Book Review - Romans 8-16 For You by Timothy Keller

This is the first book in the Series “God’s Word ForYou” that I have read, and I am quite glad I did. Timothy Keller is a master at clarity, thoroughness and anticipating the objections of his readers.  The book meets well the objective of the series to be Bible centered, Christ glorifying, relevantly applied and easily readable. This resource is not a commentary, but has depth and is suitable for private studies, group settings or for help in preparing to teach God’s word to others.  In the Kindle edition, words outside ordinary use are marked in gray and explained by touching the word.

The latter half of Romans is full of doctrine and instruction for living. Keller is not shy about dealing with the more controversial passages and taking a clear stand on them. Do you have questions about the role of Christians in government or the role of government itself? See Keller’s wonderful exegesis. What about the different views people have on whether national Israel will experience great renewal and come to believe that Jesus is the promised Messiah? Keller deals with this question in a thorough and convincing way.  To get an idea of the many other topics covered, turn to the Appendix where there is an outline summarizing all the topics covered.  In the Kindle version on the Kindle paperwhite, there is a neat feature that allows one to see the outline condensed. Tap on the screen and the Appendix is reformatted with tighter line spacings and smaller font with headings for the sections that stand out. You can easily scroll through the entire outline, complete with verse references.

One of Keller’s strengths is connecting Doctrine to the implications for the way we live right now, in this culture in light of the Gospel. Once the doctrine has been explained he makes clear application to the way we live in light of it. I find Keller’s writing leads me every time to worship God for the work of obedience Christ accomplished on my behalf. So now I am motivated to obey out of love rather than duty.

I received a free copy of this book from The Good Book Company via Cross Focused Reviews in exchange for an honest review.