All the books in the Reformed Expository Commentary series are accessible to both pastors and lay readers. Each volume in the series provides exposition that gives careful attention to the biblical text, is doctrinally Reformed, focuses on Christ through the lens of redemptive history, and applies the Bible to our contemporary setting.



What do respected pastors and theologians say about the Reformed Expository Commentary series?

“Well researched and well reasoned, practical and pastoral, shrewd, solid, and searching.”

—J. I. Packer

“A rare combination of biblical insight, theological substance, and pastoral application.”

—R. Albert Mohler Jr.

“This series promises to be both exegetically sensitive and theologically faithful.”

—Mark Dever

“Here, rigorous expository methodology, nuanced biblical theology, and pastoral passion combine.”

—R. Kent Hughes


Upcoming Titles in the series

COMING AUGUST 2017

REVELATION by Richard D. Phillips | Pages: (estimated) 768 | List Price: $39.99

About: The book of Revelation is a riveting read—but a persistent question Christians have is, “What does it mean?” Pastor-theologian Richard Phillips provides a clear, penetrating study of each chapter, highlighting the theme of the sovereign rule of Christ over history for the salvation of his church. Readers will see the glory of Christ as the exalted Priest and King for his people and discover the powerful pattern of faith by which we may join Christians of all ages in victory.

COMING MARCH 2018

ZEPHANIAH, HAGGAI, MALACHI by Iain M. DuguidMatthew P. Harmon | Pages: (estimated) 224

Old Testament

1 SAMUEL by Richard D. Phillips | Pages: 576 | List Price: $34.99 | Kindle | iTunes/ePub

About: David is more than a great hero, a man of faith, and a model for Christians to follow. He is one of the most important Old Testament types of Jesus Christ. It is as an anointed one—called and provided by God to lead Israel—that David plays his chief role in redemptive history and makes his distinctive contribution in preparing God’s people for the Anointed One, the Messiah who comes to rule and to save.

Two other significant figures—Samuel and Saul—appear in 1 Samuel. Samuel, an epochal figure whose significance equals that of Joshua, guides Israel out of the chaotic period of the judges and serves the coming of the Davidic kingdom. Saul, an alter ego first to Samuel and then to David, personifies the idolatry and unbelief that plague Israel throughout the Old Testament. The ways in which he contrasts with Samuel and David provide valuable spiritual lessons.

The lesser characters in 1 Samuel are hardly incidental—Eli the corrupted priest, Hannah the tearful believer, and Jonathan the faithful friend, to name just three.


1 KINGS by Philip Graham Ryken | Pages: 636 | List Price: $34.99 | Kindle | iTunes/ePub

About: Dynasties, fractured kingdoms, prophecies of coming hardships—the book of 1 Kings is a grand, sweeping narrative of the beginning of the downfall of God’s people. Its size and scope may seem intimidating, but Phil Ryken shows us in this biblical, doctrinal, practical, and Christological commentary how this imposing book can be divided into three key sections.

First, the stories of Solomon focus on the themes of money, sex, and power, inviting us to learn from Solomon’s example. Will we use these things wisely for kingdom purposes, or foolishly abuse them for selfish gain? Then the middle of the story, on the divided kingdom, shows the destructive consequences of sin among the people of God—especially the sin of idolatry. The final section demonstrates the power of prayer to the true and living God, as exemplified in the life and ministry of God’s prophet Elijah.

Phil Ryken both brings out the key themes of these three sections and illustrates how they come together in their focus on the gospel of Jesus Christ, especially his kingly and prophetic offices. This is an excellent resource for those who want a devotional aid and will help Bible expositors reliably teach a redemptive-historical view of this important Old Testament book.


ESTHER & RUTH by Iain M. Duguid | Pages: 224 | List Price: $17.99

About: Does God help those who help themselves? That may seem to be the message of the Books of Esther and Ruth. Some think that Ruth’s attractiveness won over Naomi and Boaz, or that Esther’s bold faithfulness saved her people. But a closer reading shows an embittered Naomi to have abandoned the Promised Land and God’s people, and Esther to have become thoroughly assimilated to the culture and values of Persian society.

In Esther, God works in invisible ways to save his people. In Ruth, God’s grace comes to Naomi unexpectedly, and with it, a depiction of redemption for her people. In both books, a gracious and sovereign God works through flawed individuals—unable even to help themselves—to rescue his people and prepare for the coming of Christ.


EZRA & NEHEMIAH by Derek W.H. Thomas | Pages: 464 | List Price: $34.99

About: The books of Ezra and Nehemiah tell a vital story of a community revived and restored by God’s grace through gifted individuals—preparing the way for the coming Messiah. In his practical and devotional expository commentary, pastor-theologian Derek W. H. Thomas shows what this gripping narrative can teach us about kingdom life in our own time. In their different ways, Ezra and Nehemiah both prioritized the Word of God and the practice of prayer. If the church of our day is to recover and be renewed, Thomas argues, these commitments are just as vital for us as well.


ECCLESIASTES by Douglas Sean O’Donnell | Pages: 272 | List Price: $22.99 | Kindle | iTunes/ePub

About: Ecclesiastes raises questions that haunt everyone to some degree. We live in a busy world, but does our busyness have a purpose? Or will the tyranny of time render all our labor pointless? If our efforts are doomed by death, how are we supposed to live in the meantime?

Douglas O’Donnell turns to Ecclesiastes to show us that lives of seeming futility “under the sun” become filled with joy and meaning if we live “under the rule of the Son.” O’Donnell argues that wisdom literature is best seen through the teachings of Jesus, who said, “Come to me, all who labor and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest” (Matt. 11:28). Here learn from Ecclesiastes to find meaning in life by abandoning illusions of self-importance, putting aside all pride, and embracing divine wisdom.


SONG OF SONGS by Iain M. Duguid | Pages: 216 | List Price: $22.99 | Kindle | iTunes/ePub

About: To many of us, Song of Songs is a puzzling book. Often we’re not sure whether we should read it as romantic poetry or as allegory, and an answer either way raises new questions. Why is a love poem a whole book of the Bible? If it’s allegorical, what are we to make of the imagery used? And if we’re not married or dating, should we be reading this book at all?

As a part of Scripture, Song of Songs is God-breathed and useful to instruct allChristians, single or married, divorced or widowed, straight or struggling with same-sex desires. Pastor-scholar Iain Duguid steers a middle way between allegorical and literal approaches, showing that this book’s celebration of the love between a man and woman can not only shape our thinking about human relationships but also give us profound insight into the love that Christ has for his bride, the church.


DANIEL by Iain M. Duguid | Pages: 256 | List Price: $22.99

About: The book of Daniel is both familiar and unfamiliar to many Christians. The stories of the fiery furnace and Daniel in the lion’s den are the staples of children’s Bible story books and Sunday school classes. Yet the latter chapters of Daniel’s vision are more unfamiliar and daunting to most believers, who may have been exposed to a variety of end-times speculations constructed from an amalgam of these texts and others drawn from elsewhere in the Bible.

But Iain M. Duguid reminds Christians that Daniel gives us more than moral lessons or a prophetic timetable. The whole of the book points us to Christ, whether as the one greater than Daniel who has perfectly lived an exilic life of service and separation for us or as the exalted heavenly Son of Man who took flesh amongst us.


JONAH & MICAH by Richard D. Phillips | Pages: 400 | List Price: $29.99

About: Jonah is a figure of such contemporary features that he could be a member of one of our churches. Moreover, Jonah reminds us that the chief characteristic of redeemed people is not that they never sin, for sadly we still do, but that they are ready to repent of their sin when reminded of God’s grace.

The prophet Micah lived several generations later than Jonah. Whereas God called Jonah to cry out to the wicked idolaters in Nineveh, he called Micah to cry out against the wicked sinners of Jerusalem. Unlike the earlier prophet, who wrestled against God’s gospel message for pagan unbelievers, Micah was brokenhearted in his fervent desire for Jerusalem to repent and believe.

What this means is that a study of Jonah will connect us with our mission to the world. A study of Micah will inform us to face our challenges within today’s church.


ZECHARIAH by Richard D. Phillips | Pages: 368 | List Price: $29.99

About: The book of Zechariah records the prophetic message of Zechariah to the community that had returned to Jerusalem after the Babylonian exile and was charged with rebuilding the temple and city. But the physical return was meant to prompt a spiritual and theological return to faith in the Lord.

Zechariah called the people to such a true return and reassured them of the Lord’s willingness to receive them and restore to them the promised blessings. It is a book with an eschatological perspective of special value to Christians today who labor for reformation and long for revival.



Topical

THE INCARNATION IN THE GOSPELS by Richard D. Phillips, Philip Graham Ryken, Daniel M. Doriani | Pages: 240 | List Price: $22.99

About: This seasonal addition to the Reformed Expository Commentary series presents twelve biblically and theologically grounded Christmas messages, as the authors explore the canonical teaching on the birth of Jesus Christ in the gospels of Matthew, Luke, and John.

As a sample of the exposition found in the series, this volume is accessible to both pastors and lay readers. Each commentary gives careful attention to the biblical text, is doctrinally Reformed, focuses on Christ through the lens of redemptive history, and applies the Bible to our contemporary setting.

In addition, this volume includes four special appendices of Advent material and worship aids useful in the planning of a Christ-centered Christmas service. With five new carols, essays and reflections on the Advent season, and a program of lessons and carols, this material is valuable to any pastor or worship leader seeking meaningful ways to celebrate the coming of Christ during the season commemorating his birth.

All Christians seeking a deep, worshipful, and gospel-centered Advent season will benefit from the insight and worship material in this helpful commentary.



New Testament

MATTHEW (2 VOLUME SET) by Daniel M. Doriani | Pages: 1,200 | List Price: $59.99

About: With its rich teaching on discipleship, the gospel of Matthew is a wellspring of instruction on Christian living. Its use of the Old Testament also shows how old covenant promises are fulfilled in the new and how the law of Moses exercises its authority today.

Daniel Doriani, a pastor and scholar recognized for his works on biblical interpretation, pays careful attention to the structure, backgrounds, and grammar of Matthew in order to furnish pastors and students of the Word with the Christ-centered commentary and the personal and corporate applications they need. Each chapter of this two-volume work seeks to express Matthew’s original intent in ways that evoke his distinct voice and thereby fulfill the goal of Matthew’s gospel—making disciples by forming the mind, heart, and hands of believers.


LUKE (2 VOLUME SET) by Philip Graham Ryken | Pages: 1,488 | List Price: $59.99

About: Written after Jesus’ earthly ministry had come to an end, when word of his teachings and actions had spread to those who had never seen him firsthand, Luke is “the Gospel of Knowing for Sure.” Luke tells us that he wanted to provide an orderly account of the life of Jesus that would help people be more certain of the good news of his death and resurrection.

The purpose of this commentary is to make Luke’s message clear for a contemporary audience by explaining, illustrating, and applying its truth to everyday life, with the hope that readers will understand the gospel and come to full assurance of salvation, as Luke intended. If an account of Jesus’ life was needed in Luke’s time, how much more acutely is it needed in ours—and Luke’s gospel stands as ready as ever to fill this need.


JOHN (2 VOLUME SET) by Richard D. Phillips | Pages: 1,488 | List Price: $59.99 | Kindle | iTunes/ePub

About: John’s Gospel distinguishes itself among the four Gospels by its thorough discussions of single topics and by embedding its teaching material in conversations. Its approach allows for detailed exposition of doctrines and concepts, and also for practical application to the reader’s life.

Richard Phillips highlights the apostle’s chief focus on the deity of Christ, the gospel witness of the church, and salvation through faith in Jesus. He shows the person and work of Christ with biblical clarity and pastoral insight and demonstrates how evangelistic appeals should be modeled. His scholarly, sequential study of each passage is ideal help for preparing sermons, while the nontechnical language makes the book suitable for Bible teachers and devotional reading.


ACTS by Derek W.H. Thomas | Pages: 800 | List Price: $39.99 | Kindle | iTunes/ePub

About: The church in our time easily loses sight of her mission to witness to the resurrected Christ. Studying Acts identifies us with the early church and the way the gospel shaped her as she began witnessing in Judea and continuing, in concentric circles, “to the end of the earth.” Acts reminds us that the story of the church remains incomplete—that there continues to this day an “Acts 29.”

We face relentless opposition as our postmodern world mirrors the world of the apostles. Planting and growing churches in such an environment poses particular challenges. Nevertheless, Acts clearly demonstrates that no obstacle can withstand the power of the Holy Spirit. As he did in the early church, the Holy Spirit teaches us in Acts to “expect great things.”


GALATIANS by Philip Graham Ryken | Pages: 312 | List Price: $24.99

About: The book of Galatians was written for recovering Pharisees. By trying to base their standing with God on their spiritual performance, the Galatians were in danger of denying the gospel. They needed to hear again the liberating message that we are justified not by observing the law, but by faith in Jesus Christ.

The church today needs to embrace that same gospel message. “We are legalists by nature,” Philip Ryken writes, and Galatians “challenges many of our preconceptions about what it means to have a right relationship with God.”


EPHESIANS by Bryan Chapell | Pages: 400 | List Price: $29.99

About: The apostle Paul wrote to the house churches of the ancient metropolis of Ephesus with this amazing truth: through such as you the purposes of Christ will fill the world; he is transforming all things for you and through you. For this collection of churches in a culture antagonistic to the gospel, the apostle Paul pens themes so grand they can still take our breath away, and they often move the apostle to doxology and prayer.

Bryan Chapell, noted preacher and teacher of preaching, unfolds Paul’s glorious description of how the triumph of the church will occur and what our roles are in Christ’s ultimate victory. When we lift our eyes beyond personal borders to share even a glimpse of Paul’s expansive vision, then we, too, will join his doxology for God’s amazing grace that saves individuals, empowers the church, and through both, transforms the world.


PHILIPPIANS by Dennis E. Johnson | Pages: 384 | List Price: $29.99

AboutPhilippians is a magisterial treatment of various topics—suffering’s relationship to gospel advance, self-centeredness versus sacrificial service, the basis of a believer’s assurance before God, interpersonal conflict, and finding true contentment—that Paul relates to the touchstone of Christ, his cross, and his resurrection.

Johnson shows how Paul, writing from imprisonment to a church close to his heart, uses his own experience and attitude as exemplars to show the Philippians the difference a Christ-formed mind makes to the way believers respond to adversity, rivalry, conflict, vanity, achievement, the ongoing pursuit of holiness, and the strategic deployment of our resources for the gospel.


1 & 2 THESSALONIANS by Richard D. Phillips | Pages: 456 | List Price: $34.99 | Kindle | iTunes/ePub

About: Years before writing Romans or Ephesians, Paul sent a pair of letters to a new church in Thessalonica. Three concerns governed Paul’s teaching in these letters: What makes a healthy church? How should we view God’s Word? What does a Christian life look like? Richard D. Phillips’s commentary considers these foundational issues in a scholarly, pastoral, and practical manner and also explores Paul’s end-times teaching—the clearest found in the New Testament. Through these studies, readers will find a refreshingly clear biblical summary of what will happen before, during, and after the Second Coming. Just as importantly, by touring Paul’s singular teaching in 1 and 2 Thessalonians, readers will recover a joyful anticipation of Christ’s return and receive hope for life in a challenging world.


1 TIMOTHY by Philip Graham Ryken | Pages: 328 | List Price: $29.99

About: From worship and prayer to family and the use of money, the book of 1 Timothy is full of implications for life in the local church. But beyond these practical truths for all believers, Ryken writes, “Paul’s purpose in 1 Timothy is to help his spiritual son remain true.” Thus the book has special application to those in gospel ministry.

These truths that helped Timothy in his day are just as applicable to church leaders in ours—both for personal godliness and for the collective life of the church. Whether for personal study or sermon preparation, Ryken’s exposition is a sure guide to all who are interested in this pastoral epistle.


HEBREWS by Richard D. Phillips | Pages: 670 | List Price: $34.99

About: “Few studies can be more profitable to Christians today than that of the Epistle to the Hebrews,” says Richard Phillips. “Written . . . to a group of Jewish Christians facing persecution in the mid-first century A.D., the words of this book speak to Christians everywhere about standing firm in Jesus Christ.”

Hebrews captures the challenges and pitfalls of people throughout the ages and shows both why and how to press on in the faith. Its message of warning and hope centers on the surpassing supremacy of Jesus, seen often from the vantage point of the Old Testament.


JAMES by Daniel M. Doriani | Pages: 240 | List Price: $22.99

About: The book of James is both beloved for its practical wisdom and debated as to its relationship to Paul’s gospel. It offers concrete counsel on trials, poverty and riches, favoritism, social justice, the tongue, worldliness, boasting, planning, prayer, illness, and more. But in doing so, it exposes our inability to measure up to God’s standard.

Daniel Doriani, a pastor and scholar recognized for his works on biblical interpretation and application, resolves the tension between the wide-ranging practical commands of James and the centrality of faith in the Christian life. While James may not articulate the doctrine of atonement through the death and resurrection of Jesus, James does present Christ in his own way. Here Doriani shows us how. He thus helps us to apply the wisdom of James in a way that is rooted in grace.


1 PETER by Daniel M. Doriani | Pages: 288 | List Price: $24.99 | Kindle | iTunes/ePub

About: Many Christians around the world today face severe persecution, while others daily feel the weight of cultural pressure against them. The apostle Peter speaks to this as he reminds us that Christians are aliens and exiles in an often-hostile empire. Yet we are simultaneously the chosen of God, equipped by Jesus’ work for us and in us to live faithfully in our dual identity.

In this exposition of 1 Peter, Daniel Doriani explains how the work of Christ enables Christians to live with hope, joy, and faithfulness in a pagan world. He also explores Peter’s emphasis on the kind of life that pleases God—a life that includes respect for authorities, just or unjust; godly behavior as a wife, husband, or elder; and, by God’s grace, good deeds, courage, and a firm stand in the face of trials.


1–3 JOHN by Douglas Sean O’Donnell | Pages: 240 | List Price: $19.99 | Kindle | iTunes/ePub

About: How can we know that we possess eternal life? The apostle John answered that question in the three epistles that bear his name. He wrote that we must firstly believe that Jesus is the Son of God and that Christ came in the flesh. Secondly, we are to obey God’s commandments. Thirdly, we must love others.

In this illuminating and engaging commentary on John’s letters, pastor-scholar Douglas Sean O’Donnell illustrates and applies these three essential tests that judge whether we possess eternal life or not. Grow in your knowledge of Christ, our Savior. Learn how to live in the light. Grab hold of the gospel-transformed life!