiness don't even think about reading this book.  It isn't for the faint of heart!  But if you are serious about this all important pursuit than you can't do much better than this: buy and read and pray over The Christian's Daily Walk. 

5. Heaven Taken By Storm by Thomas Watson.  This book is easy to read for a puritan, but it is at the same time compelling, convicting and deeply sobering.  It is an important book that deserves a place in every Christian library.

6. The Collected Writings of James Henley Thornwell, vol. 2.  If you can get a copy you will have found a true gem.  Here Thornwell deals with such themes as missions, ethics, sincerity, vows, faithfulness, and consistency in a manner that is truly unusual.   He writes as others preach.  Indeed some of these articles are sermons.  But all of them breathe with the author's passion for holiness and love for Christ.  I found them deeply challenging and enriching.  I am amazed that I did not discover them earlier. They are sadly overlooked and therefore underrated by the Church today.

Other book lists:

  • For books to read on the Lord's Day go here.
  • For books on revival go here.     
  • For books for discouraged believers go here. 

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

The Church of God & Ray Tinsman

  I have been asked repeatedly about our connection with the Church of God (COG) in Aylmer.  When the questions first started to come I had never spoken to Henry Hildebrandt and knew very little about his church.  In the weeks and months that followed I spoke with Henry on separate occasions and in person. At that initial meeting with Henry I asked him a series of pointed questions.  I was concerned.  I was glad his church was open, but I had heard rumors of heresy and cultish behaviour and wanted to hear it from him.  Ordinarily I might have dismissed a group like his outright. But the COG Aylmer was one of the very few churches in Ontario that remained open through the lockdowns, and I wanted to give him the benefit of the doubt. So, I asked him about his view of Scripture, his view of salvation, his understanding of the person and work of Christ and so on.  And I came away mostly satisfied.  There were clear differences between us, but on the main points it seemed as if we agree
Read more

Our Compromise in the Face of Covid-19: An open letter to the Church

Dear brothers and sisters, greetings in the name of King Jesus.  I am writing to you (as I have written to my own Session) because I believe that we - the Church in North America - have let the Lord down.  Like Peter we have made big promises, but in a moment of trial we have in this way denied Him.  We have compromised and we have sinned.  I don't say that lightly.   Many better men than me hold an entirely different position. Still, I believe our decision to submit to the government is wrong.  I believe it’s seriously wrong.  I believe one day we will look back on this with sorrow at how easily we gave in to the pressures of government and society.   I know it’s well intended but still wrong.   As you know churches almost everywhere (including our own) have closed.  Gathering together for worship has been replaced almost everywhere by live-streaming, so that there is no more ‘meaningful’ gathering of believers for the preaching of the Word and the administration of the sacram
Read more

On Baptism

Image
For 12 years I enthusiastically subscribed to the Westminster standards.  I signed my copy of the Solemn League and Covenant , I taught my children the catechisms, and I prayed earnestly that they would grow up to subscribe in full to the Westminster Confession of Faith (WCF).  For much of that time I was convinced that given enough time I could persuade any Baptist of the error of his ways.  I even went so far as to tell some Baptists brothers that withholding baptism from their children was sinful.  I grieved when Presbyterians became Baptist; and if you had told me of a man who had gone from being a Baptist to a Presbyterian only to become Baptist again I would have felt embarrassment for him.  Sounds more like a ship “tossed to and fro” (Ephesians 4:14) than a man.  But here I am writing to say that I am that man.  Even four months ago I was certain I would always be Presbyterian.  But after a period of prayer and intense study I have concluded that I was wrong.  Here, in brief,
Read more